Some Quotes on a Sunday

"The bigger your view of God, the smaller your problems will seem to you."  (John Lindell, James River Assembly)


"You can do more than pray after you've prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed." (John Bunyan, quoted by John Lindell in his sermon on Nehemiah)

"We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties."  (Oswald Chambers)


"Heaven is full of answers to prayers for which no one ever bothered to ask." (Billy Graham)


And a saying my daughter, Tiffany, quotes all the time: "Everything you were born to do is impossible....without God."
(Christine Caine)


Lord, help me and teach me to pray.  


A quote from the Apostle Paul:  "Do not be anxious for anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)

Reflectors of His Glory

 "Arise and shine, for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.  For behold darkness shall cover the earth, and great darkness shall cover the people; but the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you" (Isaiah 60:1,2).

When I graduated from LIFE Bible College "back in the day," each year the graduating class would choose a name and verse. The class name we chose was "Reflectors of His Glory" which came from Isaiah 60:1,2. People were invited to write a song that would correspond with our class theme and verse and the winning song was sung by the class at graduation.

I simply put Isaiah 60:1-2 to music with a slight variation of the words in the verses and used "We are reflectors of His glory" in the chorus.  My song was not chosen by our class but my husband loved that little song.  

As we went into ministry, we pastored in Colorado and Missouri and then went into the Air Force Chaplaincy.  Every now and then Lonnie would preach a sermon that would include this passage of Scripture in it:  "Arise and shine, for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold darkness shall cover the earth...but the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you."

He would come up to me at some point during the week before and ask something like this, "Chrissy, would you mind playing and singing your song 'Reflectors of His Glory' for service on Sunday? I just think it would be a great way to end the sermon during the invitation." 


He was always so sweet about it and my simple little song would be sung once more, much to his delight. I think he liked to give me opportunity to minister alongside him and I love him for that. We moved 11 times by the time our youngest daughter was 17 years old, so he could include this little song a few times in our military ministry and it was never a repeat for the congregations.  

Yesterday I was reading my Life Journal scriptures (I am on my own two-year You Version plan where I push the catch-me-up button when I get behind) and I came to Isaiah 60 and memories flooded back. I wish I could somehow relate the love my husband had for His Savior and his desire to shine forth His Light. It was what he was all about (that and his love for me and our family).


My hope and prayer is that I will reflect the light and glory of the Lord as I continue this journey. I wish Lonnie were here to sing my little song with me...but he's singing alongside the heavenly hosts instead!

Overwhelmed by Our Shepherd's Love

He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in His bosom and gently lead those that are with young. 

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him His counsel? Whom did He consult, and who made Him understand? Who taught Him the path of justice and taught Him knowledge and showed Him the way of understanding? 

Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing. 

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:11-14, 26, 28-31 ESV) 

I have read and reread this passage of Scripture over this past month and I am made aware again and again of what an awesome God we have! I have been captivated by these words. Our God knows all, understands all, created all and He is never weary and does not grow faint. He renews our strength as we wait upon Him. 

Our God is with us; He is our rock, our sure foundation. This awesome God who created the stars and the oceans and the mountains desires to be our Shepherd.    

I love this picture of the Shepherd with His sheep, taking care of them and guiding them to where they should go for that day. Daily He is with us, He loves us and cares for us. Daily our amazing Creator God shows His gentleness and love to us and desires to guide us where we should go and to become who He desires us to be. 

The Lord is my Shepherd. I am overwhelmed. 

Why Us, God?

On March 28, 2011, my title for my post was No Limits. I wanted to share it again and also add an update at the end:

(From March 28, 2011) "The other morning I woke up with this prayer on my lips, 'Oh Lord, I hope I never did anything to limit or stifle the dreams you put in my precious husband's life. Please forgive me if I did.' I reflect on different aspects of our life together daily. We would often discuss possibilities and we had many dreams for the future and thoughts of what we would do when he retired from the Air Force. My prayer continued, "Please don't let me stifle or bring limitations to what You would do in our lives."

Shortly after that, a precious person called me and told me of an opportunity that she and her husband were pursuing which included an amazing blessing but also great commitment. I knew that the Lord had dealt with my heart earlier in the day. I believe God was preparing my heart for this news and my response. I would not want to limit what God would do in this person's life even though it will involve great dedication, unselfish love, perseverance and sacrifice.

When God calls us to something, may we pursue Him with all that we are, knowing He will do what He wants to do through us and most of all, make us who He wants us to be. We have no idea where it may lead, but let's allow Him to surprise us and be 'confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ' (Phil 1:6)."

Ruby and her big brother Isaiah

Update, January 2012: I was referring to our Tiffany's phone call in the above post. She and Zach were praying regarding the adoption of a precious little girl and she was letting me know of this after they had already prayed and fasted together as a couple. I am thankful the Lord prepared me for this by reminding me of my prayer not to stifle or put limitations on His work. I joined them in prayer as did other family members and friends. I am so excited that they followed hard after the Lord and let Him lead their decisions and steps. We are thrilled that Ruby is home! 


While Tiffany was in Taiwan, she sent the following sentiments in an e-mail to the family: "There are so many incredible spiritual things happening, so many stories of God's grace in this situation. We need to record all the stories, completely miraculous. Zach and I just sit and say, 'God, why us? How do we deserve this huge blessing?' We know it is all His grace. God has worked in mighty ways."


I am praying in this new year that I will remember not to put my limits on God's work in my life and the lives of my family and friends. Why would I want to limit His Hand! Father God, help me to follow hard after You and not be afraid, for You are with me. No Limits! 

The Light of Christmas

I was watching a movie the other day "The Christmas Cottage."  An elderly artist was struggling with a painting and he realized that he was concentrating on the pain and darkness of missing his beloved wife and instead he needed to paint the light!  Light!  He painted a beautiful picture of the light shining through the leaves. He said to Thomas Kinkade in the movie, "I have been trying to paint my sorrow, to show a bleakness of a world without Nicole, but then you came with a candle last night, and I knew what Nicole's memorial should be. Not darkness, but light. Sometimes we can barely see beyond the forest to the sky. I was painting the leaves of the forest and never saw the light of the sky behind it. Now I see it. That's all I need to see now."

I watch my daughter paint and it is amazing to see the light reflected in her work.  She recently painted a picture she entitled "Aspen" and it truly reflected light and life and glorious beauty.

When you walk into a darkened room, the colors do not show up at all but turn the light on and "voila," colors are everywhere! As my son and his wife turned the lights on their tree last week, we noticed how the lights were reflected in their bay window. What a beautiful sight! 

My Lonnie loved Christmastime, everything about it:  the music, the joyous smiles of our children, celebrating Advent as a family in our home as we prepared for Christmas Day, lighting the candles, making gifts and putting together toys, drinking eggnog, decorating our house inside and out (including  our fake snow in Guam and real snow in North Dakota), going to the mall and watching the people scurry and hurry along, Christmas Eve service with the luminaries all lit, the Christmas story on Christmas morning, the chaos and the fun...and the lights.

Jesus is the Light of the World.  We need His light to shine brightly in our lives, to dispel the darkness. During this time of Christmas, I am making a mental note to concentrate on the "Light." I want the beautiful Christmas lights to remind me of our Savior who was born a baby in a manger. Later in his earthly ministry He said the words, "I have come into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in darkness" (John 12:46). He also said, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life" (John 8:12).

This year I am concentrating on the Light

     ....and the music

          .......and family

               ...... and the joy that continues in our grandchildren's faces and our children's faces as they rejoice with their families 
                     .....and the joy of Zach and Tiffany bringing little Ruby home for Christmas.   

But most of all, I want to fix my eyes on the Light; on Jesus who came into the world to bring us hope and peace in the midst of the storm. I want to reflect His light to the world around me even as those windows in my son's house reflected the lights of the Christmas tree.  

So when we see those twinkling beautiful Christmas lights, let's remember the love of our God who sent His only Son to be our Light and who will lead us home.

Thank you, God, for leaving the Light on for us.  


(The song Light of the World by Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir started playing on my computer as I finished this blog. My computer was on shuffle play.  I thought that was very special!)

"HopeGrams"

I wrote the following "HopeGram" for Karen Sebastian. She is a blessing to all who know her and are blessed to read her words, hear her speak or witness her daily walk. I recommend her blog to anyone who wants to be encouraged in the Lord.  Also, I ask for 
prayer for healing and strength for her wonderful husband Bill.

Finding Renewed Hope Every Morning

Lamentations 3:22,23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never changes, His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness.”

This is the verse that was whispered in my ear the morning I discovered my precious husband Lonnie had passed away.  It was a horrible experience, yet the Lord was with me every step of the way. A general and his wife came by our home in Germany to bring comfort. As he hugged me he softly spoke to me of God’s love and mercy. These are the words that continue to ring in my ears as I walk through these days without my beloved husband.

Our daughter, Jennifer, painted these verses which I framed and had hanging in my room in my son’s home in Massachusetts. Every morning I would wake up and see these words promising God’s love and mercy and faithfulness. It helped me to keep my focus on God when I would have that ache of realization that Lonnie is not coming home. He is not on another deployment. He is in heaven with Jesus.

There are so many verses that minister to my heart and I could fill the page with verse after verse. This particular passage seems to bring it all together for me. I may not understand why, but God’s love never changes and He is merciful and faithful.

Lonnie was a chaplain in the Air Force and my life revolved around his life. We lived where we lived because of his assignments. I would do what I could to help him in his ministry and the ministry we shared. I would wait at home for him when he went on assignments to Korea, Kuwait, Iraq, etc. We longed for times to visit our children (who are all married and are having children of their own) and would dream of the days we could be with them while serving in the military. We also dreamed of what we would do after he retired. Then, suddenly, he was gone. My dreams of our future together were shattered.

We sing words like, “You are all I need” and “You are my everything” to the Lord. I have had to find out if this is true in my life.

Well, I miss my Lonnie so much. It has been two years now since he went to be with Jesus. Our children and grandchildren also yearn to have their father and grandaddy back and that hurts my heart because he was so much fun and full of wisdom, kindness and love!

I need the steadfast love of our Lord that doesn’t change! Things in life do change but He stays the same. Lonnie would be the first to point us to Jesus and say that He is the only Answer and is what we need for each new day. His written letters and words are marked in our memories. One encouragement Lonnie repeated very often was “to live each day with eternity’s values in mind.” It is easier to do that now for eternity seems so much closer.

I am thankful for God’s people too! I thank God He placed precious ones in our lives to share His love with us.

In January 2010, I went back to Germany to close out our house. I also was preparing my little car so it could be transported back to the States. As I was making sure it was completely cleaned out, I noticed a single church bulletin that had slipped under the driver’s seat. I bent down on my hands and knees and pulled it out. It was dark and snowy and cold. The wind blew the piece of paper out of my hands and it flew under the car. It was so windy that I thought it was gone. I walked to the other side of the car to check under the passenger seat and found the paper was on the ground. I bent over and picked it up. I found nothing else in the car except that old bulletin. It wasn’t until I walked inside my friend’s home moments later that I saw the verse highlighted in the Bible readings for a Sunday back in July 2009. It was Lamentations 3:22,23 and I knew this was not an accident. It was another sweet confirmation of God’s love and presence in my life even in my sorrow. I was overwhelmed by His love. I still have that bulletin--a precious reminder and treasure.


Dear Father,

I thank You for Your love which is unchanging, your mercies that are new every morning and Your faithfulness. I do feel lonely for Lonnie, but I know I am never alone. You are with me. You have been with us all each step of this journey. Help us to look forward to each new day and to “live each day with eternity’s values in mind.” Your mercies never come to an end. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Journeys in September

September, what an amazing month!  It started with a birthday party for Zoe, a journey with my best friend Terri to visit her brother at Camp Hope in Connecticut, on to New Jersey to see Jeremy and Crystal and my three handsome grandsons there, a side-trip to Amish country in Pennsylvania, a visit with  Susie and her family, a beautiful wedding back in California, another journey with Jen and her girls to attend a lovely wedding for my niece up in Washington and then back home again by way of my brother Stephen's house.  (And that is all in one sentence!)   

We experienced joy, anticipation, thankfulness for friends and family, a splash, a smash and towards the end a sigh of relief. Throughout the month I was again reminded how precious and fragile life is. And as my adorable daughter-in-law Sunnie jokingly asked me, "We needed to be reminded of that?"  I don't think so, Sunnie, but we were and I am not sure why?  Questions.  

Zoe had a joy-filled, beautifully decorated birthday party complete with tutus, pompoms, princesses and cake pops made by her mommy. 

Christine, Terri and Christina

The next day I flew to Atlanta (thank God for safe flights) and Terri and I embarked on a wonderful journey up to Camp Hope where I was privileged to meet her dear friend, Christina. Terri had told me so many stories about this lively young lady and I was blessed to meet her.  She never loses a game or if she does Terri wins. (I had a bad month where games were concerned. Next time! Oh, I think I did win a game of Rook up at Jason's house! Woohoo!) She does everything to make a person as comfortable as possible and her Russian accent is the cutest.  She works at Camp Hope in the summer and then goes back home to Russia and ministers to orphans and children in need. She is an extremely loving and gifted young lady.  

She treated us to a ride on a Sea-Doo and assured us that we would not get wet.  We didn't (well, she and I got splashed just a little but not Terri) until the very end when we all "gracefully" tumbled into the surprisingly warm Connecticut waters. It was hilarious! The splash! 

We had sweet times of walking, talking, going to rain-soaked Brimfield, worked on projects or just fed the birds and marveled at the beautiful skies. We left Camp Hope on 9/11 and attended a wonderful church service on our way to Jeremy and Crystal's new home.

We were so thankful to spend time with Jeremy and Crystal and their precious family. I think they have their hot water turned on now! :) We had fun walking to the ocean just blocks away, playing ball, seeing Logan and Elijah go off to school and come back again, learned another card game which Terri won, loved experiencing their family together and watching the boys eat red ice cream (they choose ice cream for its color). Thanks, Jersey Barkers, for a great time! We love you!

Eventually, we headed south after visiting Pennsylvania and picking up some treasures in what I affectionately call "Amishland."  We love to visit there. We were blessed to see Susie and her family. We were treated to delicious food, great fellowship, a private concert by Ann, and a trip to a very cool fabric store the next day, oh and Susie's famous bread! Yummy!

Our next goal was to get to Atlanta so I could fly out the next morning back to California.  We had driven maybe 30 minutes when the "smash" happened. A utility van with ladders on top suddenly had some cement siding boards catch in the wind and two of them flew off and came right toward us. I was able to dodge one of them but the other one hit us directly in the front window.  


Thankfully, Terri and I were both fine, not a scratch on us, but the window was shattered and we were stunned. We called Mike, took pictures and waited on the side of the road for the highway patrolman to come. He deemed it an "incident" not an "accident"! We were so grateful for God's presence with us and that we had worn sunglasses that morning and had even joked about them when we put them on. (Life is precious!) The man from the van was very helpful to get us to a glass shop to have the window replaced and within two to three hours we were back on the road, watching every truck or vehicle that was hauling anything and thanking God for His protection. We arrived in Atlanta at 2:30 a.m. and I flew out early that morning.  Terri drove safely back home. Thank God! 

Lunch with Uncle Stephen

After celebrating Nicole and Andrew's incredibly beautiful wedding, Jen and I took off for Washington for my niece  Lindsay and Jeff's wedding. We had a safe journey to Washington and we stopped along the way to enjoy lunch with my little brother Stephen.  


We enjoyed the children's playing together and fun times with Jason and his family, Tiffany and Isaiah. We had sweet times with Lola's family and my baby sister Karen. (We had a great time with Steve and Kristi and their children and grandchildren on the way back to San Diego. Thanks to all for your love and kindness to us!) 

Jen and five little ones with their Zobo Dolls

At the rehearsal dinner little Zoe started running a fever, was very hot and lethargic. She had a very croupy cough. I was holding her and she suddenly began to jerk and tighten her hands and legs. I motioned for Jen and Jason to come out into the hallway and she was full-on having a seizure which later we learned was called a febrile seizure. She was not responding to her mommy when she would talk to her, just looking off into the distance. 


We were in a fancy restaurant lobby area calling out to Jesus to heal her and stripping off her clothes to cool her body. The  people working at the restaurant were so helpful, giving us cold compresses, cold water bottles to put on her back and doing whatever they could to assist. They called 911 and the emergency technicians soon came and Zoe started responding. I had never experienced anything like that with our four children and our sweet daughter, our Jason and I felt helpless except to call out to Jesus and try to do everything that people were calling out for us to do. Jen was in anguish and my heart was breaking for her and her precious Benji who flew up to Washington the next day to be with his wife and daughters.

Thank God, (sigh of relief), Zoe is back to her liveliness, improving everyday, cough is dissipating and she is making us laugh and causing us to be filled with thanksgiving. Zoe means life and we are reminded again how precious life is. Jen and I talked today and wondered how many times God protects us from things and we are totally unaware. 


Zoe's going to dance class today! I'm praising Jesus!

So, Lord, we will trust You for You hold it all together. You are the Giver of Life, You love us and You are with us.  We will trust You for our hope is in You.


Our September journeys were made complete with signs of God's presence, protection, love, healing and hope everywhere even as we experienced fear and shock. I am thankful He is always with us. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5). Some things we just don't understand.


"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" (Romans 15:13 ESV).