February letter

 

Dear Ones,

I greet you as “Dear Ones” because you all hold a special place in my heart. Afterall, we are Family! Think about the fact that we are, “Dear Ones” to our Heavenly Father. His heart is a God/Love sized heart, and he knows each of us by name; how many hairs we have on our head; the words we will speak before we speak them; the thoughts and intents of our hearts. That never ceases to amaze me. Not one Child of God is out of the boundaries of His amazing love and grace. “Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus” You find this truth in Romans 8:38&39. These words should bring us great comfort.

On the other hand, we are human. I occasionally have to struggle to remember a person’s name. It bothers me because I am concerned that if they knew I couldn’t remember their name that they would think they were not all that important to me. I have honestly resorted to asking a mutual friend of a friend to divulge the others name. Or, ask someone to please go introduce themselves to someone whom I just met and can’t remember their name. Now there is a confession for you and some might confess you have taken the same tactic. I work on remembering because it makes people feel that they are valued. I can see faces light up when I have remembered their name after meeting them only once. I do, however, remember faces even though I cannot always remember where I know their face from. All a part of being fallible. So thankful we serve an infallible God!

Well, here we are in another new year. 2025. Seems surreal at times. Had some paperwork we needed, dated January 2024. Another human quirk. After signing the same date for a year it has become a habit, for some,  hard to break.

You know how I am always “thinking”. Ha! Here are some current thoughts: How often do we get stuck in the same habits year after year? Some habits, of course, are excellent. For instance, reading your Bible and praying every day. My husband reads his Bible every time he has to wait in the car for me to shop, etc. However, some habits can become road blocks that keep us from moving forward; stepping out of our comfort zones. I had a professor in a college class challenge us all to take a different route home than we usually used. “Over the River and through the Woods, to Grandmothers House we go.” Cute song. What if we went “Over the mountains and through the desert…” You get my meaning. What if the Lord spoke to our hearts to do something totally out of our “box”. Perhaps he wanted you to go volunteer at the local food bank. Or take a trip to a state where a disaster had taken place and volunteer to help the victims. What if he asked you to give a certain amount of money above the usual, habitual gift. How would you feel? Maybe at church, teach children or sing a song (if you are a singer) to bless the congregation. Things that would generally be intimidating.

Life can be such an adventure in the Lord when we are willing to say like Isaiah, “Here am I, send me”. We can be a voice to bring new life and He will equip us for whatever he wills. Serving the Lord is like being in an ever-flowing, clear as crystal river. As we move out, led by the Holy Spirit, we bring new life and refreshment to others and our own spirits are moved from a possible place of stagnation to a place of freshness and renewed energy. Even in old age, we can have that new life day by day. We can have our eyes opened to “present interpretation and fresh revelation” to how the Living Word of God applies to our ever changing maturing process as we are willing to grow in Him. Ephesians 4:13 “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man (perfect in His Righteousness), unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:”

Hope this letter finds you all walking in His blessings. We have snow in the forecast which is not unusual for our location in the Oregon Outback. Enjoy each new day and each new breath of life and let us continue to “walk each other home” through encouragement and prayer. Jesus is returning for those who are watching. I am excited for His arrival!

In His Love,

BarbaraJean