yrwts

yrwts

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

How does the name "Mephibosheth" sound????

Last night my husband and I went to my cousin, Gayla's home for a Clemons-Watts Cousin's Christmas dinner.  It was WONDERFUL.  Gayla's mom and dad were there and her sister and brothers and all their families.  We laughed and talked about the craziness of the past and we all learned a little more about one another.  The best part of the evening for me, though, had to be sitting with my Aunt Sandra and Uncle Sam for several hours.  It has been so many years since I got to spend that much time with them... it was just heavenly.  (I did so miss my son and his family and my sister and hers.)
One of the things that remains confusing for those of us sitting around that table last night was the names our ancestors choose to be known by...
...grand-daddy's name was Christopher Otto... he choose to be called Otto over Christopher or Chris
...our grandmother was Bessie Leella, she disliked her name... she kept Bessie and was known by that name but, she changed her middle name to Lee... nowdays we might have gone for Bess and kept the Leella
...our great aunt's name was Minnie Beulah... she choose to be called Beulah instead of Minnie or even Min
We had aunts named Prude and Toncie and uncles named L.Z. and Ira Ligeren (which was pronounced Ar Liggern.  Also, the word "aunt" was pronounced "aint"... it is an Arkansas thing, okay?)
There were older cousins named Eightsie, Texie, Snookie and Tootser.  (Eightsie's husband's given name, by the way, was Bum.  Yes, it was BUM.  Also, the Snookie in our family has never been to the Jersey shore and I am quite sure she never heard anything about orange-colored fake tans.)
Today, I was just thinking about the fact that I sat there in that beautiful home in McKinney with my Uncle's family all around me and my husband.  It has been so long since we have been together the way we were together last night.  God brought to my memory another person with a really strange name, Mephibosheth.
I felt like him last night.  He was one of the royal family who reigned prior to David.  His daddy was Jonathan, David's best friend, and his grandpa was Saul.  When Saul and Jonathan were killed, Mephibosheth was taken into hiding  by a nurse.  While attempting to save Mephibosheth, she dropped him and he was crippled.  In her haste she hurt him permanently and his inablity to walk caused him shame and it cost him opportunities to be with other people and just enjoy each other's company.  Also, he grew up knowing there were people who wanted to harm him, even kill him.
King David was indeed looking for members of Jonathan's family.  But, he did not want to harm them nor kill them.  Instead he wanted to know them personally, he wanted to bless them with an inheritance because of the love he had for their father.  Once David found Mephibosheth, he had his servants bring Mephibosheth and his infant son to Jerusalem, to the King's splendid home.  David in no way wanted to harm Jonathan's son.  He had him brought to sit at the table with the king!  To share stories about his dad!  He learned things about his dad and his heritage from David that no one else knew!  What a blessing!  Mephibosheth's shame was replaced with honor.
This is who I was last night... Mephibosheth!  Sitting at the table next to my Uncle Sam and listening to my sweet cousin's stories, I was Mephibosheth.
Over the last year and a half, God has been doing some great things in my life... reconnections with people that I have missed for so long and doors are opening that are very exciting!
Let's see... wonder what God has planned next????????????  It just keeps getting better!

Thank you to my FAMILY for the lovely visit last night,
Your cousin, Mephibosheth... I can't decide if I like it more or less than Sharon!

Praying today for:
The nation of Haiti
The state of Utah

Monday, December 13, 2010

He gave me the whole world...

When it comes to uncles, I got the best.  My two uncles on my mother's side, Uncle Sam and Uncle Loy, were always very close to me when I was younger.  I just thought they knew everything, and both of them wrote the book on being cool as far as I was concerned. 
My uncle Loy always wants to give children gifts to make them think.  To open up the world to us.  The Christmas when I was 8 years old, he literally gave me the world.  My Uncle Loy gave me a globe.
It was so pretty.  Every nation had a unique color.  And when it came to the U.S.A., every state had a unique color.
I remember looking at that globe and finding the U.S.A.  Then I found MY state, Oklahoma.  then, I looked really close and there it was... my home town, Oklahoma City!  I still remember the excitement as I realized that I lived in the very middle of the best city, of the best state, of the best nation in the the WHOLE world!  Even at that young age, I wondered WHY???  I had heard on tv and at church about the children who lived in other areas of the world and how they did not have even the basic things.  Why did God let me be born right in the middle of all that goodness?  It actually humbled me.  I knew even then that I was very blessed and I was thankful.
I am 59 now and that globe is long gone, but it will never be forgotten.  I have moved just a few hundred miles to the south, but I still cannot believe that God blessed me to live in the wonderful places that I have lived.

Thanks, Uncle Loy, for introducing me to the whole world.

Praying today for:
The nation of Indonesia
The state of Vermont

Remember, Nana loves you!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Two guys that were close to Jesus...

There are two of the Disciples whose actions are expecially noted in the Bible at the time of Jesus arrest and crucifiction...  Peter and Judas.
Judas betrayed the Lord our of greed.  He didn't care who Jesus was... he was offered money and he took it.  I wonder what was in Judas' heart and mind when he got close enough to Jesus to betray Him with a kiss.  Surely they were eye to eye... Jesus spoke right to Judas personally.  Judas was one of those present when Jesus said, "Greater love has no man than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command you."  What on earth was Judas thinking when Jesus looked right at him in that garden and said, “Do what you came for, friend.” Matthew 26:50  (The word for "friend" in John is a word that means "dear friend, close neighbor, actively fond of one another".  In Matthew the word "friend" Jesus uses translates, "fellow or friend".  Not a derogatory term, but not one of whom affection or loyalty is expected.)  Wonder if Judas noticed the change of words?  Was Judas ashamed at all when he looked in Jesus face that night?
The other disciple mentioned is Peter.  He betrayed Jesus out of fear.  After making a big deal of how he would never let Jesus down, never back away, never betray Him... Jesus tells Peter that he will indeed betray Him.  Three times before the next day dawns!  After Jesus was arrested and taken to the high priests court, Peter is sitting out by a fire in that courtyard.  A young girl annoys Peter over and over saying, "You are one of Jesus followers."  The thrid time she accuses him and the third time he denies it, a rooster crows announcing the dawn of a new day and right then, Jesus is walked out through the courtyard and He locks eyes with Peter! (Luke 22:61)  Peter left and "wept bitterly".
What happened to each man after these encounters is what makes the difference. 
After Judas realized what he had done, he went back to the very people that had aided him in his own downfall... the scribes and priests.  He was looking for a way out of his mess.  He ran from Jesus.  He ran from the diciples.  The scribes and priests were no help.  They shoved him aside and told him to take his blood money and go.  Judas took his life.   He did not get what he was looking for... a better life... and instead death swallowed him whole.
After Peter's betrayal of the Lord, Peter went to find the other disciples.  There are several verses that put Peter with them.  He and several of them decided to take up fishing again.  Their lives were unsure, but they remained close to one another.  Then one day, after Jesus resurrection... there is Jesus... sitting on shore.  By a fire.  Cooking food. John recognizes Jesus and Peter is the one who flies out of the boat and runs to Jesus and unlike the situation by the fire at the courtyard of the priest,  this fireside chat went very differently!  Peter knew that his relationship with Jesus was restored.
Jesus is ready to restore our relationship to Him, He is ready to feed us.  We just have to run TO Him instead of away.

Praying today for:
The nation of U.S.A.
The state of Oklahoma

Remember, Nana loves you.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Did you ever wonder????

Since the last book of the Bible was written 2,000 years have passed.  Have you ever wondered about how many preachers and teachers there are in this world teaching and preaching sermons and lessons?  Think about all the people writing Christian books and blogs, too.  All of this has gone on for over 2, 000 years... and it is still exciting and amazing!  There are still things to learn and glean from the Bible.
How can this be???  There are only 66 books.  Only 773,692 words. 
Now, you would think after 2,000 years there would be nothing more to be said.
But... every day someone finds something new!  And every time someone finds something new, it points to the same person, Jesus Christ!  John 21:25 says, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written."
So, even after all those sermons, all those lessons, all those books... when we finally meet Him face to face we will get to find out all those "other things" that He did!  I guess that is why heaven is eternal... in 2,000 years we haven't covered everything we have been told... imagine what there is STILL to learn!  I am sure we will all be like the Queen of Sheba when she met with Solomon and say like she did,

"Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. However, I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard.  Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!  Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” 1 Kings 10:6-9

Praying today for:
The nation of Mexico
The state of Texas

Remember, Nana lovs you!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

What is in a name? A LOT!

WOW!  I just got through listening to Jack Groblewski, senior pastor of NC4, in Bethlehem, Pa. He was just speaking straight to me!  He takes us back to the baby in the manger and we look at that baby through Isaiah 9:6.
Having bariatric surgery has opened up doors to deal with anxiety, fears, and stress in new ways.  Eating my way through those things is not working and has to stop.  I was praying earlier tonight after going through the work book my doctor gave me.  I am really afraid of dealing with this "new me".  I cannot do this on my own.  I need God to help me change my thinking, my actions, and my reactions.While I am helpless in this situation to do it on my own, that sermon just opened my eyes and my heart to the message of Christ as a baby and what I can learn from that part of His life.  Here is a link to that sermon:


When you click that link you will be taken to another page, click the title of the sermon on that page and you will be able to listen.

I do not think it is an accident nor a coincidence that Pastor Jack ended that sermon with words about dealing with fears, anxiety and stress.  It was right after I prayed for God to help me with dealing with those very things!

Praying today for:
The nation of Peru
The state of Louisiana

Remember, Nana loves you.
   

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Sometimes you have to just relax...

It looks like it might just be after the first of the year before I can get my surgery done.  My doctors are requiring me to have a stress test at the last minute.  That will take at least a week... then, my surgeon will submit the request for surgery to my insurance for approval.  It takes between 2-6 weeks for the insurance to answer back. 
At first, I was so disappointed.  I have worked so hard this year.  I was in a panic.  The "What if's" started pouring into my brain.  And, I am just flat out tired of waiting.  I want to get started losing weight for real!!!
Then, all of a sudden, I realized.  There is not one thing I can do.  It is beyond my control.  I have prayed about it and God has gotten me through so far.  So, this all boils down to this, do I trust God to get me through this or don't I?  I am not God.  I have no control over the insurance company to speed them up, nor over the doctor who will do my stress test to speed him up.
So, it is time to just stop fretting, relax and just keep working on my goal. 
(A call to the company that will carry my policy starting January 1st revealed to me that they will pay for the surgery.  I am sure that I will  have to wait until after January 1st to finally get to have surgery.
And, that's okay!)

Praying today for:
The nation of The Ukraine
The state of Delaware

Remember, Nana loves you!!!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

If Eve tasted these apples, she would never share them with Adam!

I had the BEST treat this evening!  Baked Apples!  But, I made them in the microwave!!!  They were as easy as they were good!

Here is a link to the recipe:

Mom's Baked Apple Slices

I only cooked one apple and I used less cinamon, and a touch of vanilla flavoring (instead of maple syrup), and the equivalent of 1 T. of Splenda instead of sugar.  So... it was legal, but tasted sinful!

YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They would be good with whipped cream, ice cream or on pancakes.  (But, then it wouldn't be legal, would it???)

Praying today for:
The nation of Holland
The state of Iowa

Remember, Nana loves you!