Message to a Friend

What you are experiencing right now in this state of rebellion is the grace of God. He alone is the Giver of all life. He is our very breath, (Gen. 2:7). He chooses when and how long we breathe. There is only one God who gives us life. Physical, spiritual and emotional life, and when we rebel, we waste that precious life He gives.

Did the way get too narrow for you? Have you taken offense at someone? The way of rebellion is the broad way and at first it will seem like it gives freedom, but it's a trap. It all leads to captivity and eventual death. There is nothing you will find in this world that will match the love of Christ in your life. Why would you ignore His great love when you need it the most?

This may be a hard saying (John 6:60-64), but faithful are the wounds of a friend, Proverbs 27:5-9. If you are courageous, read Proverbs 27, the whole chapter. In it you'll find what grace gives, and also what rebellion gives when we insist on living our own way.

We are almost at the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century. Time is moving quickly my dear friend. I challenge you to take a great leap of faith, put away the lust of the flesh. You will never be satisfied fully in this world, but in Christ all of us are heirs to all things. Make 2010 a new beginning, the grace of our Christ is about restoration of all things. Let your alls be all.

TRC this Sunday, 9:30, 11:30. We're saving the seat for you. Friends are waiting.

My Christmas Thank You List

Did anyone watch AFV with a little boy that had a Christmas gift list a mile long and he didn't stop! The Santa would say is that all, when the little boy took a breath then he would start in again. He remembered the entire list in his head!

That video reminded me we should have a thank you list to Jesus that long. What other people have a God like our God? No one. So, this is my blog about the main things I'm thankful for.

The list starts out with Jesus, He is the center of everything. He is the reason for everything in this life; all we are, all we have, all we have accomplished. He is the reason we breathe. He is the Giver of life and salvation. Without that, nothing else adds up or makes sense. Second is my family. My husband and friend Jim for over 52 years and all the children we have together, and that's a lot! We are a blessed family. Third, is TRC, the best church we have ever been a part of. I'm thankful for faithful, loving pastors who diligently watch over our souls with our elders. I'm thankful for the life lessons I have learned at TRC. I'm thankful for being part of a
GIVING church. When criticism comes, it's a signal to give more!

I'm thankful for friends, in church and out of church. One friendship is over 30 years long. That's a treasure. When we see each other, we pick up where we left off. Friends are those who stick with you no matter what. When they have something to say, they say it. When there is nothing to say, they come to comfort. The greatest friend we all have is Jesus, He sticks closer that a brother, (that's in Proverbs.)

I'm thankful to Jesus for my cousin Jan. We have been watching God bless her life the last several decades. God has blessed her with a loving, faithful husband who loves the Lord, two beautiful daughters and a passle of grandchildren that make grandma and grandpa so proud. God has been taking good care of Jan as she has gone through some tough procedures for breast cancer. She has had her last chemo and radiation treatment and we are so thankful to God.

So what's on your "thank you God" list? Bless the blog world with your list.

Merry Christmas to everyone and God bless you.

Planting Seeds 2

Planting seeds always produces the goods. Planting seeds is a double-fold blessing. Joy when we plant; giving what we have, and joy when we reap the harvest.

Grandpa Amundson loved planting, then looking over the whole field with the satisfied look of a man who knew it was a job well done. He didn't say much, the look and nod of the head was enough. Planting was in his DNA too, his father before him, his father before him. So far, the news of family history has gone back to the 1700's in Norway.

The wisdom of Jesus uses planting and scattering seeds as a parable to teach us about the kingdom. God provides the seed, we plant and God gives the increase. We are workers together with God, it's a winning combination. Here are two of my favorite scriptures on scattered seed and harvest. Luke 8:12-15, 2Cor. 9:6-11. Scatter some seeds this week and the following week, and the week after...yielding an abundant harvest.

1. Surprise someone, ask them out to lunch because you know how valued they are to God. Their response might be, "You want to have lunch with us?"
2. 5.00 left in your pocket, purse or wallet? Go ahead, I dare you. Give it to someone.
3. Stop and talk to the next worried person you see, they're all over the place. Encourage them, tell them Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith.
4. Buy a coffee bar drink for that teenager who is sitting alone.
5. Volunteer once a month in the nursery. Feed, rock to sleep, change a poopy diaper and love on those special babies. Toni Knight is the lady to see.
6. Tell Mary you will help her clean the kitchen after lunch. If you need encouragement in your life, Mary and Sue are ready to give it out.
7. Buy a Bible for a brand new Christian.
8. Send a note of love and appreciation to pastors.
9. Be a voice of faith when things are shaking.
10. Be a good listener.

Pick one this week, without expecting thanks for what you do, then do something else the week after, the week after, the week after. Before you know it, a new habit has been established, the habit of good deeds. Good deeds are kingdom work and our eternal reward is coming. Imagine the look on the face of Jesus when He says, well done, you're a good servant.

"The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life..." Proverbs 11:30

Planting Seeds in Minnesota

I've got planting in my DNA. My brothers and I spent our summers on Grandpa and Grandma Amundson's farm in Rothsay, Minnesota. We had certain jobs to help Grandpa, all our uncles and farm hands as they did the work of farming. Amazing how scattered seed grows up to be straight, long rows of corn. It's a beautiful thing!

One of our jobs was to carry lunches and water and huge containers of fresh milk to the workers. No easy thing for barefoot kids who wanted to play. We had to cross several fields to find just where they were. Some fields had been plowed, some had not.

The unplowed fields were hard, baked-in-the-sun dirt. Still had razor sharp grain stems from the year before sticking up out of the dirt. It was slow moving in this field. It's like the heart that has been unplowed by the Holy Spirit. Hard, impossible to plant seeds in. Just not ready! We loved the freshly plowed field. Soft, warm straight rows of dirt. So soft our feet would sink deep down. That field is like the heart that is plowed by the Holy Spirit. Ready to receive, soft and ready, already warmed by the sun. We are changed by the work of the Holy Spirit!

Ahhh yes, the lunch. The Minnesota "little lunch." Remember, these workers are hungry because they have been working since sunup, so lunch for them is at 10 AM. Must have potatoes, meat (preferably beef, occasionally Grandma would kill one of her chickens for a delicious fried chicken lunch) and either homemade white bread or lefse. Lefse is a Norwegian delight! Made out of mashed potatoes, butter, small amount of cream and flour. Baseball sized globs are then rolled out flat and placed on a very hot greaseless griddle till bubbly and browned. Turns out the lefse looks a lot like a flour tortilla! After all this, is there room for dessert and coffee from the thermos? You betcha! Usually pie. Custard pie of some kind or homemade cookies. My brothers and I would eat the lefse and watch these heros of our childhood consume the lunch we had brought. We would then clean up everything, grab the metal containers that held the lunch, wash them all up and be ready to go again with a snack and coffee at 4pm.

By sundown everyone was finished for the day and all gathered around the big table in the kitchen-dining room. We had walked in to the smell of either freshly baked white bread or lefse. Yum! While it was still dark the next day, Grandma and Grandpa would be stirring around, ready to begin the next day of spring planting. Love for the farm motivated them every day. Nothing stopped them from doing the work of planting and harvesting. Not hail, tornadoes, too much spring rain, or pesky bugs that threatened the crops. They always came back to finish the
job.

All of us are farmers. Or fishermen and women. More on scattering seed tomorrow, going to celebrate Olivia's 7th birthday.

Influence 3

Here is a question for you when you think about being an influence for good in the body of Christ. "Where can I influence in a greater way? Don't let Satan negate our influence with people. Forget what you aren't doing, just do. Take another step up the mountain." P. Jeff.

Here are some descriptive words and phrases P. Jeff ended with: healing, selfless, focus, willing, serve, compassion, generosity ("This is our culture. There is no other way." P. Jeff), faithfulness,, love, forgive, thanks, values, pray, helpers, influencers, go, grace. Phrases: the whole Church, ministers of healing, speak truth, exist for others, don't assume, at one, to be shared, dream big with P. Jeff and P. Melinda, kingdom work, salt of the earth (Mt. 5: 13) influence the kingdom, be about your Father's business, people of damaged faith will find their way back, anchor to you Jesus, called to promote Jesus and his kingdom.

"Our influence matters."

Influence 2

At some point in our lives we have all had people who have influenced us. I clearly remember the people that had influence in my life before and after I became a follower of Jesus.

All of the following sentences in quotes are from P. Jeff. One of the most powerful statements P. Jeff made was this. "Our influence matters." Influence can lead us to do positive things or negative things. Not one person in this world can say they are without influence. Did you know that being an influencer is a skill that we can learn?

"We MODEL influence. What we say and do will be repeated!" How many of you have had the experience of having a child repeat what they have heard at home? Oh-oh! It's happened to us, that's modeling. One day I saw the three children of a couple from church doing what they know mommy and daddy do. They had Bibles in their hands, Sunday best t-shirts and shorts on, walking with a very determined walk into the lobby. Doing what has been modeled for them consistently.

"We MOTIVATE when we communicate on an emotional level." Sometimes influencing requires us to be cheerleaders to others and that's a good thing!

"We are MENTORS when we have direct focus on a person, we build confidence and trust." One of the greatest blessings in our lives as Christ followers, AND one of the greatest responsibilities is to mentor other people.

"We are MULTIPLIERS. This is the highest level of influence." The book of Acts is the story of many of the Churches greatest influencers, their love for Christ had highly motivated them to go out and multiply the Church. And here we are today, in the 21st century. Here is a challenge for you. Read and reread the book of Acts and learn from some of the best! What an adventure story of these influencers!

Influence 1

A week ago Tuesday evening, P. Jeff talked to the Support Team and elders about being influencers in our church, communities, nation and world-wide. It wasn't a brand new message. He has taught on being an influence when he began his pastoral ministry. In fact, Jesus taught His disciples on having influence.

All of us who have the Spirit of God residing in us, have influence in people's lives. Whether we realize it or not, God's Spirit has given us gifts. All of us have gifts and those gifts are to influence the people that God sends into our lives. We may be in a place where we think we either don't have the motivation to influence...because we are too shy? Afraid to speak? Positive we will be rejected? Any number of reasons we can come up with. The truth remains, God has given us gifts. We are fully equipped to influence people to be saved and to become dedicated followers of Christ. (Hebr. 13:20-21, Eph. 4:11-13, 2Tim. 3:16-17).

Our influence is one of the most important gifts we have been given, and P. Jeff inspired us to be influencers in His great kingdom. If you wern't there, I'm going to blog some of the things P. Jeff said so you can be blessed too.

I- influence in the same direction, unity. Thoughts, actions, deeds align.
N- nurture, TRC leaders will never intentionally hurt people, give the benefit of the doubt.
F- faith, show our faith, what we stand for.
L- listen, focus on people you are talking to, have empathy. Having empathy is not always
having answers.
U- understand, having sympathy for people.
E- enlarge our sphere of influence, enlarge our thinking, make a committment to enlarge our
visibility and come to both services.
N-navigate change.
C- connect people to people when your plate is full.
E- empower others.
R- reproduce great influencers

Breakfast at the Village Square Cafe

Jim and I have been going to this "forties" decor diner for ten years. Today I decided to write a blog about it, and grabbed the napkin I was supposed to wipe my mouth with and started blog notes.

Village Cafe is in Redmond, across from the Redmond Fire Dep't, station 12, hello guys, we appreciate what you do for us! TVC is booths, tables and a counter with red vinyl swinging stools. Collectables all over on shelves. Saturday morning at the cafe always means long lines. We thought with the heavy rain, people would be making breakfast at home. Not so. Jim and I got the last two stools at the counter, shook the rain off and sat down.

Ahhhh! Seated. My steamy hot venti coffee is staring me in the face, order up! We are at the center of the cafe counter, right in front of a huge mirror that covers the wall in front of us. I notice people are lining up behind us, they look cold and wet. They all have that 'I'm waiting' look. They want our seats. Sorry, we just got here. These people are hungry and ready to leap in if we give so much as a hint we are ready to go. (If they had noticed the venti coffee, they would have known it would be a long time before we left.)

My first bite. I look in the mirror. Yep. They're watching! Not only have people filled the cafe behind us, a long line of really wet people are looking at all of us through the window. Now, I'm faced with a choice. Do I shovel it all in quickly and give counter seats up, or do I take the proper time to eat a waffle, one piece of bacon and one scrambled egg? Being proper won out.

I take another bite. This time it's the crispy, browned waffle that smells so delicious. They are still staring. I'm about to find out why these seats were open! The waitress is bringing plates of uneaten food toward us. The garbage dump is right in front of us, under the counter! The pan for dirty dishes is next to the garbage. Took a look at my plate, more than half the breakfast is left. I've got at least 15 more minutes to eat the last of the meal. The line of people outside have gotten so cold and wet, they are huddled together in a bunch. Still looking in the window. I think, "It's nice strangers could get together and help each other out." I take another guilt-free bite.

Twenty minutes are up. We start stirring around and the hungry, patient people behind us have noticed. Newspapers are being folded and put under arms and their eyes are on the menus. I grab my note filled napkin and we're off to other errands.

I know we'll be back to the Village Square Cafe. Well, maybe not on a Saturday.

Suddenly

I listened to Neal Cuvuto give some details of a talk he had with a friend who was celebrating His 50th birthday recently. They were enjoying the fact that the market was looking pretty good after hitting the 10,000 mark. They got down to the real important stuff; what it's been like turning 50 in this uncertain world, how several of this man's family had died early deaths, (in their 40's and 50's). What made this conversation so striking to me is people are thinking about something outside of pouring their lives out every day at work and neglecting the most important issue...life itself, and what makes it so important.

The friend talking to Neal had experience with the suddenness of life. Unexpected deaths from disease passed down through genes, the market is very fickle and could suddenly change with a major drop, their ability to make a good living in our competitive society is shaking. The unasked questions in both of them was, exactly how did everything begin to change, when did it all start to slip through my control and why?

The truth is, "it" never was in our control, none of it. God has placed powers and authorities in position, He has the king's hearts in His hands. He blesses whomever He wants to bless and He can withhold from whomever He wants. God said, "Jacob I loved, Esau I hated [rejected]." Rom. 9:13. Job had it all crash away in one day. Nothing as easy as slipping out of his control, a little at a time. "Suddenly, a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and hit the house on all sides..." Job 1:19. Just part of the verse tells the complete story. The Lord will suddenly bless too. "Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them." Acts2: 2-3.

These two men in their fifities having a man to man about life are thinking of how suddenly it could all be taken away. Imagine the ministry the Church is having in times like these? This is what He has equipped us for...influence in this world. We have everything we need in Christ. A powerful word on influence came from P. Jeff this week at the All-Team meeting on Tuesday. I'm going to write another blog soon on the important words we heard at this meeting. Not just words in a notepad, but words that turn into demonstration of the Gospel of the kingdom in our world. Yes, for those fifty something guys who look like they have it all together too. Whosoever will may come!

Random Thoughts on Grace

These may be random thoughts, but the blessing of grace is anything but random. God is very intentional about all His gifts and because we are His people, we are enriched by these gifts.

This week I've been reading part of the story of King Josiah in 2Chronicles 34-35. Here's where grace comes in for we who are under the new covenant, 35:2-4.

"Josiah also assigned the priests to their duties and encouraged them in their work at the Temple of the Lord. He issued this order to the Levites, who were to teach all Israel and who had been set apart to serve the Lord. Put the holy Ark in the Temple that was built by Solomon son of David, the king of Israel. You no longer ned to carry it back and forth on your shoulders. Now spend your time serving the Lord your God and his people Israel. Report for duty..."

The king assigns and the king encourages those he assigns to work in his kingdom.

The Levites or priests; we are all priests to our God, are to teach all of Israel because we have been set apart for this purpose.

The holy Ark, God's presence, belongs in the Temple. That's us! The forgiven heart is the holy of holies for the presence of God.

"You no longer have to carry [the ark] back and forth on your shoulders."

NO LONGER DO WE CARRY THE LAW ON OUR BACKS!

That's what the law was, a burden on our backs that kept reminding us of our sins.

Now we are free because of the New Covenant, our sins are forgiven, we are justified (free from the penalty of our sins) and made holy by the blood of the Lamb.

Now our time is spent in serving the Lord and His people.

"Report for duty..."

What love! What infinite love!

Even if we can't fully understand it and explain it, we can demonstrate this love that sets us free eternally.We are shown opportunities every day how to demonstrate this love that forgives.

Love your enemies.

Pray for those who spitefully use you.

Forgive the debt.

Cover it with love.

Hope all things for those who look hopeless.

How rich we are to be given these blessings. Opportunities for the world, family, and church to SEE the work of the Holy Spirit.

To Infinity

The title of this blog is an expression our kids used to say to cover every emotion they couldn't explain, especially the really big ones! Here's one: "I love you to infinity!" See, an expression like that always needs an exclaimation point after it. The seed for this blog began early this morning at 6:40 in a tweet from Jim. He sent out Psalms 147:3. When the seed of the Gospel falls on good ground, it produces fruit!

Fast forward to afternoon prayer. "What love, what grace You give us Lord! You can't love us any more than You do because we have been given all of it. It's just that in these human bodies we aren't able to contain it all."

When we are able to see ourselves in God's word like Psalms 147:3, He works His miracles. He tenderly heals our broken hearts when we run to His cross and ask! Remember, "...it is finished."

When we are able to accept more and more of God's love, our containers get bigger and bigger to receive more of this infinite love. If we could contain a tiny fraction of God's love, our world, our churches, our lives, our families would be changed dramatically.

The love that we understand here on earth is the kind that has attachments to it and the Lord wants to change that. It begins and ends with love. That's how we are able to forgive. This love being infinite is like something we can swim in and be changed from the inside out. Changed, cleansed and being made whole.

Serving with God's love is our motivation. Serving as law cannot possibly satisfy the heart and its needs. When we pray we can't possibly tell Jesus that we served because of the law. It doesn't work, God's infinite love is what makes everything work.

I'm so thankful the Lord gave me the memory of our kids using this phrase. The older child taught the younger child and it got passed down for years. There is nothing like a little child loudly proclaiming, "I wuv you to infinity."

Skip down to verse 15 of Psalms 147 and read out loud. His word flies swiftly!! That makes me think of modern technology, I love it. God's "swiftly" is faster than we can imagine. A friend twittered Matt. 10:8. God has freely given us His love, another friend twittered, "God is moving today." Yes, He is and He wants to continue to move in great ways in our church.

C'mon! God is ready to pour out His infinite love every day, as much as we can contain. Until we see Him we will know ALL His love! Pray about this love, show this love to someone. Speak His word and watch it swiftly go to the heart of a needy person. Twitter, text, e-mail His word, send His love in a letter. Most of all, demonstrate His infinite love today.

Cover It With Love

The Lord is faithful. Especially when it's time to relearn a lesson. A difficult one for the human mind is covering all things with love. That doesn't mean we stop dealing with difficulties, it just means we don't take offense first or second or third when any of life's hard times come. It means deal with it, then cover it with love.

We have the power to do that because the Lord has shown us in our own lives how to do it. When we were saved, Jesus covered all our sins with His love. He loved us so much that He forgave all our sins and and has paid our penalty for all those sins. Every one of them. This is His kind of love, agape. This kind of love is a feast of love, dear love, charity. The kind of love given when love isn't given to us. It's the kind of love that covers all kinds of loss. If we are to be imitators of Christ, here is a great one to imitate. What do you suppose God can do with a life and in a life that is committed to this kind of love? Especially in the body of Christ?

An opportunity was thrust into our lives a few years ago to show this kind of love and forgiveness and for two days I couldn't reach that point. One of our adult children was very badly hurt by someone that we had known for 30 years. In two days anger and hurt caught up with me, I realized God was trying to speak to me through this betrayal. I asked Jesus for help after I repented for not taking that step at the very first. Would have saved a lot of grief and pain from a big headache! Such peace in covering sins committed against us!

"You forgave the guilt of your people-yes, you covered all their sins." Psalms 85:2
"...Be strong. And do everything with love." 1Cor.16-13b

That's it right there, the reason we have this kind of love, our own sins have been covered. We can do it, but not on our own. Paul said it, he would rather take a loss or cover it, than to hold on and allow the loss to captivate him.

When love motivates us, (remember what P. Jeff said? "Love made me do it." It's that kind of love) we can expect to see the Holy Spirit do some mighty work in our midst. I'm looking for it.

Freedom

The idea for this blog started yesterday, on Twitter! Does God use technology to spread His word? Yes! It continued on twitter this morning when I posted a verse from John about freedom and it went from there. Here is the verse: "A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free." John 8:35-36. Then my twitter question was, "how long is forever?" Here is one of the answers: Forev....................(No ending).

So, with that in mind, where do we go from here with that knowledge, with that living word? Here's the important question. Do we continue in sin, since we are sons and daughters forever? A thousand times ...NO!

"Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives." Romans 6:1-4

Our response to this gift of grace and freedom is not to continue in sin, but to continue in changed lives! This grace is the power to do that. We continue in the love that Christ has given us through this gift; we love more, not less! We worship Him every day because of this gift and when we meet together we worship and praise more not less! We serve more, we give more, not less! This gift of freedom compels us, urges us on and on to live for Him and not for our own desires. The power of change in this gift is so great, we MUST speak and tell the story of His love.

We are sons and daughters of God. Thanks be to God for this gift.

Odor

Language is an amazing thing. Some words may have similar meaning, but with just a hint of difference. Odor is one of those words that can evoke a good meaning, but in another way, not so good. For instance, when the cook is busy in the kitchen and homemade spaghetti sauce is the result, the 'odor' is delightful! On the other hand, having been the mother of four boys, opening the closet door to find old lunches, dirty sneakers and clothes on the floor...well, tends to slam you in the face with the odor.

The odor I'm blogging about today is found in John 11:1-44. The beautiful story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Just as our spirits are dead in the grave without salvation, Lazarus was physically dead for several days. God intends for this event to bring glory to the only One who is worthy of glory. When Jesus started praying, He spoke in past tense, as though the deed had already happened, no doubts faith! (v41). With a great shout, "Lazarus, come out, and the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, Unwrap him and let him go!"

Do you have the picture? Lazarus has heard the rhema, his dead body had to obey! Out he comes; stinking, odorous graveclothes still clinging to his body. The headcloth still covering his face. What held it there? His body had been decaying for several days in the grave. He couldn't see very well. Jesus told the relatives who were there to pay respects to a dead brother to unwrap him and let him go.

This powerful retelling of the life, death and resurrection of Lazarus is ours too. We are dead in trespasses and sins until Jesus gets hold of our lives! We are risen to new life, coming out of the grave of sin. We are still bound by some graveclothes we take with us because our human nature has gotten comfortable with some things of the old life. One by one, these stinking graveclothes are removed by the work of the Holy Spirit, until we will be completely set free. These graveclothes could represent many things. Love of things in this life so much that it takes love from Jesus and serving Him. It could be our past. The shame of our past, the anger or unforgiveness toward those who have hurt us. It could be fear of slipping back into old ways, or bitterness that clings. It could be old accusations that have labeled themselves on the graveclothes: loser, you'll never amount to anything, stupid. Many hurtful things that bind us up. The feet of Lazarus were bound. But...

God's will is that we are set free from old, stinking graveclothes. Beautiful are the feet that publish the gospel. Be freed to speak His Good News! The Holy Spirit is at work on our behalf, His work never stops! Imagine if you will, the voice of Jesus commanding that those things that bind us be taken off! Let's trust Jesus today for deliverance. Tell someone today youwant to be free of graveclothes and their odor. More room for the fragrance of Christ.

Perfume 2

There are many verses about perfume in the Bible. Another woman named Mary was compelled to show this love to Jesus (besides the woman of Luke 7:36-50.) "Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar [grande] of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, (spikenard) and she anointed Jesus' feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance." John 12:3. This is Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus. She is at the feet of Jesus and wiping his feet with her hair, just as the woman of Luke 7 did. In both cases we have a man who absolutely despised what he was seeing in this love and devotion from the women.

Simon, the Pharisee of Luke 7 is bound up by the law and he is glad for it. He thinks this is his salvation, obeying all the rules and everything will be ok. He forgot the teaching of the prophet Micah 6:8, the 'minor prophet' with a major message. This meal took place in Simon's house. What was an immoral woman doing in his house? Simon was privileged to clearly see the road to salvation was repentance, yet he rejected it because judgement had a place in his heart. Poor Simon, rich woman.

By this time the fragrance had to have filled all the house where they were. A constant reminder of the absence of love in his heart. That love drove the woman to be at the feet of Jesus. When Mary in John 12:3 poured the perfume, it says the fragrance filled the whole house! What a nagging reminder to the man under the law! Long after everyone left, the fragrance lingered, it was so powerful. It's like the fragrance of every Christian who witnessed to me before I was saved. It lingered for years and when I was saved I remembered everyone, including strangers on the street.

Two of the people I remember was a Nazarene pastor and his wife that used to come to our house EVERY Friday with a freshly made loaf of Jewish rye bread and invited us to church. What was our answer for months? No. Did we ever say yes? No. They never gave up. When we repented in Alaska I started writing letters to those I knew who had witnessed to me. This couple was the first I wrote to. It was a letter encouraging them to never give up: inviting people to church, asking them to give their lives to Christ, invite them to your home, give gifts. Every good act showers the fragrance of Jesus on this poor, sick world.

We are the house! The Spirit of Christ takes residence in us when we are saved, and when we grow from grace to grace...more perfume! I want my whole house filled with the fragrance of Christ!

By the way, spiknard that was used in Bible times for fragrance was very costly. The plant was dried, then CRUSHED to get the oil and fragrance. To be the fragrance of Jesus we will be crushed but not destroyed!

Perfume

The idea for this blog got started on Sept. 13, in the first service. Pastor Jeff was speaking on serving and he made this statement, "love made me do it." One of the scriptures that he used was from Luke 7: 36-47. Go ahead and read it, and think about the presence of Jesus as the fragrance that fills the room as you read.

Perfumery is big business. Walk into any department store. As you open the front doors the air from the store comes rushing out the open door...perfume! The packaging is the next thing that always gets my attention. If its attractive, I head right for it to look and smell. The selection is enormous, the packaging is beautiful, the names of the perfumes are intriguing. Ellen Tracy, Juicy Couture, Chanel 5, on and on. As wonderful as the perfume counter is, none of these earthly delights can ever approach the fragrance we are blessed to have in the presence of Jesus.

I've been reading 1st. and 2nd Corinthians the last couple weeks. I was stirred again about perfume reading 2Cor. 2:14-16 . "Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?"

More tomorrow on "Perfume." Have to be in His presence!

Mercy

"Your unfailing love, [mercy in the NKJ] O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds." Ps.36:5

One day I was thinking about this verse and looking at the clouds in the sky and the earth as it was spinning around in the heavens and realized that no matter where the earth is, God's great mercy is so large it's over us every inch of the way. Wherever this earth spins, we can't get away from His mercy! That led me to search the scriptures on mercy. Both God's mercy to us and our response to His mercy. Here's some of what I found. These are some of the descriptive words inspired writers have written about our God and His mercy to us...

Mercies are great, manifold mercies, tender mercies, multitude of mercies, sure mercies, showing mercy, extended mercy, mercy shall compass him, plentious in mercy, mercy is everlasting, mercy is good, delights in mercy, rich in mercy, full of mercy. There is no such thing as stingy mercy, or begrudging mercy. If there were, it would be false.

God's message of mercy to us is...hope in His mercy, keep His mercy, love His mercy, we are vessels of mercy.

The next time you feel mercy slipping, hope in His mercy again because it is all of the above and more. Keep His mercy as one of your highest treasures from the Lord. Love His mercy and you will begin to see more and more of it. His salvation has made us vessels of mercy. His mercy will never run out, there is plenty to go around. That means we get to share it with those that may not deserve it (we don't either!) because we are containers of that great blessing, God's mercy.

When you look up into the heavens, remember God's mercy is all around us, every minute of the day and night. Thank and praise Him for His glorious gift, mercy. Honor God by showing His mercy to the Body of Christ, to people you work with, to family, to someone who has offended you. Your life will never be the same. Another step in growing from glory to glory.

He Will...

"Through him:
God has enriched your church in every way..."
"This confirms:
that what I told you about Christ is true..."
"Now you:
have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus
Christ..."
"He will...
keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord
Jesus Christ returns..."
"God will:
do this, for he is faithful to do what he says and he has invited you into partnership with his
Son, Jesus Christ our Lord..." 1Cor. 1:5-9 NLT

Smile, He will.

What If...Imagine..."

The scene is this: remaining disciples coming together to pray. Jesus has ascended to heaven and they have a job to do, evangelize the world!

"They all met together and were constantly united in prayer...During this time, when about 120 believers were together in one place..." Acts 1:12-15.

"On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability." Acts 2:1-4.

What if believers all over the world gathered to pray like that today? Obedience and hunger for God causes His people to gather like this. Putting aside everything to be in His presence and waiting for God to answer. He always answers!

What if...we had a "Night of Worship". No time constraints, no pressure from the clock, the prophets speak, the preachers preach until all the word has been declared. Imagine... God's people gathered in His name for one purpose, EXPECTING to hear from God. Imagine... churches filled to capacity and ALL are praising the Lord with a full heart. No divided hearts, just hearts to praise the God who is worthy of all creation praising Him. He desires to fellowship with His people. Now, that's an amazing statement! God desires to be with us much more than we can imagine.

What if...we pray as one and there is forgiveness and trust in every marriage and relationship in the Church? Imagine...people with chronic illnesses immediately healed of all disease. What if...we come together as one, and we are blessed with purpose and vision that changes our lives. What if...we repent and God heals our land! Imagine...God's people in faith lay hands on the sick in our communities and all are made well. What if...God's people preach His word in our communities and people hear and are transformed! Inside and out! Imagine...children being restored to parents and to God? All for waiting in the upper room to hear from you!

This is the Church that God is making, the Church in unity. We are not divided when our doctrine begins and ends in Jesus. Imagine...every Christian in Monroe giving school supplies and our communities see this and wants the vision we have? Imagine...the number of Thanksgiving dinners that would be provided, every child with a Christmas gift, soup kitchens around the city and the word of God being freely spoken?

Every Christ follower is able to do something, every church is able to do something. We have been given that power because the God we serve today is the same as He was on the day of Pentecost! Don't wait another day to discover what God has planned for you. He gives gifts to all His people, not one is left out. The table of the Lord is full, there is enough for everyone.

Be Comforted

A friend and I were texting about some things and I'm inspiried to write some blogs about God's word. His word is called rhema, or living, among other things. God's word is timely and fitting for every situation we are in, no matter what it is. All His word is inspired for everything we need in this life, everything that is required of us. It is our wisdom and light. It is the story of our Savior Jesus and the love He had for us. It is word to the Church, God's own people. His word is truth. It was established in eternity. His word will never cease. It can never be out-dated. His word is up to the minute for every need. His word for tonight is "Be Comforted."

He prepared the way for our comfort by sending the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and in the twenty-first century the Comforter is still here! Be comforted as you read His word, His promise to us. Most of the scriptures I read this evening are from the New Living Translation. If you see something familiar, don't rush through it, read more than once until it becomes revelation to you.

2Cor. 1:1-7, 2Thess. 2:16-17, Isa. 51:12, Isa. 51:18-19, Ps.23:4, Isa. 61:1-11, Zech.1:17 NLT

Our strong consolation is in the Lord. Hebr. 6:18 NKJV

Jim and Marlee Tweet

Here's a twitter exchange Jim and I had a few minutes ago. Made me laugh out loud. He is coming down to the end of his errands at the end of the work day.

Jim: Got the new folding table, getting a flu shot @ Safeway next.
Marlee: (my eyes and brain perk up) Is it the big flu shot? Swine? (he knows I didn't call him a
swine)
J: No, it's the teeny-weeny flu shot.
M: I'm laughing out loud.

This is about overcoming! Didn't think about it at first, but it's there. We have world organizations overtalking H1N1. Some have had the new flu. Should we teach our kids the proper way to sanitize? Definitely, yes. Should we have our sick kids in school or church? No. We should also talk with our kids about what they are hearing in school and among their friends and get information for our families so we can be prepared. But fear must not have any place in our thinking. When there is a lot of fear going around, I read the book of Acts and Mark 16:17-18. God is a God of wonders, a God who gives us strong consolation, 2Thess2:16 KJV. Have an attitude!! One of overcoming!

Our faith tells us the temptations we have in this life are common to everyone. When we consider God and how great He is, this temporary life and all of its tests are teeny-weeny!

No Fear

I'm positive all of us have heard quotes that go something like this, "Speak without fear." I heard it today, but it didn't seem repetitive. It sounded brand new, so I wasn't indifferent to it. Seems to me the clamour in the world is getting louder and louder. The world wants our attention and is trying everything they can to get our attention. Here are some descriptive words of what comes into our ears every day: roar, blare, din, noise, bellow, hubbub, outcry, racket, tumult, uproar and my personal favorite, cacophony.

As Christians, we have no need of competing with the world for attention. We have been given everything we need. Jesus has the words of life and He has given them to us, they are ours in His name! I think there were occasions when Jesus got really loud. For instance, when He called Lazarus out of the tomb, chasing the money changers from the temple, chastising the Scribes and Pharisees. Just can't imagine calling people 'vipers' in a still, small voice!

So, what keeps us from speaking without fear? Why, fear of course. Fear has torment. (1John 4:18 NKJV). It will keep us from blessing, this fear. It will keep us from trusting the One who is worthy of our complete trust. Fear will keep us from living in the freedom we have been given in our inheritance. Fear leaves us in darkness, but Jesus delivers us from all fear and its torment.

How is it you want to speak to this generation? There are any number of choices today and you have been gifted by the only creative God, to speak some way, some how. Art, worship, drama, blog, FB, twitter. Yes, even those new techie things. Preaching, encouraging, exhorting. Opening a new business!! Our work every day, relationships in our communities to schools and other churches, activities in our communities like the parade we had Saturday in Monroe! That day of service to the community spoke in a very loud voice. We spoke God's love to the lost, hope in Christ, caring from a local church to its community. We may not have all that they need, but we WILL go in the strength we have and will give what we have.

This very thing, service, is what God calls us to do with all the passion we have. We have a voice given to us by God. I'm going to use it. The other noise doesn't matter, God's call matters.

Red Letter Words

Mondays are usually days that mean rest and reflection. God is doing so much on this earth today, every Sunday when we come together to worship Him and in serving whenever the need arises. The pace in the twenty-first century has definitely picked up! Miss one thing and you really miss big things!

I got the title for this blog when I was in church listening to P. Jeff bring his message. Can't do justice in telling you what the worship was like Sunday. Just tell you, be there to see and hear for yourself. Jesus Christ reigns! His power is present to meet our needs, every time! I began to write down words from Jeff's message and thought these words are so important for the Church today, in our ministry to our families and our serving everyday. So here are some important red letter words: moved, give, energy, heart, stewardship, created, Jehovah, gift, follower, worship, cheerful, warfare, possess, turmoil, tithing, rearrange, priorities, forgive, purpose, serve, multiply, leader, life, pray, wrestling.

Not one of the red letter words of Jesus are static (at rest). All are living, vibrant and creative. His words are rhema, so alive that we are changed when we let His words into our hearts. The important red letter words above will change your life if you believe. Every word is a doing word. That's who Christians are, we are doers! Every word above takes a personal decision to make a change and move in a new direction.

P. Jeff related the story of Jacob and the wrestling match he had with the Angel of the Lord. Jacob did not give up, he wrestled all night until he got what he wanted, blessing. His life was changed thereafter, even his name was changed to Israel. "Your name will no longer be Jacob, the man told him. From now on you will be called Israel because you have fought with God and with men and have won." Gen. 32:28. An open door for TRC to serve Asia has opened up. Through some missionary friends of P. Jeff and P. Melinda, we will be sending funds to dig wells for those who have no clean water.

Red letter phrases from Sundays message: "To be Christ-like, you must give." "Settle who the real owner is of all things." (Ps. 24:1). "Quench continues! Wells are going to be dug in Asia!" "Wrestle so we may believe." "God, make me a giver in this place."

Enter through the open door.

Michael and the Grace of God

I mentioned the unknown in the first blog about Mike. The unknown is that place of either wild and vain imaginations which lead to a dark pit of depression, OR it is the open door to the grace of God. We have a choice, one or the other. In His mercy, God led us to His grace. A much welcome late night twitter from a granddaughter came tonight with a message that she had read the blog about Mike. It was time to finish the story of Mike.

Mikey was a little boy that early on was a defender of the weak and anyone who seemed to be the under dog. Nothing seemed to hold him back when he helped someone, not even fear. As he grew older, sometimes that defensive mode got him in trouble, but a world in pain needs its defenders. We loved him for it.

One of the people he was defensive of was a young woman who was 21 years old. Her name was Mary and she lived in a nursing home. Every day in a wheel chair. She couldn't speak, but had a voice for yelling and when she yelled, her face showed pain and frustration. I think this was the motivation for Mike when we visited her. Our church had a ministry at this home and Mike loved going there. One Sunday we were on our way and Mike asked what he could do to make Mary feel better. He was 10 years old at the time. Had to think about that for awhile. We had plenty of people who layed hands on her and prayed for God to heal her, but I knew God had something else for Mike to do. He had just learned to stand on his hands, he did a great job at that, and his determination was very entertaining. So I suggested that he stand on his hands for Mary. His eyes lit up knowing he had something to help her feel better. We walked through the door of the nursing home and there she was, right by the front door. Mike greeted her and said he had something to show her. Mary wasn't screaming, just watching Mikey. First try, he gets up on his hands, legs straight up in the air and he just stood there, upside down. All of a sudden Mary began to clap her hands and give this funny laugh. Her whole demeanor had changed. Someone had stopped and focused on her. A little boy from the kingdom of God.

Mikey stood on his feet, red-faced and said, "did ya like that Mary?" And she clapped again. God's grace is so good. Many, many ways to serve in this world.

Life with Mike was one adventure after another. Our lifes mission was to love and keep him on the right track, and most days it worked. One day when over night it seemed, Mike was a young man of 6'3'' and 16 years old. In his 16 year old way, he let loose with a smart mouth toward me and I reached out and swatted him on the butt as he passed by. He looked and smiled at me and said, "mom, you hit like a marshmallow!" That got me fired up for sure. The swat hadn't work, what to do? No cell phones, XBox to deprive him of, and he wasn't that crazy about t.v. so the next best thing was the two month old can of whipped cream in the fridge. It had to be sour by then. Mike saw "the look" I gave him and started the retreat. By this time I had grabbed the old whipped cream and I got his whole body down on the floor because I knew where his tickle spot was, about the third rib down. It worked! I sprayed and I sprayed until air came out. His whole face was a mess of old cream.

Mike led an up and down life in his adulthood. Encouragement would work for awhile. He would come for prayer and how grateful we were for that. He stayed with a good job that had responsibilities but the next thing we knew, he had quit and got a job as a bouncer at a club in Seattle. We would hear from him occasionally by phone, letters. He always, always called me on mother's day and his birthday, August 19. Mike doesn't call me anymore since that last call.

Over the years, God sent His times of grace to heal. How good it is. The thing hanging over was the unknown. Is he dead, is he alive? The unknown is hell to live in. Here comes God's grace again and many times in between. He opened a giant door to The Rock Church in Monroe. Life hasn't been the same since then. We jumped into everything we could. God was healing many places in our hearts and we yielded one at a time.

About 2 or 3 years ago the unknown was creeping in again. The wondering. Would I ever get another call? Pastor Jeff would occasionally pray for wandering children. That told me there were other parents who knew how we felt. God's grace moves in marvelous ways. I had been in this place of the unknown for about a month this time and Pastor Melinda brought a message one night on how God communicates with us and she used the scripture from Jude about "the only wise God." Jude 25 NKJV. That phrase alone came like a bolt of light in my soul and I went somewhere with the Lord while He healed me. I knew, I knew, I knew (three times, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are involved in this one!) without a doubt that God knew where Mike was. In fact, God is omnipotent. He alone knows everything about Mike, now it's ok.

Years ago we dedicated Mike to Jesus and that's what we intent to live in. His grace is that unmerited favor when we know God truly does reign supreme. We could never in this world work that into our hearts, He did it by His grace.

Michael: The Early Years

Recently our third son Michael had a birthday, August 19. He was born in Anchorage, Alaska in 1965. That would make him 44 years old on this past birthday. We celebrated his life in quiet ways, but, we wern't able to have a birthday party because we don't know where Mike is, and we haven't known where he is since 1992. We spent a few years doing everything we could think of to find him, and always ran into a brick wall. For another few years we quietly lived with the unknown. God changed all that; living with the unknown, three years ago. I'll tell you that story a little later in the blog.

Mike was the fifth child of six. He was born three weeks early and picked a time to be born when his dad, Jim, was in the bush of Alaska working. He came into the world weighing 9 pounds and 9 ounces, 22 3/4" long, lots of dark hair like his dad. First thing I noticed about Mikey was his love of the attention he got from four older brothers and sister. Michael Lee Woods early on established his position in the birth order. He knew how to keep up with his older siblings, he could go sledding on the Mormon Hill behind our house. That was a kid named hill, just because it was owned by the Mormon church in our neighborhood. He could stand as long as the rest of them at Summit Lake to fish, even though his fishing line had gotten tangled up, he didn't care, he was with the crowd he called his family. Mike love going clam digging at Clam Gulch, until one day when he was three years old, he got stuck in the mud. The look on his
face told me he thought he was going to be in the muck forever. We got him free out of his boots and used the clam shovel to dig the boots out. Silt in Alaska is like gooey cement.

Our favorite place in Alaska is still Homer. Camping on Homer's Spit in those days was like being in the wilderness. Quiet. Just the sound of bald eagles and ocean water coming in. We had a canvas tent that fit all six of our kids and a cousin or two. I think we built the biggest bon fires on Homer's Spit ever! Mike like all of our kids, entered in with all kinds of energy. Then there were all those long daylight hours in the summer! The light always seemed to make up for the cool Alaska summer air. Freedom was going all night with activity, not once did the kids ever hear, "time for bed!" The first night we would clean a bunch of huge razor clams and make a big pot of clam chowder on the beach. Every child knew how to clean clams at some point in their lives. Work, then eat!

These are just a few of the early memories of Mike's life. Let's do this a little at a time.

When God Stirs

"I have riches and honor, as well as enduring wealth and justice." Proverbs 8:18

Sitting on my patio swing, enjoying the sun, the quiet and God's blessings. But I have to laugh out loud. Twitter has been going crazy the last few weeks, since "Night Out Against Crime". People are stirred up about serving!! It's like we have been to the pool of Siloam, meaning SENT!! (Found in John 9:1-41 The complete story). Jesus saw the blind man and declared that the works of God would be revealed in him. Jesus spit on the clay (that would be DNA) and places the mixture on the man's eyes and when he washes in the pool, he can see! His neighbors are astonished, they know him only as "the man who sat and begged". Yes, it is he, and now he is stirred with the command to go and tell everyone the wonders of God in his life. He doesn't stop telling the story, he who was once blind, now sees.

Blindness is the story of our lives before we met Jesus. Our meeting with the Son of God is the stirring that compels us to tell and tell and tell what He has done for us. The truth we tell will be rejected, mocked, distorted. It will make people angry, jealous and fearful. Some will revile us, and the name of Jesus, but some will listen and will see for the first time.

We bear the DNA of Christ in our lives. P. Travis and P. Jeff have both talked about this. Christ resides in us through the Holy Spirit and we need nothing more to be stirred in doing His will on this earth.

In this season of stirring let everyone of us lay aside everything that has hindered us from fully doing what God has called us to do. Pray for the sick, give generously to the God who daily gives generously to us, reject fear and have confidence in our faithful God. Stir your hearts today to give as much as you can for school supplies. If you walk in the parade you will never forget the happy faces of kids who will be ready to learn because you helped and gave! God's enduring wealth is for the benefit of His people to use, this has been my prayer this afternoon that His wealth will be poured out on His Church. We are not as the man who sat and begged, our God is the God who has enduring wealth! Not just earthly wealth, but spiritual wealth for our benefit!

This is the season giving, for serving. Do it with all your heart because you love Him.

Sauerkraut 2

No, I don't eat sauerkraut. No matter how it is served!

Sauerkraut

sau.er.kraut (sour'krout') chopped cabbage fermented in brine.

The one word title of this blog is sufficient. Sauerkraut. With the title comes the complete essence of the sauerkraut experience; limpness, pungent smell, after-taste and the wondering how long it would be before the next sauerkraut dinner. For fear it would be soon.

The experience of sauerkraut deserves a blog picture, but since I'm still having trouble attaching pictures to my blog, I'll do my best to describe this Old World delicacy in words. Too bad blog doesn't have smell capacity. Sauerkraut contains vinegar, cabbage, and brine. Brine is so salty it smells like ocean air when you are close to it. The key word in the definition is FERMENTED, thus, the descriptive prefix, sauer. This plentiful garden vegetable (equivalent today would be the zucchini) is then lovingly shredded into slaw-sized lengths and soaked in wooden barrels filled with brine for as long as possible.

Can't you just see the Old World ships coming over the sea with unnumbered wooden barrels of sauerkraut next to the barrels of dill pickles? Never mind the family heirlooms, the sauerkraut and pickles go over with us. They'll love it in America!!

Somehow, this German inspired dish made it over into the Norwegian culture, probably through marriage. In Rothsay, Minnesota where my brothers Larry, Bob and I spent our summers, the German Lutheran church was one block from the Norwegian Lutheran church. (They finally joined forces in the 21st. century). The Germans had their sauerkraut, the Norwegians our lutefisk. Lutefisk is the survivor fish of Norwegian culture and is worthy of a blog on its own. Let me write, I'm ever grateful to God for hardy Norwegians who figured out how to preserve the ever-plentiful cod in Norwegian waters to supplant the birch bark soup they made in tough farming times in the homeland. The Lord was their Provider.

The combination smells of lutefisk and sauerkraut at Christmas time in Rothsay must have been something as it hung in the icy winter air. This little town of 359 souls (still under 400 population today) all gathered at separate churches to enjoy their yearly feast. By the way, each church claimed Martin Luther as their own.

We Hamar Lutheran kids always knew there would be a table full of buttery, gelatinous lutefisk that moved like jello. We held our noses figuratively as we passed the lutefisk on the way to jello. Jello. The most inventive food group! The bowls danced and sparkled like rubies, emeralds, amethysts on the table. Next stop, lefse table!

Recently, we had our every decade meal with sauerkraut. It provided a very nice picture there on the grill. Perfectly seasoned bone-in pork chops, grilled to juicy perfection with a small clump (would that be klump in German?) of sauerkraut on the side. Just nothing like a happy husband having one of his favorite meals.

Possibilities for meals with sauerkraut are endless. Country pork ribs, sausage, hot dogs, pork chops, pork roast, etc. Sauerkraut is one of those veggies (really?) that your mom would say, "c'mon, try just a spoonful." The look told us it wasn't a friendly request. Lesson: be thankful for all things. Who knows, there may be a sugary jello later to make the fermented, salty taste go away.

Enjoy life whatever it brings.

Vision

Still thinking about vision. Doing errands, vision. Watering thirsty plants, vision. Making dinner plans, vision. Without vision, we perish. With vision, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Know how we, the Church, fight the warfare we see going on everyday in the world? Vision. We stay focused on vision and we do not remain in a place of fear, disappointment, mistrust or illusion. We fight the good fight of faith every day in the power and might of the Holy Spirit. We stay obedient to the word and call of our God with our whole hearts. We love the Lord our God with everything in us AND our neighbors as ourselves.

We have been in both places, without vision and with vision. Remember the dry land that Noah built the ark on? That's a visionless life, dry land. We first came to TRC in 2003 on Main Street. We have seen many since then just like us. Christians, yes. But so lost without vision. We were perishing. We were blessed with the goodness of God in our children and grandchildren, we had all that we needed in this life, but without vision. One of our grandchildren kept looking at us with his big, bright blue eyes and kept asking us to come to church, and we did. First invite came in 2003, and it kept coming. Pretty big vision at that time for a three year old huh? Thank you buddy for keeping the faith. God has huge plans for a young man who is faithful to His vision.

What we were looking for at the time was integrity. What we saw at TRC was the heart of integrity. A church that had the mind to press into the kingdom of God and be willing to pay the price. We all must count the cost of going to war, or building a tower. (Luke 14:27-33). TRC was showing us that all of us were going to finish this to the end and along the way we received ALL these other blessings. A church full of babies and children being brought up in the Lord..great work families!!! An awesome band that gives it all every Sunday to lead us in worship and praise. Pastors who pour out their hearts for God's people. A pastor in P. Jeff who preaches his heart out because he loves God and His people. Elders who are given to minister to the church without end. The authority in TRC has a great responsibility, watching over our eternal souls. They have willingly taken this charge. We are a blessed people!

When we knew integrity was in the heart of the church, didn't take long for two broken people to lock in. It was the praise and worship that broke any and all resistance we had. It was like the Holy Spirit came and melted our hearts. Jim grabbed my hand, (spiritual leader) and I knew everything would be ok when we started out on this journey at TRC.

First things first, start tithing!!! And never give up!!! Follow your heart in offerings too. That way, it's given to God and given in love. Next thing we did was take the newcomers class, couldn't wait to tell people we were members of TRC! We had already been baptized as adults, but if you haven't made that adult choice, check with the church on how you can prepare for the water baptism at Lake Tye this Sunday the 23rd, at 6PM. If you just want to come and observe, do that! It would be great to have you there. Next thing, since we already knew we had the gift of hospitality, we sent in a note on a card for volunteers to help with the Guest Services. God taught us a lot by watching Susan and Terry, love you guys.

If you are looking for acceptance, immerse yourself in God and the vision He has given to TRC. Know above all else, we are accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6). You have a secure place in the vision, come on, take that leap of faith!! You'll never regret it. Vision is good for the soul, we can't live without it.

Good Stuff About Noah

One thing about Noah and many others in the Bible, they have made lasting impressions on people for thousands of years, and they are still encouraging in this 21st. century. Here is where you find good word on Noah: Gen. 5-9. The first act Noah did when they came off the ark is found in Gen.8:20. Matt. 24-39. Heb. 11:6-7. 2Peter 2:5. 1Peter 3: 18-20. I read these in the Amplified and Message Bibles.

"By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land..." Hebr. 11:7 , "And God spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness..." 2Peter 2:5. The vision begins on dry land, but the promise is coming! His covenant will always be fulfilled. Noah was a preacher of righteousness; both in word, and in demonstration. He never gave up. This is our calling!

Walked With God

"...Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God..." Gen. 6:8-9.
Noah is the second man said to have 'walked with God,' Enoch, Noah's great-grandfather being the first to have 'walked with God.' When I see them in heaven, I have questions for them!

Especially for Noah and what it was like to have such a building vision from the Lord. How long did it take you? What was it like working with pitch on the inside and outside of the ark? In all that time it took Noah to build the ark, did no one ever think, 'what if Noah is right?' Was there ever a doubt in man's thinking, maybe...? Noah, what was it like when God shut the door to the ark?

There was no room for wondering if this man of God was telling the truth because "The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time." Gen. 6:5 For the man who walked with God, his thoughts and inclinations are toward the Lord and the vision He has given him, all the time.

What would God do through His Church in this twenty-first century that had such a clear vision of what God plans? We would see and understand, commit to the vision and never look back. No matter what the cost, it would be done because God had given the vision. We know a couple that continues to come from out of town to TRC because of the vision they see. The Holy Spirit draws them; they see and they know it's God. They take the vision back to where they came from, but the people would have to see the vision too.

Vision is a planting of the Lord. When the seed is in the heart, you know you can do whatever God has given you to do, to complete the vision. I want the vision to be so great that the world has to see and know that God is at work today in 2009. I want the world to know it's the love we feel for the lost that compels us to do whatever we have to do. This is no small thing that the Lord is doing in the community of Monroe, it's HUGE!!!

Is He telling you to walk in the Monroe Days parade for the first time? Children at TRC need you. Guest services need volunteers who will make visitors feel welcome. Be a part of the vision by attending a Reach Team, and then go on and teach one too! People with hospitality in their hearts are a welcome sight at the front door of the church. You could do that! Do you love to praise and worship the Lord? Go for an audition! If you're like me, you'd rather not do it on the platform, so praise with all your heart with us in the worship center. Maybe you would love making a favorite drink for your favorite people at the coffee bar? Has God encouraged you? Then tell of it!! Do you love to pray, then ask about being on the prayer team. You fit in the body of Christ, and He has a place for you.

We have Noah and many others who were faithful to the vision God gave. It's always a big, costly vision with eternal results. If Noah can do it in his day, so can we. Make room for God's vision in your life. Your life will be turned upside down in the best way. What is your part in the vision at TRC? God has blessed you with gifts that fit just right in the Church. Don't delay another day, don't repeat another excuse, just do what God has already promised He will help you do. Whatever that role is, you are God's builder.

BQOTD

These are the best quotes of the day from Pastor Jeff's message on Erased. I know you had your favorite quotes too, twitter or text your best ones this week and remember to give credit to who said it! Here it is:

* "The Bible reads us!"

* "The Bible is a love letter from the Father."

* "Drink and eat! It's not a buffet that we pick and choose what we want."

* "He has already spoken the direction, we don't have to ask, it's go!"

* "Honor the authority in your life."

* "Work hard, give hard."

* "Release what God has given you."

* "Set a brand new day by being a giver."

* "The Bible is a love letter to affirm us."

* "The Bible is tender and tough."

* "I want the whole counsel of God."

* " His word is your freedom, baby!"

* "The Bible keeps me from stumbling morally."

Go through your notes again, read all the scriptures and recognize anew the place the Bible has in our lives. I read the Bible, I study the Bible because I want to know the Lord. What He did, what He said, what He plans. I believe the Bible because it has the power to change us every time we spend time reading and prayerfully considering where we fit. When I read of our early mothers and fathers in the Bible, God is telling me to be of courage in this spiritual warfare we are in. When I am weak, the Bible assures me. As P. Jeff said, "this [the Bible] is rich!"

Psalms 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Thunder

Just read Psalms 18:13 and it clicked in a childhood memory for me. My brothers and I were spending the summer with Grandma and Grandpa at the farm in Rothsay, Minnesota and we were having one of those BIG thunder storms the mid-west is known for. Grandpa said, "Thunder is God's voice". Grandpa Amundson knew the Lord!!
When the thunder rolled over, it would shake the windows in the house. We were always relieved when the storm was overhead, because we knew it would be passing on to another county!

Walked With God

Wouldn't it be something to be known as a person of God who walked with Him? Those three words, "walked with God", are used to declare the kind of men that Enoch and Noah were. And only those two. Similar phrasing is used to describe others, like David, but these three words in one phrase were saved for two men in the Bible, both in the Old Testament.
The Hebrew word for walked is halak, meaning; behave continually, enter, exercise, forward, grow, lead, march, more and more, move self, be at the point, speedily, surely. The word 'halak' is from the root word, yalak. This word means to prosper, pursue and cause to run. A much deeper meaning than to be taking an occasional stroll with God, this is a constant walk with purpose. The kind that always has the goal in mind. Not just the goal, but also the love that compels us to walk with God. It's an enduring walk, the never-give-up walk.
Enoch was Noah's great-grandfather and because of his righteous walk, God "took him", that is, Enoch was translated to heaven without seeing death. The word Selah belongs here, pause and think of that! Think of the blessings to the generations because of the man Enoch. I think Enoch was fully aware in his evil time how important generations were (and are).
Enoch was a preacher and prophet to his generations. Just think, we have a record of what his prophesies were like in Jude 13-15!! There is very little else in scripture of this man, but when we know he walked with God, that's all we need in order to know what kind of man he was. Enoch's history can be found in Genesis 5:21-24.
Soon, the second part to the men who walked with God.

The Great Commission

One thing about our God, He knows how to challenge His people! With big stuff!! From the beginning laid out in the book of Genesis, it's one challenge after another. He's not a God who gives orders and then leaves us to figure it all out on our own; He gives us the blueprint in the manual, the Holy Bible.
The first big challenge He gives us when we become followers of Jesus is found in Matthew 10 and Matthew 28:16-20. GO ahead, take some time and read it all, it's very revealing.......
OK, now that you've done that, see where Jesus speaks to His disciples in Mt. 28:18-19, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven AND EARTH. Go therefore..." He pronounces victory even before we start!
As a new Christian in Alaska, the Great Commission was my big challenge. God had to help me overcome Norwegian culture to fulfill this challenge because talking openly and fully about something as personal as relationship with Jesus just wasn't done! Attend church, yes. Memorize Luther's Catecism and get confirmed, yes. Read the Bible and pray, yes. (We missed the part about the Great Commission!). The point is, when His revelation comes, we figure out we can do it. My first big challenge was my neighborhood, and in Spenard, Alaska it was all trailer court. Remember Rev. Iva Berry? She was the one who challenged me to overcome and "Go, Molly"! So, I did, one door after another, Bible in hand. It was very simple, "Hi, I'm your next door neighbor, Marlee Woods and I want to invite you to come to my church to see what Jesus is doing for people." There, I said it.
Did anyone come? NO, not one! But I kept after one especially. She never did come, but we had coffee together a few times. When the seed is given, God knows how to plant the seed and make it grow. I trust His word.
The challenge of the Great Commission is huge. It's the reason we are Christ followers. The last few days I've been praying and reading the story of God's great builder, Noah. What a beautiful word about God providing everything we need to do all He wants us to do. More study and praying to do, hope this week to publish the blog on Noah.
You can do this, I know you can. In Jesus name. He'll help you overcome all things. Even culture.

Large Love

Short and sweet. Luke 7:36-50. Pay close attention to all the details. Details are full of treasures. Woman comes to Jesus, burdened with large sin. Her heart has large repentance. She comes with her best offering. She is forgiven with the large love of the Savior.

His large love is ours.

Mentors 3

As I've thought about the blogs on mentors, it's been good to remember those people the Lord puts into our lives for His purpose. He sends those people at special times for specific reasons. I've even remembered those people from high school days who witnessed to me before I was saved. We are His ambassadors in this world, to the unsaved and to each other.
As the other two mentors, Helen Bolton was sent to our family for a purpose, and at the right time! We met Helen at the Nazarene church in Anchorage in the 6o's. She was one of those quiet people, but you knew the Lord had done a great work in her life. Helen had the qualities of the fruit of the Spirit in her life. She didn't say much, but when she did, there was a purpose. She became "auntie" to our growing family and she fit right in. She was the fun auntie who came along for the ride no matter what we were doing, whether it was helping around the house or camping with a family full of activity or quietly sitting around a campfire sharing life stories, Helen was there. One of my favorite pictures of Helen is when we were camping at Mt. McKinley, one of those cool summer Alaska days, always bring jackets when camping in Alaska!
Helen was not a complainer and if she thought she was hearing too much whining, she would let you know. We didn't know a whole lot about why she had begun attending our church, but we knew she had come from another church in town and she brought some pain with her. She was content to tell the Lord about that pain whatever it was, and we were content to love her just the way she was.
Helen was single when we knew her and she supported herself by cooking in restaurants. She really knew how to dress up caribou in the pan to hide most of the wild taste. She also had this late night indulgence when we camped called chile and cheese. Scrambled eggs, meat of your choice, onions, garlic, little bit of salsa, seasoning you feel like putting in (she did have this independent streak), diced green chilies and cheddar cheese. We still make it when we have a campfire.
One of my favorite attributes about Helen was her faithful heart. To the Lord first, to the Church, to friends. We never heard if she had any family, but I've always thought we were. When we are given loyal friends, they are a gift from the Lord. Cherish every one of them and count yourself blessed.
If these blogs have stirred something in you about mentors or mentoring, act on it soon. If you have a mentor, thank them today, if you don't have a mentor, pray and ask God for one and open your heart because He will answer your prayer.

Jim and Marlee's Hints for Cooling Off in GNW Marine Climate

We've been paying close attention to twitters, texts, emails and every kind of communication concerning the heat wave that has come over our GNW in the last few days. No sense shopping around for an AC, no store has them. It's like trying to hunt down a generator in the middle of a blizzard. Our way of dealing with some things we can't control is to laugh. It makes us feel better and I hope these hints will help you along the next melt-down. My skin was in shock today! There are a number of things you might try, to cool down but if you reject all of them that's ok, just laugh!
*move to Barrow, Alaska and ignore the mosquitoes, but if that's not an option...
*give heed to Tamara M's suggestion to freeze wet washcloths til stiff as a board. Fold the
cloth and place under the chin and hold. Your mouth is wide open at this point but both
hands are free to wave paper fans
*change your thermometer to celsius. 37.5C sounds a lot better than 108F. (today)
*ignore the calorie count and slurp down a grande java chip frappachino
*run through the sprinkler with your grandchildren
*turn sprinkler on!!
*visit husband in air conditioned office for eight hours
*keep praying the thunderhead clouds move west
*count how many days til Christmas!
*sing Christmas carols
There you have it. Feel free to to comment and add your own to the list. Funny how these things come out to be ten in the list, just like Tony Morgan's lists.
God is good no matter what the weather is.

Mentors 2

Helen Carlquist was the kind of Jesus follower you knew had been a Christian for a long, long time. Her face spoke the fruit of the Spirit and the joy of the Lord. She was 82 years old when we first met her, silvery white hair without a blue streak in it! She had a twinkle in her eye and this smile on her face that could disarm any grouchy soul.
Helen did not make a way for herself. By that I mean, she never blew her own horn. She was content to live out the gifts God had given to her and she always freely gave!! Her life on this earth was to bless people with her wisdom and joy. We were priveleged to have her attend our home fellowship from 1977-1980. I loved her quiet ways, but her ministry to the Church spoke loudly! When our home fellowship got too big and we ran out of chairs, without any fan fare she handed us a check for folding chairs, PADDED folding chairs!
Thing about Christians in this modern time, we have to be adventurers and willing to take a risk when God says it's time. Helen was this kind of woman. On her own at 16 years old, she moved all the way to Alaska without knowing a soul. It was exactly what God had ordained. She was saved in Alaska and her life was forever changed. She told me one time of a snow shoeing mission trip she took with with other Christians. No small trip, from Anchorage to Fairbanks. She was an adventurer for the Lord!
Helen was a woman of vision. I see her life in the Proverbs 31 woman. She wanted to borrow a certain amount of money from a banker because she had this vision of buying land in a certain area outside of Anchorage at the time. It was so far out, it was considered "the bush." She kept getting a no every time she talked with him. Helen kept going back. You didn't expect she would give up with the first no or the twentieth? She kept going back until she got what she asked for. She was very convincing. She reminds me of the woman in the Bible who kept going back to the judge for what she wanted until he gave up and said yes, just to get rid of her. A few decades later, that piece of property became a huge portion of downtown Anchorage. Thank you Jesus! Her future husband Carl (the Swede) built a building on Helen's property and opened a jewelery store, Carlquist Jewelers. Helen probably had her choice of engagement rings!
Couple things I loved about Helen, was her consistent, abiding love for God's people and for Him; but also the uncomplicated way she believed God's word. Helen was a prayer warrior, she fully believed the scripture when Jesus said "enter your closet to pray". She always prayed in her closet. Wonder if Carl knew what she was doing in there? God knew.
I wasn't sad when I heard that Helen had died. She was with Jesus whom her heart desired.

Dude in Plaid Shorts

What made us think plaid shorts for men and boys had disappeared from the fashion scene?!! First young dudes wear them thinking they are the newest thing in cool, but we "olders" of the fifties know it's another comeback along with the pink and aqua fashion of a couple years ago.

A few weeks ago strolling around in that fashion-plate store, Sears, we see racks and racks of plaid shorts on sale for $15! Immediately our favorite fifties music starts going through our minds... "Earth Angel", "Little Darlin' ", "A Rose and a Baby Ruth", "A Blossom Fell", "Come Go With Me", "April Love". Now that was a fun shopping experience!

First night wearing plaid shorts was to the last night of VBS. Jim and I had a discussion of what socks to wear with his new shorts of this 85 degree night. He had brand new beautiful white socks; above the ankle kind and I suggested he ask Katy what kind of socks look good with new plaid shorts. She took one look at the above the ankle socks and said, "not those". Good thing FM is close when you are in Monroe. The fashion faux pas was easily corrected. At least the socks he wore wern't brown, just below the knee kind!

While plaid shorts coming back has been a lot of fun, just be glad that pastel colored corduroy pants have stayed back in the fifties. So far.

Mentors

Mentors in our lives are great gifts from God, especially when we are in the "infant stage!" The Lord sent three women into my life in the early phase of my walk with Him. I was 22 years old when I got saved and I needed mentors! I didn't know to call these women that, but I definitely knew they had a profound impact on my life.
I had love and respect for a woman in 1960 named Rev. Iva Berry. Yes, her title was reverend! From the early days in the Nazarene church, women were ordained. Many single women were missionaries to places around the world. Sister Berry was a prayer warrior and I knew that's the way I wanted to pray. Things happened around her, good things! Because of constraints, Sister Berry dressed in the holiness look for women, but the joy of the Lord kept bubbling out of her, even in long dresses! She was probably the most thankful person I've ever met.
Everyone in Alaska knew me by my nickname, Marlee. Sister Berry was from the state of Maine and she couldn't pronounce her r's, so my name came out "Molly." She would say, "Molly, you have to give that one to the Lord," or, "we're going to pray about this Molly." She would take me, children and all, and we would spend many afternoons praying. That's how my first three kids learned to pray. Soon, we would have our own time of prayer in our home. This is training up our children in the way they should go and they will not depart from it.
Sister Berry was a shouter in church and now I am too. We have MUCH to be thankful for! In those days and today, we have plenty to shout about. There was fire, zeal for the Lord that touched hundreds of military lives in the first three years we were in this church. Wednesdays and Sundays the altar area was full of people getting saved and comitting their lives to Jesus.
There was just something about Sister Berry that drew people to her. She wasn't the kind of
Christian that had the attitude that went along with her old-fashioned dress, she positively glowed with the love of Jesus in her face and in her life. She had a soft look about her, with a loud voice.
We didn't talk about our power and authority we had through the Holy Spirit, but Sister Berry knew exactly what she had been given by God. She was a prayer warrior alright. She prayed for deliverence for the native peoples in Alaska; many were addicted to alcohol. Her target was not the person, but the source of the problem, "get to the root of the problem, Molly!" Downtown Anchorage was famous for its bars, one after another. She would pray that God would deliver the alcoholic from sin and rid Anchorage of the blight of these bars, always reminding me to ask God to spare people. She knew God would answer that prayer one day, and she lived to hear about it in Maine. March, 1964 an 8.6 (some say higher) earthquake hit the southern part of Alaska and downtown Anchorage fell 12' into the ground. Every bar was destroyed and not one life was lost. The bars that had been there for decades have never been replaced. She came back to Alaska and when we talked, there was no arrogance in her about having this prayer answered, but she was thankful that no one was killed there.
One of Sister Berry's favorite scriptures was 1Peter 1:8 "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." We all knew when Sister Berry was in the house, she was teaching all of us to be thankful and to be people of expectations. She was teaching even when we wern't having a personal time.
Now she is experiencing that joy unspeakable for eternity, she who had not seen Jesus, now sees! Halelujah!! That's what Sister Berry would say, and I say it too. Jesus is worthy.
Two more mentors; Helen Carlquist and Helen Bolton, soon.

Returning to the Familiar

There is a saying that the familiar breeds contempt, but the familiar I'm thinking of is what gives us comfort, encouragment, wisdom and truth. This is the familiar that spurs us on when we get weary, the familiar that feeds the fire of our passion for Christ. This familiar stirs our faith, comforts us when we need comfort and reassuring. The familiar I'm blogging about is our spiritual foundation.
Before we started coming to TRC, these familiar things would pop into my mind. When praying, an old song from the red hymnal came clear as day; or something from Luther's Catechism. That one went back a few years! Just last Sunday, P. Mel led us in worship from one of those hymns that's in the red hymnal to this day! "What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus." The familiar is with us every day because it's our Christian foundation, everything we believe about our faith in Jesus. Every doctrine, every familiar Bible story many of us grew up with, our prayer life, all the word of God is our foundation.
The danger in the human heart is to allow that familiar to be taken for granted. I know I did at one point and in doing that, I allowed my love for the familiar to become lukewarm. That's why God, in His mercy and grace, started filling my thoughts with the familiar again. I was surprised to even remember parts of Luther's Catechism that I had to learn in the early 50's. The once taken for granted now has my great love and I wanted to share some of the familiar scriptures we know very well. I'm praying it will stir up your love and faith for these blessings that God has given us.
Gen. 3:15, Ps. 23, Ps. 46, Isa. 25:1, Isa.46: 9-10, Eph. 6:10-18, Matt. 6: 9-13, Phil. 4:1, John 3: 16, Matt.11:28-30, Matt. 18: 19-20, Phil. 1:6, Col. 3:23-24, Col. 4:2, Rom. 1:16-17, Rom. 12:1-2, 1Cor. 15:56, 2Cor. 2:14-15, 2Cor. 5:7, 2Cor. 6:2, 2Cor. 9:6-8, 2Cor. 12:9-10, Phil. 4: 6-9, Phil. 4:13, Phil. 4: 19.
That list is long, so take it a little at a time. Take a scripture a day, spend time in it, pray and think about what it says. Ask God to give you understanding and help to apply it to your every day life. There might be another blog on the familiar, or make your own list of the familiar that has meant so much to you.
The familiar does great work in us!

The Long Haul

The long haul was a phrase we heard for the first time in Alaska, and I was reminded of it again this week as we made our way up to Winthrop this last Tuesday and returned home today. That was a long haul! Highway 20 is a long and sometimes very slow haul, but beautiful all the way. On the way back we saw what we thought at first was fog near the top of the mountain. We quickly realized it was a forest fire. So, the long haul can have its dangers too.
The curving road forced us to slow down and we got a very good look at the beautiful creation God has given us in the GNW. We took the time to stop at several turn-outs for rest, picture taking and talking about this great land. Riley has taken to photography and with his permission, I'll post some of the beauty he saw on this trip.
The long haul has come to mean more than just a long and arduous drive to the North Slope in Alaska. There is very special meaning to our spiritual lives too. One of the ways we would describe certain Christians was, "she/he is in it for the long haul." That meant they were serving Jesus, no matter what came their way. That long haul to the North Slope? Long, lonely, cold, dangerous. That's the way it CAN be at times in the Christians life, but all along the way we have a goal and purpose. We are connecting people to life. We are demonstrating to the lost that they too can have a purpose in life through Jesus Christ. The ones who press into this kingdom are the ones who reach their full purpose in Jesus.
Along the way in this long haul, Christians have all the help we will ever require in this life. The presence of the Holy Spirit, The Church and fellowship with other believers, the Word of God to encourage and direct, leaders who watch out for our souls. Here are some of the scriptures to direct you on this long haul called life in the Son of God: 2Cor. 12:9 (look at 2 Cor. 12: 9-10 in the Message Bible); Eph. 4:7; 1 Tim.1:14; Phil. 4:19 and many , many others.
Stir your heart up for the long haul, many others are with you. How many trillions over the centuries have been on this way before us and now rejoice with God? Don't look or go back for anything.

Quarry Invitation

Quarry Interns are extraordinary people! You have a chance to meet them at TRC at 7PM this evening. Say hello, get to know them a little better and congratulate them on a job well done. Jim and I will be there, we'll look for you!

52 Years Ago

June 22, 1957, Jim and I were married in Waukegan, Illinois after a four month courtship. Yes, back then, dating was known as courtship. We met at a dance at the YMCA in Chicago, February 14. Jim was 19 years old and a handsome sailor stationed at Great Lakes Naval Station in North Chicago. I was 18 years old, fresh out of Airline Business school and working in the big city with other girlfriends from the same school.
By Easter time that year we knew we were going to be married, so Jim wrote to his mom and dad to ask permission. At that time, women were considered adults at 18 years old, but men were not "legal" adults until they were 21. His Dad did a lot of work in the bush of Alaska and it took an "eternity" to hear from them, but permission, finally came.
The first day Jim had off from electronic school, we took the el into town and headed right to the courtroom. Jim in his navy blue uniform and me in my blue and white dress, complete with crinoline, (crinoline: French word meaning a course, stiff cloth used as a lining in garments. Crinolines in the 50's were made out of net, and stiffened up with either sugar water or starch). We owned the world. We fully expected to be married forever and have lots of kids. We had absolutely no worries. God was taking care of us back then too.
We said our "I do's" in front of a judge named Emil Lindval. Grandma Amundson would have been happy, he was a Scandinavian.
Here we are, fifty-two years later and many of our dreams have come true. We have been married a long time and we have six children and thirteen grandchildren, four great-grandchildren. Everything we hoped for when we were young has been given to us by our generous God. The Rock Church has played a huge role in our lives for the last five plus years. One blessing from TRC and P. Jeff was to be there to lead us in repeating our wedding vows on our fiftieth anniversary celebration.
It's not so important what we do on our special day, we aren't looking for something bigger and better every year, just something important every year. Yesterday on our special day, we spent with friends talking, laughing, praying and being thankful. Never give up. Not for anything. Never give up. Now we have the blessing of looking back at all those years and we can say ...
Wow! God is great!

10 Must Do Things

Are you a list maker? I am. Since I'm blogging my list, I won't have to worry about where I put the list! I'll be ok with a top ten list, but if I keep adding things to it, something always gets lost in the shuffle. So here's my list, not necessarily in order of importance:

1. attend Chef Laraine's cooking class
2. teach a R.T. class
3. take a cruise to Alaska with Rich and Bonnie
4. go to at least one more Mariner game this season
5. figure out how to get rid of those stupid looking flower bullet points (flower/bullet is an oxymoron)
6. read the N.T. again
7. read my fav classic lit again
8. climb the Pike St. stairs again
9. buy fresh seafood and veggies while we're at Pike St
10. make paella from Pike St. fresh seafood and veggies

There, that blog took about five minutes. that's some good stuff on the list! What's on your list, I'm sure it's a great list, let the blog world know what's on your mind.

Add On

I'm laughing out loud! One blog about pests, the creepy kind, and when I publish the blog, up pops an ad from Google. For pest control! No, we don't need pest control!
BTW, why did my bullets become flowers? Flowers in a blog about killing those pesky bugs!

On Detesting Cockroaches...

...but loving Tony Morgan's new book, Killing Cockroaches! Last Support Team meeting we were assigned reading and our table stirred when we heard, First Impressions team was given this book to read. The title alone gets a reaction. You have to find out what this book is about!
Jim and I started reading out loud to each other tonight. First thing we noticed was Tony's sense of humor on almost every page in the book, cockroaches everywhere! When you quickly flip the pages, the cockroaches run across the pages. Hey, I voted on Morgan's web site on which cover he should use for the book. The one with the dead cockroaches! He tricked us, thinking they were all dead, and he made us laugh.
We spent some time in his short and to the point advice to bloggers and we came up with a few pieces of advice corresponding to his.

Tony Morgan

• keep it brief
• don't ask me to link to your blog
• stick with it
• have fun
• (twice) be you
• offer your opinions
• check links often
• everything you write is read

Jim and Marlys

• it's called a blog, not a webessay
• if you have to ask...
• even if you haven't had Engl 261
• don't sweat it, or, it's Friday night, I have to blog even if it kills me
• if you blog, do people recognize you in person?
• and ID as such
• the world is changing!
• pray, rewrite, rewrite, publish

So, it just a few minutes we have discovered another Morgan book that will be fun, instructional, inspiring, challenging. Why don't you get your copy soon and find what it will mean to your life too? Who knows, you may discover that you ARE a leader in the Church! Amazon.com will get it to you in less than seven days. Try it, it's the one with the dead cockroach on the cover.