God's Goodness

From the very beginning we see the goodness of God as He creates Adam and Eve, then displays His goodness to them in the garden of Eden. Everything they needed was there in the goodness of God, including communion with Him. The first mention of the word goodness in the Bible occurs in Exodus 18:9 "And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel..."

Right in the middle of this sin-filled world, God is still pouring out His goodness especially to His people, but not exclusively. He is mercifully good to those who haven't come to Him yet. God is mercifully good because that is who He IS. He IS I AM and it is all in Him eternally!

The nineties were tough years and my mission was deliberate; I looked for the goodness of God every day! One example of finding that goodness occurred when I was entering a store. A young mother was in front of me and was carrying a toddler in her arms. This baby and I locked eyes and the biggest smile came to his face! The mother didn't see it, they were faced in opposite directions. No one around us saw it, everyone was too busy, focused on other things. The goodness of God on a baby's face.

Here is some descriptions of the goodness of God from the Bible:

Exodus 34:6 abundant in goodness and truth
2Sam. 7:28-29 His goodness is promised
1Kings 8:66 joyful and glad in His goodness
Nehemiah 9:25-26 delighted in God's great goodness
Ps.23:6 goodness and mercy shall follow me
Ps.27:13 believe to see the goodness in the land of the living
Ps.31:19 great is the goodness that God has laid up for those who fear and trust in Him
Ps. 33:5 the earth is FULL of the goodness of the Lord
Ps.52:1 goodness of God endures continually
Ps. 107:8 David pleads for us to praise the Lord for all His goodness
Ps. 107:8 He satisfies the longing soul with goodness
Jer. 31:14 God's people shall be satisfied with His goodness

Believe, receive, rejoice and be thankful! Rejoice as Jethro did in God's goodness...today!

All scriptures from the KJV

It Goes a Long Way When...

...mercy is shown
... people are honest
... your work van or truck is really clean
... your contractor vacuums and sweeps up everyday. Thanks Mr. Contractor man.
...the driver in the other lane signals before he moves into your lane
...the pho cafe is always good
...Christians who have Jesus stickers on their bumpers remember they are advertising Jesus
...we remember the poor, the weak, and widows among us
...we do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God
...remember we are pilgrims on the earth
...your hubby texts you on a business/fun sales day camp-out, thanks honey
...you know, know, know that God has a plan for your life
...your church has vision that inspires people to SERVE

There is my list. What goes a long way with you?

The '61 Red Comet III

Autumn day, sunny and warm compared to our cold windy days we had left behind in Alaska. Quiet Sunday morning, and Jim is getting ready to hitch hike 50 miles into Whitehorse. Grizzlies are already hibernating aren't they? Jim/Daddy takes one more look back at his waving family. We're blowing him kisses to make us feel better. I kept remembering all the answered prayer we had in the last three years we had been saved and committed to living for Jesus. We sang a song in the Nazarene church with this line, "Count your blessings name them one by one..." I think that line ran through my mind for the next few hours. I'm praying that God will have grace and bring him back quickly before the sun goes down and we are left in the cold and dark.

Jim walked nine miles and he was picked up by an elderly couple (probably the age we are now) in a pick-up. They drove him to Whitehorse without expecting anything. Jim found a Nazarene church and the pastor called his friend who had a tow truck, then made reservations for us at the lone Whitehorse motel.

It was dark by the time Jim and the driver got to the car. What a welcome sight! Kids and mom are squeeling happily. Our kids know God takes care of us. Our five year old son Jimmie was in heaven, he got to ride in the front of a tow truck with the driver and his dad! Joy all over the place. The creeky old motel in Whitehorse was a palace. Canada was taking good care of Americans. In all this time our image of the Canadian mounties was shattered. We didn't see one this entire time. Like Sgt. Preston and his faithful dog Yukon, we thought for sure some red uniformed mountie would show up for the rescue. We were grateful for the rescuers God provided.

Next morning we show up at the mechanics shop. He has the news, all the news for us and it's not very good. They have nothing we need in the way of repairs, he has already ordered it from Edmonton, Alberta and the entire process would take would take five days. I think we asked him, "How many days??" Five long days.

We set a plan and the kids loved it. There is just nothing that can stop the excitement of children. Especially the excitement of our three kids. Bobby was two years old, he didn't know anything except his big brother and sister were happy so he was too. Thanks Bob. Thanks Jimmie. Thanks Jeri. Up early every morning. Buy what we could at the grocery store and eat. Then walk the boardwalks in Whitehorse. The favorite question the kids had was, "Where are the mounties and their horses?" Then every afternoon we went back to the mechanics shop and asked, "How is it going?" We were glad our car was the only job he had that week. He got to know us pretty well. He knew we would be in his shop every day at the same time.

When the work was completed, the mechanic tried to start the '61 Red Comet. First time, engine is running and what a beautiful sound! The kids knew this meant we were on our way again. We all made the rounds to the friends we had made in Canada to thank them and say good-bye. The Alcan looks really good! The car repair cost $600, that meant we had $300 left to get us to Kansas City. We bought breakfast and lunch food from the grocery before we left.

By the time we got to KC, we were raiding the ashtray in the car where Jim kept his parking change. The cheapest meals we could find were McDonalds. The kids loved it, mom and dad not so much. That's why we have only McD's french fries every five years or so. The regular hamburger cost 15 cents.

God had gotten us to our destination; happy, mostly healthy. There was not one dime left in our pockets or parking money ashtray. He had provided everything we needed. My parents loaned Jim some money to get gas to go to work that Monday. What more could we ask of a generous God who has given us all things?

The next blessing we had that next April 18 was a healthy baby girl named Patricia Kathleen. With God's touch and good medical help I got safely through gestational diabetes. My last diabetes test showed my blood sugar was normal. The internist had told me to expect to have this disease the rest of my life. This is from a God who has good plans for His people and will deliver us through everything.

This memory was triggered by seeing that red '61 Comet on the street the other day.

Conversation at Seattle Lighting

We keep going back to Seattle Lighting in all the remodel work we have done in this 70's something house we have lived in almost 20 years. We like their prices and their designs are very creative. Not your usual hardware store lighting fixture.

One of the designs I love exploring are the chandeliers. This is the conversation Jim and I had in the store about these fascinating lights.

We are waiting at the counter to order lights we need for the master bath, and I hear something calling me from the front of the store. Oooohh yes, it's the chandeliers!

Me: Jim, I'm going to check out the chandeliers again.
Jim: Ok, see you in a sec.

Made a couple stops before I got to my target and there they are in all their glory. What glitter! What creative design! What prices though! Jim is done at the front desk and walks over to where I am and kisses me on the cheek and says...

Jim: I don't care if we live in a quonset hut in Monroe, I'm buying you a chandelier.

I am swept off my feet. This is why I love Jim so much. Two weeks after we met, I knew this was the man I would marry. Big decision for an 18 year old and it definitely was the right one.

The 1961 Red Comet II

The family car way back when, forty-nine years ago. Four doors, and away we go. This is back in the day when no one used infant seats or child restraints. Jim reminded me of some facts about this red beauty (?) I had forgotten. It was actually our second red '61 Comet. The first two, one for Jerry his twin brother and one for Jim, were to be used as work vehicles. We all waited impatiently for the cars to come up to Alaska by barge. Unfortunately, a storm in the Gulf of Alaska demonstrated its power and the barge flipped over and both red Comets went into the drink. We waited another six months for the new ones. Not such a wait considering we were still on a waiting list for phone service and we got on the list when Jim was discharged from the navy in 1960.

Jim also reminded me the "formable" tires were made of nylon, not rayon. They were still flat as a pancake in the cold winters.

Back to Eagle River and the flashing red oil light. At that moment my brain started working overtime. "We are only 13 miles from Anchorage. We could turn around, get the car fixed and head out again." No place to live, no job. I still thought it. Jim said, "we're going to make it." He is a man of vision, and seeing the vision fulfilled! Four quarts of oil and we were on our way. I noticed people on the road were looking at us. What do they see? I turned around to look behind us. Ooooohhh! It's the blue smoke coming out of the exhaust! We're still on our way.

We had the best kids. They loved the cozy in their very own play room in the back seat. They entertained each other, napped, sang to Jesus (hymns in those days), did some running around exercise when we made frequent stops and asked "are we there yet?" Our kids, all of them are a blessing!! One of their favorite stops was in B.C. where they got to explore an old miners cabin not too far from the road. It was about this time that the "washboard" road began to get to my stomach. The answer is swollow hard.

On the road again. About 600 miles out of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, in Watson Lake. Funny sound, the car is making a very loud noise. Jim has one word, "muffler." Part of the noise of driving the Alcan is going over rocks. They are constantly hitting under the car, plus winter driving for two years on ice melt containing salt had rusted out the exhaust pipe. Now the kids really believed Dad had a very hot car. No gas stations, repair shops, Sears. But lots of wilderness. We keep pressing forward.

Fifty miles out of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory I woke up to another very loud sound. This time it was the engine and Jim is pulling over to the side of the road. It's still wilderness. It's a warm Canadian Sunday morning. Haven't seen other humans for a long, long time. As much as we knew about prayer, we prayed and had the kids praying. Jim decided he had to hitch hike and walk into Whitehorse. Jim's guess was the engine blew a rod, seized the engine, blew the oil pump. Oil pouring out, he saw a crack in the engine. Our money is quickly depleting. My only thought as we got out of the car for exercise and took a look at Canada was, all this beauty is from God.

Amazing the memories that keep flooding through in writing this. To keep it short, I'll continue on part III soon.

Even in tough times, His beauty and goodness remains all around us.

The 1961 Red Comet

This is one 60's memory I thought had fadded long ago! Apparently it hasn't because Jim and I discussed this means of transportation we had in our early Spenard, Alaska days. The '61 Comet was first used as a company vehicle, so it had been well worn over our dusty roads, icey roads, frost heave roads, and pot-hole roads of those days. (there is an old Alaska joke about the bad Alaska pot holes. Pot holes were always called chuck-holes cause a guy named Chuck drowned in one the winter of '53).

The Comet had rayon tires. That meant when it was -30 to -48 degrees, the tires were not round when we started it up in the morning. They were semi-circle round with a flat as a pancake area that was on the ground. When we would drive on these flat-bottomed tires, we looked like Fred and Wilma Flintstone bouncing up and down in our car. Every vehicle in Anchorage always had a heater cable installed in the front of the car and with a very long extention cord so our car was "plugged in" for the night. On the coldest of nights, Jim always took the battery inside the house to keep it warm for the next day. Driving in Alaska was a science, a very demanding science. Memorize the method and everything worked ok.

This car served its purpose well getting Jim to work every day, hauling all of us ( that would be five of us at this time) to church every Sunday and the weekly trips to the grocery store. Adjustments to Alaska winters meant you always left grocery shopping to the very last on the to-do list. If you did it first, then made a stop to visit with friends, potatoes and eggs had a way of freezing fast!

This car was easy on gas, hard on oil. Therefore, we kept a supply of oil handy in the trunk. Part of the discussion Jim and I had of this little red car from yesteryear was this...with all of its history, why did we choose in 1963 to drive the Alcan? Our three little kids were five years old and under and another little one expected in five months.

We want to believe it had everything to do with innocent faith in a generous God. Jim and I had been serving the Lord a short three years. After all, God can do the impossible can't He? Our motivation for leaving the place we loved was my pregnancy had some complications and we intended to drive to Kansas City area where my mom and dad lived at the time and I would be close to high-risk pregnancy care. All righteous.

We start off our trip on a beautiful Alaska October day. Warm, at least 45 degrees, sunny and we are hopeful. The kids are excited. Each child (Jim Jr or Jimmie as we called him, Jero Lynn and Bobby) had been given surprise packages to open. One for each day of the ten days my sweet mother-in-law Questa thought we would be on the road. What a wise and kind woman of God she is.

If any of you are familiar with the Anchorage area, we were a few miles out of town coming to a little place in the "boonies" called Eagle River. Our little red Comet is warning us with a red oil light flashing on the dash. The light set off sirens in my mind. Oh oh. My fragile stomach is getting queasy.

Sorry to leave you. There are several paragraphs already, so its time to close down and begin the rest of the story soon.