Making Memories

My memory bank comes alive this time of year.  Memories of grandma and grandpa MacManus warm my heart on these cold days.   Christmas was always special to my family and most importantly it was about relationships.  Most of the gifts have long sense been discarded,  outdated stuff, replaced by more stuff.  It is not the stuff I miss, it is the laughter around a Christmas dinner,  it is the time spent by a warm fireplace burning real wood.  I wish I could hunt a Christmas tree with grandma Mac one more time.  I wish I could go back to that old gray farm house one more time and sit by the fire with grandpa.  I would ask him questions that only he could answer.  I would tell him I love him and appreciate all the miles he walked behind a mule plowing and planting so we could eat.  I would say thanks for all the times he cut my hair for free and then paid me for helping him pick cotton.  Memories of mom and dad and all the years we gathered at their house and celebrated our Lord’s birth always come calling this time of year.   I appreciate the gifts they give from a loving heart but more than ever I appreciate the sacrifices they made to give me a better life.  When the storm blew our house down,  dad and mom built a new one with a hammer , hand saw and a few other hand tools.   He had no power tools.  It was a four room house,  small and not much to look at but I wish I could spend just one more night there and wake up to a breakfast cooked by the loving hands of my mother.  Well this could go on and on but I have said enough for now.  My prayer is that this Christmas all of us will make some good memories for our families,  memories worth reviewing for a lifetime, memories not of stuff but of relationships and above all the memory of the greatest Gift,  JESUS.    jfs

Reaching

It is 4:47 in the morning and the arms of my heart reach for the Prince of Peace, the God of all Comfort.  I cannot be satisfied with knowing about Him, I must know Him. I need the light of His Love, the Joy of His touch and the Peace of resting in His arms. I am hungry for food from His table, no religious snacks will do, no vending machine religion without heart or soul can quench my thirst.  I must have HIM, I cannot live without HIM. He is the source of my strength, the hope of my future and the joy of my life.  Like my children when they were very small who would lift there little arms toward me and say, “take you daddy.”  So this morning I lift my weary arms toward heaven and say, “take you daddy.”  As the old gospel song says, “Oh I need you , every hour I need you.”   jfs

Ps 143:6  I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah

"BEING"

Much of the time our failure as a Christian is the failure of “being” not “doing.”  If you are like me when you ask yourself, “How can I be a better Christian,” you think of,  “What do I need to do?” I guess it is natural that when we think of growing as a Christian we think of having to do more, strive harder, add new things to our to do list.  For me this never works.  I always find myself in the trap of busy-ness.  If you think the path to spirituality is work, work, work, then you need to hear the words of Jesus, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  Matthew 11:28-29 (NKJV)  When we try to “do” in order to “be” we can never “do” enough.  When we focus on “being” the “doing” comes natural.  Heavy loads and galling yokes never come from Jesus. These heavy loads are often put on us by well-meaning people who want us to do more so we will be successful in their eyes and they often use a worldly definition of success.  So what do I have to do to be a better Christian?  Work harder? NO, Learn to Listen and Obey.  Jesus knows you were not made for heavy loads.  Just focus on “being” and in “being” you will “do” the right things.  Relax, stop letting the opinions of others plot the course of your life.  It is your life and they won’t be there when you stand before the Father.  Learn to live within the bounds of your creation.  Superman and superwoman are deceptions, stop trying to fly and walk with the Prince of Peace. jfs

Frustration

I just heard pots and pans clanging together and Mary’s frustrated voice proclaim, “I’ve got to have some room in this kitchen!!!!!!!”  I know it is not funny but I laughed anyway.  She also added, “You have three shops and I have ten feet.”  Do I sense a bit of resentment?  I built the kitchen cabinets so it must be my fault.  What a joy to live with this girl.  I cherish every moment with her.  She is my best friend and leaving her to go speak somewhere is always difficult for me.  These days we are trying to make the most of every moment together.  We are realists and know that we are nearing the end of our earthly journey.  We enjoy the simple things of life, our deck, flowers, birds, and of course Tramp. We have had an incredible journey together and while we are very different, our differences have served us well.  Now back to the subject of frustration and how it can wrap its tentacles around our lives and leave us miserable.  I get frustrated with my ADD.  I can’t stay with anything for long.  Studying for me has been in tidbits at all hours of the day and night.  I have notes written on everything from napkins to paper plates and I can’t find them when I need them.  I think my greatest frustration is with me.  I keep hoping I can do better but the guy I see in the mirror just gets older.  I am dealing with some of my frustration these days.  I have decided I can’t be like you.  I can’t please everyone and some people will never love me no matter what I do.  I have decided to stop chasing success and go for relationship building.  The question is, can I have a close relationship with Jesus and be a failure? I think not.  I will no longer let you or anyone else define success for me. What matters most to me is that my Heavenly Father is pleased with me.  I am weary of living by other people’s definitions and for me that has been the source of so much of my frustration.  It is His “Well Done” I am in pursuit of and anything that takes me away from that is cause for frustration.  Don’t let the clanging of life’s pots and pans frustrated you. It is not that important.  Stick with the important stuff, stop chasing rainbows and for goodness sake, BE YOURSELF.  Jfs

1Co 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

His Hand

I look at the clock and it is twenty-three minutes after three a.m..  Tramp is lying by my bed and he has had a barking dream.  I drop my hand down and comfort him.  It is amazing what a pat on the head can do.  Tramp and I are both senior citizens now. Growing old together we have become best of friends.  His eyes are fading and his hearing is not what it once was. He stays closer than ever, often sleeping in the doorway so I can’t leave without him knowing.  I am not happy about this old age thing. Sometimes I think of old age as a time when life slowly takes away all it has given. I have feelings about it that I don’t have words for.  I guess it depends on which way we look, looking back life becomes about what was, looking ahead brings hope for the future--a time when we will get rid of all the worn out parts and broken dreams, a time of restoration  and best of all reunion. As long as we are together I will continue to offer my hand to Tramp.  He needs me and I will continue to comfort him as we make this one way journey.  I must confess, I am no thick skinned, mucho man. I cry easy, I rescue turtles and smell flowers, I bruise easily and I don’t carry a big stick.  I confess, I need my Fathers hand, without it I can’t cope with all the loss.  His hand comforts me when I am afraid.  Some of my friends deny their fear or they live in a place I have never found.  In my fears I look for the Hand which can penetrate the darkness at three twenty three a.m.  Like Tramp, I don’t want to be alone. I plan on staying close to Him. Jfs

Ps 139:5 You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.

God's House

God's house has arms and legs not steeples.  jfs

Eph 2:22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Religious Eyes

The word religious becomes less and less appealing to me.  It is such an obese term.  It includes every kind of weird belief one can imagine.  My prayer this morning when I rolled out of bed was, Lord, help me not to see you through religious eyes.  Religious eyes are eyes which often define God in weird ways, making Him distant, aloof and cold. Religion can give God a bad reputation because religion is about God from man’s perspective. Jesus doesn’t invite us to religion but to relationship.  Mary and I have relationship not religion.  Today I have His forgiveness but I need more than forgiveness. I need a friend. I need someone to enjoy the birds with me, someone to walk with me on my path in the woods, someone who cares about butterflies and bumble bees, creeks and roses, crickets and lizards and I have found that relationship in Jesus.  Got Religion, NO, got Relationship, YES. To Him be all glory and praise.  Jfs

“Follow Me”  Jesus

Fuel Stops

We just returned from a trip where I was the speaker at a lay retreat.  What a blessing to share truth about our journey with Christ.  I call it The Walk, the Scripture speaks again and again about our walk, it says things like, “walk in truth”, “walk in love”, “walk in the light.”  Some may think of the Christian life as a race but not me. I embrace the idea of a walk.  You won’t find me running.  On our long journey home yesterday we made several fuel stops which reminds me that in our walk if we don’t take time to be refueled we will wind up stranded on the highway of life.  There was one point when we were down to less than twenty miles till empty and I got a little uncomfortable with the thought of being stranded.  Keeping fuel in your tank is important to progress toward home. I pray that the retreat was a fuel stop for my friends who attended and that they are walking toward home with a heart full of joy.  If your spiritual tank is near empty you need to make a fuel stop and allow our Lord to fill you again with the energy of heaven. My prayer is that our Church Services will be Spiritual Travel Centers where we can find strength for our journey.  You can’t go anywhere with an empty tank.  Keep Walking it will be worth the Walk.  jfs

1Co 2:9 But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."