Flying :)

Happy Easter everyone! Jesus is alive!

Here's an update on my life:

Yesterday Kelly and I had a breakfast date at IHop. On the way home, I asked her what she wants to do for our next date. She said, "Fly." Kelly can always be counted on to pick something out of the blue, pardon the pun.

Seriously, though: the Lord keeps telling me to analyze less and listen to Him more, to let Him be the teacher, to seek His face (Psalm 27:8). It seems kind of like inertia, but maybe I'm just addicted to activity. God calls it waiting on Him. I need to sit still and listen with my spiritual ears to what He has to say to me. I recently read in Acts 28 where Paul was quoting Isaiah who said that if people hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and return to Him, He'll heal them. I'm excited about this because the more the Lord heals my heart, the more I can be a witness of the great things He has done!

May Jesus show all of us more and more of the great things He's doing.

Emotions

In my younger days I used to stuff my emotions for the purpose of avoiding ridicule and rejection; as an adult I spent a lot of years stuffing my emotions (especially fear) because I didn't want them to get in the way of doing things for God. I got to where I didn't feel much of anything, which has a coldness and deadness to it. It led me away from God's will because I expected others to also march through life like robots, like I was. One of my daughters has told me that I'm not empathetic, and she's right--I'm kind of clueless when it comes to empathy. But God is helping me with that. When I look into my heart and see what's going on in there, I can take the pain and fear to Jesus who heals broken hearts (Psalm 147:3). Then not only am I able to help others find healing from Jesus, but I also become more compassionate toward their emotions because I've seen how the Lord is compassionate toward mine.

Stuffing doesn't heal; Jehovah Rophe (which means Healer) does.

Praying Hyde

I read a book titled They Found the Secret, which contains the testimonies of 20 people whose lives were changed by God. The person whose life inspired me the most was John Hyde, a missionary to India in the early 20th century. While on his way to India, he prayed that he might be filled with the Holy Spirit and know by actual experience what Jesus meant when He said: "Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." And God answered this prayer. He became known as "Praying Hyde". One time he prayed for evangelist Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman. Chapman said, "I knew I was with God."

So..... I also have been asking God that I and other Christians I know would experience the power of the Spirit.

The Andersons Have Some Fun

In my journal I found my account of the Anderson family camping trip of summer '08. Here it is:

We were out of the house before 8:30 a.m., which is not bad considering that by that time Jeff had already fixed a leak in the shower, rescued a halfling rabbit from the softball net in the backyard, and stuffed an incredible pile of our belongings into the van. Then, down the road we went.

There was a contest for the best sunglasses. Jeff said I was the most beautiful girl and Liz's hat was cute, but he didn't vote on the sunglasses. Liz was sure that her shades with palm trees on the lenses should have won.

Liz informed us that Amy shampoos her arm hair to make it silky. Amy also said she mousses it unless it's very stubborn, in which case she uses gel.

We saw sky divers near Colorado Springs. Jeff said his favorite extreme sport that he hasn't already done is sky diving. Or gliding, or flying in an ultralight. Ultralights have lawn mower engines.

Liz informed us that in Nevada it's legal to take home roadkill for dinner. But not for breakfast, jk.

Liz said I showed only one tooth when I smiled. Neither of us know how I did that.

We were laughing about the fact that my dad calls chickens "livestock."

We arrived at the Sand Dunes at noon, pitched the tents, and ate a fine lunch at our campsite. A deer walked right by us. The weather was perfect. We played 20 questions and learned that the rock 'n roll hall of fame is in Cleveland. Liz said Elvis is dead, but we all know he's alive.

Kelly grabbed the pen and wrote: Liz burped.

Jeff said driving around in circles is more fun than going somewhere (as we were going around and around the camping area.)

We went to the sand dunes and it was very beautiful and very warm. God makes beauty out of a pile of sand--amazing! Jana got the wettest and dirtiest and had a ton of fun.

Amy and I walked upstream for awhile to explore.

We were out in the hottest part of the day. When the air is 80 degrees, the sand is 140 degrees.

5 p.m. at the campsite. Kara climbed a tree, and Liz and Amy played cards.

6:10 p.m. Jeff said that the boy at the adjacent campsite reported seeing a boy bear. Jeff thought it might be dangerous to get close enough to a bear to determine its gender.

Kara made the mud into a shape that looked like a Mexican hat. Then she took a wood chip and put a "disco ball" on top of it (a tiny pinecone).

Amy and I were sitting around doing nothing, like the Culhanes. Liz asked who the Culhanes were, and I said they're like the pirates who don't do anything. I asked her if she wanted me to sing the song, and she got quiet, then said "Amen." She said she'd been praying that I wouldn't sing that song. By that time I had the giggles, and Liz said that if she said "cheesesticks", I would laugh. I laughed. Kelly said "cheesesticks" and I didn't laugh because it wasn't original enough. So she said "cheese slices," and I laughed. Kara said, "Hi," and Jana said, "Quack." I laughed.

We had dinner--the potatoes baked in the fire were yummy!

Later in the evening, we toasted marshmallows, looked at constellations, and went to bed.

We had pancakes for breakfast. The paper towels caught on fire, so we put out the fire. Then Jeff put the paper towels next to the fire so they could burn some more.

We hiked up to Zapata Falls, a very pretty place.

On the way home we stopped at a place that had alligators, snakes, turtles, and a scorpion. And a big bunny and ducks with ducklings.

As we continued the drive home, we saw Kelly Automotive. Also, Kelly told me to buckle my seatbelt so I won't die in a crash. She's so thoughtful.

I asked Jeff if he had any comments. He said, "I have no comments at this time. I know nothing about the problems that are alleged to have occurred."

It was a wonderful campout, the best (meaning warmest) weather I've ever experienced in Colorado. It was also the first time I really prayed for God's guidance and blessing for a recreational outing. I should do that more often.

By the way, my family is a lot of fun to be with when we're relaxed and just enjoying one another's company, without the stress and busyness of everyday life. I think it was wise of God to tell us to rest one day a week. It's good for the soul.

The Alabaster Jar

Over the weekend I went to a women's conference, and I think I heard from God, so I want to share that. The teaching was from Luke 7. A woman who was a "sinner" went to Jesus and began weeping and washing His feet with her tears and wiping them with her hair, and kissing them. She also poured fragrant oil from an alabaster flask onto His feet. Cindy, our speaker, pointed out that this oil was expensive, and this woman was pouring onto Jesus' feet her most precious possession. Normally this oil would be given to her future husband as a dowry. So she was really giving Jesus her hopes, dreams, and future.

As I was thinking about what is precious to me that I should give to the Lord, one thing that came to mind was my desire to be esteemed and liked by others. When I worry about what people think of me, I'm putting them on a pedestal, and Jesus is the only one who belongs there. When I visualize Jesus on the pedestal, I can see on His face that He's so pleased with me and happy to be with me. The Bible says this in Zephaniah 3:17 and Psalm 149:4. When I see Jesus' love and acceptance, I forget to worry about what others think. It reminds me of some verses that mean a lot to me: Romans 8:33-34, "Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies, Who is he who condemns?" The next verses go on to say that Jesus is at God's right hand interceding for us, and that nothing can separate us from His love. Throughout my life I have not liked people very much because of fear of rejection. But this understanding of truth helps me to not fear.

May God's truth set us all free from fear.