PuttingTruthFirst

Last night as I laid down to sleep, four words crossed my mind.  They were "how much is enough?"  Being a mother with three grown children and three grandchildren has made me think about unconditional love.  My children have always been loved by their father and me.  We were not always together in what we did but we tried to do what was "right" with respect to our children.  I love my children although I don't always love what they do.  In fact none of the three seem the least bit like me.  I have always been in love with my Heavenly Father.  Since I was a little girl, I had longed to dwell in His presence.  I have not always done what was "right" my first husband and I were divorced after nearly thirty years of marriage.  We had grown apart.  When the kids were all gone, we found that we had very little in common.  I think that there were things that my first husband gave up to marry me that he really missed.  He was not...

I have been quite fascinated by watching a program entitled "Highway Thru Hell".  It is on the weather channel and is about a group of men who are tow truck drivers on a treacherous road in Canada.  The things they face are really nail-biters.  They keep you on the edge of your seat.  These men day in and day out move wrecks off of this very dangerous highway.  I am interested in the way they think through their approach to removing wrecks that could be quite confusing.  As I have watched this show, I have grown to appreciate what I would call "the little people". These are the people who day in and day out keep our lives running smoothly.  They are almost invisible to the public and their circumstances are not really understood.  In America the big dream is to become someone of importance:  a doctor, a lawyer or perhaps God forbid a politician.  We look to those people with a sense of admiration.  However there are dozens eve...

Humans are strange creatures.  We are probably the only ones except the lowly ants that worry about tomorrow.  I have met so many people that live in the tomorrow which will never come for if it did it would actually be today.  We live in the now.  Just as Christ said "today is the day of salvation".  I can't put it off for tomorrow for in a real sense tomorrow never comes.  We must live in and for the now.  It is in the now that I can help someone, it is in the now that I can make a good choice, and it is in the now that I will have to experience the consequences of those choices. It is wise to plan for tomorrow in all that we do.  We have to save now for tomorrow for if we do not we will have nothing for today.  We store up all of our good works in the now and we must make decisions based on the now for we will be forced to live though those choices when tomorrow becomes today.  This focus on tomorrow has it limits.  When we pr...

These past few days have created a brokenness in my heart that I have not had for a very long time.  I am amazed at how I feel.  I have always been able to keep my feelings in check maintaining a calm and quiet demeanor.  I feel emotions but it is rare that they can become so overwhelming that I find myself responding to them in such a real way.  I know the source of this sadness for it is multilayered.    One of my nieces, whom I dearly love, was arrested last year and charged with vehicular manslaughter due to her driving under the influence.  I know that this happened but somehow I find it hard to get my mind around this reality.  In this accident she killed a patrol officer in the police department.  She was completely unaware of what transpired and how this happened.  She nearly lost her own life in the physical sense because of injuries she sustained in the accident.  Needless to say the entire family has been turned upside d...

It has been a long time since I wrote in my blog - "PuttingTruthFirst".  I was thinking today about what my mom would think of my grandparenting efforts.  I am blessed with three wonderful grandchildren.  Two boys and one little girl who can make your heart leap when she is around.  The oldest boy is Axel.  He is the offspring of my son and daughter-in-law.  Four years ago they were blessed with a little girl they chose to name "Astrid".  The other boy is my little eight month old grandson.  He is Luke and he belongs to Tabitha and Mitch.  All of the children are a delight to me. When Axel learned that I was soon to have another grandson, he came to me and said quite seriously, "Granny, I don't want to be replaced."  In his little ten year old thinking, a new grandson would take his place.  I assured him that that could never happen because he was my first grandson and held a favored position my heart.  I assured him that th...

The other day one of my adult children told me that they could not handle another lecture.  I thought about the situation they were in and wondered if perhaps I was using the wrong "words" all of the time.  In an effort to direct them to a better outcome, I was sharing what a "good choice" would be.  Over the years, my children have often sought out my advice.  This time was no different.  However, in the early morning hours a scripture arose to the forefront of my thinking and I realized that I needed to think on it.  The scripture is one that is most familiar to me and one that I have quoted and thought on often.  Hebrews 4:12 (KJV) 12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.   These are powerful words.  God's Word is powerful.  I...

Sometimes if we are overly sensitive to the opinions or actions of others, we can begin to think that we are really of little value.  This is one of the biggest tricks of the enemy of our soul to make us feel useless  and of no consequence.  Our senses need to discern this trick and recognize it for what it is.  Firstly, our own sense of self-importance has to be put under the blood of Christ as we recognize our relationship with Him and what He thinks about us is the most important thing in our lives.  How sad it would be to feel that you are invisible to those around you!  I remember when my mother became older she would get her feelings hurt because my two sisters and I would gather around the table at a family gathering and chatter away.  The sisters and I seldom saw one another and found the opportunity to share our time together as a chance to catch up.  We did not really realize how Mom felt but she was always welcome yet she chose to si...