A difficult job

Today the man who had the most difficult job in all of history died.

Gerald Ford was a good man who was asked to do an impossible job. He was asked to lead our nation in it's most divisive time since the civil war. He tried to bring healing from the scandal of the Watergate conspiracy, and peace to a nation trying to end a war we were losing.

He was never elected to the post he worked so hard to serve so well. He did the right things although not easy. He came under fire for the pardon he gave to President Nixon, at the time a very unpopular move. But now, even those who criticized him then realize he did what was necessary to heal the pain our nation was in.

For taking on such a task and giving it his best, he deserves to be honored.

just thinking,

jene'

...and Heaven makes her sing...

My nephew Grant is a force unto himself. Like most who are still so fresh from the hand of God he hasn't had time to let the world change him yet.

Anyone who spent time in church while growing up can relate at least one hymn they used to mangle when they were young. I still have trouble singing "bringing in the sheaves". When I was a child we sang this song often at my grandfather's church. Since he was a shepherd and sheep are often mentioned in the Bible, I always sang that line as "bringing in the sheep". I was a teenager before I could sing that song correctly.

Last night Grant was caroling himself with his favorite Christmas tunes and was doing a good rendition of "Joy to the World". The last line was truly a work of his heart as he sang "and Heaven makes her sing, and Heaven makes her sing."

While he didn't get the lyrics quite right, he was profoundly truthful. Thoughts of Heaven make me sing. Amazement that Jesus left heaven for me, makes me sing. Joy at the thought of one day joining Him in Heaven, makes me sing. The comfort of knowing many of those I have loved are already in Heaven, makes me sing. The hope that one day everyone I know will be in heaven, makes me sing.

From this moment on I don't think I will ever be able to sing that carol without thinking of Grant. He has caused me to love an old favorite even more for a new reason.

Singing of Heaven,

jene'

Above expectation

The service at the new place has been great. We had a leak in the dishwasher. The maintenance staff left us a note after checking it out apologizing for not being able to fix it when they had come. They said they needed a new part to put it right. When we got home today we found out what that new part was.

We have a brand new dishwasher!

Just one more example of why waiting on the Lord to find a place to live was a grand idea.

Rejoicing,

jene'

Kitchen jigsaw

All the boxes of the kitchen items are now a memory. While we have more cabinets here, some are decidedly smaller. To that end the pots are in two different cabinets. The same is true for pans. Appliances can be found in every nook and cranny and even on the shelves in the laundry area at the end of the kitchen.

So all the pieces have come together but in a most unusual fashion. As I am most unusual myself it seems like a good fit. Just have to hope my brain can remember where we put everything.

Pray for good memory as I will be making cobbler for 45 on Saturday, and 35 on Sunday.

Love,

jene'

Progress....of a sort

There are more boxes emptied than not. Now comes the fun of finding new homes for everything that was in said boxes.

The Christmas tree is up and decorated. There are a few lights out, but I won't be fixing that until we take the tree down. I tried to fix them this morning but it was more trouble than it was worth.

As I lay on the floor under the tree and looked up through the lights my mind wandered through all the Christmases I have celebrated. I have spent the holidays in several different states and even abroad in both Europe and Asia. The one constant is the realization each year of just what Christmas means to me.

Gathering with family is always grand. There have been many times when circumstances kept us apart. Wherever we are we are each celebrating the birth of our Lord. This unites us in a way that mileage can never separate.

To me the thing that continues to amaze me is the fact that Jesus came to earth. Every time I think of it I can't seem to wrap my brain around it. He must love me so very much to leave the splendor of heaven to come to earth for me. I can't even imagine leaving that perfection to face the imperfection of this world.

I think as long as I live this will be one of the things I will never understand. I'll just be grateful for the outcome.

Celebrating the Reason for the season,

-jene'

Seeing Jesus

This fall we had a sermon series on "Seeing Jesus". It has been very illuminating and given me much to think about and put into practice. This week I had an opportunity to put word to action.

I am moved into the new place but more boxes are packed than not. I have met several of the neighbors and twice I have had the chance to share the blessings God extended during the move. Two ladies in the laundry asked me how I was settling in while I was loading and folding clothes from the dryer. I laughed and said that God was good as things went fairly well considering I was profoundly ill on the day of the move. They asked me what I meant and I was able to share how even when things were going wrong in life I could count on God to see me through.

One lady named Gloria was intrigued and kept asking question after question. We spent about half an hour in the laundry room long after all our clothes were dry. She wanted to know how I could laugh about what must have been an awful day. I explained that knowing Jesus means knowing that all will work out for my good even when I can't see how it will. After we had chatted a while longer I told her I would love to tell her more of God's goodness to me. When we parted she said she might like to hear more another time.

To understand why this is really a big cause for rejoicing I'll have to share a bit of the back story with you.

Back in the summer I started looking for a new place to live as both my roommate and myself were unhappy will the level of service or rather the lack of service we were receiving at our old home. The management had put on all new staff and promised us that things would be better. We had decided to give them a second chance and made arrangements to move into another property they owned down the street. Just over a month before we were to move, a rainstorm caused massive flooding in our kitchen. They maintenance people kept saying they were coming but never showed up. This we took as a sign that is was time to look for another location. Thankfully we had not yet signed a new lease.

I found our current home on-line. I was checking it out because a friend had lived her several years ago and had enjoyed it. We both liked the floorplan and all the extra space. The rates were good and the staff seemed helpful and personable. The only drawback was the dryer would need to be gas and mine was electric. We decided to move and use alternative methods to dry the laundry until we could afford a dryer.

Because I wanted to do several loads, I washed them in the apartment and then walked the wet clothes to the dryer in one of the four laundry rooms on-site. If I had not been willing to let go of the dryer I would have never met Gloria and Marie.

While you may not think this is a big deal to me it is. We can never know when we will be the one to reflect the light of Jesus to others. When it happens you may be the only chance that person has to "see Jesus".

Hoping others see Jesus in me,

jene'

Moving isn't for sissies

The last ten days have been hard. Moving the weekend of Thanksgiving, working retail, and being dreadfully ill should not be combined.

Thankfully God is good, it didn't kill me, and eventually I will find all the things currently hiding in boxes.

Tiredly,

jene'

Hope

It's hard to lose a friend. Especially one who has been by your side and encouraged you as you both fought against evil. Thankfully when she is a child of God you can be comforted in knowing you will see her again when you meet together in heaven. That gives hope and a reason for rejoicing.

Missing someone I love,

jene'