Category: Life

  • Some of us may be thinking that right now.

    Blog. Camelot Castle.11.2020Camelot, the stuff dreams are made of.

    Camelot, the mythical kingdom where the flowers always bloomed and the sun always shone. Perfection.

    In that magical place no maiden ever felt a pang of distress for long because somehow, a brave knight always waited to rescue her–and just in time.

    Ladies in elaborate gowns sipped tea and cakes–yet never had to boil or bake.

    Never was heard an angry word and tranquility reigned, at least on the surface. 

    Ah, Camelot. Or if you prefer, Downton Abbey.

    Either one will do–provided it comes with a downstairs staff and Mr. Carson.

    The problem is, you and I live in the real world

    With real people. 

    People we find hard to tolerate, not because they've harmed us but because, well, just because. Who needs more reason than that? 

    People with whom we may disagree. Strongly. Yet here we are living in the same world, maybe right next door to each other.

    Business associates and political leaders–whoever they are–probably will let us down and we will chafe at them even being allowed to hold power of any kind. 

    On a personal level, sometimes even the best of us let each other down. Husbands fail wives and wives fail their husbands. Parents fail their children–and vice versa. Friends walk out of our lives and we don't know why.

    All this is part of the human condition. If we expect any person in our lives to be perfect, it's a dream more elusive than Camelot.  

    And we set ourselves up to be disappointed because we human beings are, well, human. That is, flawed.

    The trick is to stop looking "out there" and focus on what's good 

    Most of us can call to mind at least a few times we under-valued what we have. That's a waste. When we take it for granted we can forget we are blessed .  

    How we live, how we treat the people in our lives and the choices we make are within our control. That's true whoever we are and whatever our life situation.

    Even if everything is stripped away, we still decide our outlook on life.

    Will we keep a running list of what we lack or will we open our eyes to ways we are blessed?  

    It's our own four walls that spell home and warmth, not those stunning houses we see on HGTV.

    It's the flesh-and-blood people in our lives who fill our hearts and give life meaning, not the "beautiful people" we may read about or admire on TV. 

    It's our own bodies and health we need to care for, whatever our shape or size and whatever the state of our health.

    God gifts us with each day and that alone is reason to celebrate.

    Perhaps it's time for a turnaround in our thinking

    First comes the knowing. Then comes the will to appreciate who we are and what we have.  

    Can we change? Absolutely. We just need to take the Apostle Paul at his word.  

    [This is what the LORD says] "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?"  –Isaiah 43:18-19  NIV

    Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  –2 Corinthians 5:17   NIV

    In Jesus Christ, we are new, with new eyes. And we can turn to him as long as there's breath in our bodies. 

    As for Camelot–or Downton Abbey–I'd love to visit sometime. But I wouldn't trade the joys and challenges of relating to real life and real people. 

    (Still, it would be nice to have a downstairs staff, don't you think?)

    Blessings,

    Lenore

    Did someone mess up your Camelot?

  • This time of year most older high-schoolers–and their parents–are tied up in knots about what comes next. Blog. Graduation hat. 6.11

    Everyone wants to make the absolutely right choice.

    College graduates are tense, too, looking for the absolutely perfect job.

    That could be a long wait.

    Recent graduates often feel dumped out in a world that's nothing like the dream they bought with their student loans. Some resign themselves to any job they can get that includes a regular paycheck. Others keep chasing their ideal.

    Life is hard. How many of us tell our kids that beforehand?

    1. Tell your kids the truth

    One columnist noted that today's graduates grew up with parents who continually asked, "How does that make you feel, Honey?"

    No wonder the world of employment offers a rude shock. Bosses seldom ask, "How do you feel about that?"

    Employers want employees to show up on time, stay until quitting time and get the job done well and on schedule. They concentrate on the bottom line because unless their business turns a profit, there's no money to stay in business.

    Or issue paychecks.

    We do our kids no favor when we groom them to expect life should feel cozy and warm, like a mommy's hug.

    2. Be a true friend to your children

    A good friend speaks truth, even when we don't want to hear it. Our children deserve the same from us.

    Sooner or later, most of us learn the no-nonsense foundation for success along the way. In school, in the job world, or even in our personal lives, here's the formula:

    W-O-R-K.

    Sounds hopelessly outdated, doesn't it?

    That's especially true after hearing commencement speakers–and parents–who so often tell young people, "Follow your bliss! Live for your dreams! Refuse to settle for less than what makes you happy!"

    Then someone will bring up Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, who became a billionaire at age twenty-seven.

    Reality check: How many Mark Zuckerbergs do you know personally?

    3. Plant good seeds, so your kids can harvest good fruit

    Love your children enough to speak lasting truth. Even in a dream job, they will have to prove themselves.

    Most employees start at the bottom. It will be a slow climb from there.

    They will not like parts of it. Guaranteed. Life is hard, remember? This is what hard looks like.

    A runner talked of training for a track meet. "Runners know you must keep your eyes on your goal. If you waver and look down at the track your energy goes to what's under your feet and you'll lose the race."

    To build a strong career, marriage or family we can't allow small annoyances to get us down. We need to fasten on what's good and let the other stuff go.

    4. Nail it home that a good life does not depend on having every dream come true

    Give your children a lasting gift. Tell them nobody has everything they want or everything as they want it to be. 

    Help them understand that individuals who expect that or insist upon it set themselves up for lasting discontent.

    Wealth and achievements can never fill our inner emptiness because there will never be enough of either.

    Happiness and satisfaction stem from how we look at life and from thanking God for our blessings.

    A grateful spirit is a contented spirit.

    5. Remember to pass on eternal truths

    Be sure your children learn about Jesus Christ, our Savior. Worship together as a family and cultivate friendships with other Christian families.  

    Faith is the real key to a fulfilling life and peace within.

    The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.  –Psalm 29:11

    Jesus said:

    "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."    –Matthew 6:33

    Life in the real world is unpredictable and the only solid Rock is Jesus.

    What we're talking about is helping our kids take on life without life getting the best of them. We moms and dads do that all along, little by little as we encourage them to keep trying and try again and to keep going. And we dole out love and hugs every chance we get.

    Parenting is a process that goes on as long as we live, even though it changes form over the years. 

    Call it what it is: Privilege. Blessing. Joy. 

    Thanking God, too, 

    Lenore

    Tell your kids the facts about life in the real world

  • Quick! What comes to mind when you think of that first Christmas in Bethlehem?

    Probably we picture Mary and Joseph beaming their love at the newborn Baby while a bright star overhead shines its light directly on the stable.

    We often see illustrations that include a semi-circle of sheep, cows and donkeys that may seem transfixed as they gaze at those human intruders into their world.

    How lovely, we think. 

    Reality would not have been so neat and tidy.

    I’ve been around cows and sheep. That shelter would have kept out the cold night air, true, and the animals would have given off heat, but animals give off something else, too. Let’s just say that stable would not have smelled of incense or fragrant spices.

    Mary and Joseph never would have chosen such a place.

    Yet that lowly stable was God’s appointed place for them that night.

    Sometimes life is like that for us, too, isn’t it?

    Even when we trust in God. Even when we’re doing what we believe is right. Living our faith. Believing. Trusting. We end up in a place we didn’t choose and we think, that’s not right. Then days or months or even years later, we see the pattern hidden from us in that time.

    Think how often we pray and then make what seems a good move. Maybe we go to the right.

    God, however, has another direction in mind. Somehow before long we find ourselves going left.

    How can this be? Are we not in charge of our lives?  

    Answer: Not as much as we think and this turns out to be a very good thing

    My husband and I got a big lesson in how this works some time ago. For many years we operated a successful modern dairy-grain farm in central Illinois. Life was good.

    Then a series of events and people contacts came together in a remarkable way and we left it all behind. Oh sure, we prayed for guidance with all our hearts, more than ever before in our marriage. We came to know, absolutely know, that God was leading us.

    For a few months that seemed wonderfully true and we brimmed over with praise and joy.

    Then one thing after another fizzled out. There we were in our new life, in that new place where hardly anyone knew us–or cared about us–asking each other and God, “Why?”

    We had followed what felt like clear guidance, so it made no sense. At the time.

    Later we could see God’s leading in all the twists and turns. Had our original plans worked out we never would have arrived in the good place God planned for us.

    Through it all we learned to trust Him in a deeper way than we ever had before. We came to understand that HE knows the way, even when life seems to make no sense to us. 

    How much more true that was for Mary and Joseph!

    Joseph and Mary believed God in what seemed an impossible situation. They believed He went before them, no matter what.

    Yet there they were, on that journey to Bethlehem because the Emperor decreed every citizen must go to their town of origin. No exceptions.

    Joseph walked, leading the donkey while Mary, in her ninth month of pregnancy, most likely sat on its back. 

    Even before they reached Bethlehem she felt the first pangs of labor. Despite Joseph’s frantic search, there was no room for them but in that stable. 

    And God lit up that humble place with His light and His love.

    He can light up our lowly places, too

    Every one of us occasionally spends time in situations we would not have chosen. All we can do is keep putting one foot in front of the other and pray God will bring good out of our pain and confusion. Pray He will bring healing of body, mind and spirit.

    Christmas reminds us nothing is impossible with God.

    Because Jesus was born that night you and I can have hope in the midst of our dark times, the times we can’t see the way ahead but still must keep on walking. 

    God comes to us at just the right time, just as He did in Bethlehem that starry night long ago.

    Here’s the Good News for you and for me and for all the world:

    For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.    -John 3:16-17

    That verse sums up why we say Jesus is the Light, the One who shines His love and peace into our dark world.

    My friend, may HE bring you light and life and peace and JOY, at Christmas and all through the year ahead! It can be yours, just for the asking. Merry CHRISTmas to you and yours!

    Warmly,

    Lenore

     

    How can we relate our lives today with that long-ago first Christmas?

  • That's a question worth considering because it applies to all human relationships, the workplace and even school classrooms.

    By now I've lived long enough to understand we often find what we're looking for.

    Does that sound too simplistic? Read on. This often-told story is said to be true and it carries a timeless universal message. Here's my version, all names fictional. 

    ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

    Shortly before school commenced for the year brand-new teacher Angie White visited the school office. The secretary handed her a stack of files. "Sorry, no grade transcripts. Principal Green likes new teachers to start off fresh and form their own opinions.  I do have some lists and notes Mrs. Black left behind when she retired. Last year she taught most of these children in fourth-grade."  

    Angie noticed some students had asterisks by their names and a few names were underlined. Hmm. I'll bet these were her favorites–or maybe the brightest ones or the most responsible. What a treat it will be to have a class with so many above-average kids!                               

    Next Monday the children showed up and Miss Angie greeted them with a Blog. Teacher older kids. 3.17big smile. Over time other teachers noted her consistently upbeat attitude. A couple of veterans talked about it in the teachers' lounge. Miss Lucy said, "She'll get over it soon enough. In the beginning we all thought we could change the world, too. It won't be long before our Miss White gets a dose of reality."

    At year's end Principal Green scheduled the usual closing assembly and picnic. Retired teachers were invited as special guests. As soon as she could Angie headed over to meet the teacher who had eased her way.

    "I'm Angie White, the fifth-grade teacher who inherited your wonderful class. Oh Mrs. Black, you must have been an inspiring teacher to those fourth-graders! Thanks so much for leaving behind those helpful notes that identified your brightest students. I loved teaching them. No matter how I challenged them, they amazed me with their ability."

    Dorothy Black stared at her. "My wonderful class? My dear, you must have me confused with someone else. You can't possibly be talking about the children I had last year. They were the main reason I retired early."

    Angie White's forehead creased. "But remember your list? At first I didn't know what those asterisks next to certain names might mean. Then I figured out that was your code to identify top students. And you were right-on. Those kids absolutely exceeded my expectations. It seemed they sparked everyone else, too. I was so privileged to have a class like that in my first year of teaching. Hope they didn't spoil me for next year when I get a class of kids who are just average."

    "I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about. Please give me some names!"  

    Mrs. Black took her hand. "My dear, I marked the names of the problem children, the incorrigible ones, the ones who never turned in their homework. They barely made it through fourth grade.

    "I wasn't surprised, of course, because their third-grade teacher Sandra Sims warned me to expect a rough year. Just as she said, many were below-par and a couple had real behavior problems. So I just did the best I could with them and somehow got through the year."

    Angie White looked away, clearing her throat and blinking back tears. What can I say?

    Finally Dorothy Black took her hand and her voice broke, "I see now there's no mystery, my dear. I think those children simply lived up to my expectations.

    "They also lived up to yours …"

    ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

    This little tale packs a punch, doesn't it?

    It always leaves me with questions.

    • How often do I plug in someone else's opinion instead of making my own judgments?
    • Do I expect the best or the worst out of people? Out of life?
    • Do I allow the people in my life to be who they are?

    Every day, in every instance it starts with our mindset. We can't do better than the Apostle Paul's words in Philippians 4:8:

    Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  -ESV

    Still learning, 

    Lenore

     

    Which is more important, facts or expectations?

  • Am I the only one who thinks this week of the year feels a bit unreal?

    I always have. It's not Christmas anymore–and it's not Dreamstime_xs_141317 (480x319)
    quite time for the New Year, either. Family gatherings are over and all the special events are past. After-Christmas sales beckon, of course, but even champion shoppers eventually tire of the sport. Or run out of money. 

    Then what?

    I unearthed an old piece I've loved for years in which an unknown writer offers suggestions that always keep me thinking. The original title was, "This Christmas …" but I think these timeless words fit any season.   

    HOW TO LIVE IN THE YEAR AHEAD

    • Mend a quarrel.
    • Seek out a forgotten friend.    
    • Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust.     
    • Write a love letter.
    • Share some treasure.
    • Give a soft answer.
    • Encourage youth.
    • Manifest your loyalty in word and deed.
    • Keep a promise.
    • Find the time.
    • Forego a grudge.   
    • Forgive an enemy.
    • Listen.
    • Apologize if you were wrong.
    • Try to understand.
    • Scorn envy.
    • Examine your demands on others.
    • Think first of someone else.
    • Appreciate.
    • Be kind; be gentle.
    • Laugh a little.
    • Laugh a little more.
    • Deserve confidence.
    • Fight malice.
    • Decry complacency.
    • Express your gratitude.
    • Go to church.
    • Welcome a stranger.
    • Gladden the heart of a child.
    • Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth.
    • Speak your love.
    • Speak it again.
    • Speak it still once again.

    Those last three lines say it all, don't they? 

    Isn't that why we love the Christmas season? The gifts we gave, the Christmas cards we sent and received speak of L-O-V-E.  So do those notes and Emails to (or from) people we care about.

    It doesn't matter how we connect. Telephone calls can charge us up because we hear the caller's voice. Just hearing dear voices can keep us smiling for a long time.

    So why wait until next year to reach out to them again? 

    Every Christmas the world around us feels more loving. That's fitting because  Christmas is all about love, as the blazing star over that humble manger reminds us.

    The Christ child, God come to earth, is the ultimate proof that what we read in 1 Corinthians 13 is true: Love never fails. God's love never fails.  

    Now there's a glow that lasts, through all time, through every week of every year.

    As for what do we do with this week? Or any week?

    Let's not waste a minute. Let's live!   

    Blessings to you,    

    Lenore

       

    What shall we do with this week of “suspended animation?”

  • Life is fragile. 

    Every breath we take is a gift.

    That's the refrain that drummed in my mind when I saw the photos and heard the story of US Airways Flight 1549, the one that ended up in the Hudson River January 15, 2009.

    Did you hear it, too? US Airwaysdoc496ffbd6332ac959808552

    But for the grace of God … you or I could have been one of the people standing on a wing of that sinking US Airways jet. Or it could have been someone we love, icy water swirling around their legs and their lips turning blue. 

    A couple members of our family fly often in connection with their work and all of us fly now and then. That day I knew every one of our family members was on the ground. I breathed a silent Thank You, Lord!, feeling a bit guilty for being so self-involved.

    But for the grace of God … that plane, bound from New York to Charlotte, N.C.,  would have been flying over mountainous terrain or a less-inhabited area, with rescue equipment miles away.

    Instead … they hit that huge flock of Canadian geese while they were still close to New York, which, since 9/11 has in place elaborate rescue plans and trained public employees for every type of emergency. 

    But for the grace of God … a less-experienced pilot would have been flying that plane.

    Instead … it was Capt. Chesley Sullenberger. "Sully" graduated from the Air Force Academy and flew eight years for the USAF as a combat pilot. He had studied how cockpit crews react in a crisis and is a certified glider pilot. 

    By the grace of God … Sullenberger made the right split-second decision. He turned the engineless plane around, gliding safely down over the Hudson River. Volunteers from boats that "happened" to be close by worked together with rescue personnel. 

    Instead … of drowning, passengers and crew were rescued within minutes. They're alive and, as one said when interviewed, "I will never take life for granted again."

    By the grace of God …

    Every passenger and crew member on US Airways Flight 1549 survived.

    Blog. Cartoon of miracle on the Hudson. 9.16

    I can't tell you what was in cartoonist Rex Babin's mind when he drew this cartoon. Could it have been this verse?

    The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms.  –Deuteronomy 33:27 

    By the grace of God … 

    You and I woke up this morning.

        And the morning before this one.

            And the morning before that.

    Not one of us possesses a guarantee we'll be here tomorrow, or even at the end of this day.

    • So why waste our time focusing on the "if onlys" of life?
    • Or get hung up on the woulda/shoulda/couldas?
    • Why bother to nurse hurt feelings or grudges?

    Rather, let's appreciate the people in our lives and the good things all around us. Let's make the most of who we are and of every day we're given. 

    By the grace of God … you and I live and move and have our being.

        Life is a gift.

        Every breath we take is a gift.

        The eternal God is our refuge and underneath are His everlasting arms.

    For more, anytime you find yourself feeling fearful or all alone, turn to Psalm 139 and read the first eighteen verses. Let those beautiful words wash into your heart and your spirit. 

    Peace to you, my friend, 

    Lenore

        

    Lessons from the “miracle on the Hudson”

  • Twenty-four hour news sounds good, but there seems to be no escape. 

    The bad always outweighs the good, because every journalist knows that bad news sells.
    Dreamstime_xs_24201509 It becomes the background noise of our life and fear seeps into our subconscious.

    Think of the past few months. We can tune out faraway places, but what of the terror that comes closer to home?

    Movie-goers get mowed down in a Colorado theatre. School children in Newtown. Every school and college is on high alert, because some lone shooter may be ready to open fire.

    Then comes another Boston Marathon and what promised to be life returning to normal, even if just for a day. Then comes more horror. Bombs, killings and a major American City locked down in fear until the remaining shooter is found.

    Next a solid, unexciting fertilizer plant suddenly explodes in a quiet town in Texas. The blast kills at least 14 people and injures 200 or more, devastating a large section of West, population 2,500.

    That's Life in Twenty-first Century America

    Parents fear for their children. Schools are on high alert.

    Experts say to proect kids from viewing the violence. Parents ask how to do that when there's nothing else on television and every break carries a "teaser" for the news.

    How do we reassure our children when we're quaking inside? Where do we dredge up confidence when we have none left to give?

    The real question is, How do we live with this?

    I have no answers on my own, but I know where to look.

    In the Bible, of course. Hope and comfort thread through it from beginning to end. Take Psalm 121 for example, here from the New American Standard Bible: 

    I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
    From where shall my help come?
    My help comes from the Lord,
    Who made heaven and earth. 

    He will not allow your foot to slip;
    He who keeps you will not slumber.
    Behold, He who keeps Israel
    Will neither slumber nor sleep.

    The Lord is your keeper;
    The Lord is your shade on your right hand.

    The sun will not smite you by day,
    Nor the moon by night.
    The Lord will protect you from all evil;
    He will keep your soul.
    The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this day forward.

    Let's take our cues from the Word instead of the news

    Imagine if we read or spoke those words every morning instead of turning on the news to see what's happening now.

    Suppose every night at bedtime we quietly repeated these beautiful words to our children. Before long they'll be speaking them with us. Instead of saying, "Have a good day," we could let this blessing echo in the minds of our families.

    The point is if we regularly take in fear, we live out fear. Some of us have internalized this constant low-level anxiety for so long we think it's normal.

    It's even worse for children, because they don't understand it and feel even more powerless than adults. 

    That's not the way we're meant to live.

    In case you wonder, yes, I struggle with this, too. I can build a whole scenario on "What if . . . ?"

    (I'm a writer, remember?)

    Events of the past week remind us again that life holds risks and earthly protection sometimes fails. Our security rests in the One who watches over us and neither slumbers nor sleeps.

    So we can live–and sleep–in peace.

     

    Growing along with you and trusting the One who keeps us,

    Lenore

    Related articles

    What's "good" about Good Friday?
    So you have a strong-willed child? Rejoice!

    How do we stay strong in shaky times?

  • Do you find HGTV addicting?

    Me, too. 

    Five minutes of watching Home & Garden TV channel and I start noticing what's "wrong" with our place.
    Blog. 2013. 2

    Typical HGTV host(s) start a huge project and kaboom! In thirty minutes they
    knock out walls, paint, tile, hang curtains and pictures and move in new furniture. 

    It's a piece of cake, right? 

    That's what a young friend thought, too.

    She fell for one of their "simple" projects and absolutely knew it would work on a troublesome long wall in their living room.

    Besides, how hard could it be to replaster and texture a simple, straight wall?

    Had she ever replastered a wall before? Nope.

    She knew from watching it done on HGTV transforming that wall would be easy. And quick.

    On the show people textured the plaster and swirled in designs. My friend decided she could swirl and twirl with the best of them.

    Bright and early on the big day she mixed up a bucket of plaster and started troweling.

    Easy-speasy!

    After half an hour or so she stepped back to admire her handiwork. And loved it.

    That's when she realized she had a problem. The new plaster was drying fast, but it needed to be pliable when she plastered the new area next to it. How would she get a break?

    Her husband tried, but his strip didn't match hers. This was a one-woman job.

    Somehow she would have to keep going. By then the end of that wall appeared to be a football field's length away. 

    Already she could barely raise her arms. 

    She staggered on, helped by maximum doses of ibuprofen and lots of coffee. As the afternoon went on she got slower and slower, but she finished.

    Just before dinnertime.

    My friend fell into bed without eating and slept twelve hours.

    After a few days she could lift her arms without groaning. Time to tackle Phase 2 and faux painting.

    Why not? After troweling on plaster, how hard could it be to paint the room, then sponge on glazes?

    Over the next days she found out. It turned out to be another I-can't-stop project. 

    Eventually, just as on HGTV, she loved her knockout room, which drew lots of compliments. Every time she looked at it she smiled, especially because she did it herself.

    The moral to this tale

    Maybe it's not a moral, but rather a truth that sinks in over the years. What costs us most dearly we love most dearly.

    What's worth doing always takes more effort than we expected, but the lasting satisfaction outweighs the cost.

    That's true for building a marriage. Or being a mom. Or making a life that joys our hearts.

    So hang in there, trust the Lord to get you through and keep on growing.

    I know from experience it takes all you have and then some. But oh, my friend, it's so worth it!

     

    Still learning, too,

    Lenore

     

    Related articles

    The sad tale of a love affair with HGTV

  • Nobody saw it coming. Catastrophes are like that.

    Blog. Japanese woman tsunami. 3.14.11 tumblr_lhxxyv1G061qaovbio1_500

    This is the face of one woman in the aftermath of unimaginable horror, Japan's 9.0 earthquake and the devastating tsunami that quickly followed.

    You and I have not lived what she experienced, but we know that face. We know those tears and those inner groans of, "Oh, please, not that!"

    Our world can shake and crumble around us without an earthquake. We can be swamped and drowning without a tsunami.

    All it takes is being given that diagnosis we never wanted to hear. Or a day when we wave goodbye to our husband or wife who never makes it home from work. A sports accident that turns our healthy, strong son or daughter into a paraplegic. The young adult child with so much potential who chooses a path we know will lead to unhappiness. The rumored pink slip that awaits us when we thought our job was safe. Home values that plummet and investments that tank when we thought we had saved up some money for the future.

    Each of us has our own list. We watch, we cry, we pray. We scream, "Why?" into our long, sleepless nights. And we feel utterly helpless.

    That's when we wear the same face as the woman in this photo, the face of fear and dread and hopelessness. She cannot escape her reality and neither can we.

    But we can find refuge. Listen to the wonderful words of Psalm 46:1-3 and verse 7, followed by Isaiah 41:10:

    God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

    Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

    though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging . . .

    The LORD Almighty is with us;

    the God of Jacob is our fortress . . .

    So do not fear, for I am with you;

    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

    I will strengthen you and help you;

    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

    The hard truth of life is that we have no truly safe place here on this earth. No guarantees of a perfect life in this imperfect world.

    No place to run except into the sheltering arms of God, who so loved the world that he sent his only Son to earth to die on a cross and live again. For you. For me.

    In His strength we weather our storms and go on, leaning on the everlasting arms.

    His peace,

    Lenore

     

     

    Where can we go when disaster strikes in our world?

  • I met the most amazing woman the other day. She unexpectedly dropped into my Email inbox and once she told her story, I couldn't forget it.

    I think it's safe to say you won't forget her, either. For one thing, how often do you meet an individual who is age 106 and still plays Scrabble? Yes, you read that correctly. Alice Herz-Sommer is age 106. In fact, she turns 107 this month.

    She is . . .  But why not let Alice tell her story in her own words? I encourage you to settle back in your chair and prepare to be entranced. If at the beginning you find her accent difficult, hang in there. After a few seconds you won't notice it. Now just click on the arrow and float away.



    For all of us, sometimes life, with its obstacles and challenges and disappointments, seems discouraging, even overwhelming. From now on I'll only have to think of Alice to realize how blessed I've been–and still am.

    Although Alice's story is unique, I think she has a message for all of us, for all time: Life is beautiful! 

    Those three words apply, no matter what's going on in our lives. Let's have the good sense to really understand this now. It's as the Psalmist said, centuries ago:

    This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. –-Psalm 118:24

    Here's to "living it up" and making the most of every day,

    Lenore

    Question for you: How did Alice's story touch you?

    (Late addtion: My apologies, but the (better) YouTube clip I originally included was suddenly "withdrawn by the user," whatever that means. It seems to be inaccessible from any site. So I'm including a new link here, from The Guardian in London. This one is not as long, but you can hear Alice speaking and also playing her piano. Onceit ends you'll notice other YouTube video thumbnails are shown, such as a two-part BBC TV interview. You can read Alice's story in print at  http://nickreedent.com/   which is the website of the maker of the soon-to-be-released documentary about Alice Herz-Sommer.

    Of music and hope and seeing the beauty in life . . . no matter what