Wonderful Winter and Fancy Frost

My nose hairs froze the other day. Yes, I kid you not. It is possible. I had to rub my nose to get it unstuck. My swimmer girls also have dealt with Crunchy frozen hair coming out of practice. I wondered if it would break off if it got cold enough but they wouldn’t let me try it when I reached for the pony tail.

But the really cool (no pun intended) thing I saw was this fleecy feathery pattern of ice on the window. It reminded me of something from chemistry class. There were these intricate crystals that were all linked together and my first thought was a rhyme about Jack Frost. I marveled and took in the delicate beauty and gave the credit to the creator of the cold and the frost. I wondered what caused those patterns on every window block to be different, because basically it was the same window surface.

“By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened.” ~ Job 37:10

Window frost, is also called fern frost or ice flowers ~ how cool! It happens when a glass pane is exposed to frigid air on the outside while moderately moist air is on the inside. The temperature of the airborne water molecules can fall below 32°F without them actually freezing. But as soon as the quick cooled water vapor touches the cold glass, it turns directly into ice without becoming water first. Tiny scratches on the surface of the glass can collect enough molecules to form a crystal from which intricate patterns then grow. The surface of the glass influences the shape of crystals, any imperfections, scratches or dust can modify the way ice forms. If the indoor air is very humid, rather than moderately so, water will first condense in small droplets and then freeze into clear ice.

It is the imperfections in the glass that dictate the pattern of frost. Let that sink in a bit. The beauty of the pattern we see is a result of an imperfection. How many of our imperfections could be shaped into beauty if we’d let the Creator take hold of it?

“He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes; He casts out His hail like morsels; Who can stand before His cold? He sends out His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.” ~ Psalm 147:16-18

He who causes the waters to flow, the frost to scatter, and the snow to fall can make beauty from our imperfections.

POINT TO PONDER: Are there patterns in your life beautiful like that frost? Are they something people marvel at and think God inspired and created? What pattern would you like to change? God can take all things and make them beautiful ~ even our junk.

What in the world IS Wonder?

Aside from being my word for the year, Wonder can be a noun or a verb. I love words like that!

Wonder as a Verb: Desire or be curious to know something.

Daily I am in awe of all aspects of nature and God’s creation. I marvel at his works. “How do the geese know when to fly away?” “Why is a frog born in water and why does it loose its tail?” “Why were ticks created and what was God thinking when he designed the Penguin?”

The fact I survived my parents, my teachers and countless Sunday School teachers is truly a miracle, because Yes, I was that kind of child.

Wonder as a Noun: A feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.

I think of those times in life when words simply fail. (it happens occasionally that I am quiet and just take it all in) When I gazed in awe of my newborn child ~ no words. At the top of a peak, after a brutal climb looking down not only at the distance gained but the creations in miniature ~ no words. Seeing a foal stand for the first time mere moments after its birth – how do you sum that up into language?

Awe, wonder, marveling – these are words that God wants us to use when we think of Him. So many worship songs talk of this awe and wonder. The Bible speaks of it also:

“Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.” ~ Psalm 40:5

“Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders. Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who is perfect in knowledge?” ~ Job 37:14-16

Take time this week to slow down. Look at an intricate pattern of frost or the bud of a tree or a fresh cut vegetable. Take time to be in AWE of our Creator through marveling at something wonderful He created.

Point to Ponder: When you think of GOD, which of His many attributes causes you the most awe or wonder?

Word of 2013 – WONDER !

Did you ever wonder about God’s paintbrush? His color choice is amazing and the dawn and sunsets are just like postcards from heaven to us. But what really creates the color that we see? Do we leave it up to mystery or are we curious about the science behind the hues of cyan, magenta, maize, and plum?

Well on my drive into the city today this was my thought. Had I a smart phone I would have looked it up during the stillness of traffic…yet another reason for me NOT to have one. Instead I marveled and wondered at the beauty and watched harried drivers texting and talking and missing this beautiful display.

It is this sense of Wonder that God birthed in me from the time that I was a small child that drives my daily quests to find out the whys and hows of everything. It drives those around me nuts I am sure. I was often told as I child, “It just grows that way” or “Because God made it that way”.

After one of my speaking engagements where I discussed some of the unique and awesome aspects of creation, a lady came up to me and said, “Well I know I will never look at dirt the same way again.”

It is no wonder that my word for the year is WONDER! I kept coming across this scripture:

“Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!” ~ Luke 5:26

I wanted to literally shake the drivers this morning and show them what they were missing ~ Look at those amazing colors! We are seeing amazing things!

Now while I was hoping my word for the year would be something really noble or smart sounding, something that perhaps a well known woman of God would choose like Gratitude or Sacrifice or Humility. I prayed but I got … WONDER.

And as I started to write this blog I wondered why it was so hard. As I was calling it quits the other night, my sister sent me a quote from the sermon that day.

“Wisdom begins in WONDER – in letting God be God, in accepting some mystery where God is concerned,

in not reducing Him to our standards.”

As I speak to women this year, it is my heart’s desire to equip them with wisdom and knowledge about God and the power he can have in our lives. I hope to do that through awakening their wonder!

“Wisdom begins in Wonder” I love that! I am journaling about it this week. Perhaps it will appear here next week. Oh incase you were wondering…..The colors in the sky during the sunrise and sunset are caused by the scattering of small particles or molecules in the atmosphere. As they move they change the directions of the light rays. The wavelength of the light and the size of the particles determine the color. Pretty cool huh? Regardless we need to be mindful of the inventor or creator of color. While science can explain it, God created within us the wisdom to see it as beautiful.

Point to Ponder: As you think about God and his mighty creations…do you wonder? Can you even fathom the greatness of all that his hands have wrought? What do you wonder most about?

The Pressing

The sun was barely up and a hint of Fall was in the air. Geese passed overhead in shifting patterns. The crickets continued chirping their good night song, the air was still and the mist hung. And I began that last walk of vacation. It had been a week of food, fun, friends, laughter, waves and just God showing up big in Michigan. This was the final day of our last adventure before number one son headed some 12 hours away to a Military school in Vermont. My heart was heavy with that “after the holidays” feeling ~ when all your anticipation is spent and the trimmings lie in tatters.

Part way around the misty lake I found the perfect spot to begin my quiet time. A wonderful warm rock invited me to sit and watch the business of the lake and the awesomeness of my Creator in action. As lovely as it all was, I couldn’t shake the heaviness, the looming sadness of the last day of vacation and the future that was poised before me. In the next week my oldest would be a college freshman and my youngest would begin Middle School and one of my dearest friends would embark upon the toughest chapter of her life. Change was anything but sweet for me.

My mind had already begun to transition from the tranquil lake setting to my “to do” list which made entering into worship a challenge. To my left was a pretty purple bush, I bent to sniff it. Nothing. The feathery branches were soft and lush and inviting to the touch, so I ran my fingers through them gently and sniffed. Nothing. I looked again because it looked like lavender. I thought it should smell. I pinched off a finger-sized stalk and I rolled it in my hands. Instantly the aroma of lavender burst forth and immersed me in a cloud of delightful fragrance. Of course, I thanked my Creator and with the lavender in my hand I continued around the lake.

The more I pressed the purple flowers, the stronger the smell became. I walked and prayed as the lavender wafted and when it waned, I pressed harder. As I prayed I felt God showing me that many of his beautiful creations only become beautiful or useful in the pressing. Olives, Grapes and even apples become even more of blessing when pressed.

Recently I was reading about flax seeds and while they are healthy to digest and act as fiber, it is only when they are crushed or pressed that the hard hulls release their powerful Omega – 3 ‘s.

My sweet son is going to be pressed as he faces the rigorous challenges of military life. My (sometimes) sweet redhead is going to be pressed into her public school experience with new friends, new teachings and ideas that are in opposition to what she’s known. And I will be pressed in dealing with a dear friend who is being wrung out by the choices of her mate.

My prayer is that in the pressing, may the true beauty and purpose of the Lord be revealed in our lives. That enduring the pressing can bring a sweet aroma to those around and they will see Jesus in us.

Point to Ponder: Are you being pressed, does it feel like you are bearing more than you can stand? My prayer is that the aroma, the fruit of that pressing, though you can’t see it now, will be a sweet aroma to someone who desperately needs immersed in HIS delightful fragrance.

Under Fire…

Unfathomable.

Photos and descriptions of the fires devouring the Colorado landscape are incredibly overwhelming. Watching the force of the fire knocking things over before it reaches its hot fingers out to engulf all that is in its path. Witnessing the devastation in the wake of the walls of fire and watching the depth of despair in all those who have lost due to the devouring wave of flames is heartbreaking.

It’s with incomprehensible sadness we observe the gripping saga of our friends in the west.

As I prayed for the firefighters, the people in the towns awaiting orders to evacuate, I felt the word Hell seared upon my soul. The scene and those who have experienced the wildfire’s wrath have described it as “hell on earth.” It prompted me to ponder Hell.

I wait anxiously to learn if my friends in Colorado Springs have anything left to return to at all or if their home and possessions fell victim to the indiscriminate path of the destructive fire.

One of them has been working with the fire fighters at the base camp where the toll on these brave warriors has been immense. From flora and fauna to wild life to townsfolk, nothing has been left unscathed.

But for most of these people, life will go on. It will be a long road of restoring what the fire destroyed…but for those who end up in Hell, there will be no second chances. Sadly what we are seeing in Colorado could be an eternal reality for those who don’t know about the message of salvation.

Just like the firefighters working tirelessly to save people, pets and property…we should have a compelling urgency to rob Hell of victims to engulf in despair. Each time I see the flicker of a flame on the news, I pray “God use me”.

Years ago, my best friend’s dad was severely burned and scarred. She said there wasn’t just a physical transformation as he adjusted to a life of scars, she said he was spiritually transformed as well. “Dad was never the same after experiencing the burning of his flesh. He said it gave him just a taste of what Hell might be like and inspired him to try to reach more people with the Life saving message of eternity with Jesus,” she explained. These recent fires are igniting a passion in my heart for the same.

I am sure this post will be challenged by people who wonder if there really is a hell. It’s not a gamble I am

Mirage 2 — www.lindajackmanphotography.com

willing to take. My prayer for Colorado is Rain and Restoration. My prayer for the unsaved is to Find Salvation. My prayer for myself is to be courageous to reach those whose future is destined to be charred by the choice of unbelief. Will you join me?

Point to Ponder: If you thought hell was even 1/10^th of the intensity of a forest fire, would you wish it on anyone? Is there someone in your life you’d like to share Jesus with? I pray you have wisdom, courage and the words that will change their heart.

(Photos on the page except the one at right were from a Colorado Friend’s Facebook Page)

Painting a picture of Transformation

I could only imagine what the cashier in the convenience store was thinking when I barged through the door covered with paint, dashed to the freezer section and returned breathlessly with mint chocolate chip ice cream. As I counted out my pennies with green and white splattered hands he (a former student) looked at me quirkily. We’d been transforming my basement with a coat of paint that resembled mint chocolate chip ice cream and the paint slaves had watering mouths. Under his gaze I was aware that in the process of my DIY drama I had transformed from the cleanly dressed meticulous teacher into a splattered, sputtering disheveled Bryers junkie in need of a sweet fix. Chuckling, I briefly updated him on my saga and dashed home to keep the minions running another hour with the sugar rush.

Not just my basement, but so far this year, I’ve confronted numerous transformations or at least the beginning of them. My college-bound child is transforming from a high school student to a man who will be launched into a Military academy. My mother in law was transformed into a widow by the sudden stopping of a heartbeat. Cancer has transformed people that I love. God has transformed unbelievers in my life into Warriors for Him.

Pondering transformation and nature, the butterfly comes to mind as one of the most amazing transformations in the insect world. The Greek word for transformation is metamorphoo (met-am-or-fo’-o)which is why we call what happens to the butterfly Metamorphosis. In all of its stages from egg, to caterpillar to chrysalis to beautiful winged masterpiece, it undergoes obvious transformation.

I came across the verse below and while I’d heard it and studied it before, the word TRANSFORMATION seemed to really jump out at me.

” And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,

that you may prove what [is] that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Roman’s 12: 2

What does renewing of the mind mean?

Renewing the mind sounds like something we have to do daily. It has a lot to do about where we focus and what we focus on. The Bible says to set our minds on the things above:

“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the ^cearth.” ~Col 3:2. How can we not focus on this Earth, we live here? Yes, we live here, but we need to remember it is NOT our home. Our true home is in heaven with the Father. So we need to keep focusing on our Heavenly Home.

We are called to focus on spiritual things. Romans 8:5 says: “For ^hthose who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, [focus on]ⁱthe things of the Spirit.”

When any species goes through metamorphosis it requires fuel for the process…as do we. We need to be mindful of what we are fueling our mind with. If we feed on the “bread of life” or nourish our spirits with the word of God daily, we’ll be fueled up for the transforming of our minds.

And while the transforming of my basement will add resale value, the Transforming of our minds has eternal value.

Point to Ponder: How have you experienced transformation in your life recently?

(Thanks www.lindajackmanphotography.com for these images)

Celebrate … Seriously?

Word for 2012 (part two) Living it.

So, last post I mentioned that my word for the year was CELEBRATE! Not just Celebrate, but do it with Joyful Anticipation. Within a week or so of getting ‘my word for 2012’, we got an unexpected phone call.

“I need to let you know about dad, he well, he died actually,” said the emotional cracking voice of my sister-in-law.

I reeled back and lost my breath. He was fine at Christmas. I braced myself to tell my husband the words he would not be expecting and that would forever change his life. I immediately flashed back to the evening in 1985 when my sister showed up unexpectedly at my dorm room door with the same sentence.

Celebrate? Joy? Would there be Joy again anytime soon. Brian left shortly after to go pick up the pieces in Ohio, while I held down the fort at home until we could get out to meet-up with him for the funeral.

In my office sat the angel with the CELEBRATE Placard. Really Lord? Celebrate? Joy?

I purposed to look for opportunities to celebrate during those days from phone call to burial. We celebrated a life that would be missed. We celebrated an unexpected snow fall that brought a calmness over the house as we reveled in its beauty. We celebrated the opportunity to bless others by giving away some of my father-in-laws clothing to someone who knew and loved him, and needed the gift. I celebrated the time with my family. I discovered that if I looked for it, celebration was there. I didn’t JOYFULLY Anticipate a moment of it; but we did Celebrate.

It made me wonder where the JOY part was to come in. I found John 12:22 that said,

“So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”

Watching others grieve, it made me realize that the only SOURCE of Joy has to be God – because he is unchanging.

I thought of Paul and Silas when they were bound and chained in prison. They sang praises because their JOY was NOT in their circumstance their joy was in the Lord. They trusted the Lord to take care of them and help them through their trials and he did just that.

The morning of the funeral I was really down. I felt joyless. In a few hours, I would have to watch my husband participate in the funeral for his father, his golfing buddy, his confidant. Brian had become an adult and was able to develop that tender relationship between adult sons and fathers. When I lost my dad, I lost a dad. I was really too young to have called him more than Father. This loss was a double whammy.

Spirit broken and dreading the next few hours, I tried to pray. I wanted to be an example of a Godly wife, mother, and believer. I called out to God. Then I found my MP3 player and began to listen to worship music. My heart began to sing and my joy in the Eternal God was renewed.

A worshipping heart can drive out despair and give us joy. If we have joy we have hope. If we have hope we can pray. Romans 15:13 says “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” I sought that filling and He answered.

Since then, there’s been two more funerals, death of a loved horse, countless cancer diagnoses in my friends, and a near fatal car accident involving the son of a friend. Each time, I looked at that CELEBRATE! angel and sought joy the only place I could find it.

Joy is truly found in God’s presence. While getting there can be tough, there is cause for celebration when our hearts collide with HIS.

“You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psalm 16:11

Point to Ponder: Where can you connect with your creator to find JOY?

Word of the Year 2012 (part one)

Part One: Getting It (Part Two is “Living it” coming next week)

It was 11:59 pm on December 31^st and while most were anticipating the ball dropping in Times Square, I was pondering my word for 2012. Trivial for some, but to those who know me, that word is pretty important. Normally I’ve pondered or run across a scripture that guides me to my “word for the year” before the current year runs out. But alas the the ball was dropping and the word well was dry – as dry as my blog which hadn’t been updated in about 2 months.

The “word of the year” is a focus of how you will approach life during the coming year or an attribute you’d like to project for the year. My past words have included dream, act, refresh, complete, hope…

As I gazed into the future of 2012 I saw many life changes. One child off to college, a book that hopefully will be published, education changes for the remaining kiddos and … who knows what else. Many of these changes I looked forward to with teary eyes. (not to mention, wrinkles, weight gain and hot flashes) I wondered if my word would be Kleenex, Chocolate, Zoloft or perhaps rapture?

The ball dropped, the sauerkraut was eaten, the confetti vaccuumed, and I was still wordless for 2012. I shared my dilemma with some writer friends who pray. I did my share of communicating with the Master of all words, the giver of my gifts and the only one who knew what my 2012 would look like.

While I was asking God why all my friends had words and I didn’t, I was also “de-Christmasing”. I came across a gift bag in my office that I didn’t recognize. Upon opening it, I realized it was a speaker gift I had received back in December when I spoke at a Christmas Brunch in Baltimore. The chaos of coming home and multiple people unpacking the car resulted in this misplaced package.

When I opened the box, I found a Willow Tree Angel!

Her tag said Celebrate – with Joyful Anticipation. At first I laughed and thought, Really funny God…have you seen my calendar?

But then I felt his gentle nudge. His plan for me was to look forward to all of these changes with Joyful Anticipation. Not to be robbed of joy by the paths that life would take in 2012; but to joyfully anticipate them and yes CELEBRATE them.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

Phillipians 4:4

Each change, while presenting challenges, also presents the possibility for blessing for me and my family. I felt a weight lift off my shoulders and yes, my eyes filled with tears. My heavenly Father used an angel to send me a message. The message: “Celebrate with joyful anticipation”. There will most likely still be tears, but instead of spending the year in apprehension, I will spend it in Celebration!

(Stay Tuned for Part Two of this update: Celebrate … Seriously? 3 funerals later, the death of a horse and numerous friends with sick kids, dying family members and some in comas…Celebrate Really?)

Point to Ponder: Do you have a word? If you had to pick a word that would sum up your 2011 what would it be? Would you choose a different word for 2012? What word would you like to live out, or live up to in 2012?

A matter of the heart.

Did you know?

* The average adult heart beats 72 times a minute; 100,000 times a day; 3,600,000 times a year; and 2.5 billion times during a lifetime.

* You have 60,000 miles of blood vessels in your heart

* The heart begins beating at four weeks after conception and does not stop until death.

* More than 2,500 Americans die from heart disease each day, equaling one death every 34 seconds

The topic of the heart is near to mine after the past two weeks. Recently, my father in law collapsed at home and died before he reached the hospital. He was 71 “apparent heart attack” reads the obituary. My husband’s life is forever altered as dad was his friend and golfing buddy all rolled into one.

I lost my father when he was only 54 due to his 3^rd and final heart attack. When I was pregnant with my first child, my mother suffered a heart attack. My brother in law died at the age of 24 of an Arrhythmia of the heart. And my own brother merely 15 months older than I, just underwent a heart cath on Tuesday. To say I have a “history” with matters of the heart is an understatement.

As my daughter and I were driving from my mother in law’s house in Ohio back to ours in Pennsylvania on Wednesday after the funeral, my husband called me with news that he had been taken by ambulance to the hospital for chest pains. I was 2 hours away still from our house, another 45minutes from the hospital. My own heart sank. I first called on God then the people who needed to manage my life and kids for at least the next 24 hours.

I came home dropped off the dog and the 11 year old, funeral flowers and food, and headed to the hospital where I found an indignant husband anxious to be released. My husband is an athlete. He is in great shape physically working out about 4x a week and competing in triathlons and races via running and biking all year long, and he always has.

His resting heart rate is 52. His blood pressure and cholesterol levels are amazing and the envy of most of his doctors…yet here he was in the care of cardiac specialists. After a stress test which he nailed and a night of observation he was permitted to go home. Apparently the stress of a broken heart can wreak havoc on even the strongest of bodies. It was diagnosed as an esophageal spasm due to stress. We were given a prescription for Prilosec and sent on our way.

As I was praying and trying to find a “good” or “GOD” part of ending this exhausting week in the Emergency Room I pondered God’s heart. Everything we endure has a purpose. He is so gracious and walks with us through trials.

In my heart, I felt like GOD allowed this to happen in order to assure Brian’s mom and me that his HEART was PERFECT so that his mom and I wouldn’t even have to worry about him following in his father’s footsteps.

How like God to know my fears and concerns even before I did and assure me that “all is well”.

Point to Ponder: In what ways has God given you “Blessed Assurance” about something to alleviate your worries?

The letter

It was an ordinary day two weeks ago when I stopped to pick up the mail. I opened the box and saw a large cardboard important looking envelope it was addressed to my son. In my heart I had the feeling that life would never be the same.

Wedding pic me and Jake — Jacob and me at my nephews wedding in October

I looked at it in there – looming large. Knowing that once it was pulled out, then opened, everything would change. I pulled it out with the bills and other junk and I sat in the driveway. I cradled the envelope in my hands.Office of Admissions, shouted the return address in the corner.

I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw my eyes over flowing with tears. Tears of pride and joy but also tears for what used to be, when in my arms, I was cradling that sweet baby boy…not his ticket out of here.

Flash forward to this week when preparing for a speaking engagement that utilizes scripture, I was looking for an illustration to make the Bible meaningful to my audience, something they would relate to.

At 3:47am on the morning I was to speak, I got the nudge. No, not from my husband, from my Father, my Heavenly Father who seems to like to speak to me at this time of the morning…before coffee Lord?

Mission trip with Jake — Our mission Trip in San Luis Mexico

He laid on my heart, that His Word – the Holy Bible – is very much like Jacob’s acceptance letter from the admissions office. Jacob’s letter mentioned how special he was, how excited they were to extend him the invitation and what steps he needs to take to accept their offer. (The letter to his parents a few days letter mentioned what it would cost)

The Bible tells us how special we are. (“What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.” ~ Psalm 8:4-5) To say nothing of the fact we were worth dying for.

The Bible tells us how excited God is about giving us the chance to enter His Kingdom. (“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” ~ John 3:16)

The Bible tells us how to accept God’s offer of admission to His family. (“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” ~John 14:6 NIV)

Recently our community was rocked by the tragic death of a vibrant, healthy, active, adorable 17 year old girl in a car accident. I watched my son grieve his first loss of a peer. I saw him change a little having tasted the bitterness of grief and the loss of someone his own age. Listening to the classmate’s family speak, they have a peace. Their peace comes from knowing that their daughter ACCEPTED the invitation. She read God’s letter to her and she accepted the offer of admittance.

The Bible is God’s invitation to you. It speaks of your value and your worth. If you are struggling with wondering who you are and how you fit in, read his letter to you. I recently heard the quote: “God is the only author who is present every time his book is read.” – want to connect with God? Read his letters.

POINT TO PONDER: If you’ve read the Bible, what chapter or verse do you feel was written especially for you and why? If you’ve not read the Bible lately, why?

Kissed by the Creator