THIS PAST Thursday, was a day that we thought about all the things, that we were grateful for! We dressed our tables with the bounty that we have become accustomed too and filled our stomachs full of all the tastes and sounds of home. This year we were especially blessed because our Adam was home with us and not in a far away place called Iraq!
THE FAMILY I grew up in and the family God has given Jim and me, have always been blessed with the presence of our Lord sitting among us. Maybe not in person but there was nothing to keep the Spirit from being there. The foods, drinks and the talk was wholesome! I remember my brother Lloyd would say in his prayers; "We ask you, to be a guest at our table this day!" I remember my brother-in-law Bud would say something similar. Today, Jim usually says; "Thank you for the blessing of this food!" Yes, our Savior was at our table!
BEING THANKFUL or appreciative comes easy to most Christians. We know where we have been and we know who we have become in Jesus Christ. Looking back, is something I have a habit of doing; Jim never feels it is necessary to look back! Every year for him, gets better and better. Looking back is part of my memory exercise. Looking back brings me not only joy but a feeling of comfort.
I DON'T KNOW about when I was a baby, but I think I have knowledge of at least 67 Thanksgiving Dinners that I have attended within my families. That is not even counting how many I have attended outside of the family. Just this year alone, I have been to 4 Thanksgiving Dinners. The faire were similar and yet different.
"ENTER HIS GATES with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him, bless His name! For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness is to all generations." Psalms 100:4-5
EACH TIME we enter His gates, or seek His face, we should come with clean hands and a pure heart; with thanksgiving on our lips. Without Him we would be nothing! "O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!" Psalms 107:1
THERE ARE MANY scriptures that talk about God's steadfast love that endures forever. Yes, we have much to be thankful for! We have a life that is God breathed! We have a world that is far more than our minds could ever have imagined. We have a future that is designed for outer space, where many of my loved ones already are living.
"I GIVE THEE THANKS, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing thy praise. I bow down toward thy holy temple and give thanks to thy name for thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness; for thou hast exalted above everything, thy name and thy word." Psalms 138:1-2
HOW BLESSED we are! What a life God has given us! What more could we ask for? Thank you Lord for loving us so much! Thank you Lord for leaving your beautiful home in glory to walk among the sorrowful and downtrodden! Thank you, O Savior, for giving us a future and a hope within your heavenly home. Thank you Lord, for saving my soul! By Jane Ann Crenshaw 11/27/10
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
WHAT ARE YOU MADE OF? 11/21/10
I ALWAYS say that your past helps to make you, who you are today! God gave us all that is necessary for life, but our choices, takes His design in directions, He didn't plan for us. We have a tendency to take His design, and to a certain extent, take it where we want to go. God wants to hear instead; "mold me and make me Lord, what you want me to be!"
HAVE YOU ever been asked; "What are you made of!" How do you answer this very simple, yet profound question? Is your answer; "Blood, sweat and tears?" Or is it; "Sugar and spice and everything nice!" Could it be both? It's funny when you realize that God created us out of the very same stuff, he placed on the ground for us to walk upon. It's funny when you think about having to work your way from the bottom to the top. And yet, God says; "Lean upon me and you will learn to fly!"
I HAVE always had questions! My Mother use to say; "Your middle name should have been why!" One of my questions today is; "Why do I think this way and other's think another way?" Life is simple, but we make it hard! Life can be good, but we struggle! Life is a moment to moment existence and we want to plan it for decades and decades.
THE COWBOY spends his days in the saddle. He spins his thoughts around the countryside, the rivers and looking for a place to spend the night. A cool drink of water is what the song says; but I am sure the cowboy would drink anything that was wet and would take away the parched dryness of his throat, caused by the heat; the winds and lack of water.
THE SINGER practices her songs to prepare for a performance. Over and over again she repeats the lines, so she can say her words as though they were fresh in her mind; sharing her passion of thought, speaking them with sustained tones. Yes, that is what singing is; speaking in sustained tones. She too seeks liquids, that sooth her throat; to keep it moist and flexible as she exercises all of her many vocal cords.
THE SINGER AND THE COWBOY are very much alike. Both doing what they feel they were meant to do. Cowboying is hard work! Being the singer is hard work! Daily routines, some from experience and some from practice. We all discover, what we are made of, when we are called to task. When pressures are laid upon us! We all discover, what we are made of, through our responses to situations and/or how we react.
"IF ANYONE thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me as the scripture has said, out of his heart, shall flow rivers of living water." John 7:38b-39 When Jesus said this, He was still with the Apostles and the other Disciples. The Holy Spirit had not yet come! Jesus was reiterating that when He was gone, the Holy Spirit would come to those who believe in Him. The Holy Spirit would fill you with the living water and you would not thirst again. Jesus is talking about a different kind of thirst; a yearning of your soul to be satisfied!
JIM SAYS; "we are made of star stuff!" I know he heard that somewhere! In other words; God made us in a mystical and magical way. Because God was and is the creator! The one who made things out of nothing! Water is essential to our physical well being and our spiritual as well!
REMEMBER the story of the woman at the well? "But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water, welling up to eternal life." John 4:14 Can we, like the woman, say; "Sir, give me this water?" Can we, like the woman, take it to heart that which our Lord gives us, and learn to drink from this eternal well? Can we? By Jane Ann Crenshaw 11/16/10
HAVE YOU ever been asked; "What are you made of!" How do you answer this very simple, yet profound question? Is your answer; "Blood, sweat and tears?" Or is it; "Sugar and spice and everything nice!" Could it be both? It's funny when you realize that God created us out of the very same stuff, he placed on the ground for us to walk upon. It's funny when you think about having to work your way from the bottom to the top. And yet, God says; "Lean upon me and you will learn to fly!"
I HAVE always had questions! My Mother use to say; "Your middle name should have been why!" One of my questions today is; "Why do I think this way and other's think another way?" Life is simple, but we make it hard! Life can be good, but we struggle! Life is a moment to moment existence and we want to plan it for decades and decades.
THE COWBOY spends his days in the saddle. He spins his thoughts around the countryside, the rivers and looking for a place to spend the night. A cool drink of water is what the song says; but I am sure the cowboy would drink anything that was wet and would take away the parched dryness of his throat, caused by the heat; the winds and lack of water.
THE SINGER practices her songs to prepare for a performance. Over and over again she repeats the lines, so she can say her words as though they were fresh in her mind; sharing her passion of thought, speaking them with sustained tones. Yes, that is what singing is; speaking in sustained tones. She too seeks liquids, that sooth her throat; to keep it moist and flexible as she exercises all of her many vocal cords.
THE SINGER AND THE COWBOY are very much alike. Both doing what they feel they were meant to do. Cowboying is hard work! Being the singer is hard work! Daily routines, some from experience and some from practice. We all discover, what we are made of, when we are called to task. When pressures are laid upon us! We all discover, what we are made of, through our responses to situations and/or how we react.
"IF ANYONE thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me as the scripture has said, out of his heart, shall flow rivers of living water." John 7:38b-39 When Jesus said this, He was still with the Apostles and the other Disciples. The Holy Spirit had not yet come! Jesus was reiterating that when He was gone, the Holy Spirit would come to those who believe in Him. The Holy Spirit would fill you with the living water and you would not thirst again. Jesus is talking about a different kind of thirst; a yearning of your soul to be satisfied!
JIM SAYS; "we are made of star stuff!" I know he heard that somewhere! In other words; God made us in a mystical and magical way. Because God was and is the creator! The one who made things out of nothing! Water is essential to our physical well being and our spiritual as well!
REMEMBER the story of the woman at the well? "But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water, welling up to eternal life." John 4:14 Can we, like the woman, say; "Sir, give me this water?" Can we, like the woman, take it to heart that which our Lord gives us, and learn to drink from this eternal well? Can we? By Jane Ann Crenshaw 11/16/10
Sunday, November 14, 2010
GROWING OLD JUST HAPPENS! 11/13/10
LATELY, I have been tired. My energy level has subsided. I still get my bed made in the morning and I pick up here and there and just a week ago, I did get my floors dusted, swept, mopped and vacuumed. It was about time! However, I am decidely perplexed, because I have never had much energy until I had my heart event, two and half years ago. I was thoroughly enjoying my new energy level. Now, I feel like my old self again; forcing myself to do the things I have to do, besides the things I really want to do. Yes, I said forcing myself!
I WATCHED a video recently where this old woman was to give the invocation before a large dinner meeting of a large organization. She says the prayer and then; "Lord, since I have the microphone, I have a few more things to say." She begins with answering the two questions everyone wants to know, but are always afraid to ask! "I am 72!" She says! After the laughter dies down she continues with; "and I weight 142 lbs!" Again she waits until the laughter subsides and then says something very profoud; at least to me, it was profound. "No one practices to be old, it just happens; all of a sudden, you are old!"
YOU KNOW, that is just the way it happened to me. One day I woke up and I was old! Even my grandson's can testify that one day they woke up and I was old. Their grandpa was old and even their Mom and Dad were old but then all children see their parents as old. No practice needed; no instructions given, except for books like; "Growing Old Isn't for Wimps!" Or maybe; "Help Lord! I'm Having a Senior Moment" by Karen O'Connor.
THOSE OF YOU who are about my age and already in your winter years; give or take a few, know what I am talking about. Those of you who are younger than springtime and maybe some of you who are entering your autumn years, will find this out soon enough.
ONE OF THE THINGS I find comforting as I grow older is that the scriptures say, that white hair brings wisdom. Perhaps it means that white hair should come with wisdom. I think I have been wise in many things but I also must admit that wisdom comes for a moment and then begins to wane. When the waning comes, it is at a different time for everyone. What is it to wane? "To grow less, decline in power or importance, to draw to a close." Webster has more to say, but that is enough for us to get the picture.
"BE PATIENT, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it until it receives the early and the late rain. You also be patient. Establish your heart, for the coming of the Lord is at hand." James 5:7-8 All my life I have been told to be patient! All my life I have been encouraged to take heart and wait. All my life; sounds onimous!
WITH AGE comes the best in cheese, wines and other commodities. With age "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." Proverbs 9:10 "For wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with them." Proverbs 8:11 "For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding." Proverbs 1:6
WE CAN PONDER old age all we want; but what it comes down to is how you live your life. Are you seeking God's face daily? Are you in His word regularly? Have you been doing your part to further the kingdom? If so, these are the things that count! "Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power; are you washed in the blood of the Lamb. Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour; are you washed in the blood of the Lamb." Great old song; hu! By Jane Ann Crenshaw 11/13/10
I WATCHED a video recently where this old woman was to give the invocation before a large dinner meeting of a large organization. She says the prayer and then; "Lord, since I have the microphone, I have a few more things to say." She begins with answering the two questions everyone wants to know, but are always afraid to ask! "I am 72!" She says! After the laughter dies down she continues with; "and I weight 142 lbs!" Again she waits until the laughter subsides and then says something very profoud; at least to me, it was profound. "No one practices to be old, it just happens; all of a sudden, you are old!"
YOU KNOW, that is just the way it happened to me. One day I woke up and I was old! Even my grandson's can testify that one day they woke up and I was old. Their grandpa was old and even their Mom and Dad were old but then all children see their parents as old. No practice needed; no instructions given, except for books like; "Growing Old Isn't for Wimps!" Or maybe; "Help Lord! I'm Having a Senior Moment" by Karen O'Connor.
THOSE OF YOU who are about my age and already in your winter years; give or take a few, know what I am talking about. Those of you who are younger than springtime and maybe some of you who are entering your autumn years, will find this out soon enough.
ONE OF THE THINGS I find comforting as I grow older is that the scriptures say, that white hair brings wisdom. Perhaps it means that white hair should come with wisdom. I think I have been wise in many things but I also must admit that wisdom comes for a moment and then begins to wane. When the waning comes, it is at a different time for everyone. What is it to wane? "To grow less, decline in power or importance, to draw to a close." Webster has more to say, but that is enough for us to get the picture.
"BE PATIENT, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it until it receives the early and the late rain. You also be patient. Establish your heart, for the coming of the Lord is at hand." James 5:7-8 All my life I have been told to be patient! All my life I have been encouraged to take heart and wait. All my life; sounds onimous!
WITH AGE comes the best in cheese, wines and other commodities. With age "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." Proverbs 9:10 "For wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with them." Proverbs 8:11 "For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding." Proverbs 1:6
WE CAN PONDER old age all we want; but what it comes down to is how you live your life. Are you seeking God's face daily? Are you in His word regularly? Have you been doing your part to further the kingdom? If so, these are the things that count! "Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power; are you washed in the blood of the Lamb. Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour; are you washed in the blood of the Lamb." Great old song; hu! By Jane Ann Crenshaw 11/13/10
Friday, November 5, 2010
SUNSHINE IN MY SOUL! 11/5/10
EVER SINCE I can remember, singing in church was one of my favorite things to do. This past week I was playing some of the songs out of the church hymnal and I asked Jim to give me a song to play. I just wanted a spontaneous request! He requested "There is Sunshine in my Soul!"
WE ALL love sun-shiny days; we like walking in the sun-shine. Nothing is better than picnicking when the sun is just over head. When it is raining and the sun is shining you can see it glistening through the rain drops. The sun-shine is what brings the rainbow after a rain shower. Even so, on bad days, we could go on and on about how the sun makes us feel. Let's take a moment and think of a time or something that filled our souls with sun-shine!
THE FIRST THING that comes to my mind is Christmas but then mostly everyone I know feels good around Christmas; although we know of many who don't feel the thrill of Christmas. My children have filled my life with sun-shine and especially my grand children. Oh what joy fills my mere existence when I think about all my children. My greatest moments are when I am with Jim. Remember the song; "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine; you make me happy, when skies are gray?"
THIS WEEKEND is a sun-shiny spot in my season of memory making. In 1985, those who could, on my side of the family, met at Box R Ranch to celebrate Thanksgiving for the first time. We continued every year until 2002. We did it again at Fish Lake in 2008 and then back at Box R last year and again, this weekend. It is a much smaller group but I can't help feel some excitement about getting together and remembering when. It is possible this will be the last time, at least for Box R! But while there is life, there is never a last time for remembering!
GOD BRINGS sun-shine into our lives through many avenues. Our parents; our brothers and sisters; our spouses and children and the church. Then there is happenings and places and things! "O there's sun-shine, blessed sun-shine, when the peaceful, happy moments roll; when Jesus shows His smiling face; there is sun-shine in my soul!" I've heard it said; "There is always room for dessert!" Well, with Christ in your life, there is always room for sun-shine and dessert!
ONE OF the things about Box R and Thanksgiving is the food. Good food! Well thought about, and well prepared food! I grew up poor but we always had a Thanksgiving spread on our table. In the beginning I remember a goose and don't remember much else but as the years rolled by, I remember mashed potatoes; scalloped corn; turkey, dressing and giblet gravy; not to mention the salads galore and pies. Pumpkin, apple and mincemeat; oh my! Yes, even the poor can have a feast on Thanksgiving because through the grace of God, others help by giving. Giving money; canned goods; baking supplies, even turkey's.
IT IS TRUE that many in the world go hungry; but the feasting on food is not what is going to give them the sun-shine they need. Their hunger and thirst is for that which will fill their empty souls not their empty stomachs. "But how are men to call upon Him, in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him, of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear, without a preacher? And how can men preach, unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!" Romans 10:14-15
ALONG WITH the groceries we need to preach the Gospel! "But they have not all heeded the gospel; for Isaiah says; "Lord, who has believed, what he has heard from us?" Romans 10:16 Many turn away from the Good News and seek their own ways. But Paul continues with; "So faith comes from what is heard and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ." Romans 10:17 The preacher must keep preaching and the Son, will shine! By Jane Ann Crenshaw 11/5/10
WE ALL love sun-shiny days; we like walking in the sun-shine. Nothing is better than picnicking when the sun is just over head. When it is raining and the sun is shining you can see it glistening through the rain drops. The sun-shine is what brings the rainbow after a rain shower. Even so, on bad days, we could go on and on about how the sun makes us feel. Let's take a moment and think of a time or something that filled our souls with sun-shine!
THE FIRST THING that comes to my mind is Christmas but then mostly everyone I know feels good around Christmas; although we know of many who don't feel the thrill of Christmas. My children have filled my life with sun-shine and especially my grand children. Oh what joy fills my mere existence when I think about all my children. My greatest moments are when I am with Jim. Remember the song; "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine; you make me happy, when skies are gray?"
THIS WEEKEND is a sun-shiny spot in my season of memory making. In 1985, those who could, on my side of the family, met at Box R Ranch to celebrate Thanksgiving for the first time. We continued every year until 2002. We did it again at Fish Lake in 2008 and then back at Box R last year and again, this weekend. It is a much smaller group but I can't help feel some excitement about getting together and remembering when. It is possible this will be the last time, at least for Box R! But while there is life, there is never a last time for remembering!
GOD BRINGS sun-shine into our lives through many avenues. Our parents; our brothers and sisters; our spouses and children and the church. Then there is happenings and places and things! "O there's sun-shine, blessed sun-shine, when the peaceful, happy moments roll; when Jesus shows His smiling face; there is sun-shine in my soul!" I've heard it said; "There is always room for dessert!" Well, with Christ in your life, there is always room for sun-shine and dessert!
ONE OF the things about Box R and Thanksgiving is the food. Good food! Well thought about, and well prepared food! I grew up poor but we always had a Thanksgiving spread on our table. In the beginning I remember a goose and don't remember much else but as the years rolled by, I remember mashed potatoes; scalloped corn; turkey, dressing and giblet gravy; not to mention the salads galore and pies. Pumpkin, apple and mincemeat; oh my! Yes, even the poor can have a feast on Thanksgiving because through the grace of God, others help by giving. Giving money; canned goods; baking supplies, even turkey's.
IT IS TRUE that many in the world go hungry; but the feasting on food is not what is going to give them the sun-shine they need. Their hunger and thirst is for that which will fill their empty souls not their empty stomachs. "But how are men to call upon Him, in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him, of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear, without a preacher? And how can men preach, unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!" Romans 10:14-15
ALONG WITH the groceries we need to preach the Gospel! "But they have not all heeded the gospel; for Isaiah says; "Lord, who has believed, what he has heard from us?" Romans 10:16 Many turn away from the Good News and seek their own ways. But Paul continues with; "So faith comes from what is heard and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ." Romans 10:17 The preacher must keep preaching and the Son, will shine! By Jane Ann Crenshaw 11/5/10
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