We came off the freeway and followed the route the sat nav dictated. Heading west, out onto the Palos Verdes peninsula, roads increasingly rural despite our position geographically right in Los Angeles. We passed horse ranches which sparked memories of stories my dad told. Growing up in this beautiful area in the 1930s, he and his brother used to rent horses here and ride bareback in those halcyon days before the world discovered Southern California. Rural landscape soon gave way to ocean views, breathtakingly beautiful.
The earth is the Lord's and everything in it. Houses perched here, beautiful though they are, sit on a cats cradle of earthquake faults. Everything seems secure but one day things will shift.
I admire the gorgeous scenery and quiet oasis in the bustling city, but think of the foundation Jesus is to us and am grateful there are no faults undermining our security in him.
We gathered round a thanksgiving table, Vietnamese who suffered and fled their homeland as refugees decades ago, an Iranian who moved to New York decades ago for a new life, Scots and Americans who once came from elsewhere. Grateful for those who welcome the lost, the refugee, the poor. Grateful for friends and family. Grateful to God.
Friday, 23 November 2018
Thursday, 22 November 2018
Refuge
Be still and know that I am God
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear...
Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. Don't worry about tomorrow.
Words of scripture are a spiritual skeleton. They keep me upright and remind me of truth.
The other night a car drove straight into my car as I went through an intersection, bashing and bending it and rendering it inoperable.
Once again I stand at a crossroads with Mom. Perhaps the light remains red and we are to stay put. Perhaps it is amber, encouraging me to be prepared to shift gear and move. Perhaps there is a filter arrow guiding me right or left. Perhaps the road ahead is clear and beckons.
I don't want to be stationary with fear but with faith. If it's not time to move, I want to be confident that I will recognise the signs.
Neither do I want to be blindsided as I was the other night. I need an awareness of tangential forces as well as prompts to move.
Be still and know. Don't worry. God is an ever present help in trouble.
Today is thanksgiving and my gratitude wells up from within, lighting up my entire being. Without Jesus before and behind, within and without, leading and guiding and encouraging, I would have crashed and burned long before now.
So, with his help I will trust in him and wait. Be still and wait.
Happy thanksgiving.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear...
Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. Don't worry about tomorrow.
Words of scripture are a spiritual skeleton. They keep me upright and remind me of truth.
The other night a car drove straight into my car as I went through an intersection, bashing and bending it and rendering it inoperable.
Once again I stand at a crossroads with Mom. Perhaps the light remains red and we are to stay put. Perhaps it is amber, encouraging me to be prepared to shift gear and move. Perhaps there is a filter arrow guiding me right or left. Perhaps the road ahead is clear and beckons.
I don't want to be stationary with fear but with faith. If it's not time to move, I want to be confident that I will recognise the signs.
Neither do I want to be blindsided as I was the other night. I need an awareness of tangential forces as well as prompts to move.
Be still and know. Don't worry. God is an ever present help in trouble.
Today is thanksgiving and my gratitude wells up from within, lighting up my entire being. Without Jesus before and behind, within and without, leading and guiding and encouraging, I would have crashed and burned long before now.
So, with his help I will trust in him and wait. Be still and wait.
Happy thanksgiving.
Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Oil spill
An oil spill on the freeway when a truck overturned. Three lanes closed. Chaos and queues. Fortunately some things haven't changed here,and I could come off onto surface streets and find my way back, meanwhile driving literally down memory lane as I followed a route I took for years to have cello lessons. A little different,but not much.
As hordes headed out of town for thanksgiving, the queues grew and Mhairi took three hours to get here. A thirty mile drive.
Peace, Jesus says. I didn't see anything yesterday that looked just right for mom. Peace, Jesus says. He knows what is right for her. Like Scarlett OHara, I'll think about it tomorrow.
Continuing to feel thankful for everything, praising God that my stiffness is abating and I am fine. Thankful to be here with Mom, here with Mhairi. Thankful for my praying friends and family.
As hordes headed out of town for thanksgiving, the queues grew and Mhairi took three hours to get here. A thirty mile drive.
Peace, Jesus says. I didn't see anything yesterday that looked just right for mom. Peace, Jesus says. He knows what is right for her. Like Scarlett OHara, I'll think about it tomorrow.
Continuing to feel thankful for everything, praising God that my stiffness is abating and I am fine. Thankful to be here with Mom, here with Mhairi. Thankful for my praying friends and family.
Tuesday, 20 November 2018
Angels in our midst
Angels in our midst.
We sat in Shirley's living room as I returned the things I rescued from her bashed car. I described the accident. She sat close to her ailing husband in his wheelchair, massaging his cold hand, gentle and full of grace and love. She was just relieved there were no serious injuries. A car is a car.
One of the young men who was a passenger in the car that struck mine, a Muslim engineering student from Saudi Arabia, said the same thing as we stood beside the busy highway Sunday night.
So many kind messages received, all voicing the same thing, many of them accompanied by prayers.
We walk through tough times but are surrounded by angels on the ground as well as those who are invisible.
God is good. Without much delay, he provided a replacement rental car from the hotel next door, so today I can go forth again, more cautious and a little fearful, to check out future possibilities for Mom. Shoulders and neck slightly aching, but heart so full of gratitude.
This is the day the Lord has made and I rejoice in him.
Thank you. The theme of this thanksgiving week. From the heart.
We sat in Shirley's living room as I returned the things I rescued from her bashed car. I described the accident. She sat close to her ailing husband in his wheelchair, massaging his cold hand, gentle and full of grace and love. She was just relieved there were no serious injuries. A car is a car.
One of the young men who was a passenger in the car that struck mine, a Muslim engineering student from Saudi Arabia, said the same thing as we stood beside the busy highway Sunday night.
So many kind messages received, all voicing the same thing, many of them accompanied by prayers.
We walk through tough times but are surrounded by angels on the ground as well as those who are invisible.
God is good. Without much delay, he provided a replacement rental car from the hotel next door, so today I can go forth again, more cautious and a little fearful, to check out future possibilities for Mom. Shoulders and neck slightly aching, but heart so full of gratitude.
This is the day the Lord has made and I rejoice in him.
Thank you. The theme of this thanksgiving week. From the heart.
Monday, 19 November 2018
Wham
Unexpected turns and nosedives.
Another pleasant reunion in another beauty spot on the other extremity of LA, perilously near the wildfires but so far unaffected directly. A fond farewell and heading south when out of nowhere, an SUV broadsided me.
In a moment, from the secure cocoon of a borrowed car into the cool night air.
Tow trucks. A dear daughter coming to my rescue.
God is good. All the time. So grateful to have escaped without injury.
Thanksgiving week indeed.
Another pleasant reunion in another beauty spot on the other extremity of LA, perilously near the wildfires but so far unaffected directly. A fond farewell and heading south when out of nowhere, an SUV broadsided me.
In a moment, from the secure cocoon of a borrowed car into the cool night air.
Tow trucks. A dear daughter coming to my rescue.
God is good. All the time. So grateful to have escaped without injury.
Thanksgiving week indeed.
Sunday, 18 November 2018
Hallowed be thy name
Our Father. Who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name.
He invited us to lunch, invitations coming through our dear sister in the Lord, in a setting as near to heaven as one encounters on earth. Three arch bay, sharp jagged rocks thrusting skyward from the ocean bed, waves crashing, tides returning, fine sand hot underfoot.
We sat at a table, beautifully laid with love, and ate salad and sparkling water and pumpkin dessert, lovingly made by caring hands.
We sat down, some as strangers to each other, one or two linkings fashioning the whole. The synergy of the new relationships. The joy of exploring Jesus in our midst. The ineffable beauty of prayer together as we listened and shared from the heart.
We stood up again, dried our faces, laughed and hugged, hugged and laughed. This is thanksgiving week, and we embarked on it in a beautiful way.
Hallowed be thy name. Thank you Jesus for the oasis. Bless your holy name.
He invited us to lunch, invitations coming through our dear sister in the Lord, in a setting as near to heaven as one encounters on earth. Three arch bay, sharp jagged rocks thrusting skyward from the ocean bed, waves crashing, tides returning, fine sand hot underfoot.
We sat at a table, beautifully laid with love, and ate salad and sparkling water and pumpkin dessert, lovingly made by caring hands.
We sat down, some as strangers to each other, one or two linkings fashioning the whole. The synergy of the new relationships. The joy of exploring Jesus in our midst. The ineffable beauty of prayer together as we listened and shared from the heart.
We stood up again, dried our faces, laughed and hugged, hugged and laughed. This is thanksgiving week, and we embarked on it in a beautiful way.
Hallowed be thy name. Thank you Jesus for the oasis. Bless your holy name.
Saturday, 17 November 2018
Caravan
A world on the move. A caravan.
People so terrified they walk away from home carrying only what they can bear. A small backpack. A tote bag. A child.
An old person.
The things of this world weigh us down. The big wardrobe, the closet full of shoes. The extra coats and wine glasses.
Everything can go, jettisoned on the journey, except loved ones. We are walking each other home, through harsh terrain sometimes, carrying the weak and the weary. Being carried, sometimes on a chassis of prayer.
Praise God we are not headed towards a border where a welcoming committee of heavily armed soldiers awaits us. I pray for those who are on that perilous path right now, pray for peace, for kindness and compassion to drive out fear.
Don't let your hearts be troubled, Jesus said. Trust in me. He awaits us all with open arms. He's got our rooms ready for us, and we don't need to bring anything but ourselves.
Praise God.
People so terrified they walk away from home carrying only what they can bear. A small backpack. A tote bag. A child.
An old person.
The things of this world weigh us down. The big wardrobe, the closet full of shoes. The extra coats and wine glasses.
Everything can go, jettisoned on the journey, except loved ones. We are walking each other home, through harsh terrain sometimes, carrying the weak and the weary. Being carried, sometimes on a chassis of prayer.
Praise God we are not headed towards a border where a welcoming committee of heavily armed soldiers awaits us. I pray for those who are on that perilous path right now, pray for peace, for kindness and compassion to drive out fear.
Don't let your hearts be troubled, Jesus said. Trust in me. He awaits us all with open arms. He's got our rooms ready for us, and we don't need to bring anything but ourselves.
Praise God.
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