America just swore in the 45th President of the United States. Once again, we witnessed a peaceful transition of power. No cracked crowns. No military coup. We saw the public display of well wishes, hugs & handshakes and the departure of the previous President and his family. Yet, somewhere between the pomp and the platitudes lies a nation in crisis.
We the People
We’ve heard the words ‘We the People’ spoken in recent days. Our constitution’s preamble begins with these words and it’s not a bad place to start looking for answers. But what if we went deeper & made it more personal? What if we each looked beyond ‘We The People’ to ‘Me The Person’ and asked serious questions of ourselves?
- Does my desire to be heard supersede my obligation to listen?
- Is the light I desire to share dimmed by a self-righteous superiority of attitude with which I try to share that light?
- Have I relegated myself to the comfort of my like-minded friends for fear of clashing with a conflicting culture?
- Do the words I speak live up to the life that I have been given, or has my life made His words irrelevant to a watching & listening world?
Steadfast Hope
Our nation’s hope is not dependent upon changing cultural winds or political outcomes. It was not decimated when President Obama left the White House nor did it arrive with President Trump. Our hope is in a God who is in control and does not change. Psalm 103:19 The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.
God’s sovereignty was not sideswiped by this vicious election nor is it weakened by the bombastic and violent assertions of people wanting us to know they matter. Psalm 11:4 The Lord is in His holy temple, The Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. God sets up kings and establishes kingdoms according to His purpose. He knows what’s happening here.
How About You
Are you concerned about the unknowns of upcoming days? While it is unnerving to be sure, we need not quiver in a corner waiting for the proverbial hammer to fall. Rather, let’s examine our own hearts and determine what we can do to be part of the mending of our land. Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes. While we wait on God to turn the king’s (president’s) heart; maybe we should ask Him to turn ours as well.
God bless you and keep you,
Roxanne
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. ® Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Words fail me as I offer this brief New Year’s greeting. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have shared some of life’s lessons with you in 2016 and for the encouragement you’ve given me. Writing has certainly been a challenge and I have learned many things.
The day was long and dismal; the haters many. Evil enjoyed its finest hour as the Savior of the World hung dying on a cross. Darkness seized the day. Mockers shouted blasphemous cruelty at the One who came to seek and save that which was lost. While gamblers parted His garments, the Son-of-Man made provision for His mother and gave eternal hope to a dying thief.
It was the third day. Morning came and the last vestige of night rolled away with the stone. The Son of God rose with power, conquering the very death that once slew Him. Women came to anoint His body for a proper burial but He wasn’t there. The tomb lay empty, housing nothing more than a linen napkin and the empty shell of grave cloths. Life and Light conquered death and darkness; and every hope once buried with Christ rose with Him. And so we live.
Most all of us have been there before. You know, that place where your ‘should-have-been’ and your ‘wish-it-was’ doesn’t line up with your ‘how-it-is’. It’s not a fun place to be but there I was. I didn’t say anything, at least not out loud but the statement was made all the same. “Lord, I don’t know how to be anymore.” I wasn’t looking for an answer. I didn’t ask a question. Silent but sure the answer came, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” 
I sat alone, thinking after prayer meeting one morning. My mind wandered a bit until my eye caught the cross over the baptistery. It’s a simple cross; sanded, stained and varnished to match the rest of the wood in the church. It lends a respectful nod to the cross of long ago but lacks the rugged, brutal character of the one on which our Savior died.
You can almost smell it in the air. It should have its own season. Yep, it’s back-to-school time. While I don’t have a pony in this race back-to-school, I have perused the supply aisle at least once this summer. Why? For the love of school supplies and the memories they evoke. New pencils & pens, rulers & notebook paper. Love it, love it, love it! Protractors & compasses; not just for geometry. I could make flowers and measure angles & circumferences. Okay, so I wasn’t a math whiz. All those supplies in my well-appointed binder made this organization-loving heart of mine sing.
perfectionist tendencies. He demanded perfection. My failures are many and grievous. Good deeds and sacrifices could cover my them but could never take them away.
My first encounter with the author was brief and interesting. I spent little more than a few minutes mingling with other conferees when Cynthia approached the group. She was warmly greeted and seemed to be known by most. I introduced myself, expecting a cursory nice-to-meet-you. Instead, she was friendly and welcoming; stating how glad she was to meet ‘me’ and how much she looked forward to our time together. It was a far cry from the pseudo-smile this newbie expected to receive.
Our 15 minute meeting turned into an hour as she instructed and encouraged me. She showed me what to remove, what corrections to make and how to paint pictures with words. Cynthia went on to talk of beauty, possibility, potential and what she envisioned for the future. It was amazing.
Make lemonade. That’s the solution-part of the adage, ‘when life gives you lemons’. Those proverbial lemons refer to life’s trials; bumps that pop up on an otherwise pretty smooth road. Those trials take many forms, i.e. car problems, illness, trials of faith, etc. It could be ‘that one person’ that comes at just the right time with just ‘the wrong’ thing to say that sets your teeth on edge. In any case, the advice is the making of lemonade. In other words, make something good out of a bad situation.
“My heart is overflowing with a good theme.” So speaks the psalmist in 
How can anyone call them weeds? We were out one evening deciding where to set up the garden and I saw the cutest little daisies. Without hesitation, my husband deemed them weeds. We didn’t agree on the garden location or the ‘flowers’ that evening.
The disciples returned and though they said nothing, they too marveled that Jesus spoke with this woman. She ran into the village and told the men all what she heard saying, 
I bring good news! The marigolds are in. After a season of barren trees, flowerless planters and brown grass, I long to look out my kitchen window and see the cheery colorful blooms of marigolds. You can imagine my opening the sale paper of our local nursery to find these little lovelies on the front page. My flower-loving heart was overjoyed! Well, it was. My husband once asked if we needed to plant so many marigolds. In a word…yes!
As much as I enjoy the flowers, I really enjoy tomatoes. I was disappointed to find that there were not very many tomatoes though. Just behind the flowers, I found a bunch of tiny green tomatoes shaded from the much needed sun. I realized that something was going to be sacrificed that day and I wasn’t pleased. The solution came with the answer to one simple question, “What are you growing here?” Since I was growing tomatoes and the marigolds became detrimental to them, the marigolds had to go. It was that simple.
Hopefully Devoted 