On our way to 50!

If ever there was a day to blog, it would have to be today. When we think back to 44 years ago on this date, our first thought is that it seems so long ago. The second thought, of course, is that it seems like just yesterday. It would have been impossible to look this far into the future, and we did not try. Now that I look back, though, I think how young we were and how little we actually knew about what we were getting ourselves into. We took on that future with hope and confidence and trusting in the Lord. It is a good thing that we can only live a day at a time. Some of those future days would have scared us, and some would have been so sad that we would have wanted to not continue on with life. But here we are at 44 years and we both agree we would not want anything to be different. If we had it to do over, we would not change a thing, except to serve our Lord better and bring Him more glory than perhaps we have. Each stage of our journey so far has had its struggles, but also its triumphs and joys. The current stage is no different, except that we both agree that old age is not for sissies! There are two things that I especially want to say on this page, on this day, for all the world to see. One is that I love my husband today even more than I did 44 years ago, and in a deeper and more mature way. The second is that we want all the young people in our family to know that it really is possible and desirable to have a long and lasting marriage. The committment must be there and God must help you. Don't settle for what the world offers you and don't buy into their misunderstanding of what real marriage is. Happy anniversary, my sweetheart! May God give you many more years of good health, peace, love, joy - and may all of them be spent with me!

mentoring, reflecting, serving

This last few days I have been gaining a new appreciation for those dear, gentle, older ladies who mentored me as a teen and young adult! How hard it must have been for them to see the next generation's "new" Christianity, "new" language, etc. And I never considered their plight! God surely must have blessed them for loving me in spite of it all. I think I can take some comfort in the knowledge that I think I turned out surpisingly well - and I am now where they were, so afraid for these younger ones who call themselves Christians but act nothing like how I think they should,. and also for the yet-unsaved loved ones who seem so far away (and like impossible cases). So, do I just pray and trust and leave it to God to help them become holy? Or is it not still my place to sound the alarm and try to send nudges toward a deeper walk, a more separated life from the world? It all seems so hard to me.....I know God did the greater work in me, but I know also that their training was one of His tools. This Christian walk never ends and listening for His voice and counsel is important at every age. I don't want to disappoint the One who died for me...

Life is interesting these days

Today Stacy, Lisa, Sandra, and I went out to coffee to discuss the new year of Oasis coming up. These ladies and LauraLea will possibly constitute our staff for the 2009-2010 program year. It is usually exciting to start something new and I feel that way about this project. We all liked our meetings last year and are trying to keep the good parts and improve on the less than satifying parts from 2008-09. Looks like this year we will do more Bible study in our monthly meetings and try to do additional personal outreach on the side. I have been massively "bummed out" since our ladies meetings were changed from missions to only fellowship more than a decade ago. I really miss the missions study, prayer, and fund-raising that used to be our special job. But since that no longer seems to interest the younger ladies, we have changed our emphasis to fellowship, personal growth, and outreach . By the time I adjust to this, I will probably be in Heaven with a new kind of emphasis (constant worship and praise!) . This getting old stuff is not as nice as it is supposed to be. I am always out of step, it seems. What I wanted when I was young, I no longer want. And what I want now that I am older, is hardly ever available to me. Ah, well.....I guess we are all in the same boat. Life is a lot of difficult situations mixed in with a lot of wonderful stuff. But we often miss the significance of it until it is too late. I am glad to be able to find more time for prayer, but the prayer needs seem to be increasingly more serious. It is a good thing that the answers to our needs depend upon the one being prayed to and not on the one doing the praying! My faith never seems big enough to cover the needs, but He is certainly big enough to provide the answers. As your day wears on, be assured that I am bringing your needs to God and that He is hearing and answering. He loves you even more than I do, and that is saying a lot! Pray also for me that I will have wisdom for the jobs He has given me to do, including Oasis.