Prayer Is Vital

Doing The Best Thing and The Least Thing We Can Do
January 27, 2012

Grandchildren, here is a picture of some of you in our family room, but I am thinking of every one of you from the very youngest (Adam) to the oldest (Heather). There are 26 of you as of 2012.

Let's talk about prayer today. Prayer -- it's simply talking to God. He is with us always and has His ears open to us. He knows our happy times and he knows our sad times. And He is always ready to listen.

I learned to pray as a very young child. Our family was a praying family. But your grandfather taught me more about prayer after we were married. One thing that amazed me about Grampie was that he prayed about everything. For example, when we got into the car to go somewhere, we prayed before we started our trip and asked God to give us "traveling mercies" -- to keep us safe. He prayed for our children before they were born. And he prayed for the children that our children would have someday (that is YOU, of course).  He prayed when he couldn't find something. Your Grampie prayed about things that never entered my head as a matter for prayer. He helped me to understand more fully that GOD cares about every detail of our lives, whether it is big or little.

One night I was reading the Bible online. Online Bible reading is great because it is easy to go from translation to translation and to paraphrases in order to get a better understanding of the chapters and the verses. While I was reading, an old spiritual came to mind: "It's me, it's me, Oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer. . . not my brother, not my sister, but it's me, Oh Lord." Hmmm -- that made me stop and think. I pray for you and a lot of people, but how often do I really pray for ME?

I'm supposed to pray for YOU. The Bible commands it! In the Old Testament, the Prophet Samuel said to King Saul, "God forbid that I should sin by ceasing to pray for you." In this very difficult world, the very best thing that we can do for one another is to pray! And we can do that any time of the day or night. We can pray lying on our beds, driving the car, at work, at play. We can pray anywhere and at any time. We can speak aloud or direct our thoughts to the Lord because He knows what we are thinking on the inside.

There are always many needs among our family, friends, and "friends of friends": spiritual, physical, emotional, material, end-of life issues, pregnancies, stresses, and conflicts. People are concerned about their grades, where they will go to college, who they will marry. Some of those things are overwhelming to us and they motivate us to pray for each other. Those are the times when we go to God's Emergency Room!

But we should pray for ourselves, too. When we do that, we are telling our VERY best friend about us! One thing to remember is that we should be very careful that we do not ONLY pray when we have problems. The Bible says we should "pray without ceasing". That doesn't mean we have to be praying every second, but we must not neglect our regular times to pray -- daily. You know when we pray for you most often? It is at meal times when we thank the Lord for our food. So three or more times every day we are praying for members of our family. Sometimes we pray because we know you have a need. And other times pray for you "just because".

What do you pray about? If you are like me, maybe you forget to ask the Lord to teach you what you need to know for living this life in a pure and wholesome way. Maybe you forget to tell Him when you have had bad thoughts or when you have been mean or when you have used rude or crude language. He wants to hear from us at those times and He has promised to forgive us and to help us please Him in everything we do and in everything we say. If we just go our own way, we usually live very selfish lives. We need God's guidance and so we pray and we read the Bible. We go to Church and we talk to other Christians and to our family. That is how we learn. And that is how we grow as Christians.

Maybe the thing we forget most often is to praise Him for who He is -- our Lord and Savior. Or maybe we are more forgetful about thanking Him for the blessings and miracles that He freely gives to us by His grace -- especially the miracles of salvation and redemption.

So remember to pray for friends and family. And remember to pray for yourself, too. When you pray, tell God how wonderful He is. Tell Him you love Him. Thank God for His goodness and His gracious gifts. Tell the Lord when you have done wrong things. Tell Him you are sorry and that You want to not do that again. That is repenting -- turning away from those things that do not please the Lord. So pray. It is the LEAST you can do and it is the BEST you can do.

Getting Ready For A Camp

One Of Those Special Moments
February 1, 2012

It really was a very special time for your Grandfather, Uncle Jonathan, Uncle Brian, and me.  We had worked hard clearing up brush and unwanted logs at our site on Cary Lake. It was the fall of 2011 -- late October. It was well into the evening.  The moon was full, the air was calm. Except for the crackling of the fire and the soft tone of our voices, there was little else to hear as we enjoyed the unusually warm night and the fires. We had four of them burning that night. 

It was a night for thinking about the value of family and time together with people that we love. It was a time to be enveloped in the peace of a perfect night. We cherish such times.  

The light from those fires remind me that Jesus said we are to be as lights in this very dark world. One time we were in Luray Cavern in Virginia and as the guide showed us the amazing formations, we came to a large space and he stopped us. He said he was going to have the lights turned off so we could experience total darkness. The lights went off and there was no glimmer anywhere. The darkness was almost palpable. I moved my hand in front of my face but could see nothing. It was total blindness and it seemed to even be a little hard to catch my breath in such dark and "heavy" air. Then after a moment he said he was going to strike a match so we could see how effective a little light was in a totally dark place. It was amazing. I could see features from a few yards away. We all began to murmur over it because we were so astonished.

I tell you this to remind you that Jesus said we are not to hide our light, but to let it shine. If you are ever tempted to think that your good deeds, your kind words, your prayers are of no value, think again! Those things stand out brightly in this troubled world. People all around you are hurting and they need to know that somebody cares. Maybe you can't fix their problems, but you CAN care. As someone wrote on facebook recently, "one person can make a difference -- or at least try." How true!

Jonathan Was Well Received

When Jonathan Joined our Circle
Written 2-12-2012

To Grand Manan and Back

Adventure On A Ferry 
February 12, 2012

Some of our Great Kids

Random Photos From Maine
February 12, 2012

These are just random pictures of some of the very precious children that God has added to our family. How we thank Him for each and every one -- oldest to youngest (and their parents, too).

Our Precious Ones

The Grass In Spring -- A Delightful Thing

February 12, 2012

Are You Thinking of Marriage?

To our beloved Grandchildren --
February 12, 2012

On August 27, 2013 -- if Gramp and I live that long -- we will celebrate fifty years of marriage. I am writing this because we live in a culture where about half of the marriages end up in divorce.  That is so sad because we know that marriage is meant to be between a man and a woman for life -- that was God's plan and it is still His plan. But people really mess things up and I don't know all the reasons for marriages not lasting "til death parts you".

One of the things that people do wrong is that they don't have a realistic view of marriage to start with! Marriage is not a continual romantic trip. A GOOD marriage is a result of VERY hard work. It is a result of people understanding that THEY are not the center of the universe. In marriage you love, you share, you forgive, you set good goals, and most of all you invite someone else into your relationship -- that someone else is the LORD. It really takes ALL THREE (not just one) persons to be committed to what is good and right -- you, your spouse, and the Lord.

When I was a teenager someone very wise told me: "you cannot help who you fall in love with." But you CAN HELP who you spend time with. And while you aren't always on an active HUNT to find a husband or wife, you can rule out certain types as friends of the opposite sex. The red flags should go up when another person who:

1. Is not a Christian (a true believer in the Lord Jesus) or is a Christian who does not put the Lord and His will ahead of himself or herself;
2. Always wants his or her own way;
3. Never or rarely puts YOU first;
4. Makes fun of you, calls you names, or makes you feel threatened or belittled;
5. Does not treat your parents courteously or talks about them critically or with contempt (after all, they are why YOU are here in the first place).
Even with all of THAT, if there is a perfect way to be sure, I cannot describe it. Why? people are sinners and they can "turn every one to their own way..."

For me, one of the most important things was to know that my MOM approved of the guy that I would marry -- so something interesting happened when Grampie asked me to marry him. Read on: