Snowed By Snowmen?

"If then, God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?" Luke 12:32

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own troubles." Matthew 6:34

Why is it so easy to let our thoughts run downhill? Especially when God tells us DO NOT WORRY! The context of this verse is - do not even start to worry. We are to nip it in the bud... before it grows like a snowball that begins tiny but gathers so much snow as it rolls that it becomes big enough to be used for building a snowman. Snowmen are very hard to move around. They sit there like big lumps. Worry, once it starts, is a big icey snowball that won't leave our minds. It is exhausting to deal with. Why do we waste our energy dealing with something so unnecessary? God's word says we do so much better to simply trust Him with our concerns.

Anxiety is a product of attitude not of the circumstances of the day. The question is: who am I going to trust? Myself or God? He promises that He will give us sufficient grace for each day. And we don't need to waste our energy pushing around the snowmen of our minds.

Here's a quote I have written in my Bible: "Courage is not the absence of fear; that's insanity! Courage is Jesus Christ in the midst of what makes us fearful."

We don't need to be snowed by the snowmen of our minds. Don't even start to worry. God is there for each day's troubles. I like that promise. Forget about making those snowballs!

Life Is A Dash!

Reading Through the Bible in 2010 (Eccles. 10-12)

"Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth..." Eccles. 12:1-5

They all seemed so young and happy. The line of animated young women talking enthusiastically, to each other, stretched down the long white baby shower table. Somehow, on each side, there was a gap between them and me. My green sherbet punch and I seemed to be on our own little island. But, my island was inhabited. A pleasant looking girl in her thirties sat across from me.

"Hello," I said, "I'm Betsy."

"And I'm Jessica," she responded.

Before long, I found myself in the midst of a very interesting conversation with my fellow inhabitant. She was married with two young boys, she had gone to mortuary school, and she now works in a funeral home. "I'm always on call," she remarked, "because you never know when somebody will die."

"Oh, do you go pick up the, uh er, bodies?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied quite cheerfully, "that's one of my jobs."

There we sat, a rather isolated little pair, talking about death in the midst of a baby shower celebrating life. Life and death. Two very significant words. In fact I've heard it said that the two most important dates in life are the birth date and the death date - with a dash in between. The meaning of that statement is clear: the dash is short and we need to make our swift earthly tenures count.

That's Solomon's point in today's scriptures. Do it now!

"Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them":

Eccles.12:1

It will never be easier to give our days to the Lord, it will only become harder. We need to remember our Creator now, while we can.

The wisest man who ever lived, goes on to tell us what is going to happen in our futures.

"While the sun and the light, The moon and the stars, Are not darkened, And the clouds do not return after the rain;" 12:2

He warns that as we age we are more and more prone to depression. It's been proven that older bodies do not produce the serotonin that young bodies do. Anyone who has suffered depression knows about the dark clouds that hover and can return so easily.

"In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, And the strong men bow down;" 12:3a

The "keepers of the house" that tremble are the limbs and the strong men bowing down is a reference to the legs. After having a knee replacement, I can relate. Strength wanes as we add years. Parts start to wear out. Charlie told me that if a machine worked perfectly in a mill for fifty years the operators would cheer. We expect our "fearfully and wonderfully made" bodies to run smoothly much longer than that.

"When the grinders cease because they are few, And those that look through the windows grow dim;" 12:3b

In America we get our teeth crowned, but lots of people in other countries don't have this privilege and their teeth become few. We buy attractive reading glasses when we turn forty, but after while they don't seem to work right, and we consult our ophthamoligists more and more frequently.

"When the doors are shut in the streets, And the sound of grinding is low;" 12:4a

As I tried to hear my interesting new friend's voice, I thought, "I wish my hearing aids were working better! Her voice sounds awfully quiet." The older we get, the more we have to strain to listen. We have to really concentrate. Maybe that isn't all bad.

"When one rises up at the sound of a bird, And all the daughters of music are brought low;" 12:5

There is a reason for the term "sleeps like a baby." The older we get, the lighter we sleep and the earlier we wake up.

"Also, when they are afraid of height, And of terrors in the way;" 12:5a

This speaks of the fear of falling and breaking something - like a hip - necessitating a hip replacement. The older person has a constant battle with fear. It is more difficult to control imaginations.

"When the almond tree blossoms, 12:5b

The white hair of old age is described.

"The grasshopper is a burden," 12:5c

Have you ever watched the slow shaking gait of a very elderly person?

"And desire fails." 12:5d

Most of the ads on TV refer to this.

"for man goes to his eternal home, And the mourners go about the streets." 12:5e

And my new friend and her coworkers go to their funeral homes and take care of our bodies.

It was time to open presents. As we turned to watch, Jessica's final words were, "You know, most people are so unprepared for death to enter their lives. It's like, here in America, we don't expect to die. We live our lives forgetting that they will end. When death comes, we don't know how to deal with it!"

So we left our little island and joined the group oohing and ahhing over the beautiful presents bought especially for this new baby - that no one knows yet. We don't know this little child but God does. And we can pray - that he will remember his Creator in the days of his youth. We can lift him to the Throne of Grace and interceed for him to live for Jesus during the dash that will be his life. And, if he does that, when he leaves this earth, he will be prepared - for his Coronation Day.

A Lesson From A Jar of Pickles

Reading Through the Bible in 2010 (Eccles. 3-6)

"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to break down, And a time to build up; Eccles. 3:1, 3:3

"You Dummy. What a klutz you are." These words came flying out of my mouth as I surveyed the damage. The kitchen floor glistened with sugary syrup. Pickles, looking like little frogs scattered from their messy perches atop the broken glass, seemed to leer mockingly at me. They were everywhere! Pickles, glass, sticky....aghh!!

"What a mess to clean up. That was so stupid!" Who was I berating? My child, my grandchild, my husband? Nope! I would never talk to them like that. The disparaging words of condemnation were directed at myself. I was the one who reached into the frig and -ker bang - dropped the whole pickle jar. As it crashed to the floor and shattered into a bazillion pieces, I wailed those words about - myself, "You dummy, Betsy. What a klutz you are!"

Later, as I stood with my mop and surveyed the clean kitchen floor, I thought, "Well it really looks quite nice now. It actually needed a good mopping anyway." Then I reached into the pantry and brought out a fresh jar of pickles and reflected, "That other jar was pretty old anyway. It was probably time to replace it."

As I looked at the shining laminate, my friend the Holy Spirit came alongside and surveyed the kitchen with me. He smiled pleasantly and said, "It looks nice, doesn't it?" Then He asked me a question. "Betsy, why were you so hard on yourself? What would you have said to your friend if she had let the pickles slip through her fingers? Would you have called her a dummy and a klutz?"

"Uh,"I paused and reflected on His question. A light was going on in my brain called the illumination of the Holy Spirit. "Why," I answered, "I would have said, "Don't worry, everybody drops things. I'll help you clean it up. And then......well, we probably would have had a good laugh as we gingerly picked up pieces of glass."

He had made His point. There was no need for me to engage in destructive deprecatory self talk. I began to think, "Why am I so careless about the way that I talk to myself?"

My Wise Counselor went on. "Here is a scripture for you to think about. "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." (Rom. 8:1) No condemnation, I reflected. Then why do I condemn myself? Why am I harder on myself than I am on other people?

I thought about it and thought about it. Then a long buried memory came to my mind. I remembered my mother stirring lemon pie filling on the stove. Suddenly it started to burn and the pleasant smell turned acrid. As I watched and listened, she began berating herself and berating herself over and over. How had she learned the art of destructive deprecatory self talk so well.? From her father? I'd never heard him say much positive to her. But then, he had run away from home at age 15. Why did he feel the need to do that? What was said to him that his home was not a place of refuge but a non safe place that he fled at an early age? Like an old tattered recipe, this kind of self deprecation had been passed down in our family from generation to generation.

When we come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, we enter into a new way of looking at life. "He has born our griefs and carried our sorrows. We esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53: 4-5) God sent His Son to make atonement - to do a switch out for our sins. Jesus took away the condemnation that we were all under because of sin. He replaced it with love and no condemnation. But, as Christians, we have to learn to believe how worthwhile we are in His sight.

Old habits and weavings in families are often passed down from generation to generation. It is important to allow the Comforter, the Divine Paraclete, to come along side and "lead us into all truth." (John 14:26. He will help us sort through our behavior recipes carefully like we gently play a game of Pick Up Sticks. For me, a jar of broken pickles revealed a behavior pattern that needed to be removed and replaced with the biblical truth, "There is therefore no condemnation!"

How do you talk to yourself? What kinds of conversations do you have in your mind? Do you engage in destructive deprecating self talk over life's incidents or do you listen to the kind tender voice of the Holy Spirit as He reminds you that Jesus loves you and gave Himself for you?

I am not a dummy. I am not a klutz! I am a lady with a very clean kitchen floor.

"Sorry, Betsy" I said. "You are not a dummy. You are not a klutz. I'll try not to speak to you like that again." I accepted my apology and forgave myself with constructive self talk - this time.

"There is a time for every purpose under heaven..A time to break down, and a time to build up!"

You pray for me and I'll pray for you that we can break down the patterns of destructive deprecating self talk. Through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, let's build up the truths of how much our Savior loves us. Maybe we will learn to consistently speak to ourselves with constructive self talk - just like we try to do to our families and friends.

Remember, Remember, Remember!

Reading Through the Bible in 2010 (Deut. 1-2)

“These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain opposite Suph, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.” Deut. 1:1

“Grandma, remember you are loved by all!”

February 25^th was my 67^th birthday. I thought it would be a rather nondescript occasion. 67 is heading toward the middle of 65 and 70. Who would pay much attention to this one? Surely not me - but everyone else seemed to. In fact, I was a bit overwhelmed by the love that was showered on me this birthday. I’d like to tell you about every wonderful thing that happened, but my grandson, Christopher did something that fits in well with today’s Bible reading.

He made me a bright yellow card and on it he had written the words, “Grandma, remember you are loved by all.” Then he had added the words remember, remember, remember!

That is what Moses is doing today as we start the book of Deuteronomy - remembering. He is speaking to the Israelites before they enter the Promised Land. He is giving them a charge and telling them to think back about what has happened to them since the time they left Egypt forty years before.

Deuteronomy has even been called “The Book of Remembrance.” It covers about one month as the children of Israel camp on the plains of Moab east of the Jordan River. They are so ready to enter the land of Canaan. As Moses deliverers his instructions, I can picture the Israelites looking at him with the water flowing behind him and the Land of Milk and Honey visible just beyond. I know what Moses looked like because of the movie, “The Ten Commandments.” He is now 120 years old - nearly twice my nondescript age - as he starts his series of farewell messages that make up Deuteronomy.

The Book of Rememberings has other names. The Hebrew title means “The Words.” Moses gives them in oral and written form so that they will endure to all generations. Deuteronomy is also called “five-fifths of the Law” since it completes the Pentateuch – the five books of Moses.

Moses delivers three sermons to the Israelites in Deuteronomy. They have a simple theme. Remember what happened when you obeyed God? Remember how bad things became when you didn’t obey Him? Christopher's words: remember, remember, remember!

It is important for us to bear in mind that this is a generation whose parents have all died in the wilderness wanderings because of their lack of faith. Only Joshua and Caleb remain. The Israelites Moses is speaking to have seen the graphic results of disobedience. They need to be instructed and encouraged to obey the Law given 40 years before at Mt. Sinai.

Birthdays remind us that we are crossing rivers into new years filled with giants. Uncertainty and fear are stationed around every turn on our journeys through life. Will we meet these giants with fear or with faith? It's always there- looming in front of us on our Christian walk- the faith or fear question! Isn't it so much easier to hunker down in front of the TV and cater to our couch potato sides? Who wants to get up and take a risk anyway? It is especially difficult because, well, risks are risky. They can even result in failure. Getting involved with life is difficult – having a neighborhood Bible Study, reaching out to hurting friends, cooking a meal for a homeless shelter, coming to the aid of babies being aborted - the precarious list of things God calls us to do goes on and on. Leaving our recliners to go into the unknown is so unknownish. It doesn’t seem safe at all.

Moses' reminder is so significant! We need to remember, remember, remember what has happened in the past when we obeyed God. As we think back upon what God has already done, our hearts are strengthened for the future. Let’s determine to respond to His call in obedience even when it doesn’t seem safe, When we respond in obedience, He takes care of the giants in His own marvelous way – just like He has always done in the past.

Hudson Taylor said, “God’s command is His enabling.” What a great birthday reminder for a new year of life!

Remember, remember, remember!

The Parade of Nations

Reading Through the Bible in 2010 (Numbers 8-9}

“At the command of the Lord the children of Israel would journey, and at the command of the Lord they would camp; as long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle they remained encamped.” Numbers 9:18

Have you been watching the Olympics? What an opening day! Friday was truly a study in human emotions! The death of the young Luge competitor from Georgia was numbing to us all. It cast a sad oppressive pallor over the opening night ceremony in Vancouver. During the moment of silence dedicated to his memory most of us were probably thinking the same thing. Did 21 year old Nodar have a thought before he started down his harrowing run that the Canadian air he was breathing would be the last air he would ever breathe? Hurtling down the speedy slope of the newly built luge track, did he think about that? Perhaps he might have.

On Sunday his father spoke to a small group of journalists over strong sweet coffee in the kitchen of his home. His mother sat crying at a table covered in snapshots of her son. We can all relate to such an emotional scene.

His father said, “He called me before the Olympics..and he said, ‘Dad, I’m scared of one of the turns.’”

Recalling the phone conversation the day before the tragedy, Mr. Kumaritashvili said he had offered some advice to his apprehensive son.

“I said put your legs down on the ice to slow down, but he said if he started the course he would finish it…He was brave,” the father said.

Nodar Kumaritashvili didn’t get to the Parade of Nations. He had planned to but it didn’t happen.

As I watched the faces of the multitudes of athletes who did get to march around the huge arena, I was struck by the joy on their faces – the incredible happiness at accomplishing their goal. They had made it to the Parade of Nations. They were a part of the Olympics. Some were taking pictures, others were waving their hands in the air - their countenances radiating their joy! Men and women, participating from countries all over the world, marching as a part of the whole. But, like Nodar -they still had no idea of where they were going. Was it toward a medal – maybe even a gold? Or, after all of their training, would they qualify to be in the finals? Would they be eliminated? Would they sustain an injury and be sidelined? They had made it this far, yet they didn’t have a clue about what their future competition held. But this night, February 12, 2010, they were marching in the Parade of Nations and they were beyond euphoric.

The Israelites have made it to a milestone in their journey. A year has gone by since they left Egypt and celebrated the first Passover. The people had remained at the foot of Mt. Sinai as the book of Leviticus had been given and the tabernacle was completed. The record of Numbers begins with the nation still at Mt. Sinai in the second month of the second year. Imagine their joy as they gathered together and celebrated their second Passover.

After the dedication of the tabernacle something incredible happened. A cloud settled over the tabernacle – a cloud that would turn into a pillar of fire every night. Numbers 9:15-23 gives us the most extensive description in the Bible of the movement of the cloud that symbolized God’s Presence with the children of Israel. Think of the excitement of the Israelites as the cloud descended from heaven and covered the tabernacle. It was a visual sign from God that He was in the midst of them and that He would lead them on their journey to the Promised Land. It must have been a breathtaking sight – even better than the opening of the Olympic Games and the Olympic torch.

The Israelites had left Egypt escaping a lifestyle as brick making slaves. They had received a year of training with Moses at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Now the cloud rested on the tabernacle and the presence of God was about to lead them on a newlife long journey. When the cloud lifted, they were to pack up and move,when it settled, they were to stay put. Like the athletes in the Parade of Nations, they had made it to a huge milestone in their lives but much lay ahead of them. Would they pass the tests that lay ahead or would they be sidelined in God’s plan for their lives?

We’re not Olympic athletes and we’re not Israelites but we still have much in common with these people we watch on TV screens and read about in our Bibles. We are all a part of the human race. Physically we get sick and we get injured. Sometimes we receive our physical health back and sometimes we don’t. Emotionally, we experience love, happiness, fear, and anger. It doesn’t matter what color our skin is as we march in the great Parade of Nations because under that skin is a human being, made in the image of God, experiencing common emotions that God put in us. Spiritually there is a place in all of us that is created for God to fill and our souls are not satisfied until He enters our hearts and reigns in His place.

Like the athletes, like the Israelites, we don’t know what our future life - journey holds or how long it will last. But we all can trust the God who created us, loves us and wants to lead us into the unknown – the God who has said, “My presence will go with you and I will give you rest.”

Sold or Sent?

Reading Through the Bible In 2010 (Gen. 37-39)

"Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt." Gen. 37:28

JOSEPH

"I knew I had been sold,
For circumstances
Dark as a desert pit
And dismal as the slaver's caravan
Surrounded me,
And seemed to crush me down;
I had been sold.

I also had been sent.
The circumstance
Shone with the light Divine
And through the wrath of men
God put me in His own appointed place
He set on high,
And none could bow me down.
I had been sent"

M, Mannington


Do you feel like you have been sold? Maybe it's a job loss, a rebellious child, a marriage issue, slander that won't go away, friends that make fun of you in school. When you are "sold" circumstances do seem dark as a desert pit and dismal as a slaver's caravan. When we are betrayed we feel so crushed and life seems so dismal.

Yet as you go through your circumstances, look and see the light Divine that never leaves your side, The wrath of men cannot keep you from the appointed place that He has set on high for you. None can bow you down, because. like Joseph, you have been sent.

Turning Life's Corners

Reading Through the Bible in 2010 ( Gen.19-21)

"Then he (Lot) made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate." Gen.19:3

"Did Lot even begin to suspect it would be his last dinner in Sodom? So simply, so without observation, do we turn the corner of the road of life but as yet we do not know that we have turned the corner." Amy Carmichael

When I was six years old, my father was in a terrible auto accident. I can vividly remember being in my parents' bedroom, playing on the floor with my 18 month old brother, when the phone rang. My mother answered it and as I looked at her, I watched the blood drain out of her face. I knew that something awful had happened.

When she hung up the phone I questioned, "Mom, what is it?"

She took a deep breath and said carefully, "Your father's car has been hit by a milk truck in the snowstorm. He probably has a broken leg or something."

That night my grandmother tucked us into bed and told us not to worry. I wasn't that concerned because who worries about a broken leg when your grandmother is giving you love and a cookie? But as I munched away and cuddled up in my grandmother's arms, I didn't know that our lives had turned a corner after that phone call. I didn't have a clue. Just like Lot!

It was much more than a broken leg. My father's life hung fragilely, as if it were dangling from a string, for the next month. After it was determined that he would live, he spent five more months in St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du lac. My mother took the train to be with him every morning and she came back on the train to be with us late every evening. My two grandmothers came and took care of Robert and me. Two nights before the accident - we all came to refer to it as "the accident," my father had told me one of his fine stories. Now there were no stories, no father and, most of the time, no mother. Just us and two grandmothers who had very different views on child raising.

But there was joy even in that journey. We got to know our grandparents really well. One day Dad was improved enough that WE could take the train and visit him in the hospital. Staying up late and waiting to see my mom became the norm.

When Dad came home, we were a family again. I can clearly recall sitting on the couch and looking out the window. It was summer now and my father had put a harness around my two year old brother to take him for a walk. He looked like the Tin Woodman jerking slowly along the sidewalk as his child pulled him along. I was incredulous! Is that my Dad? Will he ever look normal again?

He did. It took time-years-but he recovered. He had pins in his leg and a jagged scar on his face. But he pushed through the pain and went on to be a big influence in his grandchildren's lives - living to the age of 84.

Turning that corner taught me a lot about healing and patience and the value of an intact family - something we take for granted until it's not there anymore. It helped me understand what people go through when their families are under huge strains. It was a big lesson on life's journey.

We turn corners unexpectedly. We don't ask to. Usually we don't want to. But they are often just a phone call away and our lives are forever changed. Corners are, and will always be, a part of "The Joyful Journey."

Temporarily In the Office

"Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness...and He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?" Gen. 16:7,8

THERE WILL BE NO BLOG TODAY BECAUSE I AM TEMPORARILY IN THE OFFICE! (That is all I was going to write on my post today!)

This morning Valley Cabinets appeared with my new office bookshelves. It was very exciting to watch them install cabinetry just for me! Just for my stuff! (Charlie said it was even more exciting for him because it meant he was getting more room in his office.)

After the installers left, I spent the afternoon organizing - putting my precious books and photos and CD's away in their new shelves and cabinets. Now I knew where everything was!

Why does being temporarily in the office mean so much to me? Because we have moved so much!!!

Brown cardboard boxes and orange moving vans have been a huge part of our married life. Over the short forty-five years of our marriage, we have lived in South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Arkansas, Connecticut, Alabama, and in several parts of Wisconsin. If you have ever moved, you know that moving throws your life into mislabeled boxes. You think you know where things are, but you really don't. One time I carefully unpacked a box inscribed: "Fragile! Dining Room China!" - only to find a long piece of carefully wrapped dryer pipe.

I shook my head and discarded it. I had no use for dryer pipe!

But now, no more mislabeled boxes! From today forward, a place for everything and everything in its place-unpacked-IN MY OFFICE!

So why is there more on my blog than I had intended?

As I reached up onto an empty shelf, I started thinking about Hagar. There she was, pregnant, fleeing from her mistress in the wilderness, abandoned by her master, Abram. But the Angel of the Lord found her and stopped her up short with His question; "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from and where are you going?"

It was a theophany. The Angel of the Lord was Jesus and He had found her! He had not only found her but God had a plan for her life that involved a mighty nation. She wasn't a piece of dryer pipe to be cast off as worthless. God knew where she came from and He knew exactly what He was going to do for her.

I know where I came from. I was dead in my trespasses and sins and He found me! I know where I'm going because even though I was dead, God made me alive in Christ! I'm going on to an eternal city whose builder and maker is God.

I am in this office, but only temporarily. As happy as it makes me to "nest" today, it is still for just a little while. But, what euphoria will I feel when I am finally there? What joy will I have when I see the heavenly bookshelves the Carpenter has built for me in the mansion that He has prepared - just for me?

Jesus found Hagar. Jesus found me. Jesus found YOU! He has a plan for our lives just like he did for Hagar's. But one day we're going to be out of our temporary earthly offices and gloriously situated in our permanent custom built heavenly homes
.
While we're still here though, why not keep on keeping on reading through the Bible with me?

Oh, and before you go offblog, say it with me: We are not dryer pipe!!!

Smiling At the Future In the North Woods

"Strength and dignity are her clothing and she smiles at the future." Prov. 31:25 NAS

Our family spent Christmas together at our lake house in the north woods of Wisconsin. Four out of our five families were able to make it up there to celebrate the holidays. Our oldest son, Ethan, couldn't come. He pastors a church in Alaska. Christmas is a big time for churches. so we always miss his family during our Christmas gatherings. But, even without them, we had a week of nineteen of us living together under one roof. A lot came out of that time. Our children are old enough now that I am surprised at how much I learn from them.

I was talking to Katie. She and Norman and their four children are planning a trip to Zambia with the Navigators in June. So I asked her, "Katie, that seems like a lot to take a family of six to Africa. Are you scared?"

She replied, "Mom, Last year I got breast cancer smack dab in the middle of an Illinois corn field. That seems like the safest place on earth. Now I want to live my life to the fullest! We are as safe in Africa as we are in the midwest if we're in the Lord's will. I just want to be where God wants me to be."

I looked at her and realized that God had done a work in her through her cancer. Instead of becoming a fearful apprehensive person, she was "smiling at the future." How does God do that? His ways are so much higher than ours. He really does take our afflictions and make us more like Him if we walk "through the valley" with our hand in His - trusting Him.

"But, Katie! Malaria, AIDS, snakes, your children. You hate spiders!"

I didn't say that. I was ashamed of my own fear. What about me? Have I come through this nightmare of her cancer "smiling at the future?" Or, am I going to shrink back from life in a spirit of fear thinking, "Woe is me, what next?"

When the children were growing up I told them, "Troubles can make you bitter or better. Either choice takes an equal amount of energy."

When we choose to trust God and make the choice to be like the Proverbs 31 woman and "smile at the future," we know that whatever God allows into our lives, He will use to make us better people - and so much more useful to Him.

Thanks for reminding me, my dear daughter, that I believe that. Thanks for teaching me. Onward to Africa!!