A Woman's View

Light up your life

Will anyone who thinks we're living in discouraging times, please raise your hand?

Okay, we're all agreed.

But whatever is--or isn't--going on in our lives, this is the only time we have to live in. 

We can wallow in what's wrong and wail out our rage.

We can kick and scream and holler, "No!" like a toddler. But all we'll have to show for it will be mascara tracks down our cheeks.

We can carry signs and protest. For that we get sore throats and tired legs.

Or--or--we can decide to brighten the corner we occupy.

How can I, when I feel so empty and hopeless?

Here's what I've found. When I'm feeling dry and dusty, it's suseless to try to dredge up joy from inside. Faking it sounds, well, fakey.

We start by putting the good stuff in.                             

There's no better "stuff" than what we find in the Bible. The Bible is as essential to our souls and spirits as pure water is to our bodies.

That's why people all over the world read the Bible to get their bearings for each day. No matter how shaky life feels, the truth of the Bible stands firm.

There is no one perfect time and way, but rather what works for each of us. Some people wake up before their families so they can read and study without interruption. People read the Bible on their desktops, laptops and tablets. Some download the Bible on their smart phones or Kindles and read a few verses several times a day. Some listen to CDs of the Bible as they drive.

The power is in God working through the words, not in the how and when and where we read.

What will this do for me?

It's like a bank account. Depositing Bible truths and promises in our minds gives us something to draw on when we're feeling overwhelmed. I like to underline verses that speak to me and ponder them. When I'm running dry, I go back to ones I've marked in my old NIV Bible. For example:  

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said:   "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."                                        

In John 14:1 & 27, Jesus said:   "Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me . . . Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."                         

Romans 5:8 & 8:1-2:   But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us . . . Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.   

Psalm 29:11:   The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.                                                                                                           

Psalm 34:4:   Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.    

The Bible reminds us we're not in this alone

Verses like these wash over our anxieties and reset our internal guidance systems. They refresh our hearts, like a splash of cool water on a hot day.

These days I need that. How about you?

Lovingly,

Lenore

How to speak hope, even when the unthinkable happens

When our sense of security crumbles, as it did after 9/11, or when our personal world gets shaken up, how do we cope?

What do we tell our kids? 

Times like that we may feel empty, but our children and family members look to us for strength and stability. We may be shaking inside, but they think of us as security.

That's true for children of all ages, even when they've happily settled into their own lives. Often they look to us for reassurance and for clues on how to deal with life. 

Even when we have nothing left to give.

So we do what moms and wives have been doing since the beginning of time. We give anyway. 

We take our thoughts off what was lost and talk about what is left.

We speak hope that comes from beyond ourselves. Hope that's based on more than what we see and think and feel, based on faith.

Faith in the One who promised to be with us, no matter what, no matter where and to be our strength, even when we have none left within ourselves.

How do we protect our children?

We can't, not really. We can grab their hands so tightly it cuts off their circulation and follow them around like bird dogs, but there's no way to absolutely ensure they will never hurt, never be disappointed. We watch over them, of course, and every day we commit them to God's protection, asking Him to watch over them.

We can hug them and comfort them and speak the love we feel. 

Nobody ever gets too much love.

How do we model living in faith?

I don't know about you, but I used to think at some point I would arrive at a more, um, exalted state of being. I would "graduate" to being--and feeling like--a hero of faith.

Not so far.

I've found when I'm running on "empty," the best way to refuel is to spend time in the Word.

If you're not sure to start, here are a few verses I've marked in my Bible.

God is my refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the sea . . . The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.      --Psalm 46:1, 11

I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. --Psalm 121:1-2

The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.  --Psalm 29:11

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.   --Psalm 9:9-10

You and I can't stop the evil in the world--and yes, there is evil in the world. Every year the 9/11 remembrances prove the point.

But we can stay planted in the Lord. Then when our children and loved ones turn to us, we'll be ready with love and with strength that comes from the Lord.

Lovingly,

Lenore

How to keep a sure footing when the daily news drags us down

Sometimes current events and talk of happenings far away have wider meaning for you and me.

Recent headlines, talk shows and late-night comedians endlessly replayed the sleazy actions of a New York congressman. Some people felt genuine outrage. Others said, "Well, nobody's perfect." Reactions are all over the place.

No surprise. Long ago commonly accepted standards for "right" and "wrong" got tossed aside. In their place we plugged in whatever seems right. To you. To me. 

This conveniently enables us, no matter what the behavior, to say, "If it feels good, do it," or "Well, I would never do that, but it's not my life."

So any public figure can trot out the tired old line, "I did nothing illegal," and consider it an excuse.

What does this have to do with our lives?

A lot of people say, "Aw, who cares? Politics, show biz, professional sports. These people don't live in our world." 

Oh, yes, they do. They and their opinions and actions play out before us on our family room TVs. If what's on-screen doesn't matter, why did books featured on the Oprah Book Club become instant best-sellers?

Inevitably, what we see and hear in the media colors our thinking. Words and phrases that once shocked now don't even make us blink. Why would we expect youngsters and teens to be immune?

We can't protect our kids from the world, but it's reassuring to note that studies show young people still look to their parents and older family members as role models and reference points. (Don't expect them to admit it.) 

We can't protect our kids from the world, but we can do our best to give them a solid grounding in what's good and right and true.

That means we need to be solid and clear on what we think and believe.

Check the Manufacturer's Handbook

Many people say, "Restrictions. Who needs 'em?"

That's a popular view of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-16.)  It makes more sense to think of these verses as God's basic operating instructions for how to live happily and function at our best.

Think of them as a plumb line for living.

The first time I hung wallpaper I had no clue what a plumb line was. Why would anyone take time to use a level or a string with a weight on the end of it just to draw a straight line? Why bother?
 
I found out.

When I arrived back where I started, my last strip of wallpaper did not match up with the first. Although I hung the wallpaper with great care, the design had been drifting uphlll as I went along--and I never noticed.

That's the way we are without an unchanging standard to live by.

None of us can live up to those Commandments perfectly. Despite our best efforts, we will blow it now and then. That's why Jesus came, to set us right with God.

(Jesus said) "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."                                                                      John 14:6-7

All we need to do is ask. That's why they call the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus.

Peace and joy,

Lenore    

Where can we go when disaster strikes in our world?

Nobody saw it coming. Catastrophes are like that.

This is the face of one woman in the aftermath of unimaginable horror, Japan's 9.0 earthquake and the devastating tsunami that quickly followed.

You and I have not lived what she experienced, but we know that face. We know those tears and those inner groans of, "Oh, please, not that!"

Our world can shake and crumble around us without an earthquake. We can be swamped and drowning without a tsunami.

All it takes is being given that diagnosis we never wanted to hear. Or a day when we wave goodbye to our husband or wife who never makes it home from work. A sports accident that turns our healthy, strong son or daughter into a paraplegic. The young adult child with so much potential who chooses a path we know will lead to unhappiness. The rumored pink slip that awaits us when we thought our job was safe. Home values that plummet and investments that tank when we thought we had saved up some money for the future.

Each of us has our own list. We watch, we cry, we pray. We scream, "Why?" into our long, sleepless nights. And we feel utterly helpless.

That's when we wear the same face as the woman in this photo, the face of fear and dread and hopelessness. She cannot escape her reality and neither can we.

But we can find refuge. Listen to the wonderful words of Psalm 46:1-3 and verse 7, followed by Isaiah 41:10:

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging . . .

The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress . . .

So do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

The hard truth of life is that we have no truly safe place here on this earth. No guarantees of a perfect life in this imperfect world.

No place to run except into the sheltering arms of God, who so loved the world that he sent his only Son to earth to die on a cross and live again. For you. For me.

In His strength we weather our storms and go on, leaning on the everlasting arms.

His peace,

Lenore

 

 

Who needs to hear you say, "I love you," today?

Rex Babin, cartoonist for the Sacramento Bee, perfectly captures the emotions felt by many of us during the amazing, God-blessed rescue of the Chilean miners.

I think it's because each of us could mentally step into the shoes of those waiting wives and family members. During the previous 69 days they shed gallons of anxious tears. Now their eyes brimmed with tears of joy and thanksgiving.

You and I have prayed for a loved one to be safe. We know what it's like to gaze into a beloved face we feared we might never see again. We know what it's like to long to hear the sound of someone's voice.

Perhaps some of those couples parted in anger that day. We have, too. We know what it's like to later wish we had said, "I love you, no matter what. I love you and I don't care what happened. I love you."

These joyful reunions remind us not to take each other for granted.

Last August 5th probably at least one or two of those Chilean wives waved from across the room or out the car window as their husbands went off to work. Another ordinary day like every other day. Ho-hum.

Except, of course, it wasn't.

We do that, too, don't we? After all, life is busy and we're in a rush. Family members have places to go and things to do. Kids go off to school. Nothing unusual about that. We'll see each other at the end of day. 

Or maybe not.

Sure, mining is riskier than going off to the hardware store. But there's no escaping a shocking truth. We live with the same uncertainty as the miners who went down into the depths of earth. 

Being alive is risky. Not one of us knows what any day will bring. None of us knows how many days we'll go on breathing.

So I propose we fix those Chilean reunion images in our minds and replay them often. Let them remind us to treasure our spouses and children and friends--and parents--while they're still with us. To understand that while they're not perfect, neither are we.

And let's be joyful in the moment we're living. One moment at a time is all we get and only God knows the number of our days. He wrote them in his book before we were born (Psalm 139:16.) 

So with our perspectives freshly adjusted let's live out what we know. Each person we love who loves us back is a precious gift, not a given.

That's what we communicate when we say those three simple, wonderful words, "I love you."

And don't forget the hugs,

Lenore

Question for you: What story can you share with the rest of us? (Just click on "Comments" at the end and follow directions.)

 

  

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Learning from Haiti survivors how to make it through our tough times

We see the images and wonder how anyone could survive this.  And yet...people did.

You've heard the unbelievable stories. Here are two that especially touched my heart. I think these two people have much to teach you and me.

One is Romel Joesph, a Haitian-born music teacher...who was born blind, or so sight-impaired that he is legally blind.

Imagine yourself pinned beneath rubble for eighteen hours, unable to move, not able even to see. Imagine knowing all along that while you were on the third floor when the earthquake struck, your pregnant wife had been on the first floor and you could not know  whether she was alive or dead. (She did not survive.)

Romel Joseph told interviewers how he got through that wrenching time. I caught his story while driving and later looked it up in the N.P.R. archives. Here's the gist of how he survived the horror.

"I knew I could not allow my mind to wander and to keep thinking only about rescue. So I decided to keep a strict schedule, hour by hour. I set aside the first twenty minutes for prayer and meditation," Joseph says. "After that I focused my mind on favorite pieces of music I knew, one at a time. I forced myself to concentrate, note by note, as precisely as if I were directing an orchestra. In effect, that took me to another place in my mind. For that time I did not feel my pain, did not allow myself to wonder whether help would arrive.

"Hour by hour, that's what I did. First the prayer and meditation, then the music. So I not only killed time, but I reminded myself I was not alone. I told myself I was brushing up on my directing skills and I mentally escaped the space where I was."

Romel Joseph is no stranger to tragedy. He founded the New Victorian School in 1991, in Port-au-Prince, to teach music to Haitian children. That school burned to the ground exactly ten years to the day before this earthquake once again leveled the school.

Friends dug him out after eighteen hours lying there with his leg pinned and crushed under concrete. Surgeons also repaired his severely fractured left hand, but they cannot say whether he'll regain full function...and what is a violinist without a left hand that works? 

But Joseph plans to rebuild as soon as he can. As he puts it, "I need more than an earthquake to make me stop my work in Haiti!"

I think this man shows us how in the midst of fears and troubles we can deliberately turn our thoughts to other things, to people we love, to happier times and, yes, to God. Our situation may not change, but our ability to cope will.

Another rescued woman in a television interview (couldn't find her story in print) told what enabled her to hang on. She said something like this. "I lost everything except what matters most," she said, holding up her Bible. "I could not move, there in the dark, so I searched my memory and remembered some Psalms. I kept repeating them over and over, especially Psalm 46. God brought me through this, praise be, and here I am." 

For thousands in Haiti, this was--and is--the worst of times. Thank God most of us will not be caught in anything like that earthquake. Yet I think these two accounts teach us a lot about surviving our own fears and sorrows without crumbling under the load. 

Perhaps you love Psalm 46, too. I often find myself going back to my old, dog-eared Bible, to reread sections I've underlined in the past. Always, that includes these favorite verses of Psalm 46. 

Psalm 46

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
   an ever-present help in trouble.

 ² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
   and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

 ³ though its waters roar and foam
   and the mountains quake with their surging... 

 ⁵  God is within her, she will not fall;

God will help her at break of day...

 ¹⁰ "Be still, and know that I am God;
   I will be exalted among the nations,
   I will be exalted in the earth."

 ¹¹ The LORD Almighty is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our fortress.
   Selah

God's peace and blessings, 

Lenore

 

 

Let's hear it for the wives! And the husbands! And the children! And the parents!

Today is Veteran's Day, November 11. One day after the Texas Memorial for the twelve Fort Hood soldiers gunned down at the Base. (One civilian also was killed.)

These dead, too, were killed in a war...the one that remains nameless.

I watched the memorial service through tears. Perhaps you did, too. When family members processed past these soldiers' photographs, they stopped at only one. Some touched their loved one's photo, some held on with both hands, some wept openly. Their faces weren't shown, but I felt our watching world intruded on what should have been their private moment.

Every November 11th, one word screams at me: pain. The pain endured by those who serve actively and how it changes their lives. Those who love them and pray for their safety and wait for their return live with pain, too. Sometimes that pain never leaves.

Every Veteran's Day reminds me of a handsome cousin I never knew who was killed in World War II. My aunt and uncle had four younger children, but that didn't cancel their grief at losing one. Years later her eyes would tear and she took on a misty expression whenever she mentioned his name or looked at his photograph.

I understand that better now. For the past several years two of our granddaughters have served in the Navy, one in Intelligence, one in the Medical Corps. The latter served one tour in Kuwait and another near Baghdad. My husband and I are very proud of both of them--and we pray every day that God will keep them safe.

Our entire family breathed a collective sigh of relief and thanks both times our granddaughter was back on American soil. This last week reminds us all that being in the Armed Forces and stationed here in the States does not guarantee safety. 

I think we need Veteran's Day, this annual reminder that Freedom is not free. Preserving the freedoms we casually take for granted carries an extremely high price tag.

One U.S. Marine Corps chaplain expressed it well:

"It is the soldier, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag."

~Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, Sergeant, USMC

May we never forget that--and may we honor those who serve now, as well as those who have given of their lives in service to America. Next time you and I spot someone in uniform it will mean the world to that individual if we take time to shake their hand and say, "Thank you for your service. May God watch over you."

That may seem a small thing--and it is--but it may mean the world to one person.

And with the world as it is, let's pray for God's protection and preservation of this United States of America and for all those who serve you and me, at home and overseas. 

Blessings,

Lenore

What kind of frog are you?

Maybe you've read this tale before, about a frog who triumphed. I don't know the original author, but it's timeless. Good lessons lie all around us... 

Once upon a time a bunch of tiny frogs arranged a running competition. Their goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.

A big crowd gathered around the tower, to see the race and cheer on the contestants. (Actually, they were waiting to see them fail. After all, how far can a small frog expect to climb?)

Then the race began, with excited frogs jumping up and down. 

Everyone who watched from down below said things like this:

"Oh, that's way too difficult. They will never make it to the top."

 "There's no chance they will succeed. Look how high that tower is--that's way too hard for a frog, especially a small frog!"

One by one the tiny frogs quit, exhausted. A few, more determined, kept on climbing.

All along the crowd kept yelling, "This is impossible! None of them can make it!"

One by one, more tiny frogs dropped out and gave up trying. 

But one kept going, slowly inching higher and higher, panting hard all the way... The crowd down below grew silent, holding their breath. At last that frog--the one who never won a race in his life--stood at the very top. 

Now everyone down below cheered and clapped, except for those who gave up along the way.  

Finally that winning frog came down. All the watchers crowded around him, wanting to know how this one frog did it, when all the others failed.

"Where did you find the strength to keep on and reach such a big goal? Didn't you hear everyone yelling that this tower was too high and you'd never make it, that you had absolutely no chance to get to the top?"

"Well, it didn't bother me what anybody was saying down here. I just kept my eye on the top, because, well,  that's where I wanted to go.

"Besides, I couldn't hear them.  I'm deaf, you know..." 

Sooo... Let's learn from that tiny frog.

Right now the news centers on gloom. We--or the people around us--may be slogging through some tough times. That makes it easy to be negative and hard to be encouragers.

But Froggy shows us how to keep pushing ahead. Let's tune out the negative. Let's be stone cold deaf when people tell us we cannot do it.

One more thing. Let's remember that our words, too, have power to flatten the dreams of other people...Or bless them. We get to choose.

The tongue has the power of life and death...      Proverbs 18:21

Oh, by the way, let's not forget the One who walks with us and promises to hold us up all the way (Isaiah 40:29-30.)

Lenore

Agree? Disagree? Any experiences to share? Your comments welcomed here.  

 

Feeling troubled? Here's how to find peace

Ever looked back and thought life felt safer when you were growing up? Most of us have.

After all, we get a steady parade of dangers and crises that march past us in our headlines and on our television screens, over and over. It seems there's no safe place on earth.

Maybe recent events in your life have knocked the props out from under what you thought was fixed, or at least predictable.

Perhaps right now you're at a low place, uncertain about tomorrow, let alone the future. Life feels overwhelming. 

Nevertheless, you and I needn't live in fear. The One who rules the world and holds it all together also holds our personal world together. He alone is the place of safety.

Bad things still happen to good people, but...if, or when, they do, we need not face them alone. If you're mucking through a down time at the moment, then know this.

He who is Truth is your friend.

He who is Love will not abandon you.

He who is comfort will speak peace to your heart, not afterward, when the memory fades a bit, but in the midst.

He will if you let Him...if you give Him your fears and your troubled heart.

That's the price, the only price: to loosen the clenched fingers of your heart and let him in. 

Are you willing?

(Jesus said) "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me...Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."                      --John 14:1, 17

I'm praying that you are.

His peace,

Lenore

Your comments welcomed here! Agree or disagree?