Admiring the Admiral

Hi there dear followers.

(I'm peeking timidly around the corner to see if you're still there.)

I haven't forgotten about you. I have no excuses for missing a June post.
Life has just been happening around here. A lot lately.

Can you relate? Silly question. Of course you can.
In all honesty you probably haven't even had a chance to read a blog with your busy summer schedules.
So in a way I've done you a favor.
How very thoughtful of me.
LOL!

What ever happened to those lazy, hazy days of summer that we used to sing about and enjoy?

Anyhow, so much has taken place that it will take me several blog posts to catch you up with what the Lord has been doing in my life and the in lives of my family.
So, my new goal is to post more often and shorter.

This will be a BIG challenge.

I'm sort of long-winded and I love words and descriptions.
That works out well with being a writer and all.

Anyhow, getting to the point . . .

A few evenings ago my husband called me to look at a butterfly that landed on our picnic table. Knowing my love for nature he said, "Look! What kind is it? I've never seen one like it before."
I hadn't either. I quickly grabbed my trusty National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies.

(Notice how I couldn't just say my butterfly book. I wanted to share the details with you. Now, seriously can't you picture it clearer knowing that it was a real serious butterfly book?)

Looking it up I found that it was a Red Admiral butterfly. While we admired the Admiral I read interesting facts about this particular species aloud to my husband. It was amazing to realize that people had studied them in such detail. Such as, the fact that they often appear right before a thunderstorm and there happened to be a storm brewing on the horizon.

As I drank in the moment of precious time shared with my husband and we marveled at its beauty, I began to reflect on the even more amazing God who created it.
He is so diverse that right there in my hand was a book with incredible details about 600 species of butterflies and notes on 70 others!

God did not just make a couple for His own amusement. He made thousands of varieties and sent them throughout the world. He simply opened His hand and out fluttered thousands of breathtakingly gorgeous butterflies. Out into the crisp, azure blue skies to breathe in the pristine air and light in the lush green treetops.

All originated by Him.

All made by His own design . . . by His own hand.

All part of His wondrous creation.

And then I thought, Why? Why would God go to all that trouble? To bring us joy and delight?
Well, yes. I do believe He likes to bring us joy and delight. But, I also believe there is a bigger purpose, a more important reason.

That's when His word came to me, sweetly as it always does.

The Heavens declare the glory of God: the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Day to day pours out speech and night unto night reveals knowledge.  Psalm 19:1-2

That's it!
He is sharing knowledge of Himself with us. It's all around us every day.
He is speaking in the details of life.
In His glorious creation.
The butterflies without uttering a word.
They all speak volumes about from whom they came.
Their creator.
Our creator.

His creation echoes back to Him and shouts at us on the way.

 Glory!  

Glory!

Hallelujah!

They all declare the glory of God simply, perfectly . . .  through their very existance.
They speak without lips, of His majesty for all to hear.
For all, who will take a moment to pause, listen and reflect.

Without uttering a single word His creation never ceases to declare His glory.

How much more should I , me of so many words praise His Holy name!

Hands outstretched high overhead.

Praise the Holy name of Jesus! 

Praise Your Name!

(C) 2012 Bonnie Mae Evans

A Different Kind of Easter

Hello Sweet Friends.

Happy belated Easter!

He is risen!

He is risen indeed!

Praise His holy name.
For without His resurrection, His death would have been for naught.
Instead, because He arose we all have a hope that cannot be quenched.

What a wonderful spring we have been experiencing where I live.
The daffodils and tulips have come and gone. The azaleas are now beginning to open. By the week-end they should be in full bloom around my house. Then, I will eagerly await the arrival of irises. As you know from my blog post on July 20, 2011 irises serve to remind me each year of a very special promise God gave me many years ago. A promise that came partly to fruition on Easter Sunday in 1989 and then completely in 1994 - five years later.

If you haven't read it I invite you to check it out. I pray that it blesses your heart. I hope you are enjoying the weather and all of God's wonderful creation wherever you hail from. All we need here is a bit of rain.

Although I have been enjoying the clear blue skies and have already taken time out to relax in my hammock one afternoon after some yard work.

The hammock is where I contemplate the wonders of the universe and brainstorm for my writing projects. A verse that always comes to mind when I am lying there staring up into the azure expanse of sky overhead is one of the first that I memorized as an adult after becoming a Christian.

How manifold are Thy handiworks, O Lord. In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures. Psalm104:24 

I love that verse. It speaks of God's magnificence and His Lordship. How He designed not just a place to keep His creation, but a beautiful, lavish place full of splendor for us to enjoy.
A place where we could see His fingerprints and marvel at His wisdom and power. I am especially struck with this in the springtime.

Spring is one of my four favorite seasons.
Did you ever ponder what season God started with when He made the earth?
I bet it was spring.

Spring brings with it a sense of awe at a fresh new beginning; for the earth and for us as well. When we seek His forgiveness and receive our gift of eternal salvation, we are made brand new.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things are passed away; behold new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (New American Standard)

How incredibly pristine the earth must have been right after God called it into existence.  That's how new, fresh and spotless we are before Him. Once our sins are confessed, the Bible says He remembers them no more. He doesn't hold them over our head and throw them up in our face later.
 They are gone!

. . . for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. Jeremiah 31:34 (NAS)

As far as the east is from the west,
So far He has removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12 (NAS)

Spring brings Easter, which has always been a special holiday for me. During childhood I anticipated its arrival each year with visions of spring blossoms, real-live bunnies and creamy, rich chocolate dancing in my head.

Easter had all of my favorite things rolled into one bright shiny egg.

Mmmm. Chocolate.
Whoops! I just drooled a little.
Some of you may be able to relate to that response.
Thank you, Dr.Pavlov!

Excuse me, as I was saying;
after my salvation in 1978, Easter took on a more precious and lasting meaning. Each year, all over again I am in awe of what an amazing gift the Lord Jesus gave me. An eternal gift, one that would last for all eternity . . . life everlasting . . . in Heaven in His presence. Me.

He took my sins upon Himself, suffered on the cross, died, was buried, laid in the grave three days and then rose out of the grave defeating sin and death once and for all!

What an an awesome God, who loves us enough to offer up His only Son that we too might live!

This year in the dusky hours of Easter Sunday morning before I was out of bed, the phone rang.
The news was not good.

My cousin's 17 year old son had been in a car accident three hours away near my hometown. He had been heliported during the night to Shock Trauma near where I live.
He was thrown from his truck, received a head injury and was unresponsive. As a nurse all kinds of unwanted information flooded into my head and with it a very real concern for Ted's (name changed) life and full recovery.

I immediately began to pray and asked God to fill my thoughts with hope in Him and to heal Ted completely, and quickly. I prayed for comfort and peace to surround my family that were gathered in the Shock Trauma waiting area.

Instead of putting on my Easter dress and going to church, I dressed in jeans and headed over to the hospital. Driving there I prayed for God to give the staff knowledge of what to do during those critical hours.
Ultimately, I knew the Lord was the only one who could totally heal and restore Ted. The rest of his days and the quality of them was up to Him.

Arriving at Shock trauma, I found my family and gave them all big, hugs, holding their aching hearts close to mine. Few words were exchanged. It felt surreal.

Prayer was all we could offer. It was all that was needed.

My heart bowed at the feet of Jesus, not the blood-stained feet nailed to the cross but the perfect and whole feet of my risen Savior. As we sat in silence each praying heart-wrenching prayers, I began to feel that the room was full, although there were only five of us there.
It felt as if there was a crowd all around us. There was a comforting unseen presence.
My cousin, Ted's mother said, " I feel really calm. I don't understand it, but I do."

Peace settled in and around tucking us securely with a blanket of comfort that during these circumstances only the Lord could provide.

We were experiencing what the Bible tells us.
"the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds."  Philippians 4:14 (NAS)

I thought of the significance of Easter, Christ raised from the dead. He was alive now and with us, bringing us peace as He promised. The Holy Spirit was interceding for Ted at this very moment.

Easter is a celebration of life.
Yet down the hall our precious boy's life hung in the balance of uncertainty.
One thing was for certain. God was in control. He is all powerful. He raised Jesus. Jesus raised Lazarus.
Even though we didn't know the future we knew the One who did.
The One who is the great omnipotent I AM.

He could be trusted.
His ways are not our ways. Isaiah 55:8
They are perfect.

Word went out. People were praying all up and down the east coast and even Colorado and Texas. He was in good hands. The hands of our Lord Jesus whose body was restored completely and who is alive today.

Within two days Ted opened his eyes and gave a thumbs up! As you can imagine, there were tears of relief and joy!
He was taken off the respirator. As soon as he could talk he asked what any 17 year-old would ask; about his truck and phone. Next, he proceeded to walk the loop around Shock trauma. Within a few days he was transferred to a rehab facility which is normal procedure for head trauma follow-up.
Just 12 days after the accident, he was discharged home. Whole and complete.

Praise be to the Father. All the glory is His.

He heard and chose to answer our prayers with Ted's complete healing.
My prayers now are that God will use this experience to draw us even closer to Himself and that Ted will continue to grow and become a great man of God, sharing His love with others.

Yes, this was a very different Easter, one where God demonstrated how very much alive and present He really is.

His love is ALIVE!


(c) 2012 Bonnie Mae Evans

A Rock and a Hard Place

Hello Dear Friends,

How in the world have you been?

It's been awhile and I must say it's nice to be back in the swivel chair tapping out a message on the keys for you. I hope and pray that this entry finds you happy and well and that your 2012 is off to a marvelous start.

Well, grab a cup of tea, coffee, or your favorite snack. You know how we are about having to multi-task. I wouldn't want you to feel as though you are falling down on the job, but I, who am not a very efficient multi-tasker likes to keep it doable. I AM, however, able to chew, swallow and read at the same time. Although, I must admit to almost taking a bite out of a book mark once when I was snacking on something of similar weight, ie., chips or maybe it was wheat thins. I think I'll go with wheat thins. It sounds so much healthier and after all, it is still early in the New Year.

By the way, how is that going?
Did you make some good resolutions?
Are you still, some seven weeks later keeping them?

I don't make New Year's resloutions any more.
Too much pressure.
I feel too lousy when I realize I'm already three days behind schedule before I actually remember that I made resolutions or a week behind when I find the To Do list that I wrote them on. 

Instead, I prefer to give myself a running start by just beginning something on any old odd day of the week, sometime after the start of the year. I don't tell anyone about it, including myself, you know, just in case, the expectations were to get too high.

I continue for several days and sort of sneak up on myself. The next thing you know I've been exercising a little each day for about four days without even realizing it. I've been replacing a cookie here and there with an orange or a handful of golden raisins and almonds. There you have it! Before I have time to panic or doubt my ability to succeed, I've practically conquered this new-start, self-improvement resolution thing.

Things run along nice and smoothly for a few more days, I'm nearing a whole week...

And then, blam. . .

. . . out of the blue something happens to throw a rock in my path.

Oftentimes, it's something seasonal such as a couple inches of snow or cinnamon hearts for Valentine's Day.

My progress comes to a screeching halt.

I fall off the proverbial horse, foot still stuck in the stirrup, body slamming on the ground behind it until finally, my foot comes loose and the horse called my new healthy diet and exercise program goes galloping off into the sunset.

I sit there a few moments staring after it wondering what happened. Finally, brushing the dust off, I get up and come to the realization that I hit a rock.

Yes, that's right. I hit a rock.

It was in my path.
I may or may not have seen it coming. The result is the same.

I thought I had cleared them all away, but this one cropped up unexpectantly.

Now, here comes the hard place....
the realization that I should have seen it coming.
After all, it's happened before.

It gets harder. . .

At this point I must make a decision.
Am I going to do the easy thing and let that horse run free or am I going to track down and lasso that pony and hop back on? 

In my spiritual life there are rocks that must be dealt with also.

How about you, dear heart?  Do you find like Paul in chapter 7 of Romans that the very things you hate and don't wish to do, you end up doing? On the other hand, do you neglect the things that you want to do?  I resemble that remark.

As I read that passage I can just hear the defeat and disappointment in his voice.

Once again . . .    
                          . . . failure.

Perhaps these are the toughest and most important rocks that I need to get out of the way.

But, I thought I had. ???

The look on my face right now is one of puzzlement.

God showed me the answer to this dilemma as I was leaving Bible study one afternoon.

Across from our little country church lies beautiful rolling hills of farmland.
Every year since I've been attending there at least one crop is planted and harvested.
But, on this particular afternoon, I noticed the farmer slowly walking the field ahead of a front-end loader. Ever so often he stooped over, picked up a large rock and heaved it into the bucket of the front-end loader.

This seemed odd to me.
Not that he was clearing out his field, I knew rocks that size could damage farm machinery. 
But, why was he picking the rocks up now?
Surely, they had been there all along. They didn't just drop out of the sky one evening and land in his field.
I would have heard about it. It would have made the local chronicle.

Aha. Yes, indeed they had been there all along. But, as time passed; rains fell, crop roots dug deep, cows rambled around and maybe even our recent earthquake had its hand in dislodging and pushing those rocks to the surface.

Just like our old habits, defeating thought patterns and temptations giving way to sin, they lie just beneath the surface waiting to emerge.
To keep ahead of these "rocks" we must do daily maintenance to keep our spirits strong.
Otherwise, they will appear when we least expect.
Breaking our plow, knocking us off our horse and leaving us defeated and discouraged.

"Where do we start?"

I'm delighted that you asked dear friend.
I'm happy to share how I get started.

• I like to begin with listening to or singing some songs of praise to our Father. You don't have to sing though, just lift up your hands and praise Him for who He is, not what He's done for you. That comes later. 

Praise chases Satan from our presence. He can't stay where there's honest-to-goodness praise to the Lord. He has to flee.

• Next I spend a few moments searching my heart and asking forgiveness where I have fallen short of what is pleasing to Him. I ask Him to bring things to mind that I have ignored or overlooked.
• Then, I thank Him for all He has done for me and how richly He has blessed me and most of all how He loves me.
• Next, I like to pray for others, intercession on their behalf.
• Find a version of the Bible that appeals to you and read some portion of it. There are many reading plans to choose from. Check out You Version, there are a ton of plans there.
• Try memorizing God's word. Hide it in your heart. Start with one line at a time. I did a line a day and before long had a whole Psalm that I could pull from memory at any moment to comfort me or encourage someone.

This looks extensive but you can spend as much or as little time as you want to. God doesn't make you punch a time clock before He hears you. 

He just loves being with you.

He is the one and only rock that will actually keep you from stumbling.

Trust in the Lord forever,
For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting rock. Isaiah 26:4

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock in whom I take refuge; Psalm 18:2

Let the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

So there, precious friends, get on out there and dig up some rocks before they cause you to stumble. Triumph over them in the Lord's strength. Make them work for you.

Build an alter out back, make a fence or construct a barbeque pit.

Put them in their place . . . . at the feet of Jesus.

And then cling to the Rock of Salvation.

God bless you with the strength of the Rock.

(c) 2012 Bonnie Mae Evans