Fit for Life

I've got this thing about exercise. Aerobic exercise (like walking or jogging) is hard for me because of my leg problems, but I really enjoy working with hand weights. I can also spend hours outside gardening, pruning, digging and trimming. (Maybe that's because I lift weights?) And I dislike anything that prevents me from keeping up with my exercise schedule. Unfortunately, there are many such interruptions. For me it's the inconveniences of sickness, injury or surgery.

In the past year I've had two surgeries that interrupted my routine for at least a month. It's especially frustrating to me because such interruptions set me back in my progress towards heavier weights or more repetitions. At times like these I must fall back on the advice the Apostle Paul. Maybe his young, beloved traveling companion had some trouble with interruptions, too, because he wrote him this advice in 1 Timothy 4:7b-8;

...train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

It's pretty exciting that godliness has value in every way, both now and in my future life beyond the grave. What kind of exercise can I do to train myself for this valuable commodity? In his letter to Titus verse 1, Paul is endorsed as...

“...a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness...”

So knowledge of God's Truth will lead me on to godliness. No weights, no setbacks (except of my own making) and no fear of injuring myself. After all, if a little of God's Truth is good for me, even more will be even better! That's the daily routine I must be sure to continue – and I can do it while I'm recuperating from whatever. Although my exercise is of some benefit to my physical well being, there's no doubt that my body continues to deteriorate as I age. Paul relates in Romans 7:24, that he is well aware these physical bodies are destined to die and decay;

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”

To what was just a rhetorical question, Paul answers in triumph in the very next verse,

“Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our LORD!”

I suppose the best exercise I could do is lifting God's Word down from the shelf and digging right in!

Love as always, Elaine (lifting those heavy things!)

A-a-choo!

A-a-choo!

August 23, 2014

At home while I was growing up my folks never used foul language but they weren't without some colorful ephitaphs. When my mom was frustrated or exasperate, she'd spit out, “Oh, for corn's sake!” A funny expression by today's standards but one I recall every summer at this time.

We returned home from vacation at the end of July to find that the field corn, which surrounds us on three sides, had grown by two feet (at least!) and tasseled into bloom. Until living here, I didn't realize I was allergic to corn. But maybe it's just that there is so much of it blooming all at the same time? Whatever the reason, I suffer through allergic reaction in varying degrees each August. Like Mom used to say, “Oh, for corn's sake!”

Life outdoors in the country is filled with allergins. Winter is the only exception but, brrrrr, who wants to stay outside then? There are some allergies we can't avoid but just have to wade through the tissues and eye drops, hoping to find some antihistimines that curb our symptoms. Our spiritual lives can be like that, too. There are temptations and trials that cross our path every day. What causes a violent reaction from me may not do the same for you. You know, those triggers that frazzle and exasperate? Just as our outdoor allergies may vary, so do our reactions to life's foibles.

One way to combat allergies is to eliminate the irritant. Obviously, I can't stay someplace else while the corn wafts proud plumes of pollen (hey, three p's!) across the countryside. Your allergies may be just as impossible to avoid. So, spiritually speaking, how can we avoid those commonplace issues that cause us such turmoil? Jesus told a very interesting story about that in Matthew 12:43;

“When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.”

Great! Now we've rid ourselves of that exasperating circumstance, habit or person, that caused us so much distress. But that's not the end of Jesus' story. Let's return to Farmer Jeff's corn field across the street. I've noticed that he plants corn for 2 years and then plants a summer of potatoes. Potatoes I can handle! I've noticed that farmers don't let their fields lie fallow for a season. Obviously, that would allow weeds to spread and proliferate. Let's read on in verses 44-45;

“Then it (the evil spirit) says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” (NIV)

Oops! Cleaning house wasn't such a good thing. But why? It's because the original host (you and I) left a vacancy that wasn't being inhabited. When we cast out what gives us such unpleasant reactions, we have to fill the time, space, and thoughts with something more wholesome. A blank space in our lives WILL be filled. We have opportunity to choose what we will fill that space with. We need to take to heart the warning from Jesus Christ. “the final condition of that man is worse than the first”!

Love as always, Elaine (Please pass the tissues!)

The Big Scary Thing

The Big Scary Thing

July 23, 2014

Summers in Georgia are oppressively hot, as you can imagine. Even the birds land panting in the afternoon heat. I hate to be closeted in the house all day so I brave the heat to sit slowly rocking on the porch, enjoying the occasional breeze. As I sit on the porch, a man passes by and greetes me in a generic way and I reply with, “A hot one, isn't it?” His reply is very interesting...

“Oh, I'm used to this – it ain't hurtin' nobody.”

Of couse he's right. The heat isn't really a burden, just uncomfortable.

I'm waiting out here to catch a mother wren bringing food to her newly hatched young. She built a nest in a most unlikely place – a cloth bag hanging under the mail box awaiting newspapers. The mailman delivers mail above her nest each day. Fortunately, there are no longer any newspaper subscriptions here. Our family comes and goes through the front door every day, sometimes with a great hub-bub. If there's a Big Scary Thing on the porch she hangs back, refusing to give away the treasure she's hidden in the yellow bag. She flutters worriedly from bush to vine, railing to pillar waiting for the danger to pass. She doesn't know that her young have already been discovered and we peek daily into the bag to watch the bare skinned chicks growing. Today, they opened their gaping mouths as I “tsk, tsked” at them before settling in to wait for Mom's delivery.

I have to sit very still in the far corner of the porch for her to feel the coast is clear. She plots a circuitous route onto the railing, hops to a potted plant, sidesteps to the chair leg; always keeping low and quick moving. It's almost comical, the time and effort she puts into her stealthy approach. It's all for nothing! We pose absolutely no threat to her little treasures. But to her, we are a Big Scary Thing.

Rich and I are soon returning home from vacation to face our own “Big Scary Thing”. We received a diagnosis that no one wants to hear – Cancer. Many others have faced this before and are still battling it. That provides some comfort, knowing that others are walking this hard road. But what if cancer is as we are to this little, busy wren?. Maybe I am seeing this as a Big Scary Thing when it is merely a bump in the road of life? Maybe I'm imagining a heavy burden where there is just discomfort? Jesus wants us to find the rest that is waiting with Him;

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Love as always, Elaine

MY SHRINKING WORLD

March 14, 2014

Our latest 12 inch addition to our snow pack took me back several weeks to our biggest storm of the new year – join me in My Shrinking World...

Lake effect storms seal our house in a shrink wrap of snow. The wind has plastered the snow over all the back windows, making a cozy igloo of my kitchen. This tends to make one a bit claustrophobic. The bathroom windows have been shielded in curtains of icicles – who needs privacy glazing? I'm so thankful the front windows are mostly clear so I can actually see what kind of weather we're getting! You know that claustrophobic feeling you an get in elevators?

For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Psalm 40:12

Apparently David knew the press of worldly troubles and confusion! He was on the run from King Saul for much of his early life. For me, it feels like my world is shrinking in on itself, isolating me from news and neighbors. It's easy for me to get caught up in household chores, as if they were the most important things in my life. I could probably keep busy all winter, locked in a prison of ice, with all the projects I have going.

But I doubt that God has such busy work in mind for me. I have to tear myself away from this icy cave and get back to the comfort and encouragement of His Word.

Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me...Be pleased to save me, Lord;

come quickly, Lord, to help me. Psalm 40:11 + 13

Suddenly my world opens up and I can breathe again!

Love as always, Elaine

A Fresh Start

A Fresh Start

March 3, 2014

January's deep freeze left us peering through heavy icicles onto a scene buried in white. What a relief to have a late February thaw bringing a tease of spring to come. Icicles came crashing down, releasing think ice dams to bury in the two foot drifts under the eaves. Bare ground began to appear in our driveway that Rich worked so hard to keep open and I could smell the scent of damp earth. Then several days of lake effect covered all in a 2 foot blanket of pristine white. It covered all the dirt and gravel thrown aside by the snow plows and once again the rusty leftover farm equipment and assorted trash of daily life was out of sight. The winds lift the snow into whipped cream drifts of dazzling white. We awaken each day to a clean tablecloth that God refreshed during the sub-zero nights.

In spite of the beauty winter is such a hardship to our many widows left alone to care for their property. Equipment breaks down, roofs start to leak, water pipes freeze and supplies run low. Driving conditions are so bad that help can be a long time coming. It's easy to get discouraged awaiting the spring that seems too long in coming. I am comforted each morning by His continued care, in spite of all the storms of life.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

As February wanes, you may, like many of us, have given up on your New Year's resolutions by now. But God's resolve never wavers or weakens. His plan is to refresh us each day.

“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him" Lamentations 3:22-25.

Love as always, Elaine