iona's blog 11/13 - 11/19/2005

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Sunday, November 13, 2005

Missing Church
We're missing church this morning. We will be driving home today, following the coastline as closely as possible. We could seek out a church in this area and attend before beginning our trip home. I thought of doing that. I miss church when I don't go. I miss being with my brothers and sisters in Christ, whether I know them or not. I miss corporate prayer and worship. I miss a message inspired by the Lord. I miss church.

Having said all that, we still prayerfully are going to miss church. We will praise God and read His word and put our thoughts on Him as we drive today. Some will think we have sinned, some won't. My thought is that I am concerned with what God thinks... and leave it at that.

I pray you all have a blessed Sunday and that you miss church if you are not in the house of the Lord today.

Monday, November 14, 2005

Counting Chickens
In preparation for the trip we just took to Hollywood, I paid all the bills I would normally pay today when a certain check was due to arrive in our mailbox. I thought I was being quite practical since I only had one day at home before taking Donna to Stanford. One less thing to do, I reasoned... a wise move. NOT!

An old adage reminds us not to count our chickens before they hatch. I not only counted mine, I sold them and spent the money! The expected check, which normally arrives every other Monday like clockwork... did not come. Instead, I got a letter stating the payment date would be changed and from now on the check would come on a different day of the week. I had no chickens today... and there will be no chickens until the end of the week!

Blessedly, our God is merciful and He has already provided the means to compensate for my foolishness. It remains on my heart, however, that while the promises of man and his institutions are like smoke in the wind, every promise from the Lord is "yes and amen," all are either already fulfilled or shall be in their appointed time. There is nothing and no one else you can have absolute confidence in.

We live in a world of uncertainty, but we need have no fear. Like David, we can say of God, "Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." In January, Joe Patterson will be entering the very uncertain and unstable climate of Liberia. He's a bright young man and knows there are dangers... he is neither brash nor foolish, but will go as long as the Lord is leading him.

James and Eva Moore are selling their home and moving to Michigan. They don't yet have a home in the peninsula state but know the Lord will lead and provide. I don't know about James, but I believe Eva has been here most, if not all, her life. In her blog, she shares her heart with us and speaks openly about all the mixed feelings... but she's still getting ready to go.

These young people have counted the cost of following Jesus, and they have chosen to go where ever He leads. Hmmmm...Seems there's quite a difference between counting those costs and counting on unhatched chickens. May you count wisely.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Praying Out Loud
People who know me well, know I pray a lot... and a lot of my praying is out loud. Sometimes I even vocalize one of the reasons for my auditory prayers. I might say, "Before angels and demons, I openly give you glory, my Lord."

Why "before angels and demons?" If I am not speaking God's praises with my mouth, if I am praying silently, who but God will hear? I see no scriptural indication that anyone else would know I am magnifying the name of my King. God alone is omniscient. He, and only He, can search my heart.

All right, so why isn't that enough? After all, isn't it God to whom I am directing my words of praise and supplication? Why would I want to broadcast my prayer on a spiritual and/or temporal public address system?

Paul tells us there is a great cloud of witnesses to our lives (although some feel the Word has another meaning on that... awat)... I believe it true that angels and demons are capable to observe our lives, but not read our thoughts and delve the depths of our souls. Remember, angels are not the spirits of dead believers... they are created beings, just as we are, but are a different type of being than we are.

Your dearly departed Aunt Suzie is not able to watch you from above, hear you, answer your prayers or in any way intervene in your life among the living. The media and the arts have created a vast well of misinformation as they romanticize the eternal condition of man.

But, to get back to praying out loud... I do it to glorify my Lord in the public ear, both temporal and spiritual. I do it as an encouragement to better quality, and more well-thought out prayers on my part. I do it to develop an ever increasing habit of communication with the Master. I do it because I feel led to by the Holy Spirit.

Worthy is the Lamb, and I am proud to announce that before the whole universe. In the fatigue of this night, it brings me joy and peace and rest for the soul to declare God's goodness and glory before I lay down to take my rest... safe in the arms of the Lord.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Driving Miss Donna
I am one of the few Americans my age who has not seen the movie, Driving Miss Daisy, but I hear it is one I might have liked. I enjoy a good story wherein people change for the better. I like happy endings and stories with meat on their bones. I also like zaniness and thoroughly enjoyed Steve Martin as the Jerk.

Another thing I like is Driving Miss Donna. Donna, as most of you know, is my niece and I take her to Stanford every other week for a two-day series of treatments. Some years back, Donna had a bone marrow transplant. It saved her life but began a life-long battle with Host vs. Graft disease. To combat the terrible effects of the disease, Donna undergoes regular apheresis treatments.

Thus we spend two days in Palo Alto an a regular basis. We pray and praise, we worship and study... we fellowship and share stories of God's faithfulness, His lovingkindness. It is like our own private spiritual retreat and I get a boost from it every time.

This time, the trip was even more special. Donna and her family had planned to leave for San Francisco this afternoon after I got her home. Tomorrow morning, before the sun splits the horizon, the Carnes family will be at the airport ready to board a flight for Hawaii. It will be the first vacation they have ever taken anywhere.

I had some concerns about Donna's condition... only two days ago, she had open lesions... And she weighed under 100 pounds... Last night, as I watched her sleeping, I prayed she would be well enough to safely go and to have a fun trip as well. Watching the slow, steady rise and fall of her tiny chest touched my heart... the breaths were so shallow, and her color seemed gray. I prayed more earnestly... then alas, I drifted away into the Land of Nod.

Soon, Donna was asking if I was in pain. Now she was worried about ME! I was fine, just tired... and I talk in my sleep, so was apparently making noise. We had a restless night. But come morning, we were up on time and feeling quite well. Donna's cheeks were as close to rosy as they ever get and I was coherent. We were off to a fine start.

By the end of her treatment, Donna was looking and feeling quite good. We were all elated and began in earnest to wish her a safe and happy journey.

I love to be a part of Donna's treatment. It blesses me to be able to help. I always gain so much more than she does... and that makes her feel good. She knows she isn't imposing.... I know I'm needed... It's a wonderful deal!

Bible study at the Greene's was especially good tonight. As ever, Doug was prepared and effective. Theologically, I don't always agree with everything he says, but am completely convinced of his dedication, skill and loving service. If it is a big, important issue, we could (and have) discussed it further, but usually I say nothing or very little.

Yes, I know I am rambling and will cut it off now since I have fallen asleep twice sitting here.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Thursday Blessings
It was a beautiful and rewarding day... as most Thursdays are for me. Starting my day with a group of beloved sisters in Christ puts a positive spin on anything else that may come my way. The time I spend in Thursday morning fellowship and study is quite precious to me. I cherish these ladies and I treasure our shared love for the Lord.

Wednesday evenings at the Greene's are also favorite times. Indeed, I relish any time I am in the company of God's people... Sunday School is one of those very special times. I am sitting here trying to imagine what my life would be like without the Body of Christ... and, frankly, I cannot picture it.

My blog will be short tonight because it is late and I've been doing some research and am brain tired... But I want to say this, setting it apart as a very important word of advice to you:

If you are not attending church regularly, spending time with fellow believers often, and involved in some kind of small group, make it a TOP priority to find a home church, join a small group, link up with other believers socially. MAKE IT HAPPEN!

You cannot serve God in a vacuum.

Alone, you will not grow spiritually, for God is all about LOVE... which implies community.

Think about that a while, then love yourself and God enough to get plugged into His people.

Friday, November 18, 2005

Food for the Hungry
This morning I had breakfast with four friends who had gathered at my house because they were hungry... not for the "Sunday Morning Casserole" I baked, but for a closer walk with Jesus and a deeper understanding of The Word. They want to learn more, to fill in the gaps, to correct any misinformation they might have absorbed along the way to becoming believers. Some are new believers, others have known the Lord longer.

Except for more formal education at a Bible college or seminary, the language, tenets, and a host of other information about Christianity is usually picked up in a rather haphazard way. Sermons, small groups, classes, media and books you may choose to read provide a scattered knowledge base. Regular personal Bible reading will help... but there is just no substitute for the old Biblical practice of "discipling."

Jesus spent three years teaching His disciples. Every day as they did ordinary things together, He taught them the extraordinary truths of the Gospel, patiently giving them time to absorb the lessons. It also took time for them to realize that He really was... GOD!

So "discipling" is the practice of a more seasoned believer spending time with other believers and helping them gain a more complete understanding of all things Christian... but it is more than that. It involves a loving bond and a dependence on the Holy Spirit (who is the real teacher) every step of the way.

I am thrilled to again be part of this wonderful process. We are fellow seekers who will join early on Friday mornings to learn from one another, using Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life as a springboard to delve into God's Word and His love... over a shared meal... a lot like Jesus and the twelve used to do. He'll be here with us, too, of course.

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Saying Goodbye
Tonight, we said goodbye to an old friend. Claws was just a scrawny, runt barn kitten when we first met him. This scrappy, little guy took over our household and our hearts in no time. For almost fourteen years, he ran things.

Nothing seemed to daunt Claws. He was a cat with attitude... all bad. We love Garfield, the cartoon cat because he is so much like Claws. Claws lived life on the edge. He was a patient of the Alameda Vet Clinic in Denver (Emergency Vets on Animal Planet). He had an artificial hip, a broken jaw, a broken femur, a fractured skull... all on different occasions... he was a survivor.

Yes, we could have kept him locked indoors... we tried that for a while... but Claws was always a bit feral and loved his freedom. He sat by the door and cried incessantly when confined to the house, yet wanted back in after a few hours outside. He would go in and out eight or ten times a day.

Claws was not a pretty cat. He did not groom as most cats do, so we brushed him as often as he would tolerate it and bathed him when we were feeling especially stupid. He loved his dogs, though, and allowed them to bathe him every now and then. Being bathed by a bulldog leaves one soppy and slimy, but Claws didn't seem to mind at all.

He walked with a limp, a lot like Festus in Gunsmoke. He had been hit by a car, caught and tortured by sadistic teens one Halloween night, attacked by a coyote, and finally, tonight, killed by two dogs in our front yard.

We heard the neighbor dog barking, then ours joined in... nothing really unusual in the evening... happens several times a week. But our dogs became frantic at the door, so Richard went out to see what was going on. He saw two large dogs and shooed them from the yard, then heading back indoors, he caught a glimpse of Claws sprawled out on the grass, almost in the neighbor's yard.

I opened the door just as he was running toward the house to get me. "Oh, Honey, hurry!" His frantic tone of voice gave me a sick feeling. Instinctively, I knew it was Claws... and it was bad.

After one look, I ran to get a stiff piece of cardboard so we could transport him into the house without causing further injury or pain. His pupils were fixed and dilated and he was dying fast. We laid him on the floor and began to pray, asking God to heal him if it was His will, but if Claws was to die, that he would do so quickly and painlessly. Almost immediately, he was gone.

Saying goodbye to a beloved old friend hurts. We aren't quite done saying goodbye to Claws. We couldn't bear to bury our friend tonight, nor to leave him outside. He is in the garage, swathed in a towel, and we will need to take care of his internment tomorrow... We're sure going to miss him.

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