NEW BEGINNINGS

BEHOLD, 

I will do a new thing.

Now it shall spring forth;

Shall you not know it?

I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Isa. 43:19

No matter our circumstances, God is in the midst of them ready to lead us to higher ground.  Be encouraged, this is the year of BEHOLD!  God is on our side.

Counting My Blessings,

xo Susy

Thursdays with Rachel

She says she's always been different, and surely she is.  

We met just a few months ago, following a phone call from her sister asking if we could help out with some furniture; a bed, a dresser, maybe some dishes.  Rachel was a "rescue" from an abusive relationship, and her sister was helping her set up housekeeping in an itsy bitsy, shoebox-sized studio apartment.  We gladly filled the place up.

We have little in common, but share a mutual love for God.  This love is new for Rachel.  She only learned about Jesus last September (until then she just knew that he was "some guy that died on a cross"), and she'd never opened a bible until last December.  I've been "saved" since 1971 and studying the bible for over forty years ~ yet, I learn something new from Rachel every time I visit.

A friendship, of sorts, has begun to take hold between the two of us.  Friendship is two words, she explains, friend and ship.  "Ship means you carry things back and forth to each other."  Ahh.

She has no car, she doesn't work, or have a television.  Her life is uncomplicated, uncluttered, and undistracted.  She spends her day reading the bible, journaling, collecting seashells as she strolls on the beach talking to with God, and walking her neighborhood searching for homeless people she can share her small supply of food with.

Yesterday she packed a lunch for a homeless man that frequents a certain spot, and set out to find him.  As it turned out, though, he wasn't to be found.  Instead, on the way home, she encountered another homeless man walking down the street with hands lifted to the heavens, calling out "super food!".  He gladly accepted her meal ~ telling her he was going to share it with a friend.  "God bless you", they said to each other as they parted.

Shortly after returning home she received a call from an acquaintance, who offered to take her to the laundromat if she was ready.  She was, and off they went.  She had several loads to do, and she and her friend sat and talked and folded towels.

Always on the alert, Rachel noticed a young man sitting on a bench in the laundromat, dozing.  Eventually he woke up, and when he got up to leave Rachel called out, "God bless you!"  He turned, and she asked, "what's your name?".  She says she likes to know people's names and look them in the eye so she can "see deeper". 

He asked if she could give him some money; he was hungry.  He told her someone had given him some food but he thought is was poisoned because it smelled like fish.  She figured he was on drugs ~ in fact she KNEW he was.  She knew because she'd been on drugs herself until just a few months ago.  She spoke his 'language' and told him he needed to go to the "Jesus party".  He actually listened to her; he wanted to be free.  They talked a while longer, she encouraged him, and finally took him by the hand and prayed for him.

Then, she asked if he would like her to check his food and see if it was okay to eat.  She opened the bag.  It was the lunch she had packed for the homeless man and had instead given to the stranger who was going to share it with a friend.

She assured him it was quite safe to eat, it was tuna and she'd made it herself.

Rachel is 65, lives in her "mansion by the sea", with her little dog Jake.  
My visits with her are among my favorite things.

Counting My Blessings,

xo Susy

I'm joining Claudia at Mockingbird Hill Cottage
for
A Favorite Thing 

 

What To Do ~ When You've Done All You Know To Do

Humble yourself, therefore, under God's mighty hand of blessing, that He may lift you up in due time.

Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6-7

 Father, I acknowledge I'm not able to produce the outcome that I need ~ so I wholeheartedly lay my circumstances at your feet. Help me not to worry or be fearful, but to genuinely put my hope and trust in You and Your incredible love for me.  Amen.

Counting My Blessings,

xo Susy

More inspiration can be found at

Spiritual Sundays

See you in a few days

 

 

Becky's Red Dishes

I love the encouraging stories of every-day life that can be used as illustrations.  One story I've told many times over the years is about some red dishes. It came to mind recently, when a girlfriend struggling with finances said they had to sell their house.  It's hard to give up the stuff we cherish, even the small things, much less our home.

Back in the 70's when I first got saved during the "Jesus Movement", one of my close friends, Becky, was moving and she was having a garage sale.  Her husband had asked her to put her mother's red depression glass dishes out for sale.  It was a sacrifice, but she honored his request and did it. Back then, I don't think I could have done it.

Sometime later when I was praying, I took an unusual little journey to Heaven.  It wasn't a spooky out-of-body experience; it was just like a movie playing in my mind with my eyes closed.  The bible speaks of a Marriage Feast, a supper, when all believers [the bride] will be gathered together to celebrate with Jesus [the groom] after the "rapture".  (Sorry for all the Christian-ese).

 Click here

Anyway - it was this feast that I saw in the 'movie'.  No one was there yet, but every thing was ready. The tables were enormous; They stretched as far as the eye could see in both directions, wide enough for place settings on both sides, and there were row after row after row of the them.  I was astonished because they were made from single planks of wood cut from trees that had to be bigger than anything I'd ever seen.  As I slowly approached the place where I knew I was going to be seated someday --- there they were.  Becky's red dishes!

In the bible the Apostle Paul wrote "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him".

  

For nearly forty years now I've been continually amazed at how much He really does love us, and the good things He has planned for us -in this life, and Forever.  He knows what we're up against, and what we've had to give up, or lost, or had stolen.  I think Heaven is going to be full of surprises.  Hope to see you at the dinner table.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths.  Proverb 3:5-6 

   

******

I have several antique prints of Jesus.
  Would you like to see two of my favorites? 

This one I found at the flea market several years ago.
  For now it sits on the mantle.
  It's tiny, only 6 x 8.

It's titled Christ at Five by C. Bosseron Chambers

 I've never seen this image any other place.



And this one stands on a sideboard in the living room.

  

  It's bigger than it appears;  about 18" tall, in a gilded frame.

My son found it at the flea market. 
There's no visible attribution.

I think it's breathtaking.

Well, that's all - until I learn how to use my camera better.

Thanks for stopping by.

And if you missed it, click on the redwood trees for a treat.

Many blessings to you.