SelahV Today by hariette petersen

RESPOND TO HAITI

Some missionaries have gone and returned from Haiti.  People are still going, giving, and praying.  While millions upon millions of people donated to the Hollywood Celebrity telethon, all the millions of dollars are tied up in some bank in the U.S.A. awaiting some future date to release help.  Meanwhile, Southern Baptists are working there.  The Commission has released a wonderful video worth taking about 5 minutes of your time to view.  Go HERE.  Below the video is inspiring written commentary.

Texas Baptists are there or going there. Read a Baptist Standard report.

Florida Baptists are there or going there. Read a Florida Baptist Witness report.

As we pray for the people in Haiti to recover from this devastation, remember the workers and the thousands of people who will return again and again to help rebuild their lives.  Pray for safety.  Pray for Haitian hearts to be open to the gospel.  Pray for missionaries to help educate and lead them to Jesus.  Pray that the stranglehold of injustice is broken and that good supercedes evil.  Pray that our workers not grow weary in their efforts.  God is at work in Haiti.  Our prayers can go where our feet cannot take us.

For a place to give with confidence that your money will be going to help in the relief of Haitian people NOW, go here:  selahV

YOU'D THINK I WOULD LEARN

After having a monstrous tree split and shake the earth outside our front window, you'd think I'd have enough sense to stay clear of tall trees with creaking limbs ladened with ice.  Uh...nope.  This morning I had to go out and take some more pictures of our once-in-a-lifetime (I hope), ice-storm aftermath.  My husband and grandson followed me across the street as I backed up to get a more panoramic view of the treespan.  While I was snapping photos, a neighbor I'd never met came up to snap some of her own.

I walked down the street to check out her house and that area of the neighborhood.  As I walked, I snapped photos of various icings.  I saw one tree where all kinds of limbs had already dropped from a gigantic tree.  I looked up at it and could hear it cracking and creaking in the light breeze.  It was filled with mistletoe.  It occurred to me as I walked on, how absolutely nutty it was of me to stand beneath those limbs and stare up at the mistletoe.  I thanked God as I scooted on; its creaking sound was behind me.  My husband and grandson followed after me.  Just as they passed out from under it, a 10-foot frozen limb came crashing down on the very tracks we'd all three left in the light snow.  God really does take care of the simple and foolish.  Doesn't He?  Gratitude doesn't begin to describe the feeling in my heart.

Below are some more photos of our tree and the damage on our neighbor's house and line.

The photo above shows my house in the center of the split.  One half the tree went on my house, across our drive and rested lightly on our neighbor's 8-ft. fence. (I'm so grateful it didn't do any damage.)

This is the view looking at the tree from East to West on our street.  You can barely see my neighbor's house or mine for all the limbs.  This just boggles my mind.  No one was hurt.  I'm so giddy about that I could shout for joy!

ICE STORM...THE NEXT DAY

Woke up to a cold house.  Our electricity died at 5:30 a.m.  The hardworking linesman got'er going at 8 a.m.  So right now we are enjoying a hot cup of coffee and a reheating of my house.  So many in Lawton are still without power.  My daughter is coming over today with my granddaughters IF she can make it on the roads.  My grandson Ryan had a test (which got canceled), this morning so he came over last night to spend the night.  That's him in the photo.  He had to bend down a bit to get under the huge trunk of our downed tree.  The photo below is how it looks from my front door.  Will venture out later to get some more photos.  Praying for all the folks who are in the cold and dark.  Praying for the linesmen and engineers who are braving downed powerlines to help restore electricity.

PRETTY HUH?

 

GIGANTIC TREE SPLIT BY ICE STORM

Hubby and I sat watching Fox News just now and a thunderous crash with splitting limbs interrupted our viewing. We went to the front door and our gigantic Mulberry shade tree was split in two.  The side that fell went to the left of our house and fell across the driveway and lawn of our neighbor.  It barely scraped her roofline.  Her house was spared.  Our vehicles sat in the driveway on the other side of the tree that is precariously close to falling now.  My husband unfroze the doors and moved the cars down the street where there weren't any trees.  As I took photos of the destruction, we could hear crash after crash, scraping, and splitting around the neighborhood.

It's so sad.  That tree is the one all my grandchildren have climbed and marveled at.  We look forward to the leaves dropping at the first freeze in the Fall.  We love the shade it provided during Oklahoma's blistering 108 degree summers.  Now, it will soon be a memory.  My husband said the remaining half of the tree that is precariously leaning toward our front porch is split, too.  It will need to come down with the rest of it after the....  Nevermind.  It just fell.'

Now that part is lying across our driveway, over our other neighbor's fence, and onto our porch and garage front.  God is so good.  So very good.  Just fifteen minutes ago, my husband was standing there scraping the Malibu so he could move it out of the driveway.  Now we are just listening to the creak of the large trunk of the tree moving with the wind against the house.  We are so blessed.

Whew!  I am winded.  I went out and bent down beneath the twin trunks on our side of the three-trunk tree and waddled out into the street to take pictures.  It's dark now, and I don't know if you can tell how bad it is.  It should make several ricks of wood for my daughter's fireplace when my grandsons get it all cut up.  Wow.  I'm really gonna miss that tree. selahV

 

 

ICE IN OKLAHOMA

This is a photo of my hammock between my two stately pecan trees in my back yard.  Limbs are already snapping.  Thousands of folks are without power in Lawton, Oklahoma, (Oh, Lord, I don't want to be among them).  At this point, I'm still connected to the main source.  Folks.  This is a bad ice-storm.  We have 27 degree temps and the ice on my humongous mulberry tree in front of my house is weighing the limbs down.  Limbs that are over 7 feet off the ground are now touching the ground.  I expect them to break at any time.  My hubby got home a few minutes ago and said broken limbs and downed trees are everywhere on the streets and yards of people in Lawton.

Forecasters are saying we will continue with this freezing rain into the night when it should change over to snow in the early morning hours.  We are so fortunate that our school system leadership had the foresight to close our schools today before this storm hit.  Very wise people, indeed.  This is the worst time of the day that school busses could have been on the road. 

Pray for those poor linesmen and electrical engineers who will be braving the elements to keep us warm.  Pray for their protection.  Pray for the volunteers and first-responders who are answering calls all over the county.  And you might want to pray that people have the sense to stay off the roads.  Thanks.  selahV

SelahV's STATE OF THE UNION MESSAGE

I was 12 years old when I first realized I was proud to be an American and why.  It was a time when American history was still being taught in elementary school, when the Founders of the Constitution were revered--and people loved America.  It was a time when racial unrest was bubbling below the surface of political podiums.  When freedom of speech meant more than condemning America and her place in the world.  It was before Christianity was a dirty word and discipline was considered intolerance.  It was when family farms, baseball and our military were valued and prized.  It was when the American dream thrived in every corner of the world.  It was when life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was not overriden by legislators in the halls of Congress.  At least it was to me.  It was a time I saw the first man launched into outer space and believed in my heart that anything was possible.

Since then, nearly 50 years have come and gone.  Today I am as proud of America as I was 50 years ago.  In fact, I'm prouder.  You see, friends, America is not defined to me by the person who sits in the Oval Office.  Our state is not defined by what some politician says to try and get an agenda applauded into action.  Our union is defined by WE THE PEOPLE.

In America, we have more churches with more Christian people worshipping God than in any other nation in the world.  We still enjoy the freedom of speech.  We still have opportunity to reach the world with our ideology of democracy and liberty for all.  We still have men and women standing for the values and principles of our Founding Fathers.  Our constitution (though under attack), is still intact.  Our judicial system (though not always just), is still second to none.  Our health-care system (though not perfect) is envied by all other nations.  Our education (though flailing and floundering at times), is still available for any person who wants to learn.  Americans are still more generous than any other country in the world.  America is still more caring than any other country in the world, i.e. response to Indonesian tsunami, Haitian earthquakes, Bush's emphasis to help stamp out AIDS in Africa.  Our government (though lacking in men and women of integrity), is still a government with checks and balances.  Citizens still have the freedom to choose who represents them in various offices in the land.  We have the right to vote for our leaders.  And we get the privilege of voting them out if they're proved to be liars and worthless.

We are not perfect.  But we have the right to strive for more than mediocrity.  We are not invincible, but the vast majority of our citizenship looks to the Creator of this earth for provision and protection.  We still have freedom to worship as we please.  We have the right to own property and to bear arms and protect it.

Today, in America, the first ammendment affords us the opportunity to twitter, email, blog, comment, and write letters to our newspaper editors and elected representatives when we agree, disagree, or desire change.  We are still a republic of states which can stand on our own to legislate and live free in the United States of America.  We can demonstrate and voice our convictions without fear of being persecuted, burned, murdered, and imprisoned.  We can still erect and display symbols of our faith to symbolize we submit to a Higher Power.  America is a great nation.  I am grateful the Lord has granted me the blessing of living here.  I am grateful my children live here.

We The People have recently been reminded that we are, indeed, the people granted privilege and responsibility to seek justice, to be watchkeepers over our blessed land. In our pride we must be ever-mindful to live humbly before Him.  We must raise high the banner of Christ and share the greatest freedom of all--eternal life, filled with forgiveness, grace and joy through our Savior and Lord, Jesus, the King of Kings.  I look forward to the day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  Amen?    selahV

Devotion for Today, and "IF God is in Control..."

Last week I wrote a devotional for Devotional Christian entitled: When Life Falls Apart, Jesus Holds It Together.  It is published today at their site.  I am compelled to link it here for my readers in light of some of my posts of late.

It is not my intention to create more fear in our lives as I write about combustible gases on tankers, trials of terrorists in New York, and the injustice of health-care reform in America.  It's also not a weakness in my faith that nudges me to write prayer requests for my brother's situation with emphysema or the safety of his daughter as she lives in New York city.  My faith is strengthened by my dependence on the Lord.  My posts are meant to show our complete reliance upon Him as we do what He leads us to do in the scheme of things as we walk in this world.  I was reminded by a dear friend today that nothing and no one can do anything "unless it is given to him of the Lord".  In other words, God is in control.

We might ask, as a reader recently wrote me via email, "If God is in control, does that mean He is controlling us?"  Whew!  That's some  heavy stuff to lift above our finite minds, isn't it?  To believe otherwise would make us seem to question the sovereignty of God.  But to dissect the entirety of this question, one must also remember God's sovereignty is big enough to allow us choices in life.  With every choice comes a consequence.  And the blessing within God's protective grace is that He is, indeed, in control of the consequences, too.  Who are we to challenge His decisions?  Who are we to tell Him when to pour forth rain, withhold it, or grant us sunshine?  Who are we to decide which calamity will bring greater peace? Who are we to tell him that our illness is not the best part of His plan for us? if we trust with all our heart that He rules upon this earth as He sees fit for His glory?

Maybe the question we should ask is, If God is not in control, do I want to be?  Really?

UPDATE on LIQUEFIED GAS DELIVERY FROM YEMEN TO USA

You may remember a few days ago I wrote a post (LINK) about volatile liquefied gas coming into Boston on tankers from Yemen.  Massachusetts' moms are asking folks to call the U.S. Coast Guard to block it.  The Mayor is now fighting to block that vessel from unloading.

"Coast Guard officials are reviewing the plan and said yesterday they have not yet decided whether the shipments will be allowed to enter the harbor and dock at the LNG terminal in Everett."  Go HERE for more information on that perilous situation.

Listen, friends.  This is a serious matter for these perilous times in America.  While this particular shipment could come in and have absolutely nothing wrong with it, Yemen cannot guarantee that subsequent shipments will be safe.  This ship needs to dock off shore...just like the terrorists that the U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, is foolishly going to try for their admitted involvement bombing of New York, need to be tried offshore so the residents in New York City do not have to be paralyzed for who knows how long while Holder's circus goes on in their town.

It may be silly, but, to me, it just makes sense that our President do all he can to keep the American citizens safe.  Didn't he swear something like that about a year ago when he laid his hand on the Holy Bible and became President of the U.S.A.?

Why should we care about Boston and New York?  Uh, because they are our fellow citizens?  I'm one little voice in Oklahoma.  I'm far away from those places.  When Osama bin Laden's terrorist group flew fully-fueled jets into the The Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, I sat watching in horror from my safe little home in Kentucky.  Today I'm not as naive, nor am I as trustful.  And after the Fort Hood, Texas massacre a few months ago, I don't feel I'm all that safe.  Do you?  Seriously?  Why does this concern me?  Well, I have a niece who works in New York City.  I don't want her in more jeopardy than she already is.  Just saying. 

Pray for the efforts of our officials as they try to keep us safe.  Pray for the patriotic Christian ladies in Massachusetts who stand in the gap for Americans and report situations that could harm us.  Pray for our President to have the wisdom of God and act upon it in a wise way.  selahV

WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES "beJesus" MEAN?

When I was listening to President Obama's blah, blah, blah about Republican Scott Brown's historically stunning victory over Democrat Martha Coakley in Massachusetts this week, I couldn't help but shake my head.  For one thing, I wasn't impressed with the casualness in which he described the American voters in Massachusetts.  But when the President of the United States of America, who claims to be a Christian, used the name of God's only begotten son, Jesus, in a slang sort of way, it grabbed my gut.  He talks about the Quran as the "Holy Quran".  He bows to the Saudi King, and removes his shoes in the Muslim Mosques.  He's been reported to carry a carving of an Indonesian god in his pocket for luck.  But Jesus?  Well, I guess He's another matter, huh?

I'd thought about bringing this up the day it happened but other things were on my mind that day.  Then, today, I happened upon a new blogger from another one I frequent, and the new blogger, ClayTablet, jogged my memory of this "be-jesus" comment by our president.  He did some more research and to be honest, I think we all ought to call the White House  at (202) 456-1414, and suggest that he fire the speech writer who put that word on his teleprompter.  Surely, President Obama wouldn't make such a slanderous remark if he knew what it meant.  Or would he?  selahV 

My Brother, Your Brother

He knows he brought it on himself.  He knows he should have listened to his wife, his daughter, our father, and even me.  He told me today that he knows he was "stupid" to continue smoking all these years.  This week he couldn't breathe and had to be taken to the hospital from work.  They did x-rays and tests.  The doctor asked him if he had a living will.  He's been diagnosed with emphysema.  I knew he probably had it last January when I watched him struggle to get his breath as we talked at our father's funeral.  I'd talked to him earlier this week and asked him if he'd ever seen a doctor about his persistent cough.  While he was at the hospital they found a nodule in his lung.  That will have to be followed up on to see if it is malignant.

I need you to pray for him as he goes through an extremely difficult time.  It's hard for him to even walk a few feet to the kitchen.  It's hard for him take a few minutes to stand and heat up a can of ravioli.  It's hard for him to even talk to me.  He said, he has to go forward with whatever he's got to do with this situation.  He knows God will help him.  He didn't call me to whine; he wasn't seeking sympathy.  He just wanted me to know.  After all, since daddy died last January, he and I are all that is left of our immediate family now. 

Some folks may think that he is getting what he deserves.  He should have known better.  I know I'd like to wring his neck right now.  But what good does it do for me to be upset with him?  Like my brother says, "It is what it is."  It's not pretty.  We know his struggle today will only get harder.  This makes me sad.  Very sad.  And I know those of you who know me care that I am sad.  And I know that because my brother is facing troubled days ahead, that you will love him as your brother, too.  I know I can depend on you to pray for him.

I wish he didn't live nearly 1,700 miles from me.  I wish I could drop in and bring him some of my chicken soup.  But I can't.  All I can do is pray for as much comfort as God will grant in the coming days.  All I can do is ask that you pray for him and that the nodule on his lung is not what we suspect it is.  selahV   

My Devotion for Today

Check it out at Devotional Christian.

A BIT TOO CHRISTIAN

Have we become so politically correct and timid that we fail to share the Gospel in our daily conversations?  Are we so addicted to more palatable and acceptable terms of endearment that we cannot call "an affair" what it is: adultery, fornication, uh...sin?  Are we then so entrenched in world opinion we cannot offer more than a re-hab center to help a burdened, broken soul?  Are we so threatened by establishment that we cannot mention Jesus Christ and Christianity?

Must we cover our ears, eyes and mouths in cloaks of tolerance to accomodate views that sin is not sin without offering any solutions or hope?

Thank God for people like Britt Hume, Fox News commentator and contributor, who humbly, candidly, and succinctly shared his faith as the help someone needs.  Thank God again, that writers such as Ross Douthat of the New York Times, and Chip Wood of Personal Liberty Digest keep the conversation going in a public arena most of us rarely get to sit in, much less perform.  Yeah, it's comforting to see God using man's technology and soap boxes to get out the message of salvation, reconciliation, and grace beyond the walls that hold pews and pulpits.

An excerpt below, from Chip Wood's piece today, may be "a bit too Christian" for naysaying elitists to swallow.  But I am grateful that people like him are spotlighting Christianity as a bonafide and worthy topic to dialogue in public places without calling it bigotry.  See for yourself: 

"To my surprise, I found one of the most reasonable comments about the whole affair in a column in The New York Times, when Ross Douthat wrote, 'This doesn’t mean that we need to welcome real bigotry into our public discourse. But what Hume said wasn’t bigoted: Indeed, his claim about the difference between Buddhism and Christianity was perfectly defensible. Christians believe in a personal God who forgives sin. Buddhists, as a rule, do not. And it’s at least plausible that Tiger Woods might welcome the possibility that there’s someone out there capable of forgiving him, even if Elin Nordegren and his corporate sponsors do not.'

Yes, as many observers have noted, Christianity is the best deal in the universe. There is no other faith of which I’m aware that promises your sins will be forgiven.

Of course to the intellectual elite, there is no such thing as “sin.” We are supposed to tolerate anything and everything, from serial infidelities to the most blatant perversions.

In the land of the free and the home of the brave, no one can be persecuted for his or her beliefs anymore. Unless, of course, they are so old-fashioned and intolerant as to believe that sin exists… that sinners will be punished… and that redemption can only be found at the foot of the Cross.

Brit, I’m sure glad you no longer get your paycheck from one of our so-called “fair-minded” networks. Because if you did, I have no doubt they’d require you to grovel an abject apology—right before they threw you out the door.

Until next time, keep some powder dry. —Chip Wood"

EXPLOSIVE COMPANIONS, COMBUSTIBLE LIQUID, YEMENI AND BOSTON

How can Americans trust ships from Yemeni to enter the ports of Boston?

"How vulnerable are the tankers? It’s safe to assume that the Coast Guard and police throughout the Port of Boston will step up security on tankers originating in Yemen. Also give some credit to the liquefied natural gas industry. Their double-hulled tankers boast an excellent safety record. But how good will security be on the Yemeni end? Could terrorists with explosives gain access to a tanker that requires more than a day at the dock to load?

Distrigas president Frank Katulak says that protection at the French-owned facility in Yemen will meet US standards and remain under the control of European security personnel." Larry Harmon, The Boston Globe, boston.com

"Meet U.S. standards"??????

In light of the Fort Hood Massacre of soldiers by the hand of a fellow soldier who was a terrorist confiding with the Yemeni terrorist guru, and bent on destroying the "infidels"?

Considering the Christmas terrorist who trained in Yemen, and avoided all kinds of security breaches, and came very close to blowing up a plane en route to America?  And instead of whisking this man away to be interrogated by the FBI and military, he is mirandized and given a public defender?

Wouldn't you think it behooves the United States businesses to be a bit wary of the security of any ship coming from Yemen?  Nah. The President of the company purchasing this volatile liquefied gas says they can trust the security of America's system.

Uh...sorry, folks.  I don't trust the system lately.  Congress is holding hearings this very week on the inability of our national security system and delving into the absolute failure of our security system.  And until the system is fixed, I am more than concerned that these ships are going to be floating on waters in Massachusetts.  I don't think the money this company makes is nearly as important as the people who live and work in the Boston area. 

For more information on this explosive companionship, read HERE.  In the meantime...someone call Curt Shilling.

One of the Happier Women

I know a bunch of them.  I know a slew of ladies who were once sucked into the hype of the Women's Liberation Movement.  Sounds so liberating, doesn't it?  Women burned their undergarments, and scoffed at their mothers' and grandmothers' apron-strings.  They scorned women who "chose" to stay home, change diapers, and bake cookies.  The "libbers' got up earlier than usual, donned their jackets, skirts and pantsuits.  They dropped off their children to the daycare of choice and went hopscotching off to work in their high-heeled pumps.  Of course, not all women did that.  I know.  I had some dear ladies who cared for my little ones in the sixties and early seventies when I swallowed the feminine rhetoric hook, line, and sinker.  Only I struggled to get myself up, juggle meal preparations, and homemaking.  I battled the guilt of leaving my children without a mom to lay claim to fulfilling life? 

Praise God, the Lord showed up at my doorstep through the visitation of one of those women who found purpose in being a wife, mother and Christian witness.  Only the Father above knows what may have happened to me had I continued on the path that liberating women were paving for me.  I'm one of the lucky ones.  I'm a much happier woman today than I was in the 60's and 70's.  Then, life was all about me, my happiness, my comfort, my goals, my ambitions--my freedom.  Welcoming Christ into my life opened my mind, heart and soul to a freedom and liberty no movement on this earth could equal.  The Lord restored to me the years the locust had eaten.  As I sit here thinking about the wasted years and lost memories, I remain forever grateful for His abundant grace.  Without Him happiness would still be the momentary high from a raise in salary, a job promotion, a pat on the back, and a cold, empty heart.  selahV   

CHRISTIANITY CAN REVERSE UNHAPPINESS IN WOMEN?

Indeed it can, according to Mike Adams, in his article entitled Bluer than Blue. He boldly states, "Christianity ended slavery and it ended segregation. It is even powerful enough to end feminist anger and reverse the decline in female happiness."

Interesting in reading Bluer than Blue, Adams relates a portion of a conversation he overhears between a sociology student and her professor, just as he was "coincidentally" (yeah) reading the article that prompted his own post.  Read some snippets:

“I never really knew, until I took your course, that marriage was oppressive in the sense that it benefits men more than women.”

“I never really considered the fact that a wedding dress is an expression of latent heterosexism.”

“I never really considered the impact of large expensive weddings on the workers who, for example, make wedding dresses. I had never known about the wedding industrial complex as a form of capitalist exploitation.”  [excerpt from Mike Adams, Bluer than Blue]

Shocking?  It was, and it wasn't to me.  Seriously, folks.  In a society filled with continual updating of politically correct words and phrases we can use, I am rarely surprised at anything the liberally socialistic-controlled education system dishes up to our impressionable children.  However, as I read Adams' article I couldn't help but ponder the conversations I've read in forums with ladies all across the country of late.  These ladies are just moms and grandmothers who want the best for...get this...their children and grandchildren.  Some ladies work, many do not.  But they have a common bond to see our government get out of the way of our freedom of speech, religion, education, the pursuit of happiness.  They see themselves as patriots, and Christian ones at that, seeking to build a better America.

Another thing that came to mind as I read Mike Adams' article regarding the unhappiness of women as a result of the feminist movement, was Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's degree programs for women.  These programs are sometimes criticized for their focus on homemaking skills.  Yet, as I listen to Dr. Dorothy Patterson and Dr. Terri Stovall, Dean Women's Programs, share their thoughts at this site, I cannot help but believe that women are being given far more than a brownie recipe to combat the world view of destroying the traditional home as we know it.  Click [HERE] and see if you agree.  If programs like these at Southwestern were used to teach minister's wives and women throughout all our Southern Baptist seminaries, we might have women's ministries in churches that could curb the flow of women at abortion clinics and unhappy feminists living lives in confusion and loneliness.  Indeed, some of the most relaxed forms of gospel sharing by our missionaries is done through the hands-on work of missionary wives and women teaching crafts, cooking, hygiene and homemaking skills to women and children in foreign countries. 

Truth be told, we need women more than ever.  We need women to help change the course of the marxist attack on traditional family today via sociological education women are receiving in colleges across America such as Mike Adams related above.  Happy women make happy homes.  Adams article may be closer to understanding the old addage, "if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy", better than any man today.  selahV

Massachusetts Mom Praises God

"This is what we woke up to this morning in Massachusetts. Thank you Lord for answering our prayers. The storm has passed, a new day is upon us. The true meaning of hope. Thank you to all our sister Patriots across our country for your love, support and prayers. We couldn't have done it without you!"

 

WHEN LIFE IS HARD

Sometimes I think I forget Whose I am, and for Whom I live.

It's easy to listen to someone complain and join in with their complaints.  It's easy to be drawn into another's anger, aggravation, and annoyance.  I do it every time I listen to news reports on health-care, politics, and injustice around the world.  The hard thing is to listen and observe all of these things and be encouraging, hopeful, and inspiring.  There's a fine line to empathy.  We must feel another's trial without giving into their despair and claiming ownership to it.  We must identify with it without letting it identify us.  Pity the counselor who allows their clients' problems to become their own.  Overwhelming.

Discouragement leads to despair.  Praising God triggers the joy within my soul.  Dwelling on the goodness of life grounds me and develops an attitude of gratitude for all I have when the world threatens stability.  Remembering all the difficult times God has taken me through is vital to strengthening my faith and increasing my hope.  In remembering, I have concrete times I can pinpoint wherein I personally experienced the faithfulness of God.  I have a rock to stand upon that reminds me I am not alone.

Today brings its own share of difficulties for people I know and love.  Some things are insurmountable.  Some things appear insurmountable.  May God give me the grace I need to be their support and not their stumbling block as I feel their heartache and pain.  May I always point them to the bridge over raging waters that only Christ can be.  selahV  

CONSIDERING EXEMPTIONS AND CLOSE COMMUNIONS

In the dark of night, the Unions of America got a sweetheart deal with the new health-care reform bill ripping its way through the halls of Congress.  Unions' fancy-dancy cadillac insurance plans will be exempt from government taxation.  Not so for the average folk who have companies which provide them decent health-care coverage.  Then there is the Amish who are exempted.  They don't have to pay penalty taxes (and well they shouldn't) because they do not use the government for anything--they pay their own way.  Then there is Nebraska.  Oh shucks, the list goes on and on.

What I'd like to know is this: if this health-care plan is so grand, how come so many Democrats are battling to the bitter end and twisting arms to gain exemptions from it for their little voting constituency before they will cast a "yay" vote?  Hmmmmm?  This may be one of the craziest forms of close communions ever practiced in history. selahV

[ADDITIONAL READ ON THIS SCANDALOUS BACKROOM POLITICS AS USUAL IN WASHINGTON]

 

BOUNDARIES OF GRACE

For those of you who frequent my blog, you know I'm prone to verbosity at times.  However, I try to keep my posts short and to the point to avoid the inevitable "click" of the mouse.

Today, I'm gonna do something different.  I'm gonna have mercy on your eyes and simply let you share your thoughts on the boundaries of grace.

Does grace have limitations?  What are your thoughts?  selahV 

FABULOUSLY MIRACULOUS HEAVEN-SENT SNOWFLAKES

If you've ever marveled at the Christmas snowflakes depicted on a Christmas card, you have to go see what young Art Photographer, Zachary Pruett, captured with his camera last week in Oklahoma.  CLICK HERE to see these marvelous works of God and the thoughts that went through Zac's mind as he saw them fall.  It gives an entirely different perspective to all the snow we've been experiencing lately.

WE'RE HAVING A HEAT WAVE

After several days of frigid teens and twenties--with windchills of below freezing nipping our noses each time we poked them out our doors--we are having a heat wave.  It's 33 degrees today in Lawton.  As I shiver, shake, and hold my breath each time I go to the mailbox, I can't help but be grateful for the Global Warming of our planet.  Can you imagine how cold we would be if not for this man-made blanket of Al Gore's personal jet stream around the earth?  Brrrr.

Never in all my days here in southern Oklahoma have I counted the days for snow to melt.  It's amazing.  We still have snow leftover from the 2009 Christmas Eve Blizzard.  It's January 9th! 

Hubby talked to his mother yesterday.  She lives in Florida, ten minutes from Tampa.  Global warming delivered 28 degrees to her and the surrounding strawberry farms.  Don't think I'm going to plan any strawberry shortcake parties this year.  Wonder if the oranges and grapefruit will survive.  Frozen orange juice is usually made after the fruit has been picked, not before.  And this is the season for oranges on trees.

Oh well, there's hope.  Spring is coming.  And while we are all stocking our woodpiles, lighting candles and eating steaming soup, maybe a few politicians will rethink Cap and Trade legislation.  Don't hold your breath, though, your lungs might freeze.  selahV

LIBERTY IN CHRIST

New life in Christ is mind altering, life changing, soul rending, and heart wrenching.  I liken it unto a gutted house.  The Holy Spirit is the construction manager.  He rips out the old, re-constructs the interior walls, replaces the windows, changes the paint, and accessorizes mind, body, soul, and heart.  He moves in--not in the guest room--but the entire home.  My open-door to Christ gives Him eternal occupancy, God's grace allows me residence.

Liberty grants me freedom to move in my own furniture, and rest in the comfort of God's foundational support.  The Spirit sets the alarm system to warn me of intruders and thieves who might try to enter with clear intent to vandalize, destroy, and steal my peace.  While my body is on this earth, my liberty couples with responsibility to maintain and follow the directives of the eternal Owner.  He's rather holier-than-me in His idea of what He allows to go on into the house of His Father.  He gives me discernment to ascertain who I should invite in to have conversations with my mind.  He gives me wisdom to know who to allow to hold my heart.  He gives me explicit directives and common sense to determine what is best to care for my body.  He gives me His Spirit to guide me, to feed me as I worship Him.  He stocks my pantry with love, kindness, joy, forgiveness, gentleness, peace, generosity, and self-control.  He gives me gifts to use for inviting others to meet Him.  If I neglect my home, He sends in work crews to help in its completion.  Sometimes these crews must rewire and restructure.  That's okay.  I gave Him my life and trust His blueprint of righteousness.

Jesus set me free to live in His new life...not mine.  He paid the price for my release from darkness.  I belong to Him, I have a responsibility to Him, and my wholeness has no room for self without His approval.  I waken each morning and drink of faith to stand in His strength and rest in His watchcare.  There is a struggle in this world.  There is a battle every day.  With Christ in residence, I can answer the door with confidence.

"For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."  Ephesians 6:12.   

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE

TO PLEASE GOD WITHOUT IT.

Isn't it amazing?  The tiny helpless bird depends upon his father to feed him.  The father feeds him without fail; he knows his child waits.  The father knows the child is helpless without him.  The child has done nothing to please his father--to win his approval.  Yet, the father chooses to love him and feed him and care for him.

I stand amazed that we please our Lord by simply recognizing our need of Him.  Every need we have is an opportunity for God to show us His provision, His watchcare, His love.  By placing our faith in Him to meet our needs, He is pleased.  He knows our need long before we do.  He is never surprised.

God is so happy to care for us and fulfill His plan in our lives.  No wonder worry is a sin.  Why do we fret?  selahV 

Writing Contest, Win "The Jesus Storybook Bible"

GUIDELINES:

Simply share a photo and story of a touching teachable moment between you and your preschool child, grandchild, or even great-grandchild.  The situation can be teachable for you, or your child; it needs to be an inspirational "hmmmmn" moment that makes us think about faith, parenting, grandparenting, or nurturing.

RULES:

Word limit: 500 words.

Entry submissions must be posted on YOUR blog by February 1st and linked back to http://selahvtoday.typepad.com mentioning that your post is an entry to the contest sponsored by SelahV Today.  Then comment on this post here and let me know you've entered and provide your link so I can read it and judge it. 

Accompanying photo to your story must be original--not collected from the web.

Winning entry will be announced on this blog February 14th.

THE PRIZE?

  

"the Jesus Storybook Bible" 

It "tells the Story beneath all the stories in the Bible.  It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story.  And at the center of the Story, there is a baby, the Child upon whom everything would depend.  It invites children to discover for themselves that Jesus is at the center of God's great story of salvation--and at the center of their story, too."

"Every story whispers His name."

Written by Sally Lloyd-Jones & Illustrated by Jago. 

FRESH START

I love fresh starts.  Beginnings. They offer excitement, anticipation, and mystery, don't you think?  I could hardly wait to start reading the Bible through on January 1st. I was so excited that I read portions of December's readings.  Seriously!  Biblegateway.com has an excellent program for internet nuts like me who want to read the Bible through in chronological order of events.  I highly recommend it.  You can pick whatever version you enjoy, or choose a new one to get another perspective.  I am praying for God to give me new eyes to see things I've never seen before.  I'm praying for any old ideas or interpretations I've clung to for clinging's sake to be stripped from my mind as His Holy Spirit removes them.  Also, I'm praying for a freshness in my heart, soul, mind, and spirit. 

How about you?  What did you do yesterday, the first day of 2010?  Some folks I know took Christmas of '09 and packed it back in boxes and bags and stored it in their attics.  I didn't.  I took the day off.  I had my hubby sit back all day and watch the Rose Bowl and other games.  We watched a silly movie.  I perused some of the old blogs I use to read faithfully every day.  Discovered some of the same old arguments being batted around in some.  Found that some are restructuring and requesting discussion topics for the new year that readers would like to see posted. Some dear bloggers, whom I loved reading, abandoned their blogs altogether.  Perhaps they've fallen prey and in love with Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.  That's fine for them.  Me?  I'm an old dog.  While I've learned the new tricks, I still enjoy typing over here.  As far as needing new topics to discuss, life affords new stuff in my world every day.  I wrote something on three of my personal blogs (so much for last week's writing quandary; is God not amazing?), and even managed to write one for SBC Voices.  But I like fresh starts.  And many times before we can start, we must pack up the old, or put it off altogether.

In some folk's lives, it is much more than that.  It was inspiring to read Julie Todd's perspective on her "old" stuff.  She took a bold, courageous step (as far as Christian writer's go).  She sets a marvelous example for any of us who have a penchant for holding onto the past and lugging it into the future.  She's got one up on Paul's idea to lay aside any encumbrances.  Burn baby, burn!  Ashes to beauty, indeed!  Me thinks we can follow her example with a few of our prior blogposts.  Hmmmn....?  selahV

[kudos to believerschurch.org for the photo]

I AM RESOLVED...

to recognize the futility of making resolutions for the New Year.

I've thought about resolutions I've made in years past and realize how inadequate I am in keeping them.  It came to me in the wee hours of the morning when sleep eluded me that I seek only one thing with all that lay before me in the new decade.  I seek God.  I have His grace and all the riches of His glory. 

I trust Him to give me discernment when I face decisions.

I trust Him to keep me from falling when temptation presents itself with deceit and manipulations.

I trust Him to refresh me when weariness threatens.

I trust Him to heal me when illness visits.

I trust Him to meet my needs and no one else.

I trust Him to protect me from evil and help me endure and persevere in hardship and trials.

I trust Him when I don't understand, for there are times when answers do not come.

I trust Him to grant me the mercy that lets me stand in His presence because of the righteousness I own in Christ. 

I want only to rest in Him and know what I know to be true: my Redeemer sustains me no matter what meets me in the morning.  "For I know Whom I am believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day."  May I turn my "eyes upon Jesus and look full in His wonderful face, till the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."  selahV