Can you see me down here?
My thoughts rise up to meet
you in the clouds.
Silence.
Dread.
So running forward,
I leave behind my faith.
You weep.
Roar.
Fear.
Stopping in my track
I look up.
There you show your love.
The quest for grace
can only be found
when I am nothing.
I am listening.
In my garden
I hear!
Do not worry.
Do not rush
faster than the wind.
Be still,
my soul!
Streaming
into my world
are answers
piling higher
the laundry
patiently waits
washed words
eagerly
spring forth
I am
telling you
“I’m sorry”
your bad news
overshadows
my good news!
My doctor originally told me the biopsy results would take two weeks. I graciously was told a few days ago, that the tissue sample tested, came back benign. How happy I was. Was, until I thought of my blog and how I had told my story and would have to give an ending. I thought of all those who hear they are afflicted with the dreaded “c” disease. It can be ravaging. I did not want my answer to be a curse onto those with different fates. (Do not despair! There is an answer for you as well. Seek it!)
We all face bad news at some point in our life. The answer can be cruel. The answer is a lesson. I feel guilty for being cancer free when others face hurdles I escape. In my past, in the physics department where I worked, a professor and his wife were expecting a baby, as I was. We both went into labor the same day. My baby lived. Their baby was stillborn. My baby was a miracle. Their baby was too, in a different way. It taught a lesson harder to accept. An answer hard to discern.
The bigger questions demand bigger answers.
I am obligated to embrace both.
©jeannelizabeth
Do you suppose
we have found
a way that super cedes
all other ways?
Do you suppose
the crack
in the sidewalk
will keep cracking?
I suppose
I will need to think
about that
before I can answer!
©jeannelizabeth
I googled Crack in the Sidewalk and found many poems and a book with the same title. How are we any different than those before us? Solomon, the wise man in the Bible, from ages ago, said it well ”What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9. We can repackage the same story, with new words, but the meaning stays the same. What are we trying to figure out? Who created the world? Who created man? Did we just come together in some cosmic explosion, slowly evolve over millions of years, and end up the same as our ancestors? Even they dealt with cracks in the sidewalks. Can you imagine riding a chariot and have a wheel in a crack in the sidewalk?
Love is at the starting line
The place we all begin.
What waits for us at the finish line
Is what we all wonder?
For some it is fame
and others it is death.
For me I place my hope
on eternity.
The place I hang my hat upon
my knees bent in remorse.
For all the times I wandered
aimlessly, without a clue.
Yet, look within yourself
To see if you can make it.
The finish line is just ahead
And God is cheering you on.
©jeannelizabeth
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!
Psalm 139:17
If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.
Psalm 139:18
I saw a picture posted on Facebook, of children who were mocking developed countries for the way they school. At first, I tended to agree with the commentary, but upon further review, some Bible passages made me think otherwise.
Proverbs 1:22 “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?
Reading the Geneva Study Bible, “Wisdom reproves three kinds of men, the foolish or simple who err out of ignorance, the mockers who cannot stand to be taught, and the fools who are drowned in worldly lusts and hate the knowledge of godliness.”
Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Public schools have kicked God out, so, in that respect, I agree, our educational system is faulty, but discipline and education is not an evil in and of itself. It is what we do with anything, that causes alarm. The absence of God in our educational system does not mean we should remain ignorant of the truth.
So what does the bible verse mean when they speak of being a simple person? I, at one point, looked to get back to basics, to simplify my life. It was a romantic notion to get rid of modern technology and work with my hands to sow the earth and sew quilts. Yet, like many have expressed, technology may not be the evil device, but the person using the technology for evil purposes, is twisting reality. So, simple people loving their simple ways, refers to those who do not think, but act on impulse. There are simple people and then there are simply people who want to live simpler, but not at the destruction of themselves. Let us always be alert and never be naïve.
Proverbs 30:4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know!
Is your life complicated? Do you have power over your circumstances? Do you feel as if you are floating on the water, waiting for the crashing waves and the rains to begin to fall? Or have you found a solution to the mounting despair, loneliness and despondancy. 
Isaiah 6:1-3To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory. NLT2007
What a promise! This is certainly what my blog is all about. Finding the promises of God, applying them to our personal lives, and finding true peace in our hearts and minds, regardless of the circumstances surrounding us.
Navigating the waters, whether they be rolling rivers, choppy lakes or vast bodies of open water with no sign of land for days, we have a Book to take with us, to give us counsel and guidance. Applying the Word from that Book will prove enormously fruitful. Be patient. Take heart. Have faith. ©Jeannelizabeth
Our country is in trouble. The world is in trouble. What is the Lord Jesus’s advice?
John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”
What a beautiful reminder that God is in control. Over and over I am reminded of this, yet in my flesh I try over and over to make things better, but all these things must happen before He returns.
Come Lord Jesus!
Still, not in my strength, but in HIS, I was moved by the Sandy Hook tragedy. I felt that same drive to run or fly to those in need as when I heard the news of my brother, but with no sense of direction, I sat still, mourning. We are either paralyzed with fear or set in motion by hope. Hope that God is in our midst during our despair. The following Sunday morning brought inspiration to take the scrap cloth that has amassed in my sewing room and mend my heart and pass my creation onto someone in need of love. I had wanted to send this quilt before Christmas, but like all my projects, there is only so much time. Indiana’s snowstorm, yesterday, gave me the much needed time to spend with my beloved family as well as heal some more for lost innocence. December 26, 2012 was a great day to finish the project.
It is finished! This quilt will go to Wheeler Missions Women and Children’s Center in memory of Sandy Hook victims. I heard of the love outpouring and the city’s wish that further gifts be given towards others and I will fulfill that wish.
Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
That is my prayer for you today. Shalom! ©Jeannelizabeth
When one door closes, we hope another door opens. Is it faith? Is it faith in action? Who is actually behind the scenes directing the patterns of our life? How do I account for those who wish me harm for their benefit? Certainly I have some control over my destination, do I not? Perhaps, but how do I justify miracles and coincidences and other unexplainable phenomena?
If I reside in the shadow of God’s wings, there I am protected from all possible harm. Yet I suffer. Life is full of paradoxes.
So when I hear the Lord instructing me to guard my heart, what is He basically telling me? How do I guard my heart? Do I withhold love from those who want to harm me? Jesus tells us to love our enemy, unconditionally. Perhaps we learn to love, give grace and embrace those who are hurting, while never following in their footsteps, lest we fall over the cliff alongside their treachery. In that way, I have guarded my life, my heart, while still obeying the commands of a Savior, who took the wrath of carnal man for the price of my soul.
I Corinthians 3:18 Stop deceiving yourselves.
If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. NLT2007
At some point I bought two books to help me with my doubts and fears about motherhood. Well more than that, but “Mitten Strings for God” by Katrina Kenison and “Meditations for Mothers” by Elisa Morgan are two of my favorites. I find solace in both.
God, in his infinite wisdom, saw fit to give me three children. Three children I did not feel capable of tending to, in these unknown times of upheaval, betrayal, and otherwise very treacherous times. As parents, we are ever the watchful eagle to our surroundings, and with good reason. Yet, at times, this feels so superficial and harmful to my children’s psyches. As a parent, I am guarded, forever perched on a watch tower, looking for evil in everyone’s eyes.
I believe in giving children wings. Seeing what has happened to the innocence of childhood, I grieve. Those wings I so longingly desire to gift, are retracted, when I become witness to the darkness of bullying, adults acting out, and silence from trusted authority figures. I have my own wounds to heal, so when I am reliving past hurts, while tending to fresh injuries, I am living doubly the war. I could run and hide, but war takes courage and brave hearts.
This is a silent war. We minimize the effects, but they are long lasting. It is the soul that survives. It is my family that needs to be protected. Selfishly, I seek refuge from the outside. In our home, I have learned to care for the wounds, nurture the dreams and desires, help the needs, heal myself and form a bond with my children and husband that cannot be broken. I am learning how to be a mom and wife and loving it.
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:23
