THE MUSIC OF SALVATION - On how my guitar is like God's blessed gift of salvation.



          It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen and I knew if I could get my hands on it, I wouldn’t stop practicing until I could play it well.  My lucky big brother had gotten a new guitar for his 16^th birthday and I wanted it – bad.  But of course, it was new and exciting to him too so he disappeared into his bedroom and played it for hours.  Sometimes I watched him and it didn’t seem that hard; push the strings down at one end and strum them on the other.  How tough could that be?

          Life went on and my brother got busy living the life of a popular high school age boy with friends and sports and cars – but his guitar stayed home – with ME.  With his permission, I could use it if I tuned it and put it back away when I was done.  And play it I did.

          When you’re learning to play the guitar it sounds absolutely horrible. It takes time for your fingertips to toughen up and until they do, it’s quite painful.  You have to develop strength in your hands to compress the strings so they ring clearly.  Until then they just produce a dull thud.

          From my brother’s birthday in September that year I played whenever I got the chance.  I played my fingertips off – literally.  I played until my fingers bled and then played more.

          When Christmas morning came that year, we all went out to see what Santa had left for us and I can remember like it was yesterday.  There was a beautiful black guitar case behind the tree with a bow and MY name on it!  I could hardly breathe as I opened it and inside was the most beautiful full size guitar I’d ever seen.  You could just have thrown away any other gifts that year because all I wanted to do was go to my room and play. I kissed my mom and dad profusely and at the first opportunity I found a place to bond with my new beauty.

          I played for anybody that asked.  I played and sang.  I wrote songs; funny songs, happy songs, sad songs, love songs.  Every emotion I felt, I expressed in my music.  And let’s face it; an 11 year-old’s musical pallet is not too sophisticated.  But it was all me.

 

          I was thinking today that the gift of salvation is a bit like that guitar.  The instrument called Salvation is in itself beautiful and it is given by God to us as a free gift.  The potential to enjoy it fully is all there but it must be pulled out of its case and carefully, systematically practiced.  It takes time, knowledge about how it’s supposed to be played, and joyful discipline as something crude and rough at the beginning slowly develops into what the instrument was designed to sound like.

          I have a friend who is a piano teacher and she says, “It’s not ‘Practice makes perfect.’ It’s “Perfect practice makes perfect.’”

          As we grow in love for and knowledge of our blessed Redeemer and we move forward in following His ways more truly each day, we begin to produce the lovely music God intended when he gave us the gift.  Often the process is painful and trying but the music is growing sweeter and more beautiful than we ever could have imagined!  Until one day, when the music that we sought to practice perfectly in our lives will indeed BE perfectly played with all the saints and angels in eternity!

 

          And what a day of rejoicing that will be!!

 

ODE TO A HOUSEWIFE - A silly song of encouragement to mommies

When I was having our two kids in 1979 and 1980, it seemed like so few women had the opportunity to be home with their kids.  I appreciated that opportunity so much!  It was sort of lonely sometimes.  I wrote this as an encouragement to them.

Copy & Paste the following link into your search box:

https://vimeo.com/145313986

NIKKI THE STUBBORN DOG - and a lesson she taught me.

 

      She was thin as a rail and as pitiful as could be.  She was a blue-tick hound that nobody wanted.  A guy that worked with my husband found her wandering in the mountains.  He guesstimated her to be about a year old.  When my husband saw the picture of her it broke his compassionate heart and he immediately responded by claiming her as our family dog and naming her Nikki.

   We got her home and her shortcomings became immediately apparent.  Because she’d gone without regular feedings she was voracious at her food bowl.  She jammed her face into the food and tossed it back into her throat with violent thrusts of her head.  She didn’t even bother chewing.  Her dog bowl was empty in a matter of seconds.  This behavior never altered for the 15 plus years we had her.

     She was every bit the hound-dog hunter, even in our back yard in the city.  She would lie patiently on the lawn as still as could be and waited for birds to land.  She silently watched as the birds pulled worms or seeds out of the grass and when they got close enough, she pounced.  More often than not, she got her bird and proudly hauled it into the house through her doggie-door.  Her hunting instincts were amazing.

     When we went camping, if she got off a leash or rope, she trailed off into the woods with her nose to the ground tracking whatever creature had left the scent.  I can’t even remember all the small critters she stalked and killed.

     Now you can’t really blame a dog for manifesting the very behaviors they were bred to perform, so all of this, while somewhat irritating, was not the main problem we had with Nikki.

     No, the biggest defect with this dog was her detachment from us.  We think that because she hadn’t really experienced human contact for the first year of her life, she really had no use for us.  She would do whatever tricks we trained her to do in order to get her precious food but other than that rarely came to sit by us or even acknowledge us until the last 5 years of her life.

     It’s wasn’t really a problem for us to have a dog that didn’t absolutely “adore” us.  The problem came that whenever we called her to come or when we gave her an order.  She didn’t even acknowledge any commands.  “Come,” “Sit,” “Roll-Over,” “Down.”  I swear if that dog could speak she would have been telling us to go fly a kite.

     One day we thought it would be fun to drive out to the desert and let her run free for a while to get some exercise.  We got out to the open wilderness, opened up the back of the truck and off she went.  We laughed at her ears flopping behind her and tail wagging as she went crazy with the freedom there.  Then her nose caught a scent and off she went tracking something with steely determination.  What focus!  What single-minded attention in following her own nose.  We marveled at how the happy dog became all business so instantly. 

     And then we noticed something else.  She was wandering - very far from us.  My husband called her, “Nikki.”  No response.  Maybe she couldn’t hear.  He whistled loudly and called her.  “Nikki!”  Nothing.  Now we could only see the tail over the top of the brush.  “Nikki Come!!”  He whistled and clapped his hands a few times.  We were both yelling, clapping, whistling and she was just getting smaller and smaller on the horizon.  He hollered to me, “Get in the truck!  We’ve gotta go get her!  Dumb Dog!!”

     I hopped in and off we went bumping and honking across the desert, tracking this stupid dog who was tracking some stupid animal.

   Anyway, we managed to track her down and get her into the truck but decided she couldn’t be trusted with freedom and needed to be on leash if we went out on adventures ever again.

     Because Nikki had never properly bonded to us, she felt no urgency to listen to our voices.   She had no sense of loyalty or appreciation for the ones who gave her a nice life.  In fact she really could have cared less what we were saying unless it was, “Time to feed the dog.”  Then she was right there to do our bidding.  Her hearing was just fine.  It was her LISTENING that was the problem.

 

     I have a listening problem and probably you do too.  It’s not that I can’t hear what God wants me to do, I just don’t listen to Him sometimes.  It’s that I hear it and keep doing what I want to do.  I hear Him say, “Give so-and-so a call to see how she’s doing.”  And I tell myself, “Let me just  finish what I’m doing and if I remember...”  And I never seem to have time later.   I may be having a conversation with my husband and I hear the Spirit say, “Finish listening and don’t speak words that will discourage him.” And then I say whatever I darn-well please, injuring my husband and our marriage.  I get a call from a believer asking me if I can help out with such and such at church.  Then I hear the Lord say, “Focus in on the few things I want you to do well.”  So I say to my friend who’s calling, “Sure I’ll do it since there’s nobody else to do it.”  And then I neglect the things I KNOW the Lord wants me to do.

     If I stay busy enough, I don’t have to listen when the Spirit speaks.  I can do what I want, when I want.  I’ll be so busy “serving” that people will think I’m awesome.  But I will have NO peace because I’m quenching and grieving the Spirit at every turn in my day-to-day life.  I become like Nikki.  I’ll do the tricks that are necessary to get what I want from God but I can continue along, defiant to God’s voice.  And you know the longer you refuse to listen, the farther you get from His voice; just like Nikki in the desert.  If you get far enough away, you don’t have to hear it anymore.

 

     So what’s the solution? 

 

1.     Be bonded to your Father in Heaven.  James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

2.     Listen when the Holy Spirit prompts you.  Jesus said in John 16:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

3.     Don’t quench the Spirit by refusing His direction in your daily life.  1 Thes. 5:19 Do not quench the Holy Spirit.

4.     Abide in Christ’s love.   John 15 says Abide in Me, and I in you.  And further down in the passage He explains, If you keep My commandments you will abide in My love…

5.     When you blow it (and you will) acknowledge and confess it to God and anyone you’ve sinned against.  Without confession, you will NEVER grow in hearing God’s direction in your life.  Psalms 51

  Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
¹³ Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.

6.     Moment by moment set your mind on things above.  Col. 3:1-3  If then you have been raised up with Christ keep on seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on the earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

I HEAR HIS VOICE...

Tonight, I lay in bed and through the open window I begin to hear that magical sound that always thrills my soul.  The breeze is blowing through the tops of the pine trees and as millions of pine needles brush one against the other they make a whispering sound and emit a piny fragrance.  I inhale deeply and savor it. 

It is sweet and comforting.

And as the breeze turns into a wind it grows louder.  It's almost as if the mountains themselves are hissing along with the trees.  Now the tallest pines and oaks begin to creak as the tree-tops start to sway and bend.  I know that in the morning the weakest of the branches will have been naturally pruned and snapped off by the force and will lie on the ground.

It is powerful and exhilarating.

And now the sky begins to sprinkle down it's icy, life-giving bounty.  First rain and then hail and finally gentle flakes of soft downy snow.

It is magnificently beautiful.

And every nuance, every fragrance, every gentle or even alarming sound of this storm only leads me to ONE PLACE!

GOD!  His voice, His gentleness, His power, His grace!!

MY FATHER ABBA!

We filmed this video in the area around our home.  It is NOT professional but it demonstrates the bounty of God in His creation.  I set it to the song "The Voice of God" by 4 Him.  CLICK HERE

I - ME - MY: It's all about me

It's All About Me Jesus

 

 

I love being a part of our church's praise and worship team.  About once a month I refile all the music that we've used that month in an alphabetical file folder.

  

Today I noticed that one of the folders is MUCH bigger than the rest.  It's the folder labeled

 

...   I   ...

  

Hmm. 

 

And then it hit me.  Even our worship is all about us.  We sing, "It's all about You, It's all about You Jesus!"

  

If only it were true.

 

I want - I will - I hope - I dream

My desire - My joy - My wish

 

I write music and I have to admit that some of my lyrics are self-focused too.  The wonder of God loving me is - astonishing really.

 

But I want GOD to be seen above all.

 

A window!  Yes, that's what I want to be.  It's not there to be looked at, just through.

 

 

John 3:30

HE must increase but I must decrease.

 

 





MY SON - Thoughts on how Mary must have felt.

Thinking back on how it all began, it seems so long ago,

I was so young, just sixteen years.  How quickly by years go.

One night the angel Gabriel spoke words that seemed so odd;

He said I’d conceive and bear a Son, for I had found favor with God.

I was amazed, bewildered and said, “How can this be?”

He said the Holy Spirit would overshadow me.

I said, “Father, I’m so unworthy, just a handmaid of the Lord,

But I’ll obey, yes, let it be according to your Word.”

I don’t know why the Lord chose me, it makes me shiver still;

But even then I knew enough to just obey His will.

 

We had to travel to Bethlehem at the time the child was due.

The night we arrived in the little town the prophecy came true.

The inns were full but we managed to find a stable in which to stay.

So I set clean cloths to make a bed in a troth we filled with hay.

And on that night I bore God’s Son - Oh, what a precious boy!

Already with eyes full of wisdom, He became my deepest joy.

As Jesus grew there never was a time when he was bad.

I never had the problems that the other mothers had.

When I felt discouraged, He always seemed to know.

I knew the time was coming when my Son would have to go,

But I had no way of knowing His impending agony.

Not even in horrible nightmares was my Son - nailed to a tree.

They had no case against Him.  They paid witnesses to lie.

When Pilot offered Him freedom, the crowd screamed for Him to die.

And so they ripped at my Son’s flesh with ruthless whips that tore.

That body I had nurtured, they battered o’re and o’re.

They hated Him and spat and pulled out handfuls of His hair.

But through that wretched torture, He loved all the people there.

See - He knew inside that vicious crowd was never going to win.

And as was written, in three day’s time my Jesus - rose again.

And finally I understood the sacrifice He made.

We’re free from sin; the penalty of death is finally paid!

 

If you my friend have ever had a child of your own,

Perhaps you’ve had an inkling of the pain that I have known.

For you in future ages, whom I have never met,

I beg you to accept my Son for He has paid your debt.

And now He rules from heaven and we His glory share.

My friend, accept His precious gift -

We’d love to see you there!

RECOGNIZING THE DANGER

I was out on my walk this morning enjoying the fall colors here in the mountains.  Occasionally, I stopped to take a picture with my camera-phone.

Glorious, Gorgeous, Magnificant artwork by my wonderful Creator!  He didn't create in black and white.  He didn't make food all one flavor.  He added fragrance and breezes.  He went abundantly beyond the "necessary" and lavished His creation with delicious, wonderful pleasures! 

As I saw these colorful trees and bushes, I was thinking that maybe we could plant some of these varieties within eyeshot of our living room windows - like the trees we have already aren't enough!?!

I came across this one and wondered, if I break off some clippings maybe they'll take root in water so we could plant them in the spring.



As I came close to choose a cluster to take home, I noticed that they had leaves of three.  That means one thing up here.  It's poison oak.  The plants that I recognize so easily in the spring and summer became deceptively beautiful in the fall; so much so that I nearly wanted them for my home.

My husband spends much of the spring trying to kill off any of this stuff that grows where our grandchildren might play or hike,  He sprays it and hacks at it and burns it - and here I am, going out and bringing it home!

How very much like sin!!

What we recognize clearly and reject in one season of our lives suddenly becomes attractive to us in another when we aren't preceptive enough to recognize its latest new presentation.

Knowing the shape of the leaf this morning saved me from a whole lot of grief and aggravation.

Knowing the deceptive nature of sin (and the one who tempts us) will help us recognize it's appearance in all its forms.  This knowledge or skill is developed by prayerfully renewing our minds in the Word and practicing restraint when the bait is dangled in front of us.

Hebrews 3:12-14

Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.  But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.  For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end



A LOVE STORY TO LOVE!

   She giggled like she was being tickle-tortured by her daddy.  He wasn’t even touching her little underarm; merely suspending his index finger an inch away from it.  But she could hardly bear the anticipation of the touch that would send her into squeals of laughter.  Wasn’t that just a few years ago?  How is it possible that today is her fourteenth anniversary of being married to her wonderful, amazing husband??  And the three little ones that have come from this God-made union are little miracles; every one of them.

   She was 18 when she began to realize that her love was growing for this handsome young man of 25.  And then, that life-altering AVM in his brain began to bleed leaving him partially paralyzed on the right side of his body.  She only left his side when the hospital made her leave for the night.  But inside of that damaged brain, he was still in there – his mind clear, witty and good-humored as ever.  And her love grew still more.

   Through months of physical therapy and tender-loving care from his precious family, he began to recover much of the use of his weakened right-side; a walker, a cane and then independent walking.  His right shoulder, arm and eventually the dexterity of his hand was restored.

   But what was permanently destroyed was the dream he had for his future career.  Matt had been a pilot; actually he was a flight instructor.  This he would never do again.  He redirected his future career to the one God had planned instead.

   He loved to fly and it was gone - but when God takes something treasured away, He often graces us with something even more precious.  For Matt, it was our daughter.  She joyfully loved him and committed herself to being his help-meet for life.

   Her dad and I just trusted God for their future lives together and He, once again, has exceeded our wildest expectations.  We can only thank Him and praise Him for His marvelous, amazing grace!!

 

Ephesians 3:20-21 

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

--AND AMEN!!

I AM EVE - Seeing myself in the women I've come to know in the Bible

 

 

I Am Eve

I am Eve:  I defy the One Who created me.  I choose to do the very things that separate me from living in oneness with Him.

I am Rahab:  I seek satisfaction in things and people that bring no fulfillment.

I am Bathsheba:  Breaking my promises.

I am Sarai:  I have trouble believing that God can keep his promises.

I am Naomi:  Feeling at times abandoned.

I am Ruth: Seeing that there is one true God and He is to be followed no matter what the cost.

I am Esther:  Pleading before my Heavenly Father’s throne for strength and guidance when my actions will impact others.

I am Sarah:  Following my husband to a new land knowing God has a wonderful, but unknown plan for us there.

I am Mary:  Astonished that God chose me to be a vessel through which He would do His work.

I am Martha:  Getting distracted with all the busy activities and missing what really matters.

I am Sally:  Lost, Blind, Found, Saved, Doubting, Struggling, Faithless, Faithful, Prayerless, Prayerful, Astonished, Distracted, Transformed, Hopeful, Growing, God’s Woman – Eternally!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



AND THEY WERE WATCHING... a poem about integrity

And They Were Watching
S. Bentley

He went to work and did his job
And now and then shared his faith in God
And those around all watched his life
His love for God, his kids, his wife
And they were drawn, not by his words
But by what their eyes could see

And they were watching - they always do
You never notice but it’s true
Watching me and watching you
What is it they see?

He preached the gospel on T.V.
“The Lord shall bring thee victory!”
But many tender souls were crushed
When news arose of his crimes of lust
They were repelled not by his words
But by what their eyes could see

 

She was the mom of one small boy
She taught him faith in God with joy
And as he matured that boy could view
That in fact his mother’s faith was true
And he was drawn, not by her words
But by what his eyes could see

 

He was a man who shared his thoughts
Then lived it out before those he taught
He asked them all to come follow Him
Then laid down His life to free them from sin
And they were drawn, not just by His words
But by His magnificent deeds!

 

And they were watching - they always do
You never notice but it’s true
Watching me and watching you
What is it they see?

LIKE A TREE FIRMLY PLANTED

 

LIKE A TREE

 

My husband and I just had a wonderful vacation in Costa Rica!  It was so relaxing.  We did NOTHING adventurous.  We checked into a lovely resort and didn't tour any farther than our feet could carry us.  We walked into the nearby village and ate lots of (too much) wonderful food.

We took long walks on a gorgeous almost empty beach with aqua blue ocean waves crashing on the white sand. 

On one of our walks we saw this amazing tree clinging precariously to a cliff.

 

 

It's roots have become wooded tenacles stretching, reaching, pushing into every possible crack and crevice in order to survive without succumbing to gravity's pressure to bring it down.

 

How different is the tree described in Psalm 1

How blessed is the man... (whose) delight is in the law of the Lord.  He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water...Its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he propers.

 

What am I delighting in?  Am I craving the delicious warmth of my sweet Savior's presence?  Am I comforted and rejoicing in peace with the One who loves me so?

 

Well, maybe ... Sometimes I am.

But I want to more.

 

 



 

 

 



FOLLOWING BY FAITH

Following by Faith

Last Sunday I did music at church.  That always means that my husband and I have to drive separate cars because I have to be there so early.  After church we were going out with a group of friends for lunch.  I took my "gear" to my car while my husband found out where everybody was going to eat.  He got into his truck and waved me to follow him.  He pulled his truck out of the church parking lot and I set my eyes on his bumper and followed.  I had no idea where we were going but I knew he did.  I knew that if I got caught behind a slower vehicle, he'd pull over and wait for me.  He'd make sure I didn't get lost along the way.  He would keep me in his mirror and guide me where ever we headed.

How like this is our walk through this life?

We know the ultimate destination is eternal life in the Lord's presence. 

And the road there - well - Jesus leads us all along the way.

We follow

We don't turn to the right or left

We set our sights on Him

Even when He seems so far ahead

Almost out of our line of sight sometimes

He slows

And leads

Tenderly

Patiently

Gently

Fixing our eyes on Jesus the Author and Perfector of our faith.

A LITTLE PRESPECTIVE - Seeing what matters

   As a little girl, I can remember one summer playing on the front lawn when something on the sidewalk caught my eye.  There was a trail of ants marching dutifully in a line across the pavement.  Some were heading one way and some coming the other.  Some had cumbersome loads of useful bits of leaves and dead bug carcasses that they were hauling into their little ant kingdom down a hole in a crack in the cement.

   So busy … so constructive … so focused.

  They were completely unaware that this little seven year old girl would spend the next half hour trying to make the trip a little more challenging for them.  First I placed my little pink clip-clop in their way.  They seemed a bit distressed but soon found their way around the sides and continued their trek.  Then there was a garden hose, a leaf and finally a little water.

   Very determined little creatures, ants are!

   Never could they begin to understand the complexities of my world.  Ants think that bringing treasures to their queen is all that matters.

 

   We are ants.  No.  Not the bug kind of ants.  The little earthly creatures that hustle about thinking what we’re doing is so very important.  But God looks down and wants us to understand Him.  He wants us to acknowledge Him as Master and Creator.

   Sometimes, I look up.  And I begin to understand HIS world.  It’s huge and amazing.  It’s wonderful … mostly because …

  He loves this little silly ant; this worthless, pitiful   …and busy ant.

 

Colossians 3:1-3 Reminds me –

   Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Click HERE to hear us sing it (may take a few minutes to load)