Happy 2009!

The verse of the day on here today is the one from John where Jesus promises us peace and not as the world gives. And tells us to not let our hearts be troubled. So I'm thinking, "hmmm, we are ending a year of financial disasters, and in Iowa and other places it has been natural disasters as well. We are starting into a new year and a new president and new political policies." There is plenty to be troubled about. Our country is at war in Afghanistan and Iraq and threatening to go to war in other places as well. The unemployment rate is way up. Some people will look back on 2008 and go "YaHoo it's over!" Others will look ahead to 2009 and wonder if it will be better or worse. But Jesus tells us like He did back then, to not be troubled but be at peace. No matter what tomorrow brings or what next year brings, God is still on His throne and still in control. He will still give me peace if I trust in Him. I do trust in Him.

Do you make New Year's resolutions? I don't because they end up getting broken and making me feel guilty. However, I do make plans to try to do better on certain things. I also set goals for myself to try to achieve. For instance, this coming year I really want to do better with my daily Bible study and journaling. I want to be a better wife and plan to try to work through the 40 day Love Dare book. (Family Life is challenging us all to do the 40 day Love Dare and they will send you a daily dare from January 5-February 13 with you ending with a special date on Valentine's Day. I also got the book for Christmas. ) I want to keep the house cleaner. I want to work at becoming healthier. I want to go back to the wellness center. (I really do enjoy working out there when I make myself go.) I want to spend more time doing the things I enjoy like reading and crafting and art and writing. Oh, I don't know. I just want to be a better person and continue to seek the Lord's will and follow His leading. I want to be a better witness for Him.

We had a wonderful New Year's eve so far. First of all, my phone rang at 5AM. It was midnight in New Zealand and my son called to tell me Happy New Year's. Every year he does that and every year it scares me awake because I forget he is going to. But then it pleases me to know that at the changing of the year, he always thinks of his old mum. The day itself wasn't anything too exciting. I did laundry and dishes and such and I talked to a lot of dear people on the phone. But then we went to supper at the home of a new friend from church. She's a sweetie and she made us this wonderful Brunswick stew and cornbread and then we taught her to play euchre and then we had pie. It was so much fun and the stew was delicious. So what made it a wonderful New Year's Eve? Friends and family of course. What could be better?

Here's wishing all of you a happy 2009. May the Lord bless you richly with friends and family and good health and may you know the peace that only He can give. Let not your hearts be troubled.

Unite and Celebrate

Unite and Celebrate

It's Christmas time once again
With Santas and flying deer.
People are trampled while shopping;
Some look in a bottle for holiday cheer.

War is raging around the globe;
Bodies are sent home wrapped in flags.
Homeless people sleep under bridges,
And carry their lives in paper bags.

Bells are ringing and people shouting;
Cash registers slam a loud ker-ching.
Kids are fighting and demanding
While making lists for Santa to bring.

Where's the babe the angels proclaimed
Those many long years ago?
Whatever happened to Christmas?
I'd really like to know.

I thought this was Jesus' birthday,
A time to celebrate His love,
To stop and pause and look up
At His star shining above.

A time for a silent and holy night,
And Glory to God on high.
A time to ponder His sacrifice;
His gift we couldn't buy.

Peace on earth, goodwill to all
Are more than words on a card.
They are concepts Jesus died for,
So why do we make it so hard?

If He could love us all so much
To give His very life;
Why can't we love each other
Enough to end the strife?

Instead of just claiming to be Christian
And putting on a happy front,
Let's celebrate this Christmas
The way that He would want.

Forgive and be forgiven,
Lift up those who fall.
Let's proclaim Christ to the masses,
And shower His love on all.

Brotherly love to the household of faith,
Goodwill for all mankind,
Christmas peace around the world
The way that Christ designed.

There'd truly be a merry Christmas
All across the earth,
If all God's children joined as one
To celebrate His birth.

by Linda Tiemessen, 2003

What Is Christmas?

What Is Christmas?

The letter to the editor said we're not politically correct;
To use the name of Jesus, is being way too direct.
He said that Merry Xmas would be the proper thing to say,
Or better yet just change it to Happy Winter Holiday.

Some might be offended by talk of Jesus' birth;
To them He's just another man who walked upon the earth.
They don't seem offended though by Santa or the elves.
Merchants like to see the presents flying off their shelves.

Bright lights and tinsel, greeting cards and alcohol
Somehow hide the reason we celebrate at all.
Peace on earth, goodwill to men, silent night and joy
Aren't really found in parties or playing with another toy.

We have so many holidays to honor people of fame;
We celebrate their birthdays and call them by their names.
So what is wrong with Christmas? Tell me if you can,
Why I can't celebrate the King who was born the son of man.

We celebrate a president who set the black men free.
Why can't I celebrate the One who broke sin's chains for me?
We have a day to celebrate the fuzzy side of love;
True love made the Son of God leave His home above.

Forget the reindeer, Christmas tree, and sprigs of mistletoe,
There's a whole lot more to Christmas I just want you to know.
It's not just another holiday decked out in red and green;
We're celebrating the greatest gift this world has ever seen.

by Linda Tiemessen, 2001

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of you! I hope you are all having a truly blessed day. May you be surrounded by family if that makes you happy, or may you have peace, comfort and joy wherever you are. Today it is just the four of us. We opened our gifts to each other slowly and joyfully and then we finished making brunch. For brunch we had homemade caramel pecan cinnamon rolls hot from the oven, a wonderful breakfast bake with hash brown potatoes, homemade sausage, eggs and cheese in it, and a grape salad. It was yummy. I got a lot of nice gifts; a book, an apron, kitchen towels, sun catcher, wall hanging, a willow tree figurine, cds, etc. But the best gift I've ever received for Christmas is the reason we celebrate Christmas. For unto us is born this day a Savior! We all needed saved and only a perfect sacrifice would do it. So Jesus came for us. I like the song Go Fish sings about Christmas being about the cross. I have a cross hanging on my Christmas tree too. Jesus came and was born in a manger knowing that one day He would hang on a tree to save the world from their sins. And He died, knowing He would also rise from the dead to bring us new life and an eternal resurrection. That is the full Christmas story. I hope wherever you are and whatever you do for Christmas, that you will fully receive the greatest Christmas gift of all time.

I'm so thankful for safety and for Christmas break!

Well, we are officially out on Christmas break now! I know, you will remind me that we just had five days off. I had a personal leave day then a snow day and then a weekend and then another snow day. So what do I have to be excited about? For one thing, it didn't snow today and they are saying tonight's storm might actually go south of us. YEAH! For another thing, I am one of those weird people who likes to have things organized and scheduled. I would never make a good ER nurse or ambulance nurse. I like to know what to plan on. Ok, so being a school nurse isn't really all that predictable either when you have 1200 kids who have the potential of getting hurt or sick at any given time. But it is dependable usually in that I know Monday through Friday from approximately 7:45-3:45 I will be at work. And it is even dependable in that I can pretty much count on somebody throwing up, somebody having an accident in their pants, and several somebodies getting hurt. And there are my "frequent fliers" that I can depend on seeing every day for a headache or stomach ache or just needing a hug. I like to know when my days off are coming. I like to plan what to do on those days off. So throw some major snow days on me and I start getting nervous. Do I pack my stuff for tomorrow or wait to see if they call and tell me to stay home? Do I go to the store today or wait and hope I can get there tomorrow? Sounds like I'm back to worrying about tomorrow, doesn't it? But if you give me a snow day, I can't relax and enjoy it and wallow in it. I have to get as much done and be as productive as possible with this extra gift of hours. But if I know it is a scheduled vacation, I can be productive but I can also stop and read a book or work on a craft project or play a game with the kids and not feel as guilty since it is scheduled relaxation time. So, even though I just had a five day weekend, I will now celebrate that I am officially on Christmas break! YEAH!!! The shopping is done, the cards are sent, and there is more than enough baking done to make us all diabetic before the new year comes. So I can relax and maybe even sleep in tomorrow. See, I envy you stay at home moms. Well, kinda. I got to be a stay at home mom for a few years when each of my kids was little and mostly I loved it. I loved being able to set my schedule around my kids and husband. I loved being able to take the time to enjoy life. On the other hand, since I was home, I became my husband's hired hand and his "beck and call girl" as Richard Gere said in Pretty Woman. So my time was still not my own. Oh, I don't know, I am rambling here. I'm glad to be on break. There.

I'm tired tonight. Our son started driving from Colorado yesterday morning. In the evening he was only as far as North Platte, NE. So at 2:30 this morning I suddenly awoke and realized he was still not home. From then until 5:30 I laid awake and prayed for his safety. At 6:30 I suddenly felt peace and thought that meant he was home or close to home. He wasn't. In fact he didn't get here until 1PM. But when I shared this with him, he told me that at 2:30 AM another vehicle passed him and was about 1/4 a mile in front of him, when that driver lost control and rolled into the median. BJ stopped to help him. He said from Omaha to Des Moines it was 45mph travel due to the slick interstate and the sides of the road looked like a junkyard with vehicles everywhere. At 6:30 when I felt peace, he was sleeping in his truck at a rest area north of Des Moines. Isn't it weird how God wakes you up and tells you to pray? I remember thinking, "Why wake me up to pray? If you know the need, God, can't you just take care of it without me?" I guess God wants to know we care. He likes giving us good things. I will praise Him and thank Him for His protection over our son and over me too as I had to drive through all those big snowdrifts on the way to work this morning over unplowed country roads. I thank Him too that I only have 6 miles of those roads to get to work and no longer have to do the rural mail route with over 100 miles a day of those horribly snow-clogged roads. God is so good! All the time!

More Snow and more snow and more snow

Well, here we go again and again. As you know, I went to bring the kid home from college on Wednesday night because it was to storm on Thursday. Actually it didn't storm until Thursday night late. But then it dumped 6 inches of snow (they had forecast 12). So school got canceled on Friday. Then on Friday most of the day it was blue skies and sunshine. Then I was to work all day at the wrestling tournament today and really didn't want to. But yesterday they canceled it too. So my husband planned a fish fry for tonight with about 16 people. I started making salads and goodies and this morning I thawed fish. But then it started snowing really hard and this afternoon the wind is to come up and blow and drift all this wonderful white stuff and cause blizzard conditions. So now the fish fry is canceled. And tomorrow was to be the Nu Hi Chorale concert at church in the morning and the children's Christmas program tomorrow night. The concert is now canceled and the Christmas program is moved to A.M. with a warning to not come if the weather continues like this.

And so it continues to snow. I can only see the neighbors' farm off and on through all the falling snow. We did however, make it to town in my husband's 4WD truck to get groceries and a few final gifts and we actually went to the tree farm and cut our Christmas tree at this late date. The tree farm was closed, but the owner gave us a saw and said to go help ourselves. It was snowing hard then too and the snow was already past our knees, so we didn't stay as long as usual and weren't nearly as picky as usual. But we got a tree and now we can stay in and watch it snow and decorate it. YEAH!

Have you noticed how fitting the daily Bible verse is on here? I have no idea who decides which verse goes with which day, but it seems each one is so appropriate to that day in my life. Today's verse is Matthew 6:34; "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Now isn't that appropriate? I worried about the storm on Thursday which didn't happen until Friday. I worried about the wrestling meet on Saturday which didn't happen. I worried about getting food ready for the fish fry which didn't happen. I worried about getting to town tomorrow night for the Christmas program which is now not going to happen. So I will try not to worry about our son who is to drive out from Colorado tomorrow. I will try not to worry about our niece who is driving up from Arkansas today. I will try not to worry about our nephew who is coming in on the train from New York today. Each day has enough trouble of its own and thankfully it also has enough joy of its own. I hope you are joyfully enjoying your day wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

Giving Good Gifts

Today's verse is so appropriate for this time of year. It's from the book of Matthew and it says if we know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will our Heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him. Which brings me to my point (somewhat). At this time of commercial gift-giving, what are good gifts? I don't mean which brand of razor do I buy my husband or even if I buy him a razor or a new shirt. What are the good gifts I can give my family? Do you see where I'm going with this? I am sure you do.

Yesterday I worked 8 hours and then I took off and drove to my daughter's college and picked up a load of her belongings and turned around and drove back home with her following me in her car full of belongings. I drove 350 miles on partially snow and ice covered roads in the dark. I HATE driving in the dark since the oncoming lights blind me and I fear the deer are running. I also hate driving in snow and ice. BUT this was one of those gifts I gave my daughter. She has been miserable at college for the last 4 months and finally made the decision to move back home and regroup and find a different college closer to home. Now I will admit I am very disappointed. I nearly cried as she told her friends there goodbye and as we drove away from that beautiful campus one last time. I love that campus and that town as much as she once thought she did. We've made a lot of fun memories there, and I hate to see it come to an end. I know that sounds selfish on my part and I'm sorry. I also still firmly believe that is where God wants her and I believe she will one day down the road regret leaving there. I can speak from personal experience. When I went away to college, a year and a half into it, I made decisions outside of the will of God and I have lived with regrets the rest of my life. I know God has done good things in my life in spite of my taking a detour from his route. But I often wonder how much more I'd have been blessed if I had faithfully followed His plan instead of mine.

So where do the good gifts come in? I am giving my daughter the gift of loving acceptance. I accept her decisions and will support her as she chooses a new path to her career. I will drive 350 miles in the wintry night to move her home. I will welcome her home and allow her to regroup. I will be patient with her as she spends over an hour saying her goodbyes to all the friends she claims she never made there, and as she unpacks and settles back into our home. I will show her that I am proud of her for finishing the semester there even though she was so unhappy and for getting good grades during that semester. I will encourage her as she chooses a new college and new classes and moves again and makes new friends again and starts all over again. I will continue to be the wind beneath her wings and know that she is not coming back to the nest to stay, but only to grow a little stronger before she relaunches.

And I know that my Heavenly Father has watched me make so many mistakes and poor choices in my own life and yet He stands there loving me and holding out His arms for me and trying to guide me in the right way He has planned. I know He loves my daughter too and will bless her and work His will in her life no matter how many detours she takes along the way.

At this Christmas season, may you know and accept the Greatest Gift of All, the love of God and the gift of His Son who brought us salvation and grace and pardon. May you accept the good gifts He gives and may you share good gifts with those you love.

Being Content

Today's Bible verses on here are I Timothy 6:6-8 which say, "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that."
I find those very fitting. I just finished reading Iowa Farmer Today newspaper and also the Des Moines Register Weekly edition. I read numerous articles that refreshingly gave testimony to those verses. I read a whole bunch of short recollections from seniors who went through the Great Depression. I read about them working for $4 a week and giving their parents their whole paycheck to support the family. I read about a lady who stood in soup lines with her red pail to be filled with soup to take home to feed her family. These were not complaining letters. These were memories of survival and being thankful for having food and clothing even if the food was homegrown and the clothing made from flour sacks. Then I read a letter to the editor where the writer was urging people to quit buying wants and only buy needs to turn around our current economy. I read another story about a woman who raised 4 boys in a two bedroom house, and continues to live in that home in her 90's even though the roof leaked so badly she had to put a shower curtain over the clothes in her closet and drip pails throughout the house. And how community members took up a collection and volunteered their time to put a new tin roof on her house. She was so thankful and relieved she couldn't sleep that night. I read about the homeless men who are being evicted from their one-room shanties and sent to shelters for their own safety and how they want to just be left alone and allowed to enjoy their one room privacy. I read about an 11-yr-old girl who is blind and hoping for a cornea transplant, who is thankful for her one friend who is also blind and who enjoys collecting sounds on her recorder. These two papers were just full of positive stories of being grateful for little things. In this crazy scramble for Christmas sales and days of commercialism, it is good to be content with the basics. When did I last stop to be thankful that I can see or hear? When was I thankful my roof doesn't leak and that I have a roof over my head at all? My cats are better fed than a lot of people in our world. I have food and clothing and a warm house. How can I not be content?

Snow Day!

Last night, the calling tree called to say we were already two hours delayed for today due to the storm warnings and the snow falling. Then at 6 AM today they called back to say school was now canceled. Yes, I could use a snow day off. BUT I don't want to make it up and I hope this is not a premonition of things to come this winter. Well, we got 8 1/2 inches of snow on top of the ice we got first. Then you add a strong wind to blow and drift it into piles and it is not fun. It is just plain brutal outside. How do I know? Am I not smart enough to stay inside? Oh, I am! I planned to sleep in, get up and make a pot of oatmeal for my breakfast. Then while it was cooling I was going to take a nice hot shower and get dressed in comfy clothes, then put the bedding in the washer. THAT was MY plan. However, my husband decided to get up earlier and go out to his shop. Then he decided to push snow with the skid loader, which he promptly got stuck down the hill in the old horse pasture. Why was he in the pasture? I guess he slid there from the drive. Anyway, before I could make the oatmeal or take the shower, and was just stripping the bedding, he called the house. He needed me to come out and pull the skid loader out with the pickup. So forget the shower, forget the oatmeal, put the bedding in the washer and get dressed. That included clean underwear, then thermal underwear, a tshirt, socks, sweat pants, sweat shirt, winter coat, gloves, ear grips, his insulated knee boots, and the hood up on the coat. Reminded me of when I used to bundle the kids up to go play in the snow and by the time they were bundled one of them would have to go to the bathroom and we could start all over again. Or they'd get outside and play for a few minutes and decide they were bored and come back in. Anyway, that was not my option, so I waddled in all my padding through the big drifts of snow and slid on the ice underneath out to his shop. He took the pickup out and hooked the chains to his skid loader and told me to go. RIGHT! I tried. The pickup tried. We slid and jerked and spun our wheels and blew diesel smoke all over the place and slid some more. So he gets out of the skid loader and comes and takes my place in the truck and gets it unstuck. Then we start over again with him in the skid loader and me driving truck. More jerks and sliding and spinning and backing up and ramming it forward and finally the skid loader was back on the drive! Yeah! I parked the truck right there and started walking to the house. Bless his heart, he took the skid loader and cleared me a path to the house so I didn't have to climb through the drifts, just slide on the ice. Came back in the house and changed out of the warm stuff. Made me a cup of coffee (with eggnog creamer, YUM!) and made a pot of homemade from scratch turkey curly noodle soup and apple corn muffins for lunch. Now it is almost 2:00. I haven't accomplished much of anything today. The laundry is going. But I now have dishes to do and really wanted to wrap gifts and finish addressing Christmas cards. Dr. Phil will be on in an hour. Yeah! Anyway, just thought I'd share with you my snow day on the farm. When we got rid of the pigs, I thought, "Yeah, no more trips out into the ice and snow to help clear hog lots or thaw waterers or load hogs." Nope, now I just get to go out and help pull out the skid loader. This was easier I must admit. But I'm still ready for a nap. Hope you are all in where it is warm and dry.

Early Out for Winter Storm

Job 37:5-13 "God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth' , and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.' So that all men he has made may know his work, he stops every man from his labor. The animals take cover; they remain in their dens. The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds. The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen. He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them. At his direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever he commands them. He brings the clouds to punish men, or to water his earth and show his love."

Today these verses seem very relevant. We are under a winter storm warning from this afternoon until tomorrow night. School got out at 1:00 to try to get us all home safely before the roads were too bad. As it was, the roads were icy and the car was covered in ice. It was freezing rain and sleet all the way home. I live 6 miles from work so I crept home at 30 miles an hour. After the ice, we are to get maybe as much as 9 inches of snow. Then the winds are to pick up and blow and drift all that snow. It is awfully early in our season to be anticipating snow days already. But it could definitely happen tomorrow. Last year we missed so much school, we had makeup days to do way into June. I don't really want that to happen again. However, I do love the fact that since I work for the school district, if the roads are too horrible, I don't have to go to work. I remember the days when I was director of nursing and had to go to work even if I was breaking tracks through the snowdrifts. I remember one wonderful day when I went out early in the morning and shoveled my way out of the garage only to get stuck so deeply, that I had to shovel my way back into the garage. I don't miss those days at all. I 'd much rather go to school in June. Today I thank God for a job where we get sent home when the weather is bad. I thank Him for getting me home safely. And while I acknowledge His power and control, I think this animal is going to remain in her den. Stay warm and safe, my friends.

A winter Saturday

Well, it was a cold, snowy, windy day. In other words, it is winter in Iowa. At times the blowing snow was so thick the hill across from our house was all fuzzy like it was hidden in a fog. At other times, there would just be little wisps of snow drifting across the field and the sun would reflect off all the white. We had company. 3 of my husband's musician friends and one wife came to spend the day. They were here from 10 A.M. to 7 P.M. so I fed them lunch and then leftovers for supper. Anyway, while we were eating lunch, the wife got all excited and drew our attention to the front window. As we watched, 7 deer went across the field in procession. They didn't seem overly excited by the fact that deer season opened today. Silly things must have known my husband's license is for second season, which is next weekend. It was nice to sit in my warm house and watch the snow blow by though, knowing I didn't have to go out on the roads and neither did my daughter who is safely at college doing her homework in her dorm room. Are you winter people? I'm not. I like watching it if I don't have to go out in it. But I really prefer green grass and warmer temperatures.

What movies have you watched lately? Last Sunday night we had a "couples' night out" and 24 of us went to the next town for supper at Pizza Ranch and to see the movie Fireproof. Fireproof is a low cost production with some lolls in the acting, but the message is wonderful! Kirk Cameron is the main actor and he is ready to give up on his marriage as his wife wants out. However, he is a fire chief and he is reminded that on the job, they never leave their partner behind. So his dad challenges him to spend 40 days working on saving his marriage. If you get a chance to see the movie with your husband, go. Take some kleenex along though. Today the other wife and I watched Shall We Dance? She'd never seen it before. I love how Richard Gere actually doesn't succumb to desire for Jennifer Lopez, but learns to dance and shares it with his wife. One of my very favorite movies of all time. I know how it is to feel lonely and like something is missing. I love how both of these movies though, point to strengthening the marriage bond.

Well, until next time, these are my ramblings for a winter Saturday. Take care. Watch out for deer.

This Is My Father's World

Do you know the song, "This Is My Father's World"? Well, this morning as I was driving to work, that song planted itself in my brain and kept repeating itself over and over. Why? Well, first of all there was this absolutely gorgeous sunrise. First there was just a pink glow rising from the horizon like a pink column of smoke spreading up into the clouds. Then suddenly there was an orange sphere peeking over the edge of my world. And only a mile later, there was a burst of glory and this huge orange ball literally leaped into the sky! That's about the time the song started singing in my head. And just one more mile later, there were 12 deer standing in a field beside the road. Some were grazing in the snow-covered field and others were just standing there gazing into space like they could hear that song of the heavens as well. I came to a stop, and suddenly, a few at a time, they turned and sprinted off into a nearby stand of trees. As I traveled on to work, my record got stuck and played over and over. Funny, as I came home tonight, it was dark, and yet when I passed the field where the deer had been, I could still hear that song playing.

"This is my Father's world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world, the birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker's praise.
This is my Father's world: He shines in all that's fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere."

That's only two of the six verses of this song, but you get the picture. Even though it was the snow that was white, not the lily and the rustling trees not grass, and even though snow was coming down by the time I got to work, it is still my Father's world. Although it is now only 3 degrees above zero, I can still lift my eyes to Him and proclaim: "This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." I hope you have a chance to glory in His world as well wherever you are.