Monday, October 22, 2012
Lady Diane Wrapped up with Sisterly Love
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Spiritual Lessons- 3rd Annual Scarf Sister Reunion
I am one of the sisters of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Scarf. The third annual reunion was planned for October 10th through the 14th and was in full swing as ladies from varying states safely joined together in Michigan when I made contact with them through Skype. I had not made plans to attend this year’s reunion knowing I was on a distant road where other directives were taking me two thousand miles west. Unfortunately those directives did not meld together as hoped and I traveled to Colorado to pursue other options, but those options, too, would not bring me the peace I felt necessary to carry them through.
Lying in bed Wednesday night October 10th with tears in my eyes and a heart burdened, shattered, broken beyond repair or so it always seems. Tossing and turning in complete turmoil, not knowing which way to go, which road to follow, what voice to listen to; twisting, turning to and fro beneath the freshly laundered bed sheets, the lights of the parking lot casting dim shadows in the room, the wretchedness of my life filled my heart with anguish, my hands clasped in prayer, praying against the hopelessness that was again invading every delicate space of my mind.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
And whose hope is the LORD.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah 17: 8
Wrestling in my own thoughts, wondering how the simple life I had sold my soul to and for was gone, forever gone. I will always wonder why and how it became so complicated and why and how the continuity, those bonds of expansion and change and lasting growth…. Died. Awake with no sleep, I heard the coffee maker downstairs and my friend moving and joined her for a quiet morning chat. Discussing the possibilities before me; each one offered uncertainity and an almost paralyzing sense of fear. I took time out to call my sister. I took time out to talk to two ladies of the Sisterhood as they drove into Northern Michigan where the lodge was located. I took time to humbly, gratefully, thankfully seek/accept housing from Pat for a season of my life…I let certain words speak to me….understanding full well, I was empty. I knew I had very little, no I knew I had practically nothing to give to anyone. I opened my devotional for the day and let the words soothe and quiet the despair….
“Rejoice always, pray
without ceasing,
in everything give thanks;
for this is the
will of God
in Christ Jesus for you.
Do not quench the
Spirit.”
1st Thessalonians 5:16-19
Friday morning 3:30 on the road. I had company along the trip. Several friends called my cell or sent me text to keep me company. My daughter called to chat occasionally or just to check in. Friday evening I checked into my hotel and let my sisters in Michigan know where I was, when I might be arriving the next day. I thought about each one of them, how I met them and the many times during the year I have called upon them to pray for me or my family; They are not invisible or imaginary internet friends, they are a group of the most loving, caring, Christ-centered women I have come to love as my sisters. I cannot begin to tell the number of times I have experienced feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness and they have been there to encourage, to lift me up, to pray for me, to love me through a difficult time…Saturday morning before I left my hotel, my devotional scripture read:
2 Thessalonians 1: 11-12
“ Therefore we
also pray always for you
that our God would count you worthy of this
calling,
and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness
and the work
of faith with power,
that the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ
may be glorified in you, and you in Him,
according to the grace
of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
I arrived at the lodge Saturday late afternoon and was welcomed by Trish. Actually she rescued me out of a mapquest error that led me into the deep woods of the north woods of northern Michigan, certainly bear country or wolves or coyotes; it was a tad bit un-nerving, scarey to say the least, so seeing her car, hugging her was two fold for me. We settled in the great room of the lodge and chatted away the few hours until the rest of the group returned from an afternoon outing. My time with Trish was precious beyond any words I can type here….she is a beautiful example of a woman who loves and serves the Lord not only in her speech, but in the lives she touches and the love she gives to others.
Once all the group had returned to the lodge, there was a devotional, communion, singing, fellowship, laughter, eating and time to talk. It was a sweet time for me late in the evening to have the most precious ladies in the world surround me with listening ears, shoulders to lean on and cry on, with an offering of hugs and friendship; They blessed me with wisdom, biblical truth, understanding and a whole lot of love.
Sunday, the day of departure, I was reading Psalm 84:5, 11
“Happy are those who are strong in the Lord,
who set their
minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem,
For the Lord God is our light and
protector.
He gives us grace and glory.
No good thing will the Lord withhold
from those who do what is right”
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Scarf….
3rd annual reunion
Monday, October 8, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Praying this week...
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14
Dear Sisters, A few weeks ago, I read on another blog about a woman who prays for her husband every time she sees a particular kind of truck (the type he works with.) She uses this is as a prompt to stop and pray throughout her day. With the events facing the United States, I felt impressed by the Holy Spirit to do something similar. I am "fasting" from blogging and FB and every time I reach to use either of them, I will stop and pray for the United States. I'll be absent from Facebook and blogging for the rest of the week as I dedicate that time back to the Lord. I just opened my e mail to find my mom had suggested I share this on the Sister blog so here I am :) This will be my last post until next Sunday. I pray you all have a blessed week and that you will consider how you will spend this week; daily taking the needs of nations around the world before the throne. Grace, s
Friday, September 7, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Life's Instructions
His word covers it all.
~It is well with my soul
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Charlotte Diggs "Lottie" Moon
I want to share the story of a woman greatly used by God
Faithful Through the Ages
Charlotte Diggs "Lottie" Moon: Patron Saint of Southern Baptist Missions
Like Mary Slessor, Lottie Moon (1840 – 1912) found sponsorship through a denominational mission board, the Southern Baptist Convention. Born on a plantation in the American South, she sailed for China in 1873, only to find that opportunities for single women were severely limited. As a refined "Southern belle," she balked at her assignment. Feeling called to "go out among the millions" as an evangelist, she was instead stuck in a school of forty "unstudious" children. What a "folly" this was. "Can we wonder," she seethed, "at the mortal weariness and disgust, the sense of wasted powers and the conviction that her life is a failure, that comes over a woman when, instead of the ever broadening activities she had planned, she finds herself tied down to the petty work of teaching a few girls."
As a competent woman, she resented her second-class status. "What women want who come to China is free opportunity to do the largest possible work. . . . What women have a right to demand is perfect equality." Despite opposition, she moved to the outpost of Pingdu and launched an evangelistic campaign, initially targeting women. But soon men were showing interest as well. "Such eagerness to learn! Such spiritual desires!" she reported. "Something I had never seen before in China." The first baptisms in Pingdu had come in 1889, and during the next two decades that region became the most successful Baptist evangelistic center in China, largely due to her focus on training and ordaining national leaders. Despite loneliness and opposition from male directors, she was convinced of her calling. "Surely there can be no deeper joy," she wrote, "than that of saving souls."
Her enthusiasm and her appeals to Baptists back home not only brought missionaries to China but also raised much-needed funds. The first Christmas offering in 1888 brought in generous gifts. In the years that followed the offerings increased, but not enough to feed hungry people during a famine in 1911. Overwhelmed, she withdrew funds from her own bank account to buy food and gave hungry children every morsel in her pantry. When it was discovered that she had quit eating and that her health was rapidly failing, arrangements were made for her to return home. But she died aboard ship a week after her seventy-second birthday in 1912. Significantly, she died on Christmas Eve. In her memory the "Lottie Moon Christmas Offering," sponsored by Southern Baptist women, continued for decades to bring millions of dollars annually for overseas missions.
The sacrifices made by Moon and other women missionaries were exceeded only by the sacrifice of native women evangelists. These were typically impoverished, illiterate women who traveled a circuit as Bible women because they carried the Bible in their heads through a vast store of memorized verses. In many cases their children were grown, but leaving aged parents behind was an enormous sacrifice, especially in cultures where honoring one's parents was a profound obligation. Without Bible women, missionary women would have been stymied not only in evangelistic and Bible-related activities but also in health and humanitarian ministries. (Taken from Bible Gateway)
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