Only one life

Two little lines I heard one day,Traveling along life's busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in 'that day' my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgement seat;
Only one life,'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God's holy will to cleave;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill, living for self or in His will;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e'er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, "twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say,"Thy will be done";
And when at last I'll hear the call, I know I'll say "twas worth it all";
Only one life,'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Author Unknown

ACL vs. BCL

He Said,

It occurred to me the other day that my desk top (BCL) was so cluttered and how much of a battle it was to process all the papers that come through the mail. Papers waiting to be processed include from church. Then there are all the related questions that have to be answered in response to all the papers. Hard copies for taxes are fairly easy to handle by just putting them in the correct paper file. But here is an example of decisions about papers that needs to be made. How long do you keep the church bulletins? One month? 3 months? a year? Where do you store auto repair receipts? How long? If you decide to keep them, then the question becomes where to store them? If you have a good filing system, that does help but files get fat after a while too and then the drawers get full and then what do you do?

(ACL) Being persons that depends daily on a computer, why not put the computer to use. To help win that battle we purchased a scanner. The ultimate answer as to where to store all these papers. Just create an electronic file and scan the paper, save in to the file, shred and then trash the shredded papers and presto you now have everything reduced to bites (x's and o's). These are stored some where down there in bowels of our computer where computer chips lodge and the mysterious mother board performs her mysterious duties.

Now if there is a file that you want to have quick access to, we place a "short cut" on the desk top. (Desk top now meaning a vertical flat surface when you point to your wishes and click) The short cut means you can access that file directly with out opening your documents to find it.) Well the short of this whole thought is that now our "desk top" is full and cluttered which we have been tiring to avoid all along by keeping the desk top (the horizontal flat surface) cleaned up. So what we basically have accomplished is moving the clutter form one "desk top" to another "desk top."

Oh, yes BCL stands for "Before computer lives." Yes desk top actually refers to a flat surface on our computer desk. Now for those of you who can't hardly remember life with out computers there is another acronym. ACL That is "After computer lives." You see desk top has taken on a whole new meaning.

I guess it is time to clean up the desk top, yes both of them!

She said: Resolution Discovery

It is amazing to me the number of times things have come up in the past week that are directly related to my new year's resolution.

Here is just one example: We recently went to one of our favorite restaurants to have a nice pleasant dinner. In the next booth, just behind me, there sat someone who was kicking the booth so hard that it could be heard by hubby. Now this is one of my pet peeves, so my first reaction was less than full of grace and dignity. My thought was to get up and confront the person, or at least ask the waiter for another booth. (That would not have worked because the restaurant was full.) Thankfully my resolution came to mind before any action was taken. So we talked about how to handle this situation with grace and dignity. We also talked about what was with the person doing the kicking. The person happened to get up to use the restroom, so hubby got a look. His impression was that it was just a kid. But when the person came back I noticed that it was a small fully grown woman. For whatever reason the kicking ceased and we could finish our delicious meal in peace.

After this experience, as well as a few others, I have discovered some things about incorporating grace and dignity into one's life. First, kindness and grace go together. In other words, to show grace one must be kind. If you are unkind in any way you cannot show grace. Second, it is very difficult to be angry and have dignity. The first thing to go when you loose your temper is your dignity, if you let it.

There have been other examples where my resolution to have more grace and dignity for the new year has been challenged this week. But the restaurant example is the most obvious one.
And it was an eye-opener to realize in order to have grace and dignity, kindness and controlling anger is a must.

Low fat Christmas

This year we have made some adjustments in our favorite Christmas treats that will save us some fat intake that needs to be reduced.

Our fudge is made with Smart Balance instead of butter. And we also use non-fat evaporated milk instead of the normal evaporated milk. That reduces the fat grams to about 1/3 of the usual amount.

Then we love making Treasure Cookies. This year we replaced the butter with Smart Balance and are using non-fat sweetened condensed milk instead of the regular sweetened condensed milk. Again that reduces the fat content substantially.

Now, if only we could do something about the sugar. We don't feel that any of the sugar substitutes on the market today are any healthier than sugar itself. So we continue to use good old fashioned sugar.

All of our changes still produce the best fudge and cookies around. So these changes will remain.

We will be experimenting with our favorite sugar cookie recipe that calls for almond extract. We will be substituting the 2 cups of butter with smart balance and save at least a third of the fats normally used. If you use the lite version you could probably save half again as much.

The Good and The Bad

Note: this post was written originally back in March of this year. To date we still hold to what it is saying.

Our transitional transparency meetings are beginning to have two effects on us as members of our congregation. On the one hand, we are learning much about our fellow members, and this is good. But on the other hand, we are discovering great discrepancies between our beliefs, a very bad thing. Most of the issues we have been looking at are clearly spoken to in the Holy Scriptures, and yet many within our congregation have another view. They site the working of the Holy Spirit as the testimony that what they want is a ligament course of action. If we only strive to come to consensus on the issues we face, we will surely be less than what God had in mind. If all we strive to do is arrive at something we can all agree with, this in no guarantee that God's will is done. We must use another standard than consensus. Our understanding is that we must use the scriptures in testing whenever there is disagreement. Consensus is not what Christ had in mind when he prayed for unity within the brotherhood. Our unity must be under Christ the Lord as head of the church. Scripture is the source of arriving at understanding what that unity should be...not our own experiences. We must use a standard, and we feel that standard must and should be the Holy scriptures. Our understanding of the workings of the Holy Spirit are as a guide in understanding scriptures and as a source of strength in living out what Christ calls us to do. The working of the Holy Spirit was never meant to be a substitute for an understanding of that call. We are to serve Christ through the church body. God has a plan for how we are to go about doing that. The Holy scriptures clearly define that plan. Some within our congregation want to bypass certain scriptures and follow what they feel the Holy Spirit is calling them to do instead. We firmly disagree with this position. We both believe as our confession of faith decrees: "We acknowledge the Scripture as the authoritative source and standard for preaching and teaching about faith and life, for distinguishing truth from error, for discerning between good and evil, and for guiding prayer and worship. Other claims on our understanding of Christian faith and life, such as tradition, culture, experience, reason, and political powers, need to be tested and corrected by the light of Holy Scripture.

We know from Scripture that the Holy Spirit continues to reveal God's will to us (1 Cor. 14:26-33). The Spirit of God is not silent in the present. However, this new revelation will not contradict what we know of Christ's way in Scripture (John 14:26). So we can open ourselves to revelation and prophecy, provided we test them in the community of faith by the norm provided in Christ through the Scriptures."

Ode to old age

Firefly Fireworks

Thrift and Coralbells

We seldom venture out after dark. Last week we were coming home late, about at dusk. All around the roadway, and even above the pavement, we saw little specks of light dancing through the air.

Fireflies. A sure sign of summer. Nature's fireworks.

These little showmen appear each sultry evening to delight the eye. The grandchildren run around trying to capture as many as they can. We remember as youngsters doing the same thing.

Sometime ago we read that these little bugs were being used in experiments. The scientist were studying them as a use for something, can't remember what. Haven't heard whether they discovered anything or not.

Frankly, we already know their use. Watching the grandchildren as they collect these wonders gives us old folks the fountain of youth.

Eternal Life

This light pink peony is also called "The Century Plant" because it can last more than 100 years.

We often like to listen to radio preachers. They tend to preach from the Scriptures and they also tend to bring out something from the Scriptures which we have not encountered before...or something that has been revealed before but not quite in the same way.

Last week a radio preacher made this comment: We all have an eternal life. Where that eternal life is spent, either with or without God, is up to our acceptance or rejection of His Son. Evangelism is basically making this truth evident to those around us.

Now we have both grown up in the church, and you would think that this idea would not be new to us. And perhaps this concept is not exactly new, but it was a way of thinking about evangelism that we had not thought of before. Every person we come in contact with has an eternity. God would like to be in that person's life now and for eternity. We need to let them know this in such a way that they will see how much God loves and cares for them. Then perhaps they will want this also. It's as simple as that.

Simple, but somehow not easy. Talking about eternal life doesn't come up in casual conversation. Most people rarely even think in terms of eternity. That includes Christians. When you see how some Christians live (and that includes ourselves at times) you would think that this life is all there is. So much of our time is spent concerned with this life. How can we share that there is an eternity when we are so wrapped up with things here?

But the main point of the radio preacher was that until a person realizes that they have an eternity to spend either with or without God, they will never see the need to believe in Jesus. This is the concept that was a revelation...and an inspiration to us to draw others to Christ.

Giving thanks in everything

This creeping Phlox is one of our favorites. There are mounds all over our gardens. It all came from a six inch pot from a sister. Very prolific!


A visit to the doctor about a hearing problem has prompted some medical intervention for high blood pressure. Now we are looking at some minor heart dysfunction.

This is a good example of being thankful for everything.

If there had been no hearing problem then these much more serious problems would not have been detected and treated. We are thankful that this was discovered and we are thankful for the problem with hearing.

That's why we should give thanks for everything.

Need to report two cases of the "collision theory" today, one being a near accident. The walker was day-dreaming and could have caused a problem. Keep in mind that these were almost the only vehicles on the road during a thirty minute walk!

Consider the Source

Another scene from the beautiful gardens close to us.

Have you ever wondered what they mean when newscasters mention "sources say" before relating a story? It seems that they feel that the identity of the source is inconsequential. We are learning more and more how important the source of knowledge can be.

In searching the web about a particular subject, we are now more astute at determining the source of any information we are gathering. We always check out the home page, usually under the "about us" information. It gives us a basis for understanding the source of knowledge we are gathering on this particular site. This little bit of digging can clue us in on whether this source has a vested interest in the knowledge that it is sharing. We can better determine trustworthiness by checking out the source.

Then there is the need sometimes to go a little further. We feel it is important to check out the associations of our source of information. It is wise to check out what other source is connected to the initial source of knowledge. It is important to recognize that our source of knowledge needs to be trustworthy. So the associations this source has are also vital in determining the soundness of our source.

So the next time you hear a news caster use the comment "sources say" you may do well to wonder whether their next statement can be trusted.

The Waiting Game

If you are like us, you find it hard to wait. Whether it is in line at the grocery store, sitting in the doctor's office, or just waiting for something to arrive in the mail, waiting can be difficult. Probably unconsciously we all know that our time here on earth is limited. So when it becomes necessary to wait it seems like a real inconvenience. We think we have better things to do with our time than wait.

Next time you are waiting (and you better believe there will be plenty of next times) we invite you to make good use of that time. Here's a way to use your waiting time wisely.

W--wonder about things. Take this otherwise wasted time and wonder about the things in your life that are curious to you. Keep the "kid" in you alive. We love to be around our grandchildren and one of the reasons is that they are in tune with wonder. Their imaginations just soar when it comes to wondering about many things. And they are not hesitant to share these ideas with us. So take a lesson from the young and practice your wondering.

A--ask yourself some hard questions. Maybe your spouse was right when they indicated that you need some improvement. It might have been hard to see this in the throws of a disagreement. Now would be an excellent time to think about their observations. Where do you need to change? What habits should you break? What good things could you be doing in their place? Life gets so busy that sometimes we just need to stop and think. While you are waiting would be a good time to do just that.

I--invent something new. Think about a problem you may have that needs fixing. Think of something new as a solution. There's an old saying that goes like this: Necessity is the mother of invention. Use your waiting time to invent an answer for your problem. It could be a physical, mental, or relational problem. Whatever has you "stumped", this is as good of time as any to come up with a workable solution.

T--thankfulness. Remember to be thankful for all the things in your life, even the problems. They make up who you are as a person. It's easy to be thankful for all the good. But don't forget that our trials and problems are a large part of who we are also. While you are waiting, be grateful that whatever makes you wait is available to you in our country. Some places in the world don't have grocery stores, doctors, or even mail delivery. Be thankful in all things.

So the next time you are waiting remember this little list of things to do:
W--wonder
A--ask hard questions
I--invent
T--thank
Your waiting time will be the better for it.

Reading THE Manual

It would be very revealing to take a survey asking how many people always read their instruction manuals. Most likely the percentage of people who regularly read each instruction manual that comes across their hands would be very low. This case would be true for MOST manuals at our house. Take for example the experience we had one time coming home from a trip to our neighbor state. We began our trek early in the morning to avoid heavy later traffic. Just after loading up we started off down the road. Soon we noticed that the back inside lights were on and started looking for a switch on the dashboard that could be flicked to put them out. We both perused intently, trying this knob and that, to no avail. Well, guess it was just time to read the owner's manual. Many miles down the road later it was discovered that in order to put out the lights, the lights themselves had to be pushed. Apparently we had inadvertently pushed on the lights when putting our hangup clothing on the hooks positioned directly in front of those lights. ALWAYS READ YOUR INSTRUCTION MANUAL!

Then we had another experience, (again with a vehicle-what's that about?) Last fall we purchased a Chrysler PT Cruiser. You know...those funny, retro-looking cars. We really like our little "Plum" but it had a few flaws that could use fixing, like the little sun visors. They work fine when used in front, but when positioned on the sides they are too short to block out all of the sun's rays. We thought we had fixed the problem by attaching a CD holder, sliding it out as needed. Then one day we tugged on the holder harder than normal. Instead of sliding out from the visor, the visor came along with the holder. Eureka! The little visor slides out from where it attaches to cover that area that was a problem. So, maybe it's time to read the owner's manual. We haven't found the instructions for that operation yet, but we are pretty sure it's there somewhere. The manual is setting handy in the pocket behind the driver's seat. Unfortunately, it is still not completely read. ALWAYS READ YOUR INSTRUCTION MANUAL!

Though we seem to have problems taking time to read these manuals, especially for our vehicles, these are not the only instruction manuals. Most appliances, put together furniture pieces, electronic devices, and even cell phones all have instruction manuals. Many of these manuals sit in our home and your homes, all unread. But there is one supreme instruction manual that when left unread, could cost you your life. Here we are speaking of the Bible, God's holy word of instruction to all people. Let's face it, sometimes it can be a bit boring. And at times it can be very confusing. But it is vital to read this manual very carefully and absorb all that you can from its pages. You can learn how to have a relationship with Jesus. Your eternal life is at stake. ALWAYS READ YOUR INSTRUCTION MANUAL!