November 30 Snow at Luton Park

Tuesday:  Dylan and Kelly needed to switch Tuesday out for Friday this week ... so I was without grandchildren today. It had been snowing before I went to bed last night, and when I woke up this morning, we'd had another inch or so fall ... wet and heavy, etching the tree branches, clumping on the evergreens. I debated with myself ... should I go for a walk this morning? But it looked SO cold outside!

I began arguing with myself at about 7:45. The sky was a beautiful pale purple-y orange from the sunrise, the snow was magical ... but it looked SO cold! I SHOULD have gone at 7:45 when the skies were clear and there was a chance for some nice shadows and really good light to do photography ... but I stalled until about 9:15 and then I just couldn't help myself--I HAD to take my camera and drive back to Luton Park and do a little bit of exploring.

I like a LOT of these pictures ... but I will surely come throughout the winter to try to catch the perfect sky and lighting ...

I love Michigan. I love winter. I hate cold.

I would not trade living in Michigan for anything whatsoever. Florida is beautiful and the sun almost always shines there ... better yet, it is WARM most of the time! But still ... this morning was magical out in the woods ...

I walked further today than I did two weeks ago and found another bridge crossing Rum Creek. It will take me a very long time to explore all of the trails out here--they boast something like 8.5 miles of trails.

That's all for now on this last day of November. Only God could create this ... I love it so much and thank Him for all of it.
 

November 29 What's in a Hug?

 Monday:  I haven’t always liked hugs—in my childhood, hugs were not “safe” most of the time. A hug was often given in order to take from, not to comfort or reassure. In the past, I have sought out hugs but almost without fail was disappointed and used.

I have watched loving parents give hugs to their children. I’ll cite Kelly (my daughter-in-law) as an example. Kelly hugs the children if they have fallen down and are crying—she will give a long hug and set them on their feet again; or if they are having a meltdown and are angry, or sometimes if they are going in a direction contrary to what she has spoken, she will hold them close to her to soothe them or to repeat her instructions or to tell them she is sad they are hurting. Kelly gives “safe” hugs. When I first met her, she hugged me in a way I had never been hugged prior—like she actually meant it with kindness and love … a total giving thing, not a taking thing. When I get a hug from Kelly, I often tell her I feel like I have been “hugged by Jesus.” 

Out of my 68 years, I have been married twice—14 years the first, and nearly 15 the second time; ten years in-between I was alone, and now I have been alone another ten. These last ten have been the happiest years of my life; but sometimes I DO get lonely. Sometimes I feel almost desperate for a good hug. 

Last week was a difficult one. I found myself feeling pretty needy and actually quite pathetic. I don’t often dwell in pathos—it’s quite unfruitful for me—but a week ago Tuesday morning, I just felt overwhelmed with NEED. I began studying this week’s Bible Study lesson and checked out all five pages of questions. I just wasn’t in the “mood” to do any of them at all until I got to the last few questions. We were asked to look up three passages of Scripture about God’s guidance and promises from Psalm 23, 73 and 139. 

Instead of the theme of God’s guidance, God spoke to me about “holding me with his hand.” 

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by your right hand … Psalm 73.23

hold [achaz] “to lay or keep hold on”. Hebrew lexicon: “to grasp, take hold of”

“Achaz” is used this way in Song of Songs 3:4  I held him, and would not let him go …

I found more in Psalm 139.5 (NIV) 

You hem me in behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. The word “hem” can mean “to surround restrictively” which doesn’t sound very friendly, but actually, it makes me think of good boundaries. Healthy ones.

Psalm 139:7 - 10   If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 

I think God’s guidance and His holding go together very closely. Just like a concerned parent, He tells us which way to go and then hugs us tightly to reassure us of His love and plans for us. 

As I was thinking on all of this, I did fell HUGGED by God and my heart settled way down into a deep peace. I AM loved. I AM safely hugged by the Lord who loves me unfailingly, in spite of all my failures. I think I should commit to memory much of Psalm 139 and ask the Lord to remind me how close He is to me every single day.

November 28 The HOPE Candle

Sunday Evening:  Emma and I have committed to celebrating Advent in a new way for us--it's fairly easy to do and also very meaningful. I will post two pictures of our Advent wreath and then explain:

Our Advent wreath has five candles: three purple, one pink, and the center candle is white (the Christ candle). We lit the first purple candle tonight and were instructed to sing one verse from "Silent Night", which we did--quietly ... softly. I will hold the memory of Emma's sweet voice singing as one of the highlights of my Christmas season. When we were finished singing, we were instructed to read the story of Joseph from Genesis--actually, it was suggested that we read the very condensed children's version of the story out of "The Jesus Storybook Bible" (I used this story book constantly with Emma and her siblings in their younger days). 

I'll quote what was written about the story from our Advent notecards.

"In the story of Joseph we see hope in the middle of trials and temptations. Joseph's life followed a heart-wrenching rhythm of success and disappointment, yet his hope in God remained steadfast. It took time for Joseph to grow into his gifts, and he spent many years waiting for the fullness of God's plans to be revealed in his life. In spite of repeated setbacks and devastating circumstances, the Lord was with Joseph and continually gave him success no matter where he was to be found." 

We were then encouraged to think about times in our lives when we have had to wait on God during difficult situations and continue to HOPE in His perfect plan for our lives, no matter what our circumstances.

"HOPE" as defined by Webster is this:  1. Trust, reliance;  2. desire accompanied by expectation of fulfillment.

It was promised long ago that Jesus would come to save the world from sin--that He would be the Light shining in the darkness. He fulfilled every one of those promises when He came to earth the first time. Because of that, I can have great HOPE that Jesus will return just as He said He would. When He comes this time, He will take us to be with Him forever. He will right every wrong. He will be King over all of us, ruling in righteousness and with justice. I am truly looking forward to that day with much anticipation and HOPE.

November 28 Meet Giles

Sunday morning:  Emma and I have been volunteering in the 3's during 2nd service for three months now. I don't take pictures of the little children who are in our class because I don't have permission to do that. We had 15 children this morning. Let me see how many names I can remember: Ella, Faith, Mae, Amelia, Everett, Clark, Joshua, Charlie, Priya, Joya, Yona ... hmmm ... the other four I cannot recount!

One of the volunteer helpers is this fellow here (below). His name is Giles and he just turned 13. I love this kid. He sticks to me like glue all throughout our time with the kids. He is good with children, but lately he has been "off" his ADD medication and ... whew ... he really really NEEDS it. His dad is 73 years old. I am unsure of his mom's age--but he is not adopted. He is a biological child. I have never seen his father, but I have met his mom and I would guess she is somewhere near 50. Giles is short for his age, loves to play with all of the children's toys (I do too). He built this car garage (which housed 22 Matchbox cars) before most of the kids arrived, knowing full well that it would be DESTROYED. As he was building it, he was explaining how everthing MUST be symmetrical. He is quite OCD, not to be overly "labeling" of this sweet individual. 

Anyway, Giles permitted my photographs of his garage design. I told him I wished to show my grandson, Aidan, so that he could built this at my house.

Our Bible story today was about Elisha being helped by friends when he had no place to live. The children all did really well today ... but we were without most of our rambunctious kids: Silas, Aliyah, and Levi. It's good to volunteer with these kiddos. There are two other young volunteers--sisters by the name of Tessa (15) and Audrey (13). I am growing to love these girls as well. They are wonderful with the kids and so much fun to be with. Emma likes them too. She has a growing intolerance of Giles--but I think that is more because he is almost "out of control" without his medication and she finds him obnoxious. I understand. No matter ... Giles has found a special place in my heart.

November 27 A small party for Chris

Saturday: Chris's 18th birthday is this coming Monday. We invited Chris, his girlfriend Ella, Matthew, and Kaity over for a small party to celebrate. Arrival time was 3pm. Emma paid for pizza for us all (thank you, Emma!) and we played games, ate pizza, and enjoyed birthday cake for a few hours together. 

I was very happy to get to know Ella a bit today. I learned that she has lived all of her 16 years in Sparta, the first 10 or so out in the country in a home that her dad had built. When one of the bad economic downturns occurred, her dad lost his job and consequently the family lost their home. Ella said this was a really hard time for them. They rented a house in Sparta for awhile afterward but now they are in another home that they own. She and Chris have been "dating" for a solid year or more.

I asked Chris what his favorite cake was and he texted back that he loved Ice Cream Oreo Cake. Emma and I picked one up yesterday as we were out and about. I had never tasted this before and agree that it is really yummy.

It's good to have a few more recent pictures of Chris. I hardly see him any more. He is grown up! He and Matt don't often come over ... so this was a real special time for me as their grandma.

I love your smile, Chris--always have!

I coaxed the kids into a game of Pachesis. KT and I did not play because only FOUR can play at once. Kaity and I played UNO instead.

Playing Pachessi with FOUR is quite a WAR. These four battled it out for nearly an hour (!!!) until Ella was victorious! Congratulations, Ella!

Chris and Matt played for #2 winner. Emma gladly stepped out of the game at this point.

Chris opened his gifts. He had requested a particular NIKE hoodie from me, which I was able to find at Kohls yesterday. 

Here he is reading his card. I should post a better picture of the card ... I will do that below.

Then he opened Emma's card and gift ...

And then we just relaxed for a bit until everyone decided it was time to go. Everyone did OK together. It was good for Emma to be with her brothers, who she hardly sees anymore--this is very sad for her. They are a "tricky threesome" though with so much history and quite a bit of dysfunction. STILL ... I am thankful for this time with all of them here together.

This is the inside of Chris's birthday card. This quote is from Tony Gungy, a former NFL coach of Superbowl champions, the Indiana Colts. Gungy is the first black Superbowl (coach) winner--but more importantly, he is a faithful Christian. 

That's Chris wearing the #15 jersey ... this was the last game of his senior year, the playoff between Comstock Park and W. Catholic.

This is the front and back of Chris's card ...