Diane Mickler's Blog

No matter what happens, always be thankful for this is God’s will to you who belong to Christ Jesus.                            I Thessalonians 5:18 

Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a rather large amount of gratitude.          Winnie the Pooh

Thanksgiving week is here, and it’s once again time to gather our family and friends around the table to celebrate and give thanks to God for all His blessings to us this past year.  As in 1620 when the Pilgrims gathered with grateful hearts and shared their meal with the Wampanoag Native Americans, we, all these hundreds of years later, gather to do the same.

There are so many blessings that I could list from the past year, but I’ll just say that I am filled with gratitude and that gratitude brings so much joy to my life.  There are big blessings, little blessings and important blessings, but sometimes blessings become so omnipresent that they can escape our notice on a daily basis.  Things like fingers that move, eyes that see, ears that sorta hear, seasons, air, water, friends, family, laughter, health,and so many other things can go unnoticed on a daily basis.

The major difference between the Thanksgiving of today and that in 1620 is that the Pilgrims held God as the center of their thankfulness. Their gratitude filled them with so much joy that their celebration was a reflection of both.  In today’s America we have lost much of that respect, joy and gratitude.  Frances Schaeffer says that “the beginning of man’s rebellion against God was and is the lack of a thankful heart”.  In this world of turmoil, uncertainty, hate, war, and a general lack of respect for God, His word, and His world, Thanksgiving provides a respite from the ordinary day to day and forces us to take a good look at our blessings.  God doesn’t bless us to provide for our own needs, but rather so we can be a blessing to others.

Giving thanks and having a grateful heart shouldn’t be limited to one day a year, but rather, giving thanks should be an ongoing action.

As we celebrate together, be sure to take time to thank God for all His blessings and celebrate the joy that a grateful heart can bring!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

Cast all your anxiety on Him for He cares for you.                I Peter 5:7

One of my favorite movies is The Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood.  It’s such a tender story sprinkled with laughter, love and drama.  I love all the characters of the YaYa’s, but I especially identify with Vivian’s explanation of how she handles worry and problems.  She says, I take a problem and chew on it until all the flavor’s gone, then I stick it in my hair.  

Worry is defined as a state of anxiety or uncertainty over actual or potential problems.  The key word here is potential..  Almost 97% of the things we worry about don’t happen, yet, we tend to dwell on things that haven’t happened, probably couldn’t happen, and will probably never happen. A friend of mine calls this strategy watering your worries because once you enhance the worries, they grow.

I understand worry because it’s hard for me to feel at peace with things unless I have everything worked out, everything on the list crossed off, and know that all those I love are safe and secure.  In short, I water the worry.  

When an elderly man was asked what robbed him of joy in his life, he replied, “Things that never happened.”  This hit home with me because I  keep a journal, and when I look back over the worries of years ago, I find that the most troubling things never happened.  Instead of watering my faith, I watered my worry.

William Ward wrote, “Worry is faith in the negative, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster and belief in defeat.  It’s a magnet that attracts negative conditions.  Faith is a more powerful force that creates positive circumstances.”  In short, faith and worry can’t co exist.

We as mortals can’t possibly run our own lives because we just don’t have what it takes.  We need to stop trying to control every situation, water every worry, and maneuver every possible outcome.  Life can only get better when we decide to stand on God’s promises and let Him take care of us.

Worry is wasting today’s time, and cluttering up tomorrow’s opportunities with yesterday’s troubles.  William Ward

 

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:13

Different people use different tactics to help them remember important events, celebrations, or every day chores.  Some people work from a list, some people keep calendars handy, and some people even tie a string around their finger to help them remember.

Randy and I just returned from a weekend get away to San Antonio, and as it would happen, the Air Force Basic Training at Lackland AFB was having its graduation.  As we walked around the city, there were groups of uniformed air force graduates lunching and celebrating with proud parents, spouses, children, and friends.  As we congratulated them, thanked them for their service, and watched the pride they feel, my mind skipped ahead to what lies in their future.  Young men and women who have made the decision to serve their country.

Every generation, thankfully, has those who have that heart and pride for their country.  My parents lived through WWII when some of the greatest and bravest men and women died to keep our country free.  We lived through the Viet Nam war, and we lost many friends and relatives who might not have believed whole heartedly in the war, but none the less, fought bravely to defend our country.  The War in Iraq called soldiers to once again step up to defend the freedom we enjoy, and the list goes on even today.

What does it take to remember all the brave soldiers who have served, suffered, and died to protect our country?  Is it only one day a year set aside to honor them, or should they be in our thoughts and prayers every single day?  I would chose the later option.

I can’t even begin to imagine the things those who have fought have seen, heard, and lived both during and after their years of service.  Although most of them don’t share a lot of details, it’s always obvious to me the many ways they must deal with their memories.

I attended a celebration of life service for a Naval officer a few weeks ago, and the tribute moved me to tears.  In total silence, two members of the Naval Honor Guard processed down the aisle in perfect cadence carrying a folded flag.  Once they reached their comrade, the flag was precisely unfurled and held up while Taps was played.  Then, just as meticulously, the flag was folded once again, and the officer knelt before the widow to present the colors.  What a tribute!

Each day these veterans live with their memories of their service to our country.  If they can give all they had to keep our country safe and free, the least we can do is remember each day to remember their sacrifice.

Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

 

 

The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people.  All the believers used to meet in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared join them even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.  As a result, people brought the sick into the street and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall upon them as he passed by.  Acts 5:12-15

What child hasn’t been fascinated with their shadow at one time or the other?  I guess we’ve all played games where we create different animals, shapes, or fun objects using our shadows.  As teachers, Groundhog Day was the day casting a shadow became a perfect lesson.  Whether we think about it or not, our shadow is always with us, and we can’t separate ourselves from it.

Randy and I had the opportunity to visit the Alamo in San Antonio last week with friends.  There’s such history there, and it’s hard to believe that less than 200 frontiersmen fought there against over 1500 Mexican soldiers to claim this for the Republic of Texas.  The frontiersmen lost the battle, but the inspiration of that battle lives on.  The history is so important to Texans that they have made the Alamo a sacred shrine, and the government has decreed that no building may cast a shadow upon the Alamo.

Casting a shadow is not something we think about unless someone draws our attention to it, but the idea gave me reason to ponder its importance.  Our shadow is a part of us, and maybe we should think about how we cast our shadow  might influence others.  Will it be a positive way or a negative way?  Will it work for good or for bad?

In the scripture above, the shadow refers to Peter and the tremendous influence he had on the lives of others.  He was so influential that people longed just to have him cast a shadow on them.  He cast a shadow for good.

Contrast Peter with Adolph Hitler.  Germany lives even to this day under the negative shadow he cast so many years ago.  He cast a shadow of evil and hatred.

Who can argue the impact the shadow of the cross has had on our world?  The cross is a reminder of God’s love and sacrifice for all of mankind, and its influence is always positive.  Jesus cast a shadow for love, forgiveness and acceptance.

Each day presents a new opportunity to cast a shadow for good.  It affords us an opportunity to leave the world a little bit better than we found it, impart Christian thoughts and habits to our children and grandchildren, be the person God would have us be, love our neighbor, forgive those who have wronged us, and live each day for Jesus.

Frank Lloyd Wright puts it this way, The present is the moving shadow that divides yesterday from tomorrow.  In that lies hope.

We can’t separate ourselves from the shadow we cast.

 

 

 

 

But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet.  Thessalonians 5:8

My grandmother owned and operated  Ida’s Beauty Shop in my hometown.  She was what we now call a hair stylist.  Ida stayed busy six days a week, but she did have hobbies to fill the the few days she allowed herself away from work.  The piano was one of her favorite ways to pass her off days.

Ida never had any formal musical training, but she could play the piano by ear – if she heard it, she could play it or thought she could.  When one plays by ear, the down side is that lots of times you are just guessing at the notes which results in a lot of do overs. One of her favorite hymns was Whispering Hope, and when she played it, she would sing along.  She liked for us to sit and listen.  I have to admit, it was like listening to a recording where you go forward, then go back, correct mistakes and start again, but she loved an audience and we were mostly patient.

We never made it through the song without a sour note or two, and sometimes all we could hear were the mistakes, but the words were so beautiful and comforting that we learned to ignore the mistakes.

Sometimes hope comes as a whisper when our lives are filled with grief, pain and sorrow.  Many times we can’t hear the whisper of hope because our ears have become deafened to the voice of God.  We mistake His voice for the world’s and we only listen for mistakes.

Many things in this world drown out God’s voice but none so strong as our own voice of negativity and self doubt.  We make it hard for God to get  a word in edgewise.  It’s often hard to discern God’s whisper of hope above the voices of the world, of conformity, or of condemnation.

We need to remember that God’s whisper is different from the world’s.  His voice conveys joy, peace, grace, wisdom, love, and truth.  If we listen for the whisper of hope, we will never feel defeated because God’s voice trumps the world’s.  If God can stop a storm on  the Sea of Galilee with three words, “Peace Be Still”, then surely he can calm the storms in our lives.

The words of Whispering Hope are based on scripture from Hebrews and Thessalonians.  Written in 1868 by Setimus Winner, it illustrates the point that not listening to God’s whisper is not a new problem.  We need to concentrate on the whispers rather than the mistakes.

Soft as the voice of an angel; breathing a lesson unheard; hope with a gentle persuasion; whispers her comforting word.   Wait til the darkness is over;  Wait til the tempest is done; hope for the sunshine tomorrow; after the shower is gone.      Whispering Hope, oh how welcome His voice; Making my heart, in its sorrow rejoice.

I delight to do Your will, O my God…Your law is written within my heart.        Psalm 40:8

Recently during a rare cooking event, I sliced not only the vegetables, but also my finger.  While debating whether or not stitches were needed, I decided to wrap it up and go find a butterfly bandage.  Interestingly, I found this super duper bandage that promised to heal the cut and the surrounding skin.  The only rule is you can’t peek for three days.

It’s funny how telling me don’t peek is a sure way to make me obsessed with peeking just to see how things are coming along.  So, after a day, I decided it would be to my advantage to peek just to make sure the cut was healing properly.  The only problem was that once you loosen the bandage to peek, you can’t get it back on properly, so you must start the process again.  I could have saved so much time and trouble if I had just followed the directions.

Isn’t that so like us?  We want to give problems to God, trust Him with our life, feel assured that He will never leave us, leave our lives in His hands, and walk away.  However, just like me and my finger, we get impatient, and we want to peek just to see how things are going.  We just can’t follow His directions.

There are times in life where not peeking into God’s will seems just too difficult, too slow, and too unrewarding.  We think our ideas will produce results quicker and that the results will be more to our liking.  However, in the end, we find that His plan is better and that it always will be.

It will always be best to yield to God’s will, do things His way, and believe  that He will always give us His best.  If we will just trust and don’t peek, we will learn to settle for nothing less than God’s will.

After following the directions, my finger healed just fine.  There’s not  a sign of the awful cut.  It would have been so much easier and faster not to peek.

My goal is, no peeking today just thankfulness for whatever God has in store.

 

 

For in Him you have been enriched in every way, in all speech and in all knowledge.  1 Corinthians 1:5

It’s always fun to play the rebate game with products on the market today.  A rebate is a partial refund given to someone who has already paid full price for an item as an incentive to buy the product. In other words, the company gives back to you.  It can be a lot of trouble, but why not collect a reward for your purchase?

There is a rebate going on in the Christian’s life as well.  Jesus has already paid the entire price for our salvation, and in return, how we would go about offering  a rebate to Him?  Do we ever think about what we owe Him?  Do we ever consider how to give back a part of what He has done for us in some way?

Fortunately, there are ways to give back, and I can think of a few ways in which we could begin. First, everyone has some basic talent no matter how large or how small.  What if we took that talent and turned it into service?  Maybe a visit to a shut in, maybe an offer to bring a meal to someone in need, maybe a volunteer opportunity, and the list goes on.

Secondly, we could offer a rebate in the form of love.  Instead of always thinking of ourselves first, we might think of trying to do what’s best for others instead of ourselves.  In other words, put others first by making time for them.

There is a story told of a man who gave of his time visiting in nursing homes.  One of the patients that he visited was blind and often sleeping during his visits, so he would just sit and hold the patient’s hand.  One day when he came to visit, there was a young girl in the room.  She rose, greeted him, and asked, “Are you the man who visits and holds my Dad’s hand?”  He replied that he indeed was that visitor.  The daughter smiled as she replied, “Oh, he loves your visits.  He tells me that Jesus comes and holds his hand every week.”

Thirdly, remember the Power that we as Christians are given.  When the spirit of the world tells us to be afraid, we should remember God tells us to move forward.  Joseph Stalin used propaganda as a powerful way to control Russians in the pre and post World War II era.  These people betrayed their friends, loved ones, and morality in order to escape the purging that they had been told would come if they didn’t listen and obey.  The world uses this same method today to tell us that we, as Christians should be afraid.

When the spirit of the world speaks fear and anxiousness, we need to respond with the Spirit of Power that God gives us.  At that point, we can turn fear and anxiousness into courage.

There is a wonderful rebate waiting for us if we only have the courage to move forward in being the hands and feet of Jesus.

 

 

The Lord God called to man and said, “where are you?”  Genesis 3:9

Most of my mornings are spent in a water aerobics class, but I especially like the class on Saturday because of the teacher.  She works everybody pretty hard, and because she keeps us moving back and forth a lot, her favorite line is “Stop, wherever you are and breathe.”  At that point, you catch your breath, and she changes the exercise.

Wherever you are is a phrase I like to ponder.  On a daily basis, each of us is dealing with something no matter how large or small.  I try to pray for everyone that I know is struggling, but a lot of times I don’t know where a lot of people are in their life.

In the last few weeks, there were three examples of this. The first was a call  I received from an old friend in my hometown who recently lost her husband.  She called me by mistake, but when I returned her call, it was a chance to find out where she is in dealing with her grief.  I asked how she was doing, and she said, “You know, I normally say I’m fine, but the truth is I’m sad.”

The second happened as I passed a neighbor walking, and when I asked her how she was doing, she said, “OK”.  That’s not like her, so I asked her what was going on?  She replied that she is dealing with lung cancer, and it has been going on all summer.  She didn’t want to burden anyone, so she was valiantly charging ahead.  Her life right now is anxious and uncertain.

Later that day, a young couple who were high school friends of my children had a beautiful baby girl.  As they opened the door to me, their faces radiated where they are.  Their lives are full of joy and hope.

Each of us is in a different place, but the good news is that God can reach us wherever we are.  When I think of things I think we should remember in these different times, I come up with three things.

We should remember that people are praying for us wherever we are.  Just the knowledge that there are others lifting us up is so comforting.

We should remember that God through the Holy Spirit is working in and through us.  He has the power to reach us wherever we are.

We should remember to have faith that God will work all this out for good wherever we are.

No one is in the same place.  Our situations range from sadness to joy, fear to faith, but we all have the power to stop wherever we are, take a breath, and hand things over to God.  Let Him help us through our sadness, help us through our anxious times, and celebrate with us in joy.

Whatever road this life takes you down;  Jesus will meet you there.                        Jennifer Murray

 

 

 

 

For the word of God is living and active – sharper than a two edged sword piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joint and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  Hebrews 4:12

Randy and I recently took a fabulous cruise to the Baltic Sea countries.  One of our stops was St. Petersburg, Russia.  We took a tour of the churches, palaces, and museums, and I was awed by the opulence and beauty.  Every structure we entered was huge, trimmed in golf leaf, and dripping in wealth and affluence.

One of the buildings that had been a church in years past was now a museum.  The guide said that in these countries, you don’t ask people if they are religious, it is not discussed.  It appears churches and religion have become irrelevant to many people in this country and in many other places.  Irrelevant is defined as not important or not connected.  It’s hard to believe that those beautiful places no longer connect to people or are important to them.

On our return, I was thinking how fortunate we are in this country that churches are still relevant.  However,the next day as I was talking to a neighbor of mine, I discovered that he is in the art production business.  He was telling me how his million dollar job at this moment is in a church where  they are replacing all the beautiful windows with new lighting and sound equipment, remodeling the altar, and making the church more relevant for the times.  He went on to say that it has to be done because the old way of doing things is irrelevant and that churches can’t make any money unless they keep up with the times.

I’ve got a couple of problems with this so called irrelevance.  First, when did churches exist to make money?  Secondly, who decides what is irrelevant or relevant?  Is it society, media, culture, or maybe the churches themselves?

It is disturbing to me that church attendance has become optional in this day of electronic access.  We are made to feel that it’s okay if we stay home and stream the service, but we are missing the point that the church itself is God’s place of encouragement and strength.  If we only attend fifty per cent of the time, we are missing the bond that binds us as Christians.

I actually can’t think of a time in our society when the need for churches and religion has been more relevant.  People are hungry for truths that are the same yesterday, today and forever.  Before we brand churches and religion as irrelevant, we need to remember that it’s the job of Christians to spread the good news to everyone who has eyes to see and ears to hear.  It’s up to us to help insure that churches and other places of worship are never branded irrelevant.

God’s grace is sufficient for us anywhere His providence places us.  Unknown

The words mercy and grace seem very similar, but if you look carefully, their meanings are different.  Mercy is God’s compassion when we deserve punishment thus delivering us from judgment.  Grace, on the other hand, is God’s blessing us even when we don’t deserve it.  Last week, I received both.

A traffic ticket has been haunting me for months now.  The citation was for a “move over law” violation.  I felt that I was wrongly charged, but after my court day, the possibility of this dragging on endlessly, and points on my license to consider, I ended up giving in.  I admit to feeling frustrated with the whole thing.

I grudgingly wrote a check for $500 (which is so outrageous, but it’s standard for that offense), and taking a defensive driving course to remove points from my license.  The lesson learned, I moved on, but the whole thing was never far from my mind.

Arriving home, a couple of weeks later, I got the mail.  Included in the mail was a note to me, so I opened it expecting a thank you for a wedding or baby gift.  Imagine my surprise when five crisp one hundred dollar bills fell out along with an unsigned note.  The note was so heartfelt, kind, generous, amazing, lovely, merciful, and so many other adjectives that I felt myself crying in spite of myself.  It ended by saying, “You don’t need to know who this is.  Just know it’s somebody who loves you and thinks you were treated unfairly.”  Who would do that for me?

I immediately began to list folks who might do this, so I could return the money or at least thank them.  It is so much harder for me and most of us to accept gifts rather than give them.

God talks about every good and perfect gift being from above in  James. During our years in ministry, there have been countless gifts which have come our way in many different forms, but this time the gift had a sense of mercy and grace.  Mercy because it wasn’t their punishment but mine, and Grace because the gift certainly wasn’t deserved.

In the course of trying to understand the two words and the power behind them, it seems the only true course is to accept the mercy and grace God offers through the actions of others.  It also seems to be the recipient’s duty to pass that love, mercy and grace on to others.  My prayer is that I can show the same mercy and grace to someone along the way.

Just when you think nothing good can come from a bad situation, God steps in and turns it around!  I’m so grateful for His angels that do His work.