I recently read the blog of a woman named Sumi who has lost her three-year-old daughter due to an accident. I couldn't stop the tears as I shared her pain, and questioned "why?" as I looked at the photos of this beautiful child. Why someone so young? Seems I ask that question a lot.
Most of us ask "why?" when something horrible happens to us or someone we love. Unfortunately, the answer to that question is illusive at best. Much of the time there's just no satisfactory answer to "why?" Wise people often will say "why not?" I'm not quite that wise.
As I read this mother's blog, I was struck by her and her husband's faith. I'm taking the liberty of quoting her, because I'm pretty sure she'd want God to get the glory as much as possible. She said:
"God is God and he is sovereign. We still believe that somehow he allowed something in His wisdom that he could have prevented in his power and I don’t think I could have changed that."
I've thought about that comment a lot, and it brings me hope in times of confusion and pain. It would be so nice to avoid suffering in this life, but it just isn't gonna happen. When I think I can't go on, when I'm tired of battling one problem after another, when the sadness over the loss of loved ones overwhelms me, this helps me make sense of it all.
It helps to be reminded that God is in control, and that He is ALWAYS working things out for my good. What happens might not always be good - but God is. He never changes. And He loves us.
Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God ... "
In His love,
Glynnis
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
My daughter Cathrine went on a 4th Grade Field Trip to the Grand Canyon and got back last night at 8:30 p.m. It was a whirlwind 23 hour trip, but Cathrine LOVED it! As she got in the car, she showed me an adorable little stuffed brown bear. She immediately started to say that it was for everyone and how she ran out of money when she was trying to buy gifts. She seemed upset about something, but I couldn't tell what.
For those that don't know, Cathrine was born in Africa and experienced deprivation of every sort for the first 11 years of her life. In the past two years with us, she has made remarkable gains, but struggles with communication and anything to do with math - especially money. In spite of the challenges, Cathrine is a warm and loving child who is a great delight to us.
Back to last night. As we got home, I started to sort out the story as Cathrine opened a small giftstore bag to show me two small rings. She had taken $20 of her own money to buy a souvenir of some kind, but decided first to buy everyone a small gift. So she started with two of her teachers and bought them each a small ring with the first initial of their last names. I looked at the price on the rings and realized each was $3.99. Times that by two, add tax, and Cathrine would have been left with $11 for other gifts and herself.
I imagine she stood at the gift store counter bewildered by the reality of what she had just done. She probably was embarrased to ask any of her classmates for help. And maybe the teacher wasn't around. There she stood with just over half of her money, and three brothers and a sister left to buy for.
Standing in our kitchen looking at the three items she purchased, I smiled brightly and told her how everyone was going to love their gifts, and what wonderful purchases she made. She smiled back and the night ended well.
This morning as she wrapped up the little rings, I kept thinking about those two teachers who were going to receive a gift today. All they will see today is a little silver ring. They are wonderful women and I know they will be very loving and appreciative. But will they truly understand the sacrifice Cathrine made?
Will they understand that their gifts cost Cathrine half of what she had? Will they understand the frustration and worry it caused Cathrine as she realized she didn't have enough to buy her family any gifts? Will they treasure those little rings, or will they get put in a drawer with the other gifts from students throughout the year?
As I pondered these thoughts, I thought about a gift I was given 2000 years ago today as my Savior hung dying on a cross for me. Do I truly understand the sacrifice? Do I understand the anguish God the Father must have felt? Do I treasure this gift or do I put it in a drawer or on a shelf?
I wonder if God the Father asks Himself, "Do they really understand the sacrifice this was?"
Today, my challenge is to fully explore the sacrifice that was made for me. It's easy to gloss over the cost for my freedom, but today is the day to share in the suffering of Jesus. Today is the day to focus on what our eternal life cost God.
We know Sunday is coming. There will be time for celebration. Today, let's sit for a moment in the sacrifice. It's only in truly understanding the cost, that we can fully appreciate the gift.
In His Love,
Glynnis
For those that don't know, Cathrine was born in Africa and experienced deprivation of every sort for the first 11 years of her life. In the past two years with us, she has made remarkable gains, but struggles with communication and anything to do with math - especially money. In spite of the challenges, Cathrine is a warm and loving child who is a great delight to us.
Back to last night. As we got home, I started to sort out the story as Cathrine opened a small giftstore bag to show me two small rings. She had taken $20 of her own money to buy a souvenir of some kind, but decided first to buy everyone a small gift. So she started with two of her teachers and bought them each a small ring with the first initial of their last names. I looked at the price on the rings and realized each was $3.99. Times that by two, add tax, and Cathrine would have been left with $11 for other gifts and herself.
I imagine she stood at the gift store counter bewildered by the reality of what she had just done. She probably was embarrased to ask any of her classmates for help. And maybe the teacher wasn't around. There she stood with just over half of her money, and three brothers and a sister left to buy for.
Standing in our kitchen looking at the three items she purchased, I smiled brightly and told her how everyone was going to love their gifts, and what wonderful purchases she made. She smiled back and the night ended well.
This morning as she wrapped up the little rings, I kept thinking about those two teachers who were going to receive a gift today. All they will see today is a little silver ring. They are wonderful women and I know they will be very loving and appreciative. But will they truly understand the sacrifice Cathrine made?
Will they understand that their gifts cost Cathrine half of what she had? Will they understand the frustration and worry it caused Cathrine as she realized she didn't have enough to buy her family any gifts? Will they treasure those little rings, or will they get put in a drawer with the other gifts from students throughout the year?
As I pondered these thoughts, I thought about a gift I was given 2000 years ago today as my Savior hung dying on a cross for me. Do I truly understand the sacrifice? Do I understand the anguish God the Father must have felt? Do I treasure this gift or do I put it in a drawer or on a shelf?
I wonder if God the Father asks Himself, "Do they really understand the sacrifice this was?"
Today, my challenge is to fully explore the sacrifice that was made for me. It's easy to gloss over the cost for my freedom, but today is the day to share in the suffering of Jesus. Today is the day to focus on what our eternal life cost God.
We know Sunday is coming. There will be time for celebration. Today, let's sit for a moment in the sacrifice. It's only in truly understanding the cost, that we can fully appreciate the gift.
In His Love,
Glynnis
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Have you ever felt like you deal with the same child-rearing issues time and time again? I sure do, and boy does it wear me down at times. I'll never forget the morning I just about lost it.
Only one week into the new school year and mornings weren’t going smoothly. With my oldest in eighth grade, we’d been through pre-school routines for many years. Yet, that year, my children were having trouble with even the simplest tasks, such as peacefully co-existing at the breakfast table.
At that time, breakfast was at 7:30. As a perk, I allowed the kids to watch a cartoon while they ate. Since the tv isn’t completely visible from the table, the last one seated had to crane his neck a bit to see. Hence, the rush to get the best seat.
One morning, the jockeying for position started with one child rudely telling the other to scoot over. Which resulted in another rude reply and well … you get the picture.
If it was the first time, I would have responded calmly – but this had happened many times before. With frustration bubbling up inside me, I decided the cartoon was going off! I marched over to grab the remote control, whipped around to face the two arguing children, pointed the remote at them and clicked.
For a second we all froze. Two pairs of eyebrow rose high above four wide eyes, and I could almost see my children thinking, “She’s really lost it this time. Mom’s trying to turn us off!”
The humor of the situation diffused my temper, the boys repeated their requests kindly and then asked each other for forgiveness. I’ve thought about my reaction many times since that morning. My response to sibling conflict has at times been superficial; I just want it to stop. But somehow, just controlling their external behavior doesn’t have the long-term effect I’d like.
Unfortunately annoyance and exhaustion can keep me from digging deeper to deal with the true issues ... the heart issues. To dig deeper takes me getting away from the frustration, time in prayer and thinking through creative approaches to dealing with the true issues.
If you have creative solutions to dealing with sibling arguments, I'd love to hear them. Because just pointing and clicking the remote doesn't seem to work very well. :-)
In His Love,
Glynnis
Only one week into the new school year and mornings weren’t going smoothly. With my oldest in eighth grade, we’d been through pre-school routines for many years. Yet, that year, my children were having trouble with even the simplest tasks, such as peacefully co-existing at the breakfast table.
At that time, breakfast was at 7:30. As a perk, I allowed the kids to watch a cartoon while they ate. Since the tv isn’t completely visible from the table, the last one seated had to crane his neck a bit to see. Hence, the rush to get the best seat.
One morning, the jockeying for position started with one child rudely telling the other to scoot over. Which resulted in another rude reply and well … you get the picture.
If it was the first time, I would have responded calmly – but this had happened many times before. With frustration bubbling up inside me, I decided the cartoon was going off! I marched over to grab the remote control, whipped around to face the two arguing children, pointed the remote at them and clicked.
For a second we all froze. Two pairs of eyebrow rose high above four wide eyes, and I could almost see my children thinking, “She’s really lost it this time. Mom’s trying to turn us off!”
The humor of the situation diffused my temper, the boys repeated their requests kindly and then asked each other for forgiveness. I’ve thought about my reaction many times since that morning. My response to sibling conflict has at times been superficial; I just want it to stop. But somehow, just controlling their external behavior doesn’t have the long-term effect I’d like.
Unfortunately annoyance and exhaustion can keep me from digging deeper to deal with the true issues ... the heart issues. To dig deeper takes me getting away from the frustration, time in prayer and thinking through creative approaches to dealing with the true issues.
If you have creative solutions to dealing with sibling arguments, I'd love to hear them. Because just pointing and clicking the remote doesn't seem to work very well. :-)
In His Love,
Glynnis
Friday, March 7, 2008
My creative friend Lysa TerKeurst is having another fun activity on her blog - a recipe swap. Since I'm one of those nutsy women who L-O-V-E looking through cookbooks, watching Food Network and creating new menus for family dinners - I'm going to be busy this weekend looking at everyone's blogs and recipes.
So, here's my contribution to the fun. This is the easiest recipe, and one of the most uniquely delicious I've ever tried. And it's a crock pot recipe. Hello? Does it get any better on a cool March day???
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Italian
(Serves 6-8)
8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 2-3 pounds)
1 pkg. dry Italian salad dressing mix
1/4 cup water
8-oz. pkg. cream cheese softened
10-2/4-oz. can cream of chicken soup
4-oz. can mushrooms drained
Place chicken in a greased slow cooker. Combine salad dressing and water and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. Then combine cream cheese and soup in a saucepan and heat slightly to melt cream cheese. Blend and stir in mushrooms. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook another hour on low. Serve over rice or noodles.
After you printed out this recipe, be sure to go back to Lysa's blog for more links.
By the way, if you are new to my blog, I'm doing a giveaway of a book. All you have to do is share your favorite scent in a comment. Take another minute and read my last post.
In His Love,
Glynnis
So, here's my contribution to the fun. This is the easiest recipe, and one of the most uniquely delicious I've ever tried. And it's a crock pot recipe. Hello? Does it get any better on a cool March day???
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Italian
(Serves 6-8)
8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 2-3 pounds)
1 pkg. dry Italian salad dressing mix
1/4 cup water
8-oz. pkg. cream cheese softened
10-2/4-oz. can cream of chicken soup
4-oz. can mushrooms drained
Place chicken in a greased slow cooker. Combine salad dressing and water and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. Then combine cream cheese and soup in a saucepan and heat slightly to melt cream cheese. Blend and stir in mushrooms. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook another hour on low. Serve over rice or noodles.
After you printed out this recipe, be sure to go back to Lysa's blog for more links.
By the way, if you are new to my blog, I'm doing a giveaway of a book. All you have to do is share your favorite scent in a comment. Take another minute and read my last post.
In His Love,
Glynnis
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Just yesterday I caught a faint whiff of my absolute, top-it-all favorite scent: orange blossoms. Not only is it an elusive scent to capture (it's not often found in lotions) but it only exists for a few short weeks in the spring. It heralds the coming of warmer weather, and the promise of sweet fruit next year.
I got to thinking about other scents I love, and here are a few more favorites:
Coffee
Roses
Rain on hot pavement or dirt in the summer
Baking bread
Just thinking about those scents makes me happy. Smells are powerful. They remind us of places and people. For example, can you bring up in your mind the smell of your grandparents' home? Hopefully that brings back good memories. Smells comfort and soothe our weary hearts and minds.
As I think about the various good smells in our world, I'm taken immediately to our Creator who designed it all, and incorporated these scents to bring us pleasure while being useful at the same time.
God loves scents too. The Old Testament speaks of the aroma of sacrifice as being pleasing to the Lord. The New Testement in 2 Corinthians 2:15 tells us, "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." That's a powerful image!
Today I'd like to encourage you to bring some of your favorite scents into your life. Buy some flowers at the grocery store, splurge on a plug-in room freshener, light a candle, put some cloves in an orange, simmer pot-pourri or citrus peels on the stove, or bake some cookies for your family.
As you do, think about our Creator who gave us the sense of smell. Share this idea with your family and find out their favorites scents. Use this as a family discussion over dinner. Then maybe find ways to bring these wonderful smells into your life more.
I'd love to bless someone today with the gift of a book I got. As an editor I often get preview books. It's called "Closer Than Your Skin: Unwrapping the Mystery of Intimacy With God" by Susan D. Hill.
To be in the running, please submit a comment with your favorite scent. If there's a why associated with why it's your favorite, please let us know. I'll do a random drawing on Friday afternoon of all those who submit their favorite and contact you to get your address.
I got to thinking about other scents I love, and here are a few more favorites:
Coffee
Roses
Rain on hot pavement or dirt in the summer
Baking bread
Just thinking about those scents makes me happy. Smells are powerful. They remind us of places and people. For example, can you bring up in your mind the smell of your grandparents' home? Hopefully that brings back good memories. Smells comfort and soothe our weary hearts and minds.
As I think about the various good smells in our world, I'm taken immediately to our Creator who designed it all, and incorporated these scents to bring us pleasure while being useful at the same time.
God loves scents too. The Old Testament speaks of the aroma of sacrifice as being pleasing to the Lord. The New Testement in 2 Corinthians 2:15 tells us, "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." That's a powerful image!
Today I'd like to encourage you to bring some of your favorite scents into your life. Buy some flowers at the grocery store, splurge on a plug-in room freshener, light a candle, put some cloves in an orange, simmer pot-pourri or citrus peels on the stove, or bake some cookies for your family.
As you do, think about our Creator who gave us the sense of smell. Share this idea with your family and find out their favorites scents. Use this as a family discussion over dinner. Then maybe find ways to bring these wonderful smells into your life more.
I'd love to bless someone today with the gift of a book I got. As an editor I often get preview books. It's called "Closer Than Your Skin: Unwrapping the Mystery of Intimacy With God" by Susan D. Hill.
To be in the running, please submit a comment with your favorite scent. If there's a why associated with why it's your favorite, please let us know. I'll do a random drawing on Friday afternoon of all those who submit their favorite and contact you to get your address.
In His Love - Glynnis
Monday, March 3, 2008
In 2005, when my husband Tod went to Liberia Africa to escort our daughters home, he was very impressed with how hard the men worked. He stayed in a guest room in the orphanage and every day his clothes were cleaned by the hands of men. His food was cooked by the hands of men. And the compound was guarded by the strong arms of men.
My husband was moved by the willingness of these men to wash clothes in order to feed their families. The problem was there weren't (and still aren't) enough jobs to go around. The unemployment rate was somewhere around 80%.
When he returned to America, Tod, decided to do what he could to help bring work to the Liberian people, as well as bring other humanitarian aid. So with the help of a few others from our church, we founded a non-profit organization called Idle No More. I'm not very involved, other than to hold down the home-front while my husband travels to Africa a few times a year.
That's where he is right now. I thought some of you might be interested to learn what a small group of people can do. I wanted to provide a link to www.idlenomore.org and invite you to read the blog. There's a link on the right side of the home page. Although it looks like the posts come from our friend Mike Denk, they are really from my husband Tod.
The biggest venture to date has been turning a swamp into a Tilapia pond. In October 2007, with the help of heavily muscled men with machetes, the grass and weeds were cleared into a freshwater pond. Tod flew to Ghana to get 1000 "fingerlings." When the baby fish were dropped into the pond, a celebration like no other erupted among the people. Singing and dancing with joy! Now the fish are about the size of a hand and growing. The next step will be a breeding pond.
That's enough from me. I hope you enjoy reading more about our humble efforts to bring hope and help to the people in one small section of Liberia, Africa. And to give God all the glory for it!
In His Love,
Glynnis
My husband was moved by the willingness of these men to wash clothes in order to feed their families. The problem was there weren't (and still aren't) enough jobs to go around. The unemployment rate was somewhere around 80%.
When he returned to America, Tod, decided to do what he could to help bring work to the Liberian people, as well as bring other humanitarian aid. So with the help of a few others from our church, we founded a non-profit organization called Idle No More. I'm not very involved, other than to hold down the home-front while my husband travels to Africa a few times a year.
That's where he is right now. I thought some of you might be interested to learn what a small group of people can do. I wanted to provide a link to www.idlenomore.org and invite you to read the blog. There's a link on the right side of the home page. Although it looks like the posts come from our friend Mike Denk, they are really from my husband Tod.
The biggest venture to date has been turning a swamp into a Tilapia pond. In October 2007, with the help of heavily muscled men with machetes, the grass and weeds were cleared into a freshwater pond. Tod flew to Ghana to get 1000 "fingerlings." When the baby fish were dropped into the pond, a celebration like no other erupted among the people. Singing and dancing with joy! Now the fish are about the size of a hand and growing. The next step will be a breeding pond.
That's enough from me. I hope you enjoy reading more about our humble efforts to bring hope and help to the people in one small section of Liberia, Africa. And to give God all the glory for it!
In His Love,
Glynnis
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