Joy Challenge - Day 31 - Smile

My Dad is working toward the day he can walk out of the rehab facility, where he has spent the past week, on his own. He grows stronger each day and soon he will do just that.

There are many people there, though, who will never be able to walk through those doors again. Their remaining days will be spent confined to those small rooms and long halls that make up the nursing home part of the facility.

I pass them every time I walk the halls toward my Dad's room. The tired eyes, set in softly wrinkled faces, seem turned inward. Perhaps they are looking back in time - to the life they once knew. It hurts my heart.

I have found that if I can engage their eyes and give them a smile from heart, they are quick to respond. Faces that seemed set in rigid lines relax and there is a connection. Sometimes that is all there is - just that smile in return - but with some it is the opening to exchange a few words.

Some time ago the Lord whispered to my heart that I could have a "ministry of smiles." I, who am so shy and timid about approaching others, could bless someone else by simply smiling. It is amazing the reaction this simple act invokes. The looks of surprise, the smile in return, bring me such joy. It is such a little thing, but the Father is a master at using our "little" to accomplish His "much".

Blessings,
Linda

That smiling doll is my granddaughter - more joy!!

A Sweet Fragrance

When we first moved into our house over twenty-five years ago, I planted a little rose bush by the garage. It did fairly well the first year, but I don't think it was an ideal spot because it began to fail bit by bit, year after year.

Every spring I would look it over, trying to decide if it was worth saving. I thought perhaps if I cut away the dead branches it would grow fuller. I ruthlessly pruned, and for a while it looked better. Inevitably, though, more branches would die off, and it began to look hopelessly spindly.

We had a terrible drought this past summer, the worst on record. At first I struggled to keep the rose bush, along with all the other flowers in the garden, alive, but as water restrictions deepened it was like fighting a losing battle. Every living thing in my garden looked as though it could not possibly make it through that long, hot summer.

Then the rains came - refreshing, life-giving rains. Overnight the plants put out the most vibrant blooms I had ever seen. It really was miraculous. The flower garden looked lush and colorful, with the exception of my poor, little rose bush. It was tall and scraggly with fully half of the plant nothing but dead wood. I reluctantly decided that I would have to dig it up in the spring.

To read the rest of this devotional please visit Laced With Grace. I will be there thursday.

Blessings,

Linda

Contentment

"Contentment is actually about wanting more - more of Christ and less of everything else. It's not to roll over and sigh with resignation to be satisfied with your lot in life, but it is to sense in your spirit all that you have in your salvation and relationship with Christ and to want more of that. A holy contentment is to want less of yourself and more of Him - more of His life in you and all the peace and passion and exhilaration of being swept up into His plans and purposes and activities in this world. This is the life abundant that He promises to those who are found in Him and draw their joy and satisfaction from an ever-deepening relationship with Him (John 10:10)
James MacDonald "Lord, Change My Attitude"


My Dad is doing a bit better - working to get his strength back. Thank you, dear friends, for your prayers.

I have been "camped out" on this song recently - playing it over and over at full volume. Oh how it blesses my soul!


Blessings,
Linda

Some Thoughts on Prayer

It is time to take a little break from blogging - just until life settles down a bit for us. My Dad is taking little steps toward regaining his strength. We are thankful - to our heavenly Father and to you who have so faithfully carried us with your prayers and encouraging words.

I'm not sure why it is, but it seems that in times of great difficulty I find it hard to quiet my heart and spend time with the Lord. There are those brief prayers that are cries for help, but I feel incapable of sitting quietly to pray and read the word. There is so much going on, and when the quiet moments come my mind reels with all the "what ifs".

Years ago, when I had major back surgery for scoliosis, I was flat on my back for weeks. I had planned to spend lots of time drawing close to the Lord. The reality was, I couldn't even really pray. The same is true when I walk through the most difficult of circumstances. My initial reaction is to withdraw from the very One I need most.

It is the reason the prayers of others mean so much. For those times when I am not able to pray, they are interceding on my behalf.

I don't do well if it goes on too long - this "prayerlessness". I feel so distanced from the Lord - so lost and empty - and ashamed of myself for drifting away. He never moves. He is always just a whisper away. I am the one who wanders. When I finally reach out to Him, He draws me close. His love and grace overwhelm me.

Blessings,
Linda

Joy Challenge - Day 30 - The Prayers of Friends

Update:
Dad was moved to a beautiful rehab facility today. He is all settled in and is already showing improvement. My Mom is so encouraged.
God is good. Thank you for praying.

Just a little note to thank you for your prayers dear friends. I haven't had the time to write a long post, so I've been using my Facebook page. I know not everyone reads that, so I thought I would write a quick update here.

My Dad was hospitalized last friday with terrible pain in his upper back. The doctors were concerned about his heart, so they did a battery of tests. The tests were very hard on him and in the end showed that there was no problem with his heart.

He has had three falls in the past couple of weeks, and they now think that he must have aggravated a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder. We are relieved it isn't his heart, but it has taken a real toll on my Dad.

They will be transferring him to a rehab facility tomorrow. He has gotten so weak he cannot even stand on his own, so he really cannot go home yet. We're praying that he will be able to get his strength back. We're also praying for strength and grace for my Mom. She is taking this very hard.

So many dear friends have been praying. It is so encouraging. What joy to know that others are praying for you. Thank you so very much.

Blessings,
Linda

Joy Challenge - Day 29 - Joy Quotes

"When was the last time you laughed for the sheer joy of your salvation? People are not attracted to somber doctrines. There is no persuasive power in a gloomy and morbid religion. Let the world see your joy and you won't be able to keep them away. To be filled with God is to be filled with joy."
Anonymous

"Where others see but the dawn coming over the hill, I see the soul of God shouting for joy."
William Blake

"Joy is not the absence of suffering. It is the presence of God."
Robert Schuller


"I believe God, through His Spirit, grants us love, joy, and peace no matter what is happening in our lives. As Christians, we shouldn't expect our joy to always feel like happiness, but instead recognize joy as inner security -- a safeness in our life with Christ."
Jill Briscoe


"This is the secret of joy. We shall no longer strive for our own way; but commit ourselves, easily and simply, to God's way, acquiesce in His will, and in so doing find our peace."
Evelyn Underhill

Blessings,
Linda

picture:flickr mcbeth

Joy Challenge - Day 28 - Contentment

The attitude we studied in our Bible study this past week was covetousness. Before we opened our books and Bibles to begin, we all rather sheepishly looked at one another and unanimously agreed that this was one attitude we thought we weren't going to have to be too concerned about, but......

As James MacDonald took us through the study it became apparent to each of us that we all, in one way or another, do indeed struggle with covetousness. Here is the definition he gave us:

"Covetousness is wanting something so much that you lose your satisfaction in God. It's looking elsewhere for what only God can give."

Gulp...rather convicting - especially after the time of self-examination I've undergone recently. One of the areas of covetousness he listed was "coveting status or position." I looked into my own little heart and saw not a blatant jockeying for power and position, but that subtle, pervasive need for the approval of others.

Another area - "coveting your own agenda." Oh dear - another hit. How I dearly love to have everyone and everything under control, and I do so enjoy making my own plans.

The encouraging part of the study is that for every negative attitude there is an opposing positive one. Contentment is the answer to a heart marred by covetousness.

"Contentment," writes James MacDonald, " is a satisfaction in God's sufficient provision, to rest in what you have and to seek nothing more, a settled sense of adequacy."

If I have a heart that is fully trusting and fully satisfied with whatever the Father provides or allows into my life - then I will have genuine contentment. When I am always striving for something more, the more will never be enough. When I have an eternal perspective, I will have more than I could ever have imagined.

And my heart will be filled with joy!

"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there your heart is."
Matt. 6:20-21

Blessings,
Linda