Advent 2018

Indeed, gratitude and thanksgiving continues through Advent.  I am grateful for God's serendipity "style" of relating to us.  He has often surprised me along my journey.  And, His faithful presence, although sometimes unseen, on other occasions has been evident.  For me, His essence has been a wonder-about-concept.  I wrote the following in my gratitude journal: "God is exceedingly, abundantly beyond beyond x a zillion. And these few words don't even begin to describe His essence - INFINITY - no beginning and no end.  As a writer, I often experience frustration with words - those I can't find in my word-box...my thesaurus often helps me, but not this time. And I am so glad!  I will never find the words to describe the awe and wonder and majesty of God.  He knew before time began on this planet that I would in stumbling, incorrect grammar and sentence structure write this...He knew every sinful thought and action of my life.  Yet HE came as a baby, lived sinless and died in my place to restore me to this essence of love I can't describe.  I am totally astounded."  As we wait together in this Advent season I hope each of you will know His unending love for you, even in the clamor and busyness.  Blessings of Peace.  Gini

PRAYER FOR PERSECUTED CHURCH

May the Lord of Hosts who commands His angelic armies be a wall of protection for these persecuted believers. May the prayers of His people increase as their intercession engages the spiritual battle waging over that area. Lord, be their victory and deliverance! Spare their lives! Give wisdom and courage to the pastors who are helping lead their flock through this time of great crisis. In the Name above all names we pray!
“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints…” Eph. 6:18

Symbols of America

Respect for our flag...

October 26, 2016 at 7:57 AM ·

RESPECT for our flag is on my mind. I recently posted a comment about this and the reply of a woman astounded me. It was so beautiful I decided to cut and paste it and share with you. This is about our flag and our military. The next time you have the opportunity to see a military funeral, watch the care given to the flag over the casket. 

Here is her story:
When my father died, he was in Georgia and was to be buried in Florida. It was assumed that there would be someone who knew how to fold his flag. As it turned out, there was one man--and me. I had been a part of funeral details while in the Navy. The friend held the end with the stars, and I folded. I did the inspections of corners and mentally transformed myself to being in uniform. When I finished folding, the friend held and turned the flag while I inspected. I came to attention, and he followed suit. He handed me the flag. I took one step back, did an about face, walked to my mother, knelt on one knee and said the words. By the time I was done, both of us had tears streaming down our faces. I stood, came to attention, and saluted. Then I relaxed, went to my mother and held her until she was calmer. Then I sat down.

A Mimi memory from 2013

October 25, 2013

Yesterday during Kyla's nap time Landon wanted to play doctor with a few of their bears. I was his assisting nurse. His "buddy" bear had a big boo boo on his foot so I wrapped it in a bandage. When Kyla got up and joined us she was visibly upset by bear's boo boo. I tried to explain it was pretend. When they come today, I will need to remove the bandage and say "all better!" and let her kiss it. :-) :-) LOVE being their Mimi!

Being assertive vs Being aggressive

Of late I've seen some "hot, sometimes abusive" remarks on Facebook.  These always seem to be related to political topics.  Because Facebook is a public arena I have a suggestion that has to do with being assertive or aggressive.

First, the problem as I see it.  I have numerous friends on Facebook and I enjoy reading their posts because it helps me stay connected with them.  I am assuming those who comment on their post are friends as well.  Under a post is a REPLY which can be clicked on and before replying, the name of the friend who posted appears.  I like this because it is clarifying to all readers that I am responding to the friend who wrote the original post.  But sometimes I forget to click on the REPLY and what I type is written as a comment.

There have been times that a friend of the one who wrote the original post reads my comments, may not like it and then blasts me with accusatory remarks that are often hurtful and judgmental.  These have caused me to back away from "debates".  I don't like and I don't need to be diced and sliced by mean words from someone who knows nothing about me.  I want to say here and now: "I WASN'T TALKING TO YOU!"

Is there a solution? YES.  I am going to try to always use the REPLY so that it obviously states to whom I am speaking.  But if I fail to use the REPLY, I guess I will start my response to nastiness with "I WASN'T TALKING TO YOU!"  Facebook provides the personal messaging if a friend wants to have a deep debate with their posting friend.  Also, the person who wants to throw their objecting slurs about can do their own post on their own Facebook timeline and then their friends can debate all they want there! Regardless of my solution and/or feelings - LET'S KEEP IT CIVIL and learn how to be assertive and not aggressive with our words.  We never know what is going on in someone's life at the time.

El Elyon

GOD NAME: El Elyon - The God Most High - He is the Sovereign God in whom we can put our trust. El Elyon has supremacy over all false gods. Psalm 78:35, Daniel 4:34 & Acts 16:17. Let the world know!

My Facebook Star Information

(NASA, ESA) 
Light echo is seen around V838 Monocerotis, a dull star in an obscure constellation that suddenly became 600,000 times more luminous than our sun, temporarily making it the brightest star in our Milky Way galaxy in January 2002. The mysterious star, thought then to be the mythical Planet X, has long since faded back to obscurity.

NASA isn't sure mystery planet Nibiru even exists but that hasn't stopped conspiracy theorists linking it to biblical end time prophecies.  Rabbi Matityahu Glazerson is the latest religious theorist to claim that the alignment of Nibiru – also called Planet Nine or Planet X – is a prophetical precursor to the apocalypse.
He claims there are codes deep inside the Old Testament and that the words 'star Nibiru' can be found alongside 'Messiah.'
Conspiracy theorists like Glazerson believe the addition of another planet in our solar system could be a sign of the world coming to an end.  'This is a message to the entire world. Nibiru is to warn the world to repent. Not only Israel but also the world has to repent,' he said.

NASA has been shy to confirm the existence of Planet Nine but now it seems even the space agency is finding the evidence hard to ignore.  In its most recent update on the intriguing question, NASA said there was 'a possible 'Planet Nine' on the distant edges of our solar system.

Rick & Kay Warren's son from July 2013

Sometimes my Facebook post is like a page in my journal and you, my FB friends get to see my inner thoughts...I read in our newspaper yesterday the article about Rick and Kay Warren returning to their church after an extended time away to grieve for their son, Matt, who took his life...a friend of theirs wrote: "Every skeptic should have the fortitude to watch and observe Christian faith at its best." He was referring to that of Rick and Kay...no phoney "we are Christians and we will suck it up and be strong" They were raw in their emotions and intensely honest about faith and God. Rick said "for seven years, I prayed every day that God would heal my son's mind...it was the #l prayer of my life. It didn't make sense to me why this prayer wasn't working"- Then on April 5 Matt died...Kay said, With his death, my hope for a healed mind on Earth was over and hope seemed like a mockery to me...but what happened that day is not the end of the story." As I read their story, I realized their hope did not die with Matt...AMAZING. 

So, me? I pray daily for Landon and Kyla...for God's protection, HIS work in their lives and that they, too, will come in faith to trust HIM. But, after reading the Warrens' story I ask myself, "Can God really be trusted?" 

This is what I read this morning: Hebrews 6:17 - 19 "God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that He would never change His mind. So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible to God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls." 

I will never understand the whys of our shattered dreams. But, if I can't cling to God's "I am faithful and I am God and I have plans for your good", then I have nothing. So, I choose hope, even when it seems a mockery.

The Feel of a Praying Life

p. 84
"The feel of a praying life is cautious optimism---caution because of the Fall, optimism because of redemption."

Andrea Bocelli & Blackberries

Gini Walker    Facebook post

June 19, 2010 at 8:17am ·

Wanted to escape the cares of the world for a few...nothing like the tenor voice of Italian Andrea Bocelli and making a blackberry cobbler using berries from the garden to lift my spirits. Thank you God for the gifts of voice and berries!

Technology Quote

Quote from book: The Tech-Wise Family

"As technology has filled our lives with more and more easy everywhere, we do less and less of the two things human beings were made to do.  We are supposed to work and we are supposed to rest."

The term easy everywhere is the descriptive phrase for modern technology.

Connected with Joni

Joni has a daily blog and comments are welcomed.  Below is a comment I wrote a few days ago regarding encouraging our husband's "God honoring" passions.  Here it is:

May 18, 2018

Hi Joni, Just finished your book A Place of Healing and saw in the epilogue how to follow you on this update site. SO GLAD! I will be 73 in August and my husband Charlie will turn 73 in June. We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary last September. Charlie retired a little over 20 years ago but never really retired. He has passions which fill his days. One of those is being a handyman. So about 6 months ago, he started a little "business" called IamSOhandy. He does little fix it jobs, primarily for widows. As word about Charlie has spread, he has become busier and busier. My "honey do list" has taken a backseat to this. I am learning to be joyful in this as I hear his stories. What he does and how he does it and why he does it is bringing honor to our LORD Jesus. I am full of gratitude to be a part of his life and watch his "God honoring" IamSOHandy bring joy to others.

Joni's "broken instrument" story

Perlman makes his music the hard way
On November 18, 1995 , Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a concert at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City.
If you have ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is no small achievement for him. He was stricken with polio as a child, and so he has braces on both legs and walks with the aid of two crutches. To see him walk across the stage one step at a time, painfully and slowly, is an awesome sight. He walks painfully, yet majestically, until he reaches his chair. Then he sits down, slowly, puts his crutches on the floor, undoes the clasps on his legs, tucks one foot back and extends the other foot forward. Then he bends down and picks up the violin, puts it under his chin, nods to the conductor and proceeds to play.
By now, the audience is used to this ritual. They sit quietly while he makes his way across the stage to his chair. They remain reverently silent while he undoes the clasps on his legs. They wait until he is ready to play.
But this time, something went wrong. Just as he finished the first few bars, one of the strings on his violin broke. You could hear it snap -- it went off like gunfire across the room. There was no mistaking what that sound meant. There was no mistaking what he had to do.
People who were there that night thought to themselves: "We figured that he would have to get up, put on the clasps again, pick up the crutches and limp his way off stage -- to either find another violin or else find another string for this one."
But he didn't. Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again. The orchestra began, and he played from where he had left off. And he played with such passion and such power and such purity as they had never heard before.
Of course, anyone knows that it is impossible to play a symphonic work with just three strings. I know that, and you know that, but that night, Itzhak Perlman refused to know that. You could see him modulating, changing, recomposing the piece in his head . At one point, it sounded like he was de-tuning the strings to get new sounds from them that they had never made before.
When he finished, there was an awesome silence in the room. And then people rose and cheered. There was an extraordinary outburst of applause from every corner of the auditorium. We were all on our feet, screaming and cheering, doing everything we could to show how much we appreciated what he had done.
He smiled, wiped the sweat from his brow, raised his bow to quiet us, and then he said -- not boastfully, but in a quiet, pensive, reverent tone -- "You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left."
What a powerful line that is. It has stayed in my mind ever since I heard it.
And who knows? Perhaps that is the definition of life -- not just for artists but for all of us. Here is a man who has prepared all his life to make music on a violin of four strings, who, all of a sudden, in the middle of a concert, finds himself with only three strings; so he makes music with three strings, and the music he made that night with just three strings was more beautiful, more sacred, more memorable, than any that he had ever made before, when he had four strings.
So, perhaps our task in this shaky, fast-changing, bewildering world in which we live is to make music, at first with all that we have, and then, when that is no longer possible, to make music with what we have left.

Joni's Pain

...Pain is a bruising of a blessing; but it is a blessing nevertheless.  It's a strange, dark companion, but a companion---if only because it has passed through God's inspecting hand.  It's an unwelcome guest, but still a guest.  I know that it drives me to a nearer, more intimate place of fellowship with Jesus, and so I take pain as though I were taking the left hand of God.

Chapter 1 - Report From The Front Lines  Book: A Place of Healing Joni E. Tada 

"...yes, I pray that my pain might be removed, that it might cease; but more so, I pray for the strength to bear it, the grace to benefit from it, and the devotion of offer it up to God as a sacrifice of praise..."  Chapter 1 - Report from the Front Lines  Book: A Place of Healing Joni E. Tada 

The REAL question about God and healing: "It is whether or not God wills to heal all those who truly come to Him in faith."  AND her answer: "God reserves the right to heal or not...as He sees fit."   Romans 11:33 "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God?  How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!"  Chapter 2 . God and Healing: What's the Real question?

Liturgy Concepts

BED COVERS - a cocoon to emerge from to face a new day - begin with the sign of the cross and dedication of day to God

MAKING THE BED - awareness of habits and rituals

These come from book: "Liturgy of the Ordinary"  chapters 1 and 2

A Funny Easter Story

On Easter Sundays I make an effort to "dress up".  So, this Sunday I went to my closet and chose a colorful favorite skirt to wear.  The colors were "Easter-ish".  I hadn't worn this skirt in years and the elastic waist band lost its holding power. (no doubt you know where this story is going - yet I want to give you a verbal picture)  At the conclusion of the service after our pastor gave the blessing I sat down to retrieve my Bible and purse from the pew rack in front of me.  When I stood, my skirt fell down around my ankles!  I sat down FAST and saw our pastor's wife a couple of rows in front of me.  I called her name and motioned for her to come back.  She helped me check the skirt and slip to make sure I was getting it back up in place.  Fortunately I wore a shawl so I wrapped it around my waist to help hold the skirt in place.  During worship a couple of close friends were sitting next to us and earlier on the husband said, "Gini, I think your skirt is falling down"...I told him it was the design of the skirt and I thought all was well.  They had exited the pew when the skirt fell so when I saw him later and told him what happened, I thought he would NEVER stop laughing!  The folks behind us were first time visitors, and I am HOPING they had left before my skirt did its thing.  This is an Easter I won't soon forget!

Communion on the Moon

The  Moon (& God) - VERY INTERESTING - July 20, 1969

What  was the first liquid and food consumed on the moon? I ' m betting that most are  unaware of this story.

Forty-five  years ago, two human beings changed history by walking on the surface of the  moon.

But,  what happened before Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong exited the Lunar Module is  perhaps even more amazing, if only  because so few people know about it.  I ' m talking about the fact that  Buzz Aldrin took communion on the surface of the moon.

Some months after  his return, he wrote about it in Guideposts magazine.

The  background to the story is that Aldrin was an elder at his Presbyterian Church  in Texas during this period in his life; and,  knowing that he would soon be doing something unprecedented in human history,  he felt that he should mark the occasion somehow.  He asked his minister  to help him and so the minister consecrated a communion wafer and a small vial  of communion wine.  Buzz Aldrin took them with him out of the Earth ' s  orbit and onto the surface of the moon.  He and Armstrong had only been  on the lunar surface for a few minutes when Aldrin made the following public  statement:

This  is the LM (Lunar Module) pilot. I ' d like to take this opportunity to ask every  person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment  and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or  her own way.  He then ended radio communication, and there, on the silent  surface of the moon, 250,000 miles from home, he read a verse from the Gospel  of John, and he took communion.

Here  is his own account of what happened:

"In the  radio blackout, I opened the little plastic packages which contained the bread  and the wine.  I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given  me.  In the one-sixth gravity of the moon, the wine slowly curled and  gracefully came up the side of the cup.  Then I read the  scripture:  ' I am  the vine, you are the branches. Whosoever abides in me will bring forth much  fruit ... Apart from me you can do nothing. '

"I  had intended to read my communion passage back to Earth, but at the last  minute they had requested that I not do this. NASA was already embroiled in  a legal battle with Madelyn Murray O ' Hare, the celebrated opponent of  religion, over the Apollo 8 crew ' s reading from Genesis while orbiting the  moon at Christmas. I agreed reluctantly."

"I  ate the tiny toast and swallowed the wine. I gave thanks for the intelligence  and spirit that had brought two young pilots to the Sea of Tranquility .  It was interesting for me to think that the very first liquid ever poured on  the moon and the very first food eaten there were the communion  elements."

"And,  of course, it ' s interesting to think that some of the first words spoken on  the moon were the words of Jesus Christ, who made the Earth and the moon - and  who, in the immortal words of Dante, is Himself the "Love that moves the Sun  and other stars."

How  many of you knew this? Too bad this type of news doesn ' t travel as fast as the  bad does.

Share  with others you know . . . . . .

The  nicest place to be is in someone ' s thoughts, the safest place to be is in  someone ' s prayers, and the very best place to be is in the hands of God.  Amen.

Christians' Symbol

"The Old Rugged Cross" and "When I Survey The Wondrous Cross". Isn't is amazing this emblem of suffering and shame is cherished by believers. No other religion I know does this.

The Old Rugged Cross

My thoughts about Good Friday (God's Friday) --- The Cross - It seems that often the cross has become just a beautiful or simple piece of jewelry...and I have two: One that is so shinny and has black stones at the 4 ends. The other is not a polished silver, but has a little purple stone in the middle and a ring around the cross bars.... I've read the words of the well known hymn "The Old Rugged Cross"...here are a few phrases - "The emblem of suffering and shame"..."that old rugged cross, so despised by the world"..."the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine," "To the old rugged cross I will ever be true, its shame and reproach gladly bear"..."the dear Lamb of God (Jesus) left His glory above to bear it (the old rugged cross) to dark Calvary". These words certainly paint a different picture than my necklaces. I wonder if my crosses have weakened the message of this hymn. Maybe not...perhaps when I wear them, a conversation about that "old rugged cross" may begin. Today, the Tuesday after Palm Sunday and just days before Good Friday, is a day to contemplate a cross that was old, and rugged, and blood stained. It held the Creator of the world as He bore ALL the evil of the world...and His Father looked away. But, wait...Here comes Easter!

A Newspaper Column Debate

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made 'no sense' to go to church every Sunday.

He wrote: "I've gone for 30 years now, and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons, but for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them.  So, I think I'm wasting my time, the preachers and priests are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column

Much to the 'delight' of the editor, it went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

"I've been married for 30 years now.  In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals."

"But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today".

"Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"

When you are DOWN to nothing, God is UP to something!

Gini's Response: Hmmmmm and Mmmmm  So true.  now that I am 72 I have lost track of the sermons.  Some were definitely "snoozers"  and some were "100% nailed it".  I grew up Southern Baptist, small little Banning church, went to Cal Baptist College (now University).  One of the requirements at CBC was taking two years in Bible (one Old Testament and one New Testament.  The professors was in the "snoozer" category.  She was in her 70s and her lectures were straight read from the text book by Hester.  Actually she was a joke around campus - SAD.  But here I am at age 72 and I LOVE to read God's Word.  So Hmmm and Mmmm.  His Word says "His Word will not return to Him void."  It NEVER grows old.  It continues to nourish this old lady. 

Head Conversations

March 19, 2014 ·

I'm not a night person...prefer to be home in relaxed clothing when the sun goes down...last night was my Bible study meeting and all day yesterday it was "I'm going...I'm not going...I'm going...I'm not going." Going won out at 5:15 and I had to be there at 7 with a 20 minute drive...so I started a new conversation in my head "you can do this!" So glad the "go" won out. The study in God's Word was awesome...Peggy McAulay's leading/teaching was great, discussions were special and God met me there with HIS love and grace. Thanks Precepts and Peggy.

Waiting

And once again I post something from the past. This is from 3-12-14. The words are from the devotional book "Jesus Calling". I find it interesting that I can't remember what we were waiting for four years ago. But, it seems there is even more waiting on this 12th day of March, four years later. I'm always reminded of words in the Bible about "waiting". This seems to be a position God often chooses for us. And, if you are like me, you don't like it. But these words from J.C. paint a beautiful word picture of a strong chain. The ( ) words are from four years ago post on Facebook: (For those in the waiting room: "Waiting, trusting, and hoping are intricately connected, like golden strands interwoven to form a strong chain. Trusting is the central strand, because it is the response from My children that I desire the most. Waiting and hoping embellish the central strand and strengthen the chain that connects you to Me."
- Jesus Calling, March 12, 2014 THIS IS FOR MY FAMILY AS WE WAIT TOGETHER AND TRUST GOD TOGETHER. you... Gini, Mom, Sister, Wife & Mimi)

Working Out

In January I was contacted by Abi Correale, a junior at Biola.  Abi is my niece Lisa's daughter.  Abi is in the nursing program at Biola.  One of her classes is regarding geriatrics and she has an assignment to interview a "senior adult".  She is to do 5 interviews.  As of this writing we have concluded 4 and we will finish in March.  Her assignment is due in April.

These interviews have been interesting and I told Abi she will know me better than my own sister knows me!  We discuss physical, mental and spiritual health.  As we discussed physical I told her about my decline in this area - especially in my muscle tone and ability to walk well.  Long story short as a result of this discussion, I contacted a friend who is a personal trainer with a very, very small gym.  In the first week of March 2018 I began a 2 x a week, one hour each session work out with him.  I am SO ENCOURAGED and EXCITED to see improvement.  I'm grateful to God for this.

Prayer from Facebook site

The words in this prayer came from a site I follow on Facebook. The words are partial because I left out the parts about a family attacked because of their faith. I LOVE the words of this prayer. It explodes with truth, faith in our Abba Father and speaks of our need for HIS mercy. Read it. Pray it...for the HIS global church:
"Abba Father, Lord of Hosts! We rejoice that you protect and cover with your mighty shield! Please drench with your loving kindness; bring merciful healing to all places of trauma in the church. Defeat the enemy at every turn. Explode the growth of your church as your saints continue living the gospel 'by faith!' In the Name and for the Glory of Jesus Christ, amen."
"When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him." Isaiah 59:19