Life Preserver

I live in a sea of wheat fields, not a sea of water. Until we visited Randy's brother in 2011, I'd never seen a Life Jacket Loaner Station. But right near the boat unloading dock at Lake Cascade in Idaho, the brightly-colored life jackets caught my eye.

As I thought about this month's theme for Lovely Branches Ministries, Safety First, my mind kept drifting back to those life jackets. Someone had left them there for the next person to use. Maybe they had sold their boat. Maybe their kids had outgrown them. Who knows? Maybe their garage was full, and the handy-dandy life jacket loaner station was as good a place as any to store their own life jackets.

An Idaho fishing lake

Some days seem to be smooth sailing. All is going well. Nothing is rocking the boat. Life seems good. Who needs a life jacket?

But there are those others days - the ones that might require a high gale warning. We feel as though we're about to be swallowed up by life's storm - whether that involves health, a relationship, a persistent habit we can't seem to shake, a growing to-do list or anything else that knocks us off our feet and sends the waves crashing into us.

Tybee Island, Georgia, The Atlantic Ocean

At those moments, my stomach has more bubbles than the Atlantic Ocean can stir up, with wave after wave about to overtake me.

Tybee Island, Georgia

I've heard the song, The Voice of Truth, by Casting Crowns many times. But as I heard it again, those life jackets flashed into my brain. You can listen to the whole song by clicking below, but here are just some of the words:



Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
To the realm of the unknown
Where Jesus is
And He's holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again:
 'Boy, you'll never win!'
"You'll never win"

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
And the voice of truth says "Do not be afraid!"
And the voice of truth says "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.

Last month, we finished the Bible study, Stuck, by Jennie Allen. Throughout the study, she was encouraging us to step out of the comfortable boat and take a risk, just like it says in the song. While we were going through the study, I also read the companion book, Anything: The Prayer That Unlocked My God and My Soul.

"To risk is to willingly place your life in the hand of an unseen God and an unknown future, then to watch Him come through. He starts to get real when you live that that."

From Anything by Jennie Allen

Do I really want to step out of a nice safe boat onto crashing waves? It seems counter-intuitive, doesn't it? But you know what? Just like those life jackets hanging there for the taking, God is there to keep my head above water. It doesn't mean that there won't be storms. There will be. However, just like Jesus calmed the storm for the disciples, He's there to keep me afloat, too.

Luke 8:22-30 - New International Version (NIV) 

Jesus Calms the Storm

²² One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. ²³ As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
²⁴ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. ²⁵ “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

And because He's my life preserver, I'm called to be that for other people, too. Like those people who left the life jackets there for the next guy to use, I'm called to send that note of encouragement, to make that phone call, to smile at that Mom in the grocery store with a crying toddler, to cheerfully help my husband at the last moment - even if it's not on my to-do list. We can be the instrument that helps keep the other guy afloat, too, just by sharing the life-giving love that Jesus has for each and every one.

Isn't that a blessing to remember and to act upon during this month of Thanksgiving!Thanks be to God!

***

Is there anything more comforting than a bowl of soup on a chilly fall day? Try this Tomato Lentil Soup. It's become a favorite at our house, and it's full of nutritious ingredients like lentils, kale and carrots. Bonus! It's healthy and tastes great!

Or, if you have leftover turkey from your Thanksgiving table later this month, use it in this Southwestern Chicken (or Turkey) Corn Chowder.

Eyes Wide Open

I was rummaging through books at our church's Oktoberfest used book sale last year and found this Little Golden Book, Prayers for Children.

Little Golden Books were a part of my childhood, so when I was a young parent, I loved reading the familiar stories to my own children. There was The Shy Little Kitten, The Poky Little Puppy and The Little Red Hen, just to name a few. 

I don't remember Prayers for Children in my childhood library, but last year, with my new granddaughter on the way, I paid my 50 cents and took it home. The copyright is 1952, and the moms illustrated in the book look more like June Cleaver with their circle skirts and high heels. It may seem out of sync in today's world of jeans- or sweatpant-wearing moms.

The little ones pictured on the front of the book also looked like they were  from my era growing up in the 1960s with little hats for Easter and dotted Swiss dresses in different hues for my sisters and me. Jill had little bonnets and lacy dresses, too, and Brent had suit or two for Easter finery when he was a little boy.

Easter 1965, me at age 7; Easter 1967, me at age 9; Jill's first Easter, 1986; Jill & Brent also in Easter clothes, probably 1990? Wouldn't it have been great if I'd done a better job organizing and dating the thousands of photos I took?!

It's a much more informal approach to church clothes in 2012. Jeans are fine. So is a dress. People have come to discover it's not about what we're wearing.

As I paged through the Little Golden Book, I realized that while the clothes may seem old-fashioned, the prayers are just as relevant today as they were in the 1950s.

One of my favorites in the book was Father, We Thank Thee by Ralph Waldo Emerson. As I read the words, I thought about how we should open our eyes to the blessings all around us, each and every day.  I began reading Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts, for the second time. And, as she reminds me:

"I pay tribute to God by paying attention. ... Praying with eyes wide open is the only way to pray without ceasing."

Ann Voskamp in "One Thousand Gifts"                                                          

Celebrating today the ability to pray with eyes wide open!
               

Father, We Thank Thee

Words by Emerson, Photos by me

For flowers that bloom about our feet,

Father, we thank Thee.

For tender grass so fresh and sweet,

Father, we thank Thee.

 For the song of bird and hum of bee,

For all things fair we hear or see,

Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

For blue of stream and blue of sky,

Father, we thank Thee.

For pleasant shade of branches high,

Father, we thank Thee.

For fragrant air and cooling breeze,

For beauty of the blooming trees,

Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

For this new morning with its light, 

Father, we thank Thee,

For rest and shelter of the night,

Father we thank Thee.

For health and food, for love and friends

For everything Thy goodness sends

Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

***

 Check out my Lovely Branches post about Saying Grace for another look at prayer life. 

***

If you are in the Stafford, Kansas, area on October 6, you are cordially invited to the Stafford United Methodist Women book sale. Proceeds from the book sale go to mission projects, both locally and in the world. It will be in the church basement from 9 AM to 4 PM. Maybe you'll find a treasure like Prayers for Children, too!

***

See that apple hanging in the photo above? It made me think of this yummy apple bar that is perfect for fall, Apple Toffee Blondies. You should try them, too! Happy Fall everyone!

Stone by Stone

I regularly travel down the Zenith Road. I'm usually flying down it in my car in my quest to make it from my house to some event in Stafford on time. Let's face it: When I'm hurrying to get from Point A to Point B, I don't always pay attention. The scenery flies by my window, but it doesn't make much of an impression.

But, once in awhile, my pace is a little more sedate. Maybe I'm driving a grain truck to the Kanza Co-op's Zenith branch. It could be another trip to get fertilizer and haul it back to the field for Randy. On those days when I'm forced to slow down, I see more. If the windows are down in the truck or pickup, I hear the birds. I feel the breeze blowing my hair. I smell freshly cut hay. I truly see - with all my senses.

On one of those days, a big stone barn caught my attention. Now, I go by that barn several times a week. Much of the time, it doesn't even register. But as I thought about Lovely Branches Ministries' September theme, Foundations, the stone barn again came to mind.

I don't know exactly when the barn was built. But the house at the same farmstead was constructed in 1908 - more than 100 years ago. And while the barn isn't in pristine condition, it isn't falling to pieces like many of the wooden barns that dot the Kansas countryside.

A wooden barn that's falling down - But notice the cross highlighted in the light. Pretty cool, too!

We can only imagine the work that went into building that stone barn. I'm sure it was backbreaking to lift each stone into place and meticulously cement them together. A firm foundation was essential - from the ground up and as each and every layer of stone was added.

What a metaphor for our faith! Where is our foundation? Is it built on solid ground? Is it carefully stacked so that it can withstand the storms of life that inevitably come our way?

I Peter 2: 4-5 says:  

The Living Stone and a Chosen People
⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone —rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (NIV)

I want my life to be built on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ. Just like those long-ago workers worked tirelessly to place stone after stone, I need to build my house on the Solid Rock, not on shifting sand, like it says in that long ago Sunday School song, "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man" based on Luke 6: 48-49.

And I want Christ's light - the Light of the World - to shine through me - just as surely as a Kansas sunset is reflected in the windows of a sturdy old barn.

***

Stack your plate with veggies, rice, garbanzo beans and lean beef in this tasty Farmer's Market Salad. 

Stack up some of these Butterfinger Blondies and your family's faces will light up. Guaranteed.

Like the Redwoods

"Spiritually resilient people relate."

This was a bold-faced headline in a Lovely Branches Bible study of Daniel this past spring. The study went on to say:

"Spiritually resilient people are committed to living in community. They recognize that having others around them for support encouragement and accountability can mean the difference between life and death. For Daniel, he found this network in a small group he formed with three friends: Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. In a strange land, they had a safe haven with one another."

Taken from Pursuing Integrity: A Study of Daniel

by John Ortberg with Kevin & Sherry Harney

At the time, a friend made a comment about how redwoods grow. Most trees have a root system that grows deep and long into the earth to anchor the tree and feed it. That's not how redwoods grow. Instead, they integrate their roots with other redwoods close to the top of the earth. This integration, or intertwining, of roots helps all the redwood trees stay together and live a long and healthy life.

Her statement about the redwoods reminded me of a trip to the Muir Woods in California for our 26th wedding anniversary. As we explored the San Francisco Bay area, I had marveled at the Golden Gate Bridge. I loved the cable car rides, the twists and turns of Lombard Street and the walks along the piers.

But the Muir Woods were absolutely breathtaking. How could I not feel the hand of God in that beautiful, quiet place?

At the time of our visit, I didn't know about the redwoods' unique relationship to one another. But as I looked again at the photos I took there, I thought about how our Christian life is enriched by those around us. We find that same intertwining, integrated strength through a Christian community - whether we find it in a Bible study or a church or one-on-one with a trusted friend.

Like the redwoods, when the winds blow and the storm rage, we can "hang on" to one another if we are involved in community. In order to survive the storms of life, we need a root system anchored by our faith in God and supported by a community of other believers.

 Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12, NIV

⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: ¹⁰ If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. ¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? ¹² Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

 It's a pretty powerful reminder about the importance of community, isn't it?

Redwoods also use light in a unique way. Redwoods look up for light and strength. And that's where I should find my strength, too - looking up to the Light of the World. It's something that's easier to do with a little help from my friends.

Maybe we all need to learn a lesson from the redwood trees. I know I do.

***

 

These flavors of summer intermingle together in very pleasing ways, too. During the dog days of August, main dish salads with grilled meats can keep your kitchen cool and your tastebuds happy. Try this Tenderloin, Cranberry and Pear Salad with grilled steak.

Or use grilled chicken with this Caribbean Salad with Honey Orange Vinaigrette.

Refined

Three months ago, the landscape was barren. Fire had swallowed up dry prairie grasses like a voracious high school football team at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

But some 90 days later, the green grasses are dotted with prairie flowers in yellows and blues amid shoots of green.

What looked dead has new life. 

Not all the signs of the fire are gone. There are still blackened remnants, if you look closely at the base of the new green growth.

On March 27, we intended to burn CRP grass. The burn started out fine, but the fire jumped a fire break, and we ended up unintentionally burning an additional 80 acres of land belonging to other property owners.

A few days after our unintended excitement, Randy planted a mixture of Forbes grasses in the sooty field as the CRP contract requires. Only a few short weeks later, green growth was already emerging.
Now that is the very picture of perseverance, isn't it? Here is how the landscape looked on April 10, only a couple weeks after the fire.

And below is the transformation by June 16.

Maybe we humans aren't so different. We all have "fires" in our lives. We have times where the landscape feels as desolate as that blackened earth. We are lonely. We face health problems. We're concerned about our kids or our jobs or our community. The fires are different for all of us. But we all have them. We can get hot under the collar. We can feel like we're walking through flames.We can feel that all-consuming heat and wind surround us in a way where it's even hard to breathe.

But God can use those times to draw us ever closer to Him.

"I will bring them into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The Lord is our God.' "

Zechariah 13: 9

The verse in Zechariah says we are to call upon God's name in those times. And when we do, we'll be refined.

Fires get mighty hot. I guarantee you I didn't much like the helpless feeling I had on that March evening, as we felt the heat and heard the whoosh of the flames as fire gobbled up everything in its path.

And I don't much like the "fires" that come into my personal life either. But God promises to be there - guiding me and directing me and making sure there is new green growth on the other side.

I think, too, of the potter and the clay. Pottery can't be used until it's fired.

Pottery is made by forming a clay body into objects of a required shape and heating them to high temperatures in a kiln to induce reactions that lead to permanent changes, including increasing their strength and hardening and setting their shape.

From Wikipedia

Trials by fire can have that same effect on us as followers of Jesus. Trials can make us stronger and set our shape as His followers. Or the fire of life's trials can cause us to crack and make us useless for His plan.

The words of James make more sense in the context of the Potter's process.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

James 1:2-3, NIV

There is no joy in the trial. When we are in a trial, God wants us to emerge strengthened and beautiful and useful. The lump of clay that is me and the lump of clay that is you has infinite potential because we have an infinite God that is patient and good. I pray that through the fires of life, we will allow Him to shape us in His image.

***

After fire crews responded to our out-of-control fire, I took treats to the four different volunteer units who helped us, including this new recipe, Peanut Butter Cup Fluffernut Blondies.

Or, if you're looking for a cookie with a patriotic flair for 4th of July, try this chocolate brownie which I dressed up with as much bling as a fireworks-filled sky by topping with chocolate icing and star-shaped sprinkles.

Recalculating

For the past several years, we've taken a new friend along on our road trips. "She" first made an appearance as we moved our daughter to Nashville, TN, for a dietetics internship at Vanderbilt. She ably led us in unfamiliar territory - up, over and around complicated cloverleaf highway patterns and down unfamiliar city streets. It was a handy device for Kansans much more accustomed to dirt roads and small towns.

Jill will admit she's directionally challenged. We had always intended to leave the Garmin with her when we left for home. But before we departed Nashville, we stopped at an electronics store and bought our very own dashboard companion for the trip back home. 

She's been a good traveler as we've explored other destinations since then, including moving our son to Columbia, S.C., for his master's degree program. She's gone with us to Oklahoma City. She's taken us to Idaho and Salt Lake City and Yellowstone, among other destinations.

She even took us to the hospital where we first met our new granddaughter last December. We didn't want any detours on that important trip!

Randy loves maps. He could ponder a map with the same enthusiasm as I do cookbooks. And he stills likes to look at maps, but this handy, dandy traveling companion has definitely helped our marital accord during big-city expeditions.

You punch in a destination, and she sagely proclaims, "Drive to highlighted route."

If we mistakenly miss an exit that she's advised we take, she calmly says, "Recalculating." It may not be the way she originally intended for us to go, but she's going to give us the best alternate route.

John 14: 1-6:
1″Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  (Emphasis added by me.)

I don't always go in the right direction.  I don't always make the right choices. But God is always there to calmly say, "Recalculating." He gets me back on path, no matter how many mistakes I make and how far off the road I drift. 

Every time we turn on the Garmin these days, it reminds us that our maps are out of date. We should go online and update the maps so it can provide the most accurate routes toward our destination.

Without accurate information, we could end up at the wrong place.

And isn't that true of life, too? If we don't open the "road map" for our Christian lives - the Bible - we may find ourselves wandering down roads God never intended. And I need to listen for that still, small voice that tells me I need to be "recalculating."

I need to trust God's Word and the Holy Spirit to get me to the destiny that God has designed for me.

Most of the time, when I'm following the directions of Garmin, I have no idea where I'm at, but I have to trust that it knows. When I'm following God, there may be times when nothing looks familiar. Sometimes He leads me into green pastures and beside still waters.  Sometimes He leads me through the valley of the shadow of death.  But regardless of where He leads me, I have to trust Him to get me to my ultimate destination - a place in my Father's house.

***

Lovely Branches' theme for the month is "travel." I know many non-farm people equate June with travel or vacations. But most of the traveling I'll be doing early this month will be related to wheat harvest. It may be driving the wheat truck to the co-op. It may be making runs to the parts counter to get repairs for machinery. It will definitely include trips to the field to deliver harvest meals where the car trunk becomes a dining room table.

Whether you're in the midst of harvest or heading to a summer ballgame, it's always handy to have tried and true meals for your family.

Try Ham and Cheese to Go, a twist on an old classic.

Or make a semi-homemade version of pizza pockets. It's another quick and easy meal for your arsenal.

Enjoy your June - whether hard at work or on vacation!

Beauty from Ashes

Resurrection Window, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Clay Center, KS, Photo by Lisa Bauer

The stained glass window doesn't look like it was taken from the pages of a children's Bible. There's not an image of Jesus welcoming the little children. The Good Shepherd is not cradling sheep in his arms while standing in a lush green pasture. Jesus is not standing on the other side of a door, ready for our knock.

Instead, it's like random shards of glass were tossed onto a stained glass canvas and soldered together. And, to a degree, they were.

When a tornado damaged the stained glass windows at Clay Center's St. Paul's Episcopal Church, the members collected the fragments of glass and had this window made. It now stands as a testament to God's faithfulness and the congregation's ability to piece together beauty from tragedy.

Out of despair, comes hope.
Out of hope, comes creativity.
Out of creativity, comes art.
Out of ashes, comes beauty. (Isaiah 61: 2-4)

I suppose this message resonates with me as neighbors clean up from the April 14 tornadoes that ravaged the Plains. It's hard to see the beauty in houses that are demolished or farm equipment that was tossed like Matchbox vehicles. And the beauty isn't there: Instead, it's in the neighbors helping neighbors and the unwavering faith seen in people who have lost their homes and tools of their livelihoods.

Our theme this month at Lovely Branches is "Creativity." My friend, Shari, recently posted this on her Facebook wall. (I've added the photos as illustration):

Artists take wood, or clay, or rock and sculpt beauty.

A tableau created by Arlene Lickiss for our Easter morning worship service.

They take a piece of coal and use it to draw breathtaking scenes.

Drawing by Pablo Renauld, Found on Google Images

 They take a spool of thread and weave meticulous designs.

Christmas tapestry made by my late mother-in-law, Marie

Each one sees beyond the ordinary material in their hands and envisions what it can become.

Isn’t that just what our Heavenly Creator does with each of us? He takes us in His hands and envisions the beauty inside. He considers us “wonderfully made." (Psalm 139:14)

Why is it that we can not see in ourselves what we see in others so easily? Too often we see what is crumpled and torn. We see only the parts of us others may have crushed and tossed aside. We see the imperfections, the scars, the mistakes.

Photo illustration by Adrienne Minnis, Lovely Branches' photographer and LBM's Moments in Focus blog writer.

But God sees the potential. He sees what can be. He can take the pieces of our lives and turn them into a spectacular work of art. (Isaiah 64:8) Not one of us is worthless. We are wonderfully and fearfully made because all of His works are wonderful.

Not long after I read Shari's post, one of my favorite bloggers of faith, Emily at Chatting at the Sky, wrote a post called, "We don't want your loveless art." (Emily is the author of Grace for the Good Girl: Letting Go of the Try-Hard Life that I wrote about last month.)

She talks about "making art" in our lives. But she's not talking just about writing or drawing or painting or sewing or crafting or baking. She's talking about recognizing and using the talents that God grants each and every one of us. And she supplied this graphic to remind us of the ways we frail humans end up squandering those precious gifts:

So let's not make mediocre "art." Let God help us pick up the pieces of our broken lives and, instead, make something of beauty.

Because, we too, can be like a stained glass window. True beauty can be seen only when there is Light within. 

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Matthew 5:16

***

Do these colorful M & Ms remind you a little bit of brilliant pieces of stained glass? Use your imagination and creativity, and I think you'll see it, too. These Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars would be a delicious dessert for Mother's Day or for graduation parties. Enjoy!