Treasures to Ponder

Luke 2:19 "But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart."

For generations Mothers have stored treasures in their hearts, thoughtfully pondering significant moments in their lives. 

Mary had many things to ponder:

The strange course her life had suddenly taken as she was chosen to bear the Messiah, 

The message of the Angel, 

The pregnancy of cousin Elisabeth, 

The dream of Joseph, 

The unusual call for a worldwide census prompting the trip to Bethlehem,

The visit of the shepherds who, in response to an angelic choir, came seeking the newborn child. 

And I wonder -

What are some of the things I treasure in my heart?
What causes me to ponder?

The older I get the more treasures accumulate, until I sometimes think my heart cannot possibly hold any more.

Memories from my early years at the Bible Camp my father directed,

Fun in our family home at the foot of the mountain,

Youth for Christ choir,

Church youth group,

Nursing school,

Meeting my husband, Pete, and the journey we've taken as a married couple - from PA to Illinois, to Tennessee, back to PA, to Nigeria, to PA, to Kenya, and to Kansas - each stop filled with moments to treasure and to ponder.

God's provision

God's protection

God's direction

The hurts

The healings

The helps

And with the birth of each of our children and grandchildren came many more moments to treasure and to ponder.
Each child, a unique treasure, dearly loved and wanted. 

Each memory like a shining pearl on a strand of best-loved pearls.

Sometimes life gets so crazy and hectic that we don't take time to ponder. 

Maybe now - in this last third of my life - it is good to think back, to remember and to recount, to lift my voice in thankful praise to God - who in His miraculous grace and mercy - gave me much to treasure.

How about you? What treasures will you ponder?

O Come let us adore him….

  

 First written in Latin in the 1700’s, the words of the carol, O Come All Ye Faithful, still resound throughout the world as Christians gather to celebrate the birth of Christ.  

I looked up the word “adore” and found this meaning:  ‘to worship or honor as a deity or as divine, to regard with loving admiration and devotion, to love or admire someone very much, to take great pleasure in.” (Merriam Webster online dictionary)

So when we sing the refrain we are saying, ‘Come let us worship Him, let us give him honor, let us recognize that He is divine! Let us admire Him with unhesitating devotion’.  And I wonder if we really mean what we sing.

Jesus said if you love me you will do what I say. So if I truly adore Him my life will reflect a humble obedience to His lordship in my life.

Ah, so what is there about Him to adore?  I challenge you this Christmas season to make an A-B-C list of qualities you admire about the Lord Jesus. Maybe it could be a family activity.

Here are some ideas to get you started.

He is Almighty, Benevolent, Compassionate, Defender …

What will your list look like?

  

“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother,

and fell down, and worshiped him.”  Matthew 2:11a

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Dad and Mom Haken with the Grandkids

Today was my Dad’s birthday. He’s been gone 25 years already and I still miss him.

I can still hear him praying with me on the telephone whenever we talked.

I remember him witnessing to the nursing staff when he was in the hospital having chemo.

I remember him telling me from his hospital bed that I "married a good man.”

His love for people was only exceeded by his love for God. Although as a child I did not always appreciate it, I remember him reading the Bible at the table after supper and leading the family in prayer. I remember hearing him pray out loud with Mom in their bedroom at night and hearing my name as they prayed for us kids.

I remember him bringing unexpected guests home to have a meal with us, often at the last minute. I remember his love for missionaries and mission work.

I remember how much people loved his Bible teaching and I recall the hours he would spend in his downstairs study preparing. I remember how much he loved doing “the Lord’s work.” No task was too menial or too great – whether cleaning gutters at the Bible Camp, or preaching from the pulpit at various churches, or visiting the sick and imprisoned, or counseling those in troubled marriages, or leading a board meeting – it was all the Lord’s.

And I wonder why God took him so early? Why after only 68 years? And I don’t know.

Had he lived we would have celebrated his 93^rd birthday today. But he is more alive now than ever before because he believed it when God said, “I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish” and “Whoever has the Son has life.”

So, Happy Birthday, Dad. I couldn’t have asked for a better Father. God blessed me when He put me in your family. I love you.  (And yes, I still remember that you didn’t put up with us showing any disrespect to our mother. J)

And I sometimes wonder what my children will remember about me when I am gone.  What will yours?

Thanks Giving

O give thanks unto the Lord; 

call upon his name:

make known his deeds among the people. 

Psalm 105:1

In light of current world events, we are surrounded by people who are deeply disheartened and fearful. The political climate is hostile, the social atmosphere is antagonistic and culturally we are way outside the box of our forefathers' world. 

And now, in the middle of the chaos, many will gather next Thursday to commemorate an earlier time in history.  And sometimes those gatherings can turn into disagreeable and tense discussions sadly lacking in the hoped-for climate of peace and thankfulness. 

The first Thanksgiving was a celebration of life, survival, harvest, provision, protection, a new start in a new land in the midst of hardship and suffering.  But today, what is there to celebrate? 

Thanksgiving is and always was God's idea. These words of the Psalmist give an outline for a truly wonderful Thanksgiving Day agenda. 

1. "Give thanks unto the Lord."

Thank him for his presence and his provision.

If you're stuck for ideas try making an A-Z list.

And be grateful!

2. Pray  - "Call upon His name"  

Prayer has become unpopular - even forbidden in some venues. Yet what greater way to have a thankful heart than to go to the Giver of life in prayer!

3. Tell - "Make known his deeds among the people."
So, what has He done? 

Who can you tell?

As you celebrate Thanksgiving this year, help steer the course of conversation toward thankfulness. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

"In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

It's a beautiful day here in Kansas this morning. 

Birds are hopping around the bird feeder on the deck 

and I just picked these from my garden in the front yard.  

I have a steaming cup of coffee in front of me,

made with my favorite creamer, coconut, of course.

  

 The sun is streaming through the glass of the patio doors 

and the Christmas Cactus is getting ready to bloom.

I just got off a good long phone call with my daughter-in-law (so fun to chat with her)

and am looking forward to some Skype time with my daughter and family in Austria. 

Hardly feels like November in Kansas - especially as the weather man 

just predicted snow in some neighboring areas.

It's easy to find my heart rejoicing on a day like this. 

But what about later, 

when the ice and snow hits, 

health fails, and the energy wanes?

How will I feel when relationships struggle or bad news arrives?

Will I be grateful and rejoicing then? 

I hope so. But just in case, I'm going to post something to help me remember. This is what the prophet Habakkuk said about rejoicing in the down times:

Habakkuk 3:17-18 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, 

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

So, today, a gorgeous fall day here in Kansas, I rejoice. 

And later when winter hits, I'll choose joy. 

How about you?

 

Keep Standing

What a time to be alive! We are surrounded by pain, death, and destruction, anger and hostility, prejudice and race baiting, rebellion and defiance, genocide, infanticide, homicides of every kind, burglaries, corruption, and lies.  Massacres, beheadings, random killings, and suicides are on the increase, while baby body parts are for sale in the name of research.  Right is called wrong and wrong is called right. Legality is called unfair and illegal activity is called showing compassion. Tolerance is demanded but only for those deemed politically correct. The Bible is discounted, the constitution reinterpreted, and history rewritten.  False religion is catered to, while Christianity is penalized.  Hard honest work is demeaned and laziness rewarded. Age is disrespected, youth is worshiped. Past history is vilified or denied. What’s newest, biggest, best is glorified. Honesty and integrity have no value. Leaders are not held accountable and wolves in sheep’s clothing are leading their flocks to destruction.

Who would have ever imagined a world like this?

How does one stand against the tidal wave of sludge?

In 1922 Helen Lemmel penned these words:

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Refrain:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conqu’rors we are!

His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

That’s the key. That’s how we stand in a world gone awry. We stand with eyes fixed on Jesus, his peace ruling in our hearts, his word dwelling in us richly,  doing all to his glory,  and clinging to his great and precious promises.

For an extra dose of encouragement read Hebrews 12:1-3; Colossians 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:3-4. And while you’re at it, try singing the words of Helen Lemmel’s song, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.”

Have a blessed day!

The Exchange

Early this morning, while looking at this plaque on my wall, my thoughts turned to an old hymn. There is such great theology found in many of the old hymns. 

It's a wonder they are so seldom heard or sung anymore. 

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Lyrics: Joseph M. Scriven, 1820-1886

Music: Charles C. Converse, 1832-1918 

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! 

What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he'll take and shield thee; thou wilt find a solace there. 

What a trade-off: My cares for His peace. 

Sounds like a good exchange to me! 

Should God bless America?

In a culture that discounts God, it has become popular to tag the benediction, “God bless America,” at the end of speeches.

But why should He?

In the Bible, blessing of God was conditionally promised

• In response to obedience to Him. (See Genesis 22:18, Deut. 7:12-14,  Deut. 11:26-29, Deut. 15:4-6, Deut. 28:1-13, Deut. 30:16)
• In response to proper and sincere worship of Him. (Ex. 23:24-26)
• To those who were generous toward the poor and who cared for the vulnerable. (Deut. 15:9-11, Deut. 24:19, Proverbs 14:21, Proverbs 22:9)
• When others are treated with compassion (Deut. 15:17-19, Deut. 23:20, Psalm 41:1).
• To those who delight in God’s Word and don’t take ungodly counsel. (Psalm 1)
• To those who take refuge in Him (Psalm 2:12, Psalm 34:8)
• To the righteous (Psalm 5:12)
• To the nation whose God is the Lord. (Psalm 33:12)
• To those who trust in God. (Psalm 40:4, Psalm 84:12, Proverbs 16:20, Jeremiah 17:7)
• To those who walk with Him. (Psalm 89:15-16)
• To those who act justly and always do what is right. (Psalm 106:3)
• To those who fear God and find great delight in His commands. (Psalm 112:1-3, Psalm 115:13, Psalm 128:1,4)
• To the blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord, who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their hearts. (Psalm 119:1, 2)
• To those whose hope is in the Lord. (Psalm 146:5)
• To those who wait for Him (Isaiah 30:18)
• To the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, those who are insulted and falsely accused on account of Christ (Matthew 5:3-11)
• To those who call on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:12,13)
• To those who rely on faith (Galatians 3:9)
• To those who bless Israel. (Genesis 2:2,3)

      So, how do we stack up?

We have thrown God out of our schools, our history books, our families, our courts, and our government. We remove and disregard His commands, and disrespect His Word. With self ruling on the throne of our hearts, we worship idols of pleasure and entertainment. We have allowed the slaughter of millions of the most vulnerable. We worry about offending everyone except God. Wrong is called right, and right is criminalized. Prayer is disallowed unless we are in big trouble or when we think we should get blessing.

Why should He bless us?

But maybe, just maybe, it’s not too late.

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

God, have mercy.

SURPRISE!

This month we celebrated our son Peter in a big way.  His 40^th birthday is the end of September and his wonderfully creative and organized wife wanted to have a surprise party for him.

And she succeeded brilliantly!

First, she chose a day he would least expect to be celebrated – almost 2 months before his actual birthdate.

Second, she prepared everything, and I mean everything, well in advance of the event date.

Third, she elicited help from trusted people – daughters, friends, and family.

Fourth, she invited others to participate in the celebration.

And finally, she gifted him with what she knew would be good.

To make the surprise special she had to do a lot of work behind the scenes;

work that kept Peter totally in the dark.

She is a blessing to her husband, and to those of us privileged to know her.

I thought of the many times God surprises me!

First – He ordained all my days before they came to be - Psalm 139:16

Then He prepared my activity in advance – Ephesians 2:10

He put others in my life to bless, counsel, train, challenge, correct, inspire, motivate and celebrate with me.  And He gave me opportunities to love and share with them.

Then He gifted me to do what He asked of me.

A lot of what God does is behind the scenes, unknown and unrecognized and sometimes leaving me seemingly in the dark...

until it bursts into my consciousness that my God truly is AT WORK!

He is good! 

His surprises are good!  

I just need to watch for Him.

I wonder ... how has God been surprising you?

"Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me."
Psalm 103:2 (NLT)

 

Need Deliverance?

I've been reading in the book of 1 Samuel lately. I just love the courage of David, the shepherd boy who faced up to the largest of enemies, killing him with a single stone. Seems impulsive and rash to engage an enemy that even the bravest and most experienced of soldiers refused to confront. Yet his confidence rested not on his ability with the slingshot, but on the deliverance of God he'd experienced in the past.

"The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine." (verse 37)

Raises the questions -
What has God delivered me from in the past?
What do I need deliverance from today?

Sometimes in the roughest of times, the most turbulent seas, it encourages our hearts to review the deliverance of God in past times of difficulty.

When face to face with the giant, David said, "You come to me with the sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of host, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have taunted... the battle is the Lord's." (verses 45, 47)

What faith! What confidence!
David went boldly into battle
     Armed with the assurance of God's presence,
     Equipped with only a slingshot and 5 little stones
To confront the well armed, heavily protected giant of a problem.
His courage and boldness were based on the belief that God would fight for him.
And his belief was rooted in the truth of seeing God's help in the past.

So - how about you? What has God delivered you from in the past?
What do you need deliverance from today?

May we be like David, who in times of great difficulty "encouraged himself in the Lord his God." 1 Samuel 30:6

"I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears."

Psalm 34:4

What is Truth?

What is truth? Ironically, Pilate asked that question with THE Truth standing right in front of him. John 18:38

Today I found myself in a bit of a sad funk… sad that what should be so clear has become murky… sad that we are compelled to see reality through funky distortion glasses… sad that truth has become whatever you want it to be...sad that children are being raised in such unstable times with shifting sand, instead of solid ground, under their feet.

Last night my husband and I watched a movie about a man adrift at sea. His sailboat was damaged and he was forced into his life raft. While he was gathering up supplies and preparing to abandon ship, the boat continued taking on water. The water level rose slowly inch by inch in the bottom of the vessel until, all of a sudden the water rushed in and within minutes the vessel sank out of sight beneath the surface of the sea.

In recent years society started down a slippery slope, moving little by little away from the absolute truth of Scripture, condoning convenience rather than conviction – redefining meanings and rewriting history to match our desires. It’s called being loving and accepting and even tolerant, but in reality it creates confusion and uncertainty. Where there is no solid foundation the structure is weak and unstable and soon collapses.

Call it what you want – a leaky boat, a slippery slope, an unstable structure – all are dangerous and threaten the very fabric of society.

What is truth? 

Jesus said He is the truth. John 14:6

The Holy Spirit is called “the Spirit of truth” who guides us into truth. John 16:13

God’s Word is truth. John 17:17

Jesus called sin “sin” and instructed: “go and sin no more.” 

He, the very personification of love and acceptance, did not compromise or change the standard for the comfort or convenience of anyone.  

He, THE TRUTH, spoke truth.

What is truth?  

The truth is freeing. John 8:32  

When you know the truth you can be set free; 

free to live and love and serve. 

But to know the truth there has to be acknowledgement of the truth. 

Absolutely. 

In His Time

Ecclesiastes 3:11  He has made everything beautiful in its time.

I think of how God brings blessings at just the right time – His time.

Like flowers that bloom in their season –

  First the early Crocus and the Daffodils,

 then the Tulips.

Just as I am bemoaning the finish of their season,

 the Lilac bushes burst into bloom,

 along with the Iris

and the Peonies.

 Now the Lilies are opening.

While throughout the season, 

Roses lend fragrance to the garden,

and African Violet blossoms brighten the windowsill. 

How wonderful that as we wait,

         each flower blooms – in its time.   

         Not all at once, 

         but throughout the season 

         and at various times.

So we are graced with God’s creative touches in their season.

Teach me, Lord, to wait.

Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

Isaiah 64:4