September Memories Part 3

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers [and sisters] to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133:1

September calls with cooler nights and Friday night high school football games and halftime shows! The sweltering summer days and days of marching and preparation are almost forgotten as the game begins. Excitement from the first notes of the “Fight Song” and cheerleaders rallying the crowd summons everyone coming together, supporting each other, cheering for each other. Memories of September linger with us all as autumn’s night air surrounds us.

All former band members share the same familiar camaraderie that must happen in teamwork. Whether is comes in remembering of all the hard work, the half-time shows that require near perfection, the trips and competitions and performances off the field, or, later, in the scholarships that reward the work as new beginnings in college call. This bond is cemented with stories and more stories about the band bus, the mistakes, the freezing Christmas parades, the dropped music, and so much more. There is unity in this bond, and even long years after, it is good!

Community is about the whole, about being a smaller part of something bigger. Band memories rise when we hear old, familiar music like The Carpenters, Three Dog Night, Chicago, along with Sousa, and more. Reflections of friendships formed decades ago trace the places etched in our hearts. God reminds us about the goodness of dwelling together in unity. September memories recall those sweet, more innocent days of lining up in the end zone a minute before the half ready to perform as a whole, together as a community. Let’s remember the goodness we find in the unity of purpose, of brotherhood and sisterhood (or band-hood). It is good! - dho

September Memories Part 2

 "My prayers are nothing other than a sense of the presence of God."
Brother Lawrence, Practicing the Presence of God

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Reflecting back to 11 years ago, our family waits for a plan from neurosurgery at Duke University Children’s Hospital for my 9 year old nephew who has just been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. In the PICU, severe illnesses surround us, even share our room. The reality that we are not the only ones to suffer becomes the only buffer between urgency and panic. All anyone of us can do is pray! The 48 hours before and the 48 hours after become the LONGEST day and launch an unexpected faith journey. 

Many faithful friends and their friends and friends of their friends prayed with us and for us during this journey of hope and healing. Literally, people all over the world prayed. For any who do not know about our journey, this link http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/thomasmcgirr will take you to Thomas' Caring Bridge site that chronicles this amazing God-story. As always we must say to God be the Glory, for His Faithfulness is the anchor of our souls.

There are times when emotions make finding the words to pray feel impossible. Remember, the language of prayer is not about the right words. To be in the presence of God is prayer. Find His presence and rest there. Scripture assures us that if we do not know what to pray, the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress and prays for us, speaking our deepest, wordless groans. [Romans 8:26-28] Allow the presence of God to settle around you and embrace you. To God be the Glory! Hallelujah! Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are currently living a cancer journey with a child! May you know God’s loving embrace. - dho

September Memories Part 1!

 A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. 

Proverbs 17:17 NLT

December 1963

Every September, every year, my heart remembers a time of personal and spiritual growth. After brain tumor surgery, my grandmother retains her abilities to comprehend situations but can no longer verbally express herself. Recalling the summer of 1974 finds me thankful for those last special months of sharing, both through tears and gestures, but always laughter was louder. Reflections of my paternal grandmother's last stage of living always bring to mind an unusual demonstration of friendship. Her friend remains faceless to me. She's just a name that I heard from time to time over the years. And, just as mysteriously, for nearly 5 months, a red rose arrived each day.

A Remnant of Love

Once long, long ago, who knows just when,

            Greetings were exchanged.

Neighbors for a while, some say, these two

            Strangers became friends.

Conversations of yester-year gone

            And unrecorded,

How I wish I could go back in time

            To find the secret

Of such enduring friendship, a gift

            Of the heart for life . . . 

Sunny skies and death, together, cast down

            Shadows on my soul.

Precious as gold, time seemed all too short;

            She would soon be gone.

Silent tears of helplessness inside;

            Laughter was louder.

Old stories retold became treasures,

            Priceless memories.

Although miles and miles apart, friendship 

            Did not notice, and

Always, a token of remembrance

            Was placed by her side.

Gentle reminder, gesture of love,

            Each day one red rose.

Only once did she speak to me of 

            Death, my constant thought.

Relentless, calloused foe of mortal

            Life slowly claimed her.

Her body lay empty beneath a 

            Blanket of roses.

I stood beside her grave in sorrow

            For my loss; I wept.

I remember taking one red rose,

            A final farewell.

For me it was a symbol of her

            Friend’s tender heart,

Of such enduring friendship, a gift,

            A remnant of love.

Although more than a decade has passed,

             I still think of her.

Those priceless memories come to mind

            As if time stood still.

Each year when autumn breezes whisper,

            Tears seek revival.

Beneath the sadness I remember

            Laughter was louder.

And my heart is blessed as I recall

            Her final months, when

Always, a token of remembrance

            Was placed by her side.

Gentle reminder, gesture of love, 

            Each day one red rose.

How I wish I could go back in time

            To find the secret

Of their enduring friendship, a gift 

Of the heart for life.

(written 1987, Donna Oswalt)

I wrote this poem more than a decade after her death, words eluding my emotions until then. And still, when I think of such friendship, the best definition I can think of is "each day one red rose." What an amazing heart-gift! What a demonstration of love and loyalty! The Life Application Study Bible says, "The greatest evidence of genuine friendship is loyalty." Nearly five decades later, I have learned this kind of friendship is extremely rare.

God never asks us to do something without having demonstrated it Himself. Jesus tells us to love one another and demonstrates this rare kind of love with His life, death and resurrection. By definition, loyalty manifests itself by devotion, honesty, sincerity and support. God models His loyalty to us though His constancy, incorruptibility, steadfastness, and truth. Genuine relationships understand the value of sharing life events; to remember the beginnings, to treasure the laughter, to honor the celebrations, to bear the disappointments, to endure the ordinary, and to love through the endings. God promises to love forever! 

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (1 Corinthians 13:7 NLT) God's love is much more than a token of remembrance or a gesture of love. Christ's unmatched sacrifice becomes God's matchless grace. This holy gift of enduring friendship redefines loyalty's unfailing love as Perfect Love. I have learned this friendship is the rarest of all! ~ dho

Previously posted on this blog!

Last Days of Summer - Ordinary Days of Summer

 Bless the LORD, O my soul! You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty.” Psalm 104:1

Summer is ending! Carefree days wave good-bye as the next season brings new school days and perhaps new friends, resumes the routines of life and work and possibilities. The passing season leaves behind the hottest weather as cooler temperatures begin. While this season of growing will come to a close with the last harvesting of berries and tomatoes, baskets of apples will soon be picked, and their hot ciders will chase away autumn’s chill. Fire pits will light backyards and toasted marshmallows will delight after the children find themselves tired from running through pumpkin patches. A new season begins as the previous season fades.

The last walks on sandy beaches with warm, gentle breezes give way to the emerging beauty of nature’s newest fashion show, leaves of crimson and ocher and gamboge. With these few fleeting days, let recollections of laughter and leisure and love crowd your heart, cherish the smiles, chase the passing moments once more. Like childhood, summer will end, too soon for some. One fall night, we will sit beside a toasty fire and retell our great summer adventures. Under the beauty of a majestic, extraordinary canopy of stars and planets and galaxies, we will look up and know these ordinary days to be priceless! - dho

Sheltering Tree - Ordinary Days of summer

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Proverbs 27:17 NLT

The sharing of the Holy Spirit lays at the root of Christian friendship. Mutuality involving encouragement, good counsel and accountability remain essential components, but a relationship that has Christ as its core becomes a priceless interrelationship. Ecclesiastes 4:12  describes the strength of more than one: A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better than one, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. A common proverbial expression in ancient literature, this "threefold cord" indicates value in companionship and preparedness. Experiencing unity and grace through Christian relationships helps to deepen our understanding of God's love.

Friendship is a sheltering tree. Coleridge

While every relationship differs, certain characteristics define Christian friendship. God must be first. This friendship must share a common love for God which brings spiritual joy, even in times of distress and chaos. Communication involves giving and taking both encouragement and counsel. Within the relationship, security comes from loyalty, from honoring confidences without fear of betrayal. Christian friendship can be an enduring kinship ~ but only if Christ makes three! 

Consider this Yiddish Proverb: There are 3 types of friends; those like food without which you can't live, those like medicine which you need occasionally, and those like illness which you never want. Then ask yourself: What kind of friend am I? ~ dho

Everything You Need - Ordinary Days of Summer

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart . . .

Thou my best thought by day or by night

Waking or sleeping Thy presence my light

Be thou my wisdom and Thou my true word

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord . . .

Heart of my own heart whatever befall

Still be my vision O Ruler of all

"Be Thou My Vision" is a hymn but has its roots in Ireland. Written in the 8th century as an Irish poem, it was translated in the early 1900's and later put to music. In Hosea, God is reminding Israel who He is:
It is I who answer and look after you.  I am like a luxuriant cypress; from Me comes your fruit.  Hosea 14:8 NASB

God is where we are to look for our best thoughts, our wisdom; His presence is with us.  What comfort to know that whatever happens we can find God's Vision.  Heart of my own heart whatever befall, still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

The Message translates the Hosea verse: Everything you need is to be found in Me.

Our sacrifice of praise ~
My "best thoughts" will reflect God's wisdom if He is the "Lord of my heart". Let God be our Vision in this world of darkness. ~dho

Super-moon Day! - Ordinary Days of Summer

Reading an article this week I encountered a word I had to look up in the dictionary - quotidian! This means “daily, something recurring daily, usual, ordinary, commonplace. Turns out it means “ordinary”! It is pronounced kwoh-tid-eye-uhn. This strange word likely makes more sense in Latin and seems a little too fancy for “ordinary”.

Often we see the simple, ordinary, commonplace as unique and grand and majestic, like the skies at sunrise and sunset, the blooms of a flower, the waterfall deep into the woodlands. Tonight there will be a full moon, a super-moon, the last one of 2022. The low tides will be at their lowest, and the high tides will be at their highest because of the gravitational pull of the moon which will be at its closest point to earth. Tonight, the moon will be its biggest and brightest self. But the moon itself has no light at all, instead all the light of the moon is reflected light from the sun.

We think little about the moon or sun and their interdependence on each other. They are just in the sky above us, recurring daily. The sun is a bright star, more massive and stronger in its gravity than the moon; yet the moon is closer to earth, but is mostly a large mass of rock and dirt. Ordinary but majestic beyond my comprehension. Our Creator placed the sun perfectly, knowing if the sun was even slightly closer, the earth would melt. The infinite possibilities of creation always leave me in awe.

May you have a quotidian day! Hope your day is filled with unexplainable, commonplace moments. Tonight when you look up at the super-moon, it will be beautiful and grand. It will be, however, the same moon that is always in the sky, just rotated perfectly to catch all the sun’s light, just in the perfect orbit to seem bigger than usual. I hope in some moment today, you recognize God, the Creator of all, the Source of all goodness. May God be the light of your life! Shine for Him, especially in the ordinary moments. - dho

Embracing What God Does - Ordinary Days of Summer

. . . by the mercies of God: Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)

The Scripture above is more familiar in the translations that use phrases like living sacrifices and be transformed by the renewing of your mind, but The Message gives us examples of how we are to be these phrases. Becoming too much like the world is a constant danger for us. The power of the world entertains our imaginations, teases our thoughts, heightens our emotions. Darkness will always lure us down to its level of immaturity. So, how are we to be transformed? We must keep our focus on God, whose compassions... are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:19-23 NIV)

Faithful Father, transform me! Make me more like You; change me from the inside out.
Renew me! Find me where I am; pour out Your mercies everyday.
Teach me! Give me life lessons that grow faith; develop perseverance.
Refine me! Take my joys and my burdens; melt me into Your will.
Create me new everyday with Your unlimited possibilities!
You are Living Hope! Amen. dho

Who Knows - Ordinary Days of Summer

Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale? Isaiah 40:12 NLT

Vacations in the summer often take us to places we do not live, like the beach or the mountains. As we gaze at these majestic creations, they can evoke various emotions. Artists paint versions of these landscapes with man made hues of blues and grays and greens. Photographs never really capture their imposing beauty. Yet, without speaking a word, these magnificent creations challenge us to wonder and to hope, bring us peace and contentment, stir our souls with possibility. Despite our inability to grasp the vastness of these creations, the Creator offers us glimpses of himself, reveals his power and strength. God is never, however, limited by our abilities.

Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing. Isaiah 40:26 NLT

One of my favorite memories is of looking up at the stars, studying the constellations with my daddy. In WWII he was a navigator and bombardier in the Air Force. Radar was not what it is today, and at night the stars provided direction. So he was well-studied in the night sky. On some summer nights we would lay on the hood of the car, leaning back on the windshield with a full sky of stars overhead. He would point out the Big Dipper, the North Star, and more. In the still of the night, I remember lying there in wordless wonder at the countless stars, the immense night sky, the vast unknown of the heavens. Scripture tells us God calls each star by name, even the billions of ones we cannot see.

Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding. Isaiah 40:28 NLT

What comfort to know that the Creator of all is everlasting, never grows weary like we do. In Him, we are renewed and refreshed. Even if a trip to the ocean or the mountains is not part of your summer, you can still look up! Watch the stars (and a few planets) appear, with the stars finally shining in the dark, night sky. The vastness of the heavens only begins to define God’s love for us! - dho 

Extravagant Gifts - Ordinary Days of Summer

Loving God,   

The night sky is filled with luminaries that 

light the darkness. Angels whisper evening 

songs to my weary soul. I do not notice.

As sleep gently calls, I forget that I have 

breathed the morning air, listened to laughter, 

seen the evening sky appear. Another day!  

Something disturbs the rhythm of my sleep, 

summons my soul. In these sleepless moments, 

the Holy Spirit is waiting and listens for my

response. I whisper, Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! 

Holy Father, when I fail to see the beauty of 

Your day, remind me with a glorious sunset 

to take my breath away, a soul-laugh that only 

a listening heart can find, and a night sky 

crowded with stars like diamonds that demand 

a lingering look. 

My heart bursts with unmeasured thankfulness!  

These are Your ordinary gifts! I simply miss them in my

hectic hours, my scheduled chaos, my saturated time.

Give my heart the desire to breathe, to

listen, and to see beauty with extraordinary 

intention. Grant my soul the desire to breathe, 

to listen, and to see Your generous gifts of 

Love, Grace, and Joy! Let me seek Your 

extravagant gifts in every day! 

Let me shout, Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Refresh my spirit! Refine my faith!  

Restore my love! Renew my strength!  

Rebuild my trust! Reclaim my soul!  

To God be the glory! Amen.  ~dho   

Joy in the Moments - Ordinary Days of Summer

Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O LORD, God of hosts. 

Jeremiah 15:16 ESV

In Eugene Peterson’s A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, he writes that joy is a mark of the “authentic Christian… [one who is] on the way of salvation. Joy is characteristic of Christian pilgrimage.” Peterson continues, “Joy is not a requirement of Christian discipleship; it is a consequence… it is what comes to us when we are walking in the way of faith and obedience.” Jeremiah’s words reflect the decision to live in God’s abundance. Despite circumstances, God is constant and certain. His word speaks to us today, just as it did to Jeremiah.

"The inevitable result of genuine salvation is joy! The joy found in Christ is like an inexhaustible well, satisfying the most desperate thirst." [Blackaby Study Bible Notes] Summer personifies the hot, thirsty spiritual places in our lives. We crave a long, cool drink of water. In the ordinary spaces of summer’s heat, we find resting spots under a shady tree or an umbrella at the beach, walking through a garden of new vegetables or blooming flowers, watching a baseball game or the backyard birds. Sometimes we just need to hit pause. Summer begs us to take a break, to relax and refresh. Enjoy the laughter of friends together, take the dance-in-the sprinkler chances, buy the sidewalk-lemonade, value the unpredicted, simple moments. Let the promises of God mark you with joy! Then, share the joy!

Lord, Your words have been recorded for me, gathered to encourage me, endured to restore me. Increase my faith so I can see Your abundant blessings in all times. Let Your Joy be my joy to share! - dho

Where Power Meets Place - Ordinary Days of Summer

Who enclosed the sea with its doors when bursting forth, it went out from the womb; when I made a cloud its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, I placed boundaries on it and set a bolt and door, and I said, "Thus far you shall come, but no farther; and here shall your proud waves stop" Job 38:8-11

Summer breezes call to us from the ocean, as waves whisper gently to our souls. While I confess to love sitting at the ocean's shore, I find even more awe at thinking about the Creator who spoke this into being. The latter chapters of Job always prick my imagination and carry it to the heights of the unpredictable. Chapters 38-41 give us more than a glimpse as God asks Job just where were you "when I laid the foundation of the earth".

Our ordinary routines can numb us, and the hectic 21st century living which applauds “being too busy” dulls the mind. Friendships falter, gathering is hurried, communications shrink to short texts. Sitting at the edge of the sea, I remember God created boundaries for a purpose. This shore line marks where power meets place, where responsibility meets rest. Moments when we can merge our desires with God’s design brings us to a place of restoration. Our souls find repose in our Creator. 

Hopefully you will have time to read these four chapters in Job and contemplate the immensity of creation! We often take for granted these miracles of creation. God designed us to be purposeful people who can also be present in these magnified moments. These seemingly ordinary moments are most extraordinary! - dho 

More Than Enough - Ordinary Days of Summer

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed. Psalm 139:13-16 NLT

Today, my only grandchild, a sweet curly-headed, blue-eyed girl, turns 3! I remember all the anticipation surrounding welcoming her, all the love before she was even born. Remembering this time about her marvelous development and birth and savoring the joy she brings everyone is easy, fresh in my mind and heart. I can only imagine what grand adventures await her, what impact she will have on others. For now, she brings my soul a quiet delight.

This Scripture written centuries ago reminds us all of God’s divine hand in each of our lives. My life, through all the decades, reveals times of great joy and utter despair, of seeking and finding, times when I was absolutely certain and when I simply did not know what to do. These ancient and holy words give me strength and courage because God has always had a plan for my life, continues to know my purpose. This promise of knowing and preparing and growing me goes beyond enduring the hard places, beyond celebrating the good times. God embraces me in all times, through all things.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.

They cannot be numbered!

I can’t even count them;

they outnumber the grains of sand!

And when I wake up,

you are still with me! Psalm 139:17-18 NLT

You, Lord, have thoughts that I cannot fully understand. Yet - in any ordinary moment of any ordinary day, whether a work day or rest day or birthday, Your goodness never fails me, always fills me. Joy falls from the wings of Your angels! Certainly this must be more than enough. - dho 

Simple Goodness - Ordinary Days of Summer

"For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." 

Romans 14:17 NLT

If there is any goodness in us, it must come from God; goodness is one of the fruits of the Spirit. God is where goodness begins!

Our sacrifice of praise ~ 
Let God's goodness be manifested through us as we strive to live a life of goodness to honor God. -dho

Ordinary Time - Ordinary Days of Summer

                                                                                        

Stop and consider the wonderful miracles of God!

Do you know how God controls the storm

and causes the lightning to flash from his clouds?

Do you understand how he moves the clouds

with wonderful perfection and skill?

When you are sweltering in your clothes

and the south wind dies down and everything is still,

he makes the skies reflect the heat like a bronze mirror.

Can you do that? Job 37:14-18

Sudden thunderstorms and high temperatures dramatically mark summer in the south. We watch the storms roll in and feel and see the rain cool the earth.. and us too! While most days pass with work as usual, summer breaks up our routines. School is out, and no homework is welcomed. In someways, Summer is a transition period, a time to slow down, grow a garden, pick berries from their vines, taste the fresh peaches sold from the back of a pickup truck, cut watermelons, make homemade ice cream, play outside until the sun sets, walk on the beach, swim in the pool… just find simple delights in these ordinary days. Of course, it could just be too hot to do much else!

"Ordinary Time" is all the time during the liturgical year, excluding the season of Advent (Christmas through Epiphany) and Lent (Ash Wednesday through Pentecost). I always forget about this phrase but like the image evoked, because we all live most of our lives in ordinary time. 

God is with us! In the ordinary time and ordinary days we just might miss Him if we get distracted. Perhaps we sometimes forget WHO He is! As you find the beautiful and lovey joys in the ordinary everyday, remember God is both Creator and creative as He reveals himself to us. Don’t miss Him in these ordinary days of summer. Be thank-full! - dho

 

Waiting with His Abundance - Ordinary Days of Summer

O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance. Psalm 16:5-6 NKJV

Like nature, life has seasons, and sometimes we find ourselves in difficult times, facing unknowns, waiting with uncertainties, barely holding on. Scripture reminds us that in this life we will have troubles, but God remains our Constant, our Known, our Certainty. Most of us live ordinary days in ordinary ways, but the simplicity of living can get complicated.

Time after time, God has provided, and I know He continues to be with me. I don't have to look very far to know how richly blessed my life has been. Still, I would have choosen less tears or easier circumstances. My human heart wishes for simple and good, idealistic and benign paths, but a spiritual journey is challenging. The human mind questions God's answers and proposes contradictions. We are so finite that mystery escapes us, sometimes bewilders us. However, in between the what if's and inside the why not's, His Grace flows so abundantly that I find my soul secure and in pleasant places - one with the Father. So, I will wait for His plan to be revealed, Word by Word, prayer by prayer, moment by moment, opportunity by opportunity, person by person, possibility by possibility.

Father, my heart gives You the Glory for my good deeds. My offerings are simple compared to Yours - a prayer, a Scripture, a hope, a gesture - just tokens of kindness and love. You touch my soul with words written centuries ago. Oh, Lord, Your Grace pours over me like a gentle rain, refreshing and renewing. In the stillness of this moment, I accept the portion and cup You have assigned me. In my obedience, use me to reach beyond, around and through circumstances to be a witness to Your Grace. Amen. ~dho