God Can’t Use You?

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Oh, I see! You’re a sinner- a real bad sinner! Well, Scripture says, “While we were yet sinners Christ died for us” in Romans 5:8. But can God use a person who is short of perfect? One who loses their temper? Who gets depressed? Yes! And you’re in good company!

David’s armor didn’t fit

John Mark was rejected by Paul

Moses stuttered

Hosea’s wife was a prostitute

Amos’ only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning

Jacob was a liar

David had an affair

Solomon was too rich

Abraham was too old

David was too young

Timothy had ulcers

Peter was afraid of death

Lazarus was dead

John was self-righteous

Naomi was a widow

Paul was a murderer

So was Moses

Miriam was a gossip

Gideon and Thomas both doubted

Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal

Martha was a worrywart

Mary was lazy

Samson had long hair

Noah got drunk

Moses had a short fuse

So did Peter and Paul and…

You?

Satan says, “You are not worthy”. Jesus says, “So, what? I am!” Satan looks back and sees our mistakes. God looks back and sees the Cross. Yes, there are lots of reasons why God shouldn’t want us, but if we love Him, He’ll use us in spite of who we are, where we’ve been, or what we look like.

God wants to use each one of us, if we’ll let Him!

 

Celebrating 64 Years of Marriage: A Daughter’s Reflection

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(Reflections by Becky Brown, for the Siblings)

July 28th, 2015

Today is Papa and Mum’s 64th wedding anniversary, the first anniversary they will be celebrating separately; papa still here on earth with his family, and mama in heaven with Jesus. They started ‘going steady’ when mom was 15 years old which means they’ve been together for 68 years! Wow, that is a long, wonderful time.

It is a tenderly-sad day to think of mama not being here to celebrate with her beloved and us all… but we are grateful for the many years they did have together… and for the model of faithfulness, love and marriage that they left for us all to follow.

Thank you mom and dad for… (in no specific order)

  • kissing each other in front of us, it made us feel secure in your love for one another (and even times when you ‘snuck off to do more than kissing’ (we realized as we got older)… even that set a good example for our own marriages
  • saying “I’m sorry” when you hurt each others feelings
  • taking time for ‘just you’ away together (maybe not that often with a busy family of five, but enough that we knew you loved to be together and we as kids would benefit from your ‘oneness’ once you were back again
  • always staying together. I’m sure there were times when things were difficult and you didn’t get along perfectly but we always knew you would be together, forever and ever… through the good times and the tough times.
  • your teamwork in so many areas of life. Praying together, playing together, planning together. For example the effort of skiing as a family together; the cost and mom packing all the kids clothes and the food and the ‘stuff’ each weekend… and papa patiently teaching us all to ski (and buying one more pair of gloves ‘cause one ‘got lost’ on the way to the slope!)… just one example of teamwork for the betterment of family-life.
  • The effort of making a house a home together… from the double-lot at 35th street, which was always full of adventure, love, laughter and much fun; to the restoration of the Fox Island house and making that home a ‘haven’ for so many; to the wild wonderful adventure of Drommegaard, your Dream Farm… papa reclaiming the fields, mama planting and caring for the plethora of flowers and both of you loving the cows!
  • for just loving to do things together; whether it was cutting letters to make money for a Norway trip, or watching a Netflix, or going out for a ‘treat’, or attending a grandchild’s sporting event, or going to church… and especially for baking all your Christmas cookies together! We will surely miss the lefse which was loving hand-made together by you both.
  • for the support you gave each other in your interests and passions, whether papa singing in the Norwegian chorus or mama loving her ladies through the Cancer Care group to name a very few.
  • the list could go on and on… but most of all, thanks for loving Jesus together, loving each other, and loving us kids… and then our families that came… along with so many dear ones, close to your hearts, all over the world.

We miss you mama on this day. But we say thank you to Jesus for bringing this amazing couple together so many years ago… and we know the legacy of their love and their marriage will have a lasting impact, not only on their family, but so many others as well.

A Peaceful Habitation or a Hectic Home

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We all desire a Peaceful Habitation, but it doesn’t “just happen”. It seems strange to say but you have to “fight for peace” if you want it to happen.

There are some wonderful verses in the Bible that speak about living in a peaceful habitation.

Is. 32:17,18 “And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.”

Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Isn’t that what we all want.

Pro. 3:33 “The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the abode of the righteous.”

Don’t we want our home blessed by the Lord? It sounds like being “righteous” is the key of both these verses. The Isaiah verse talks about the ‘effect’ of righteousness will be peace, and the ‘result’ of righteousness will be quietness and trust forever.

Righteousness seems to be the key, but what actually is righteousness? Webster says, “Righteousness is doing that which is right” and also, “free from sin”. We can do neither of those without Christ.

Jeremiah 23:6 say “The Lord is our righteousness”.

Matt. 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for Righteousness for they shall be satisfied”.

Matt. 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you”.

Now we shall look at some practical ways to have a peaceful habitation, knowing that first we must have Jesus and his righteousness.

Isaiah 30:15-18 “For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and in trust shall be your strength,’ AND YOU WOULD NOT, but you said, ‘No! we will speed upon horses’, therefore you shall speed away and ‘we shall ride upon swift seeds.’ Therefore your pursuers shall be swift. A thousand shall flee at the threat of one, at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill. THEREFORE, the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of Justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.”

“AT THE THREAT OF FIVE” spoke to me as a young mama of five children. I was not to be frightened by those 5 children, nor the huge task of raising them. I was to be in control and not them of me. I had the Lord with me. These verses are encouraging on that point. Out of context but they spoke to me of this need.

Part of being in control is making wise decisions as a parent, and setting boundaries for our children. We can’t just always ask our children, in a gentle voice, what they want to do, and then go with that decision. We have to see the far reaching aspects of that decision that our children wouldn’t see.

These verses were also helpful:

Deut. 1:29-30 “Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or fear of them. The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you.”

Deut. 31:6 “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be in dread of them; for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.”

I am going to share some thoughts from a diary from May 4, 9, 11, 1978. I was 46 years old. Becky was married and Jane was to be married in June.

[Editors Note: These particular dairy entries were not included in this typed talk.]

“Longer term lessons learned from those hectic days.”

  1. Listen to God. What is it he wants me to do.

  2. Talk it over with Dick. Get his approval and support before undertaking. Learning more and more God uses Dick to protect me as I submit to him.

  3. Learning to say No to things PEOPLE ask me to do – if not in line with what the LORD has already shown me I should be doing.

  4. Remembering – His burden is light – Whose am I carrying? Matt 11:28-30

  5. Most important what God thinks of us – not peers and relatives etc.

  6. Learning to take moments of time for myself (what brings me peace)

  7. Take positive steps toward peace – it won’t “just happen”. Lev. 12:14 Strive for Peace with all men.

Striving for peace also could involve some “fighting” for peace. Right now there are so many good things in the world to ‘fight for’ and so many bad things we need to ‘fight against’. Just reading Dobson’s Citizen magazine can really get you riled as to the sin in the world. It can give us a restless, disturbed, fighting heart that we need to turn over to God, in order to be the “peacemaker” in our home. We need to deal with our own restless heart before we can bring peace to our family. We need to ask God to help us with this, as we are called to minister to our family.

Yes the world is changing. When I first wrote this lesson in 1978 life was different that it is now. But we must remember that “Jesus is Changeless”. His truths are changeless. His truths remain the same throughout all the generations.

Heb. 13:8 “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.”

Psalms 145:4 “One generation shall laud thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.”

Ecc. 1:4 “A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.”

Learning the difference between Hospitality and Entertaining. Martha was “entertaining” Jesus. Mary was showing “hospitality”. How often do we do the same – wanting the ‘best’ in the name of honoring our guests, but making our family crazy and really doing it in the name of ‘pride’.

Something comes to mind that I learned at one of the first retreats I had ever been to. At the final meeting I could hear women working in the kitchen, behind the scenes. The Lord spoke to my heart saying, “These women have worked hard to make this a pleasant and restful retreat for you. Now you are to go home and work hard to make your home a special retreat place for your family.”

A friend sent me an article quite awhile ago entitled, “What Makes Your Home a Sanctuary?”. It was from an article in the Chicago Tribune and written by Michele Weldon. Now these aren’t thoughts from a Christian paper, but I think they are very true and very noteworthy, and some things that would be helpful for us to apply to our lives.

“You can sense it immediately when you walk through the door. There won’t be a sign, or brochure in the front hall. But if it’s there, you can feel it through you; it is nearly palpable, a smell, a feeling, a radiance, a calm. When a home is a spiritual place, it feels real as a golden retriever curled at the foot of a favorite chair.”

(Now we might mean something different than she does by a “spiritual” place, but we want a home that Jesus is present, and that presence is pervasive in our home to others.)

Continued: “When you walk through the threshold of your home, you feel you are safe. Even gardens for a lot of women are their sanctuaries. It is essential to create a small space, a place of retreat. Whether it’s a room, a tent in a yard or a chair with a walkman, it’s a place where I need time for myself in order to be a better human being. When you are out of balance and life is chaotic, and you walk through the door and can’t find a place to sit down, then you are robbing yourself of serenity. My home was always a sanctuary, and I knew everything was OK as soon as I walked in the door. I want my kids always to feel safe when they come home. It’s my special place. It’s where we belong.”

If we can create this kind of a home, it will be one where your children will want to invite friends to come.

“To be happy at home is the greatest gift life will ever present to us.”

We hear a lot about “peer pressure” these days, mostly in relation to our children. But I think peer pressure has a lot to do with our having a peaceful habitation. And that is “our” falling in the trap of “peer pressure”. Do we fall into the same trap as our children do?

  1. Wanting everyone to like us. It is a favor to tell our children that no, everyone is not going to like them. Then they are not so shocked and hurt when someone doesn’t.

  2. Trying to please everyone – keep everyone happy.

  3. Not wanting to say no for fear of rejection.

Let us set an example for them as Jesus is our example. We don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Perhaps someone will be affected adversely by my saying no. Yes that might be likely. Good words on this in Oswald Chambers My Upmost for His Highest, January 11th.

[Editor’s Note: Oswald passage not included in typed talk]

Sometimes we get too busy for our family by doing everything everyone else wants us to do. The little booklet “Tyranny of the Urgent” is very helpful on this point.

Remember this, “The Need is NOT the Call”. So many needs, but we are not called to them all. Only Jesus can show you what is the most important and what He desires you to do.

How do we get all the things done on our “to do” list?

  1. Let Jesus make your list.

  2. Do only what He gives you strength to do.

  3. Do it in the calm manner that he would do it.

There are also allusions – mirages that the world would have us believe.

  1. There will be more time later (60min Father, Cat in the Cradle, Greatest Man I Never Knew)

  2. I shall always be this age. Remember we all have just one year at each age. Remember being 7, 14, 21. And suddenly you are a mother-in-law and then a grandmother and you feel the same inside.

  3. I’ll be a big nothing if I don’t – do this, join this, have this person over, etc.

  4. My child will never be able to play in Jr. High or High School sports if I don’t start him out in preschool sports teams.

Can I trust God to help me in these areas?

THE HARD PART IS NOT DOING THE NURTURING – BUT SAYING NO TO THE PRESSURES THAT KEEP YOU FROM IT.

The world and common sense say one thing. But God often says the opposite. Sounds crazy – but makes for a happy exciting life, full of glad surprises along the way.

Oh may we follow Jesus in his guidance to make our homes a Peaceful Habitation.

Amen.

Nine points for raising your children for the Lord

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These are just some preliminary points. It’s important to note that you don’t have to know all the answers. We raised our children leaning hard on James 1:5. You don’t have to be afraid of them or of raising them correctly. Let nothing terrify you (Duet. 31:6 and I Peter 3:6).

1. You must know Jesus yourself and have Him living in you. Keep check on your own life in the Lord (Galations 2:20). Is it as fresh and alive as it always has been? (Revelations 2:3-5). Are you spending time daily with the Lord in personal devotions and in the Word?

2. It is important to have a Christian spouse. (II Corinthians 6:14)

3. It is important to attend church regularly and worship together as a family. Dick strongly encouraged the children to sit with us in church and now it is a habit and we do it out of love and joy for each of us. Make sure you are sensitive to the needs of your children in choosing a church. Avail yourself to what the church has to offer. But be most sensitive to that little seed of God in your child and watering it and nurturing it and not be so concerned about what he/she is participating willingly in, in church. Beware of your own pride at this point.

4. Family Devotions. We really feel that faithful daily devotions, especially when the children were small, was a key factor in the building of faith in our children. Be creative with what you do and where you have it. Try the fireside in winter or outside fire in the summer with kerosene lamps. Children are sensitive to atmosphere. Do things of interest to children. Devotional stories, singing, sharing, praying… We also went through all the Laura and Mary stories with one chapter at the beginning of our devotions. Do not let TV rule your time but be aware of Eph. 6:4 and consider the children also.

5. Use daily life to teach them. Joys, sorrows, problems… all with the purpose of teaching spiritual truths (Duet. 6:6-7). As we talked through these points with our children it seems they all felt this point was the most important in their growth. That Jesus was made real in our daily life, and was interested in their daily concerns. As Bart said, “I heard about the miracle of God at Sunday School. About prating the Red Sea, etc., but when He helped me find my lost math book, that was a miracle that I could see.”

If we never laugh or are big grouches spending most of the time yelling at the kids, kids see that following Jesus is no fun and just for sourpusses. John 10:10 has no meaning for them.

If we worry and fret about not enough money, taxes and what the world is coming to– kids see that we cant cast all our cares on Him. That when the chips are down we don’t rely on Jesus. I Peter 5:7 must be real to them. Share family financial problems. If you don’t share the problem with the children they will never rejoice with the answer.

Two verses that we raised our children with and what we consider companion verse are I Thes. 5:18 and Romans 8:28. Learning to pray when bad things happen and saying “Thank you Lord for allowing this to happen and help me to see the blessing in it.”

Making Jesus a part of everything in their lives from finding lost articles, to praying before a shopping trip, before taking a trip in the car, tests at school and class elections, broken hearts and all the hurts and relationships at school, the things they are desiring and friends who are hurting, and the athletic events they are participating in. In fact, ANY AND EVERY part of their life.

As you look for help in the Word don’t be afraid of using the concordance, or saying you don’t know the answer but you will look and see what the Bible says.

6. Pray daily for your children (James 5:16). Let them know you are praying for them. Ask them for requests and soon they will give them to you freely.

7. Be willing to ask for forgiveness and admit mistakes and ask for God’s forgiveness for yourself.

8. Follow God’s plan for discipline. Love them enough to discipline them. It will be harder to accept God’s guidance and discipline if they haven’t experienced yours.

9. Have fun together as a family and make Jesus the center of whatever you are doing! 

 

Two verses that mean a lot to Dick and I in raising our children and which verse we are seeing fulfilled as we see our children marrying Christian spouses and raising children for the Lord.

Psalm 128 “Blessings on all who revere and trust the Lord, on all who obey Him. Their reward shall be prosperity and happiness. Your wife shall be contented in your home. And look at all those children. There they sit around the dinner table as vigorous and healthy as young olive trees. That is God’s reward to those who revere and trust Him. May the Lord continually bless you with heaven’s blessings as well as human joys. May you live to enjoy your grandchildren and may God bless Israel.”

Jeremiah 32:29 “And I will give them one heart and mind to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants.”

Memorial Service Videos

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The following link will direct you to three videos from the memorial service: link

It is in 3 parts:

1.  The granddaughters singing “On Eagles Wing” (look for dear papa the end who stood alone to give them a standing ovation and a big hug… so sweet!)
2.  The entire service
3.  The slideshow of Grandma Rosy (that was shown at the service)

Email sent February 28th 2015

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Below is one of the last emails Grandma Rosy sent to her family before her stroke. This one of thousands of emails that were sent with the hope of encouraging those around her.
Hi Dear Family,
 I wanted to tell you about today and the “glad surprises” all day.  I felt very good last night and was hoping it would last until today  and it has.  The Lord had special words for me in Jesus Calling this morning,Feb.18.  As I have told you before, the Lord had been speaking to my heart the words,  “I Will Be With You”.   And I told you he said the same words to my heart when Dick was going thru the Brain tumor drama.   Not that all was going to be OK  but that He would be with me.  And that was enough then, and it was enough now.  Also He had been giving me great Peace, and Peace seemed to be the key word.  Prior to that Hope was my fixation perhaps,  but it was as tho that was not as important,  and I just felt covered in peace.
Yesterday morning, during our devotional time Bryna called and it was so good talking with her.  Her kids hadn’t come yet so she had a few min. to talk.  Then when she hung up Dick handed me a little bookmark that had been in his devotion book and it was Rom. 15:13, Bryna’s favorite verse.  “May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in Hope.”  I called Bryna right back and felt it was a confirmation for her, of that verse, but that it wasn’t really for me,  as Peace was my gift at the time.  But I soon realized that the “hope” was for me.  And that the Lord was giving me back “Hope” and it made me excited.  I still have peace but I have that with hope.  Then I told you about the day yesterday, but today was so special.
As I read Jesus Calling the first words were “I am with you,  (I couldn’t believe it and was so excited).   The whole message is so good and I know that many of you read this devotional.   But these are some of the words that stood out,  “These four words are like a safety net, protecting you from falling into despair.  Because you are human you will always have ups and downs in your life experience.  But the promise of My Presence limits how far down you can go.   ………Yet as  soon as you remember that “I am With You” your perspective changes radically.  ………. you recall that not only am I with you,  “I am holding you by your right hand.”  I told you that too yesterday that even tho I had been in a pit, so to speak I felt the Lord holding my hand. So that was such a good start to the morning.
Just wanted to you know that Hope has returned,  and Peace is continuing.  It is Well with My Soul, keeps going thru my mind and I love that song.  “When peace like a river attendeth my soul”.  And Peace and Hope are flooding my soul.  Just wanted you to know I am in a good place, and thank you all for praying for me.  
Much love, 
Mom/Gr. Rosy/Rosy

Empty Pots

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The following are some notes I wrote to myself many years ago, not dated but only, “Monday 5:45am” written at the top. I feel this could have been written even 20 years ago and I feel probably it was in February or at least winter for those empty feelings are often my winter feelings that I have mentioned before. I felt they were important to laying the groundwork for Joyful Motherhood, in that if we don’t feel like being joyful the Lord can fill that need. I am writing them just as I have written them and hope they will be a blessing to you.

2 Kings 4:1-7- borrowed pots- God filled the empty pots with oil- when she ran out of the pots the oil ran out.

My empty pots are:

  • willing myself to set aside early time for the Lord- now an empty gesture but the Lord filled them with oil
  • willing myself to walk each day – no desire. The Lord will fill it with oil of desire and joy and health.

I have first to put down the empty gesture- God will fill it- But I have to make the move.

“You cant steer a parked car”

The Lord showed me the analogy of giving my empty: face, body, house.

Instead of wearing my robe and not fixing my face until I “felt” like doing it- I fixed my hair and face and got nicely dressed. Even though the inside was empty, I trusted the Lord to fill me with emotions that matched the outside.

Likewise the house- what would I have done if I were full of joy? I would have straightened up, built a fire, and put on a record. Well I did just that and trusted God to fill the emptiness… and He did.

Also the song came back to me that I’d been singing- “Jesus, took my empty life and filled it with His love, joy, peace.” I loved how it tied together with what the Lord had showed me.

2 Kings 5:9-14- Story of Naam bring cured of leprosy

v. 13 “If the prophet had told you to do some great things wouldn’t you have done it? You certainly should obey him when he says simply go wash and be cured.”

This verse confirmed by thought from today…. It is important that I am following through with what the Lord calls me to do. It will help me as much as a “great miracle of healing.”

I must first step- then the waters will part.

Give him the empty areas of my life- let Him fill them.

God At Eventide- April 13

Heaven’s Almoner

(Almoner: One who dispenses alms for another as for a prince or the King of Kings)

(Alms: Work of mercy)

“It may not be YOUR need I am seeking to supply at a particular moment, but of another through you. Remember what I have told you before. It is empty vessels that I fill. Into open hands that I place my supply. Too often my followers are so busy clutching their foolish possessions that they have no hand to receive the larger blessing, the needed gifts that I am waiting to pass to them and through them to others. Help all to see the wonderful life that could open out before them. To be Heaven’s Almoner is the work to which I call each follower of mine.”

(Handwritten notes at bottom of page)

  • What am I clutching to so hard that I don’t have time for what God has for me? 
  • Don’t be so hung up on our details that we forget the delights. 

 

 

Precious Treasures and Promises

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God’s Bank Account verse:

Psalm 50:14-15 “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and pay your vows to the most High; and (then) call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you and you shall glorify me.”

What does this mean to me:

During the everyday disappointments of daily life- being thankful for EVERYTHING- Saying “Thank you Lord for allowing this to happen and help me to see the blessing in it” Based on Thess. 5:18 and Romans 8:28.

We raised our children on these verses. They are the key of making Jesus real in our home. It is like depositing in the Bank of Faith- your sacrifices of thanksgiving- even if you don’t feel like it. It will really build your faith as you see that “all things DO work together for good.”

Then when the bad things do come into your life, you can call upon the Lord and you have built an account of faith and you know that He will deliver you in the big things too.

PRAYING WITHOUT CEASING- I Thessalonians 5:17

Pray about everything in your life, little things, big things. Ask him about all the details. Our children have said they felt one of the biggest reasons they became Christians was that Jesus was made real in our home. And this is how He can be made real. To pray about everything and allow the children to see that He does answer and He does care. We would always pray in the car as we left together to go to the mountain, on any little trip. Pray before we went shopping, that the Lord would help us find the perfect things at the perfect prices. Pray for all sporting events. Pray at the exact time of school tests. Pray for personal relationship, for disappointments, for finding things, and this could go on and on. Allowing the Lord to be part of EVERYTHING you do.

Summer

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After saying “yes” to many things during the Spring, we get into our Summer season. Oh yes, we are blooming… we are enjoying what we are doing and our self esteem is going up as we get compliments on the good jobs we are doing. But we start hearing from our children, “You’ve been gone three nights in a row. When are you going to stay home?” They start saying “Who is sick?” when they see a cake you have baked or cookies you have made, knowing it wouldn’t be for them. What started out as fun and challenging is turning out to be a drag and hard work and you start thinking “I’ll be glad when this is over!”

Do we get so busy in the Summer season that we don’t have time for our family? We begin to hear, “You said you were going to fix this…. do this… talk more to me about this… but you never have time.” They said, “I have tried to tell you but you didnt listen, you were in a hurry.” Soon we dont have quite the excitement for the job as we did in the Spring when we said yes. This is why you need to ask the Lord BEFORE you say yes. He knows what it will entail and what it will cost your family. He knows better than you how much you can handle. You might say, “Ok, I didnt ask the Lord or get his OK for what I’m doing but the results are good. Isn’t that what is important?” NO. The bible has some strong things to say about “Doing a good job but neglecting our family.”

I Timothy 5:8 “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, especially for his own family, he has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

One of the strongest examples is the story of Eli: 1 Samuel 2:11-12 “And the boy (Samuel) ministered to the Lord in the presence of Eli of the priest. Now the sons of Eli were worthless men, they had no regard for the Lord.” Now there was a priest at the temple of the Lord He was serving the Lord and doing a good job, wasnt that enough. He had worthless sons who didnt love the Lord, but that wasn’t Eli’s fault was it?

I Samuel 2:22-2 1 Samuel 2:22-25  “Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.  So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the Lord’s people is not good.  If one person sins against another, God may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will intercede for them?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.”

I Samuel 2:34-35 “and this which shall befall your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you; both of them shall die on the same day. And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind; and I will build him a sure house and he shall go in and out before me anointed forever.”

Do we become so busy during our summer season that we don’t have time to restrain our children or even love them properly? I shall give you a personal example of this and what the Lord showed me:

Becky was in Bible School, Cindy and Jane in High School, Bart in Jr High and Pollyann in grade school. Dick and I had been asked to be counselors at a Young Life camp and we said yes. We were done for the weekend and left the older children in charge. Monday after the camp weekend I got a knock on the door and it was a policeman. He said, “Do you know what your darling children were doing this weekend? Oh my, I didnt like the tone of his voice. My children were darling but he was being very sarcastic. He said they had pulled out a stop sign and were stopping cars and then squirting them with whipped cream and then jumping back in to the bushes. It was night time and very dark, and apparently they had left Pollyann home alone sleeping.

When the children came home I told them of the visit. They were very honest and said that yes, they had done that and also their cousin Jim Tobiason was with them. They said they had found the stop sign in the woods behind our house and the whipped cream bit was from some movie that was popular at that time. They were very sad and hadn’t meant to do anything bad. Well, I went to the police station and talked to the policeman. He really was a nice man and realized it was just in fun but he said it could have been serious and we should make the children realize that. So Dick and I talked with them very seriously and told them they had to take the sign down to the police station, and apologize to the policeman and say they will never do such a thing again. They did and it seemed like it worked out OK.

But the next day I went to Bible Study Fellowship and we were studying Genesis and it just happened to be in Genesis 34. Jacob was so busy away serving the Lord that he was not aware of what his sons and daighters were going. One of the questions was, “Are you sometimes so busy serving the Lord that you do not know what your children are doing?” Oh my, did that hit home!

It also taught us some lessons. We would concentrate on raising our own children and “do camps” for other children after ours were raised.

Some things I have learned from Grandma Rosy

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Guest writer: Mali Jane

Earlier this month I was reflecting on my 28 years with Grandma Rosy and decided to make a list of things I have learned from her….

1. How to pray for and anticipate my husband

When I was 16 my first longterm boyfriend ended our relationship, leaving me heartbroken and devastated. Everyone was very encouraging and understanding, but Grandma Rosy took it upon herself to ensure I didn’t become bitter and that I still held a vision for my future husband. She invited me over and sat with me as we created a list of “needs and wants” in a future husband. This is something she did with each of my aunts when they were younger and still has copies of those lists. We wrote things about the kind of husband and father I wanted him to be, how tall he might be, the sports he liked to play, and even the kind of relationship I wanted him to have with my family. I remember giggling when she made me end the list with “good lover”. She was never shy about the importance of a good sex life. I held onto this list for 7 years until my wedding day when I gave the list to Rylan and let him know I have been praying for him and waiting for him since the day I sat at Grandma Rosy’s kitchen table at age 16. When I think back on that list I realize it allowed me to give my dream of a husband to the Lord and trust that He would provide the perfect person. And he did. Rylan embodied every single “need and want” on that list…. except for one thing: he isn’t very musical. But I have to give the Lord credit because Rylan sure does try… it just doesn’t always sound that great. I guess that’s a good lesson on praying for specifics 🙂

2. The importance of morning quiet times

Anyone who knows Grandma Rosy has heard the importance of having time with the Lord in the MORNING. She was forever diligent about her quiet times each morning and passed this routine onto her family members. I now love and benefit from time each morning with the Lord reading, praying, and journaling about my thoughts and concerns. This is a lesson that will impact me every day for the rest of my life. What a gift.

3. The love of snail mail

After years of receiving and sending mail with Grandma Rosy I have learned to love the thoughtfulness of a hand written card. Emails are nice and text messages are ok, but getting a letter in the mail means someone took special time to send you their love and thoughts. And although Grandma Rosy’s handwriting was challenging to read at times 🙂 I could always sense her warmth and genuine care.

4. How to keep romance in your marriage

I wont go into too much detail on this one, but I will say that I never doubted Grandma Rosy’s passion for Papa and the importance of enjoying and pursuing your husband intimately. This has been a gift to my marriage, and I am sure many others.

5. An appreciation for my Norwegian heritage

Whether it was the unique spelling of my name, special desserts, or holiday traditions, I have always loved the way Grandma Rosy celebrated our Norwegian lineage. Grandma Rosy’s lefse was always the first thing consumed at family parties and I loved when she showed up in her bunad. Even though I have never traveled to Norway, I hold a lot of pride for being Norwegian and hope to continue some of those traditions with my family as well.

6. The power of prayer

I think it’s safe to say that Grandma Rosy has been our Prayer Warrior. Everyone knows that when you have a need or desire, to come to Grandma and she will join you in prayer. For some reason, it always felt that if Grandma was praying for something… it was more likely to be answered with yes from the Lord. She would also have a list of verses or a bible study concerning the topic you were struggling with. What an amazing example she was for taking your concerns to the Lord and seeking His word for guidance.

7. The importance of leading others to Christ

I wish I could get an approximate number of the people Grandma Rosy touched throughout her lifetime. What I do know is that it was worldwide, spanning generations, languages, and faith backgrounds. She was involved with Young Life, Agros, women’s groups, retreats, Moldovan ministries, Soup and Surprise, cancer care groups, and numerous other groups of people wanting to gather and learn about God’s love for them. This example is what sparked my desires to lead others through bible studies and also be involved myself. Today I have a wonderful group of women in my life that meet weekly to encourage each other in life and in our walks with Christ. I also lead a group of college women who had the privilege of hearing from Grandma Rosy last Spring. It was through her example that the Lord called me to live in a similar way, gathering together to encourage each other in the Lord.

8. How to set a beautiful table

Whether you were visiting Grandma Rosy for tea, lunch, dinner, or just a quick hello, the table was always set. The napkins matched the table setting and the middle of the table was always adorned with a lovely centerpiece (usually flowers from her garden). She always knew how to make someone feel welcomed and special in her home. This is a tradition I enjoy carrying on in my home today when hosting guests for dinner or just dessert. Although my centerpiece comes from the store since I didn’t pick up her gardening skills, I think of her as I set the table in hopes of making everything lovely.

This short list only includes some of the things I have learned directly from Grandma Rosy. So many more things have been/ will be taught to me through my dad and mom, aunts, uncles, and cousins, as they bless me with the things they learned from our sweet Grandma Rosy.

 

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