It's All Fixable

After taking a bit of a sabbatical from puzzling, it was time to start up a new one.  Sunday evening, after returning from our weekend at home, I sent my hubby off to have an evening meal with his District 2 partner in the ND Senate, and heated up some leftovers.  A quiet evening home alone seemed like the perfect time to get busy on my next puzzle adventure.

Looking through the options I had available, I gravitated to one called, "Trump's General Store."  [The puzzle has been in our possession for many years, so try not to make this political!] It is a 1,000 piece puzzle which, when completed, is also another kind of puzzle.  The picture is made up of common objects, such as pencils, combs, sink plugs, and playing cards which transform into shelving, chairs, lights, and ceiling tiles in the picture.

                                  



The first step is always sorting out the edge pieces, but in doing so I also found another type of piece to sort.  Along with the typical puzzle shapes, many had sides lacking the "knobs and holes" we associate with puzzle pieces.  Some were easily confused with the straight edge pieces, with only a slight curve to them.  Others had a wavy sort of shape to the sides, making me question the wordage on the box claiming it to be a "fully interlocking jigsaw puzzle."

As I sorted, my "object lesson brain" began to formulate a spiritual lesson.  In my mind, the border pieces represented the sovereignty of God.  He is the one who holds all things together.  I found the other pieces fell into three other categories. . .nearly straight edge, curvy sides, and your usual "knob and hole" pieces.

After working on the sorting process for a time, my seeking brain was given a further "God Lesson" based on these shape types.  I saw the nearly straight edged piece as those who have lived a strong Christian witness.  They have followed their Master, Jesus, long enough to inherit many of His characteristics.  Although not yet perfect, they have a definite look about them which reflects who their God is.  They have recognized Jesus as their Savior, and also made Him Lord of their life.

The curvy pieces brought to mind the newer Christians.  They have started on their spiritual journey, but haven't quite picked up on all God has tried to reveal to them, so aren't quite as "straight" as those more seasoned in their faith walk.  They recognize Jesus as Savior, but haven't fully realized He also wants to be Lord over everything in their life.

The rest are the knob and hole pieces.  They seemed to represent the ones who have not yet found Jesus as either their Lord or  Savior.  These lives are filled with empty spaces waiting to be filled with all God has to offer (the holes) and also may contain "bumps" (the knobs)  picked up by not adhering to the narrow road God desires all of us to walk.

The final lesson I received was they are all a part of the puzzle.  Our world is a crazy mix of lost, saved, and fully surrendered people.  Somehow, God is there surrounding us all, and providing us with the opportunity to be a part of His picture.  It may look like a mess out there, but it's all fixable.  What kind of piece are you??

The Valentine Blues

Valentine's Day, a day set aside for expressing love to those who mean the most to you, is now behind us for this year.  At heart, I am a hopeless romantic.  For a period of time in my life, I enjoyed reading romantic novels, and romantic comedies are among my favorite movies.  It seems, however, my life partner is not so into romance on Valentine's Day. . .or at least not when he is preoccupied with his time in the North Dakota Legislature!  He even walked right past the huge display of roses in WalMart without even blinking the night before Valentine's Day.  I did stop to inhale the smell, but that's the closest the bouquets came to me.

Perhaps it has something to do with the way a male's brain works.  Their brains focus on only one thing at a time.  We were in WalMart to get water, so why would he think about flowers?  With my multitasking female brain, I had spotted lots of Valentine "goodies" in the weeks leading up to the day, even when my purpose for being at a store had nothing to do with Valentines.  It's just how the female brain works.

This year, I had taken the time to make my own Valentine cards, as we had made them in our Legislative Spouses group, and I had leftover supplies.  The cards got delivered, along with the special treats I had picked up for my husband, son, and daughter & family.  My daughter sent a picture of the grandkids opening their package, and I enjoyed watching an old video of them singing, "Happy Valentine's Da-ay" which came up on my Facebook memories.  We met my sister & her husband and brother & his wife & grandson for a Valentine meal at Olive Garden.  Still, at the end of the day, all I could think about were the flowers I didn't get, and went to bed pouting.

The next day, I was conversing with one of the ladies in our water aerobics group.  I think we were talking about the weather, and I found myself telling her about my Great Grandma's mantra of "Keeping calm, taking everything as it comes, working hard, and staying close to God."  As soon as it came out of my mouth, I thought back to my reaction on Valentine's Day.

As much as I knew my husband had a good excuse for not getting me a Valentine [it HAD been a long day at the Capitol!], I hadn't been willing to "take things as they come".  Even though I tried to remain calm on the outside, my inner thoughts were far from calm.  "Sorry, Grandma Boe!  I sometimes fail to follow your advice!"

When it came time to do my Bible reading for the day, I realized I had missed doing the assignment for Valentine's Day.  Perhaps I wasn't the only one longing for some "special attention" the day before.  Could it be God waited all day for me to show Him some love?  Unfortunately, I was so "self-focused" I forgot all about Him!

It was then I glanced across the room and noticed something.  There was a new blossom blooming on the Christmas Cactus plant I am tending at our "home away from home" in Bismarck.  Suddenly I heard God's voice in my head saying, "Diane, I even sent you a flower for Valentine's Day and you didn't even notice!"  Time to adjust my attitude, and get over my Valentine Blues!

For the Record

Last year I started a notebook in which I kept track of the books I read, movies watched, trips taken, and projects accomplished.  Now into a second year of doing so, I find it interesting to compare notes between the years.  Just for the record, following are a few of my observations.

Last year, I finished my first book of the year during the first week.  Today I finally finished the first book for this year.  Interestingly, both books were based on a set of 10 things.  Last year the book was "Red Sea Rules" by Robert J. Morgan.  Our pastor subsequently did a sermon series based on this book, and its contents are well worth considering.

My first book for 2019 was actually borrowed to me by a friend who is also a Legislative spouse.  Her daughter-in-law had recommended it to her as a good book, with the title being, "In His Image."  The author, Jen Wilkin, utilized a subtitle of "10 Ways God Calls Us To Reflect His Character."  With each chapter, she chose a characteristic of God, and then challenged her readers to follow His lead by reflecting this to the world.  The list is a powerful one, and one which made me realize, over and over, how much I fall short.  Without giving you the whole story, I will simply introduce you to the 10 things God is. . .holy, loving, good, just, merciful, gracious, faithful, patient, truthful, and wise.  How do you think you would do?

Let's move on to movies watched.  Over the course of 2018 I have recorded only 5 movies watched.  It seems the list should have been longer, but I couldn't really think of any I may have missed.  This year, we are only in the second month, and I have already passed last year's record, with a list of 8 new movies watched, plus a repeat of one already seen which we watched in our Bible Study.  For this you can thank [or perhaps curse??] the addition of Netflix to our world.  The condo in which we stay during the Legislative session now has this option available, and it is so convenient to simply pick a movie for the evening when we get home from functions early enough.

Now, I'm not insinuating taking time to watch movies is bad.  I do see in my own life, however, where it is taking away time I could be doing better things on behalf of the God I claim to serve.  In our Spouse's Bible Study we are using a study called, "Empowered" by Rebecca Manley Pippert.  Her focus is equipping us for relational evangelism. . .which involves actually sitting down with people one on one, and spending time with them.  At some point, this includes sharing your faith walk with them, and pointing them to starting one, or strengthening it, should they already have one.

Perhaps I need to start a new list of people I've influenced for the Lord.  It may mean fewer movies in the future to allow time to establish relationships.  It might also help me in developing those ten characteristics I just read about!

A Tale of Two Places

We have been doing a lot of "back and forth" driving between Crosby and Bismarck these days, with my husband serving in the North Dakota State Legislature.  As I contemplated living in two places, my mind looked back on my life, and I found out there is a bit of a pattern.

At the time I was born, our family lived on a farm southwest of Crosby, ND.  When I was ten years old, my parents built a new home on a neighboring farmstead, and so it was my growing up years were spent between two different places.

As I headed off to college, my first year was spend at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.  This was also the point at which my now husband came into the picture, resulting in a wedding rather than a return to UND the next year.  Instead, the second part of my college career was spent in Williston at UND-W, where I earned an Associate of Arts degree in the Financial Clerical field.  Once again, a phase of my life was split between two locations.

After graduation from UND-W, my husband and I returned to our hometown of Crosby and moved into a newly completed apartment complex known as "Wallin Manor".  Soon thereafter we began work on a three bedroom house, which was constructed by my husband and his father.  Before moving into our new home, however, we also spent a few months housesitting for my husband's grandparents. Once again a pattern of two living spaces in the early years of our marriage.

We have now lived in our home for nearly 42 years.  It is a handy location, right on Main Street of Crosby.  The next block north is home to our local grocery store, and our church is located one block to the south.  My husband always says, "We get fed from both directions!"  It has been a great place to live throughout the course of our marriage, and it was where we raised our two children.  It is now the place our four grandchildren come to visit, and I really could never have imagined living anywhere else.  That is, of course, until my husband began his career in state politics!

Now, every other January, we move to Bismarck for the four months of the Legislative Session.  Our "home away from home" is a small condominium unit rented to us by a "snowbird".  When we first went to check it out, I was amazed at how many similarities there were between her furniture and ours.  It was as if God went out of His way to make me feel "at home" during these seasons which brought me away from the security of our home in Crosby.

One portion of Scripture comes to mind as I think of all the places I have lived.  It reads as follows:

 ^"From one man God made all the nations,

 that they should inhabit the whole earth;

and He marked out their appointed times in history

and the exact places they should live.

God did this so that they would seek Him

and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him,

 though He is not far from any one of us."

Acts 17:26-27

 

Yes, even way back in the beginning, God knew all about the places I would occupy during the space of time He has allowed for me to live on His earth. It is all a part of His perfect plan for my life.  It is what keeps me sane during these "back and forth" trips. . .knowing He knows all about it, and has a purpose for each season of my life. 

 

It is also comforting to know my time here on earth is only part of the picture.  No matter which home I find myself in here on earth, there is another "heavenly home" awaiting me.  What a blessing it will be when God settles me there for good!  Until then, the verses in Acts 17 tell me my part of the bargain. . .God provides the time and the place, and my duty is to seek Him and reach out for Him.  It is a daily process, which involves Bible reading, prayer, and Christian fellowship.  And no matter where I find myself, He is never far away!   

 

Just Like Before!

My Bible reading assignment for the day was the first six chapters of Judges.  Perhaps the saddest verse was Judges 2:10, which says, "After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what He had done for Israel."  This verse shows how quickly a country can turn from "God honoring" to "God neglect."

Whenever I read about the Israelites, my mind tends to fast forward their story into today's timeline.  As I look back over the pages of today's reading, I see danger signs:

"The Lord raised up judges [leaders]. . .yet the people would not listen."

"They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways."

Sound familiar?  And just like back then, not listening and stubborn ways lead to God removing His hand of protection and allowing trouble to fill the land.

The good news is, in the midst of the trouble, God's people eventually cry out to God, and He comes back to help them again.  In Judges 5:15-16 we find these words twice, (perhaps for added emphasis?) "there was much searching of heart."

Yes, I do believe it is time for us to do some serious "searching of heart", realizing our help comes from the Lord!