Gone Astray

I was straying when Christ found me

In the night so dark and cold;

Tenderly His arm went around me,

And He bore me to His fold.

With His nail-scarred hand He bro't me

To the shelter of His love;

Of His grace and will He taught me,

And of heav'nly rest above

Tho' the night be dark around me

I am safe, for He is near;

Never shall my foes confound me,

While the Savior's voice I hear

(Hymn-Hiding Place)

In the middle of last night I let Biskit and Cookie out front to potty as I do every night. It is a routine. Every night.  I usually go sit down and try not to wake up too much while they do “their thing”. They ALWAYS come back in when they are done and together we stumble back to bed.

So trustworthy, such good and obedient dogs.

  Last night after a lengthy time they had not come back inside.  I scanned the yard from my front window to see if they were dawdling around as they sometimes do, taking their good old time sniffing and peeing. No doggies in sight. I waited a bit longer and still nothing. Muttering under my breath in frustration, (Mike was asleep), I put on my clothes, wrapped a blanket around me to keep warm and went outside to round them up. Gone. No dogs in sight. I was afraid, worried and angry at the same time. Being in the dead of night, I couldn’t call for them, so I began walking down the street. Fuming. In the distance some five or six houses away I saw two white creatures milling about obviously oblivious that they have wandered far from the allowable boundaries of their home.  I can't believe it. They had NEVER strayed like this. Ever. I quickly approached them. Startled, they saw me coming and began running back, knowing they are BUSTED. We arrived home, me not saying a word until we entered the house. “Bad dogs”, I yell.  They ran to the kitchen for a treat- I was flabbergasted. No more going out front without supervision. No longer trustworthy! I gave them a sermon on how I  provide for them, keep them safe, take them on special walks to the park, feed them wholesome food, keep them healthy, play with them, love them daily. How could they blow me off for some new night smells. I can't believe it!! They have had a taste of disobedient freedom and it has gone to their brains. I feared they will try it again…they have partaken of the forbidden fruit.  I was furious.

  Then, as I lay in my bed steaming, wide awake from the midnight excursion, the Lord brought  to mind images of MY straying everyday. Getting sidetracked with the "smells" of  my hobbies, phone calls, TV, books, little “life deserts”. Even asking for a special blessing.  Oblivious. He finds me straying just a house away , sometimes the other side of town or another time zone!   Dawdling in other people's yards…just enjoying myself with my freedom of choice. I am not doing anything bad, but I am not focused on my Lord and what He has for me that is always SO much better than what I choose for myself. Believe it or not. Oh how He loves me, protects me, provides for me, cares for me, desires the best for me, is gracious to me. He died for me that I may partake of  His love, His Kingdom living, right here, right now.

  Why do I stray? What night smells distract me that I end up in a foreign land…far from the true source of the goodness and love Jesus lavishes on me? What makes disobedience (SIN) feel so good, so normal?  Why? Why?

   Before falling asleep, I thanked Him for using my life stuff, including my precious doggies, to remind me of my tendency, like a sheep, to go astray. 

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wand’ring from the fold of God;

He to rescue me from danger

Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I’m constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness like a fetter

Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee;

Never let me wander from Thee,

Never leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.

(Hymn-Fount of Blessing) 

The Cross

The Cross. Where I must come to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus who sets me free from death, the penalty for my sin. I find my inheritance and identity in Him. Such an amazing fact, yet so difficult to grasp. So contrary to my earthly thinking. The Gospel...that God in His loving kindness took hold of me for His own before the foundations of the world. The Cross, where sin meets love, where love covers a multitude of sin, where I die to self that I may be born again. A new creation reconciled to God. The Cross. 

Worship

The beauty of nature never fails to inspire me to worship the Lord. His handiwork is found in the details of everything I observe, touch, taste, hear and feel. Amazing. I gaze at landscapes and feel peace seep into the cracks of my being, take root there, and grow silently. My busy mind becomes quiet as my senses feast on His creation. I feel His holiness surround me, His Spirit move within me and I bow down and give thanks.

My desire..

The Unborn Child.

A story that reveals the TRUTH about the unborn CHILD

A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said:

'Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even 1 year old and I'm pregnant again. I don't want kids so close together.'

So the doctor said: 'Ok and what do you want me to do?'

She said: 'I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help with this.'

The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady: 'I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for you too.'

She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request.

Then he continued: 'You see, in order for you not to have to take care of 2 babies at the same time, let's kill the one in your arms. This way, you could rest some before the other one is born. If we're going to kill one of them, it doesn't matter which one it is. There would be no risk for your body if you chose the one in your arms.'

The lady was horrified and said: 'No doctor! How terrible! It's a crime to kill a child!'

'I agree', the doctor replied. 'But you seemed to be OK with it, so I thought maybe that was the best solution.'

The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point.
He convinced the mom that there is no difference in killing a child that's already been born and one that's still in the womb.                              

  

Another year to be grateful !






    As 2011 winds down and I look back over this year, I realize, once again, how much

I have to be thankful for. There will always be mountain tops as well as valleys in

life and I want to share a couple of my “High” points from 2011.

**Our jobs. Mike and I have BOTH been working part time this year by choice. He is

completing his 26th year at Cook Children's Hospital and I just finished my 15th year

with what is now Express Scripts. Working fewer hours has been WAY better for us-

now being able to spend more time with each other as well as friends and family. Not the

same as total retirement, but maybe the next best thing. We took a trip this November to

Sedona, AZ, one of our FAVORITE travel destinations. While there, taking in all the

beauty of the red rocks, and surrounding area including the Grand Canyon, we both

decided that this could be the place of our future retirement. So, we’ll see. We still aren’t

ready (or should I say able) to quit our jobs, but maybe in 2013?

**Our home and neighborhood a seemingly a small thing that I take for granted. I love

being able to walk Biskit and Cookie (they are now both seniors ) down the tree shaded

streets to the lake each day (even though the drought has made the lake a giant field this

year with grass growing under the boat docks !) and enjoy the safety and quiet nature of

our neighborhood in the midst of the big, busy, madhouse of the metroplex. Sedona has

no freeways!

**Our travels and families. Always on the top of my list. This year I was able to go

home to Ohio 4 times to visit my family including my Moms birthday in April, my

nephew Tim’s wedding to Gena in June, a surprise visit for my Dad’s 84th birthday and

back again in October with a special visit to my old friend Inez who is now in a nursing

home. PLUS my sister Debbie and her husband Mark went to Lake Tahoe with us for a

week in September where we enjoyed the beauty of the pristine lake against the

backdrop of the mountains. Breathtaking ! I have been busy working on the dozens of

photos I took (still a favorite hobby) so I can post a few on our website for friends and

family to view.  ( http://www.mikeandkathie.com )

** The Lord Jesus - without Him in my life I would be truly lost. So as I celebrate

this Christmas season I am reminded that

“ Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” James 1:17

Wedding Bells







 Last week Mike and I traveled to Ohio to attend my oldest nephew Tim's wedding. Tim and his new bride Gena met years ago when my sister Sherri, after working with Gena at a health food store, fixed them up. Every mother's dream. Years have gone by, Tim and Gena have finished college, began their careers, and finally decided to “tie the knot”. The wedding was held outside at a beautiful old country estate.  After storming all week, the weather ended up being perfect  the wedding day. The reception was held outside afterwards with plenty of delicious food, music, dancing, and fun!



Gena and Tim, Man and Wife



Dancing the night away!



Upside Down

Sometimes I just feel helter-skelter, here and there, this way and that way, approach and avoid, sure and uncertain, happy and sad....basically UPSIDE DOWN. This is one of those moments, and though I don't want to feel this way, don't know why I do the fact is I do. It will pass, I know, and the "Real Kathie" will emerge but until then this picture expresses my postion.

New Year Prayer "The Dark Guest"

Caught

                                                           
O Lord,

Bend my hands and cut them off, for I have often struck You with a wayward will when these fingers should embrace You by faith.
I am not yet weaned from all created glory, honor, wisdom, and esteem of others for I have a secret motive to eye my name in all I do.
Let me not only speak the word sin, but see the thing itself.
Give me to view a discovered sinfulness, to know that though my sins are crucified they are never wholly mortified.
Hatred, malice, ill-will, vain-glory that hungers for and hunts after man’s approval and applause, all are crucified, forgiven, BUT they rise again in my sinful heart.
O my crucified but never wholly mortified sinfulness!
O my life-long damage and daily shame!
O my indwelling and besetting sins!
O the tormenting slavery of a sinful heart!
Destroy, O God the Dark Guest within me whose hidden presence makes my life a hell.
Yet You have not left me here without grace; The cross still stands and meets my needs in the deepest straits of the soul.
The memory of my great sins, my many temptations, my falls, bring afresh into my mind the remembrance of Your great help, Your support from heaven, Your great grace that saved such a wretch as me.
There is no treasure so wonderful as that continuous experience of Your grace toward me which alone can subdue the risings of sin within:
                                                                  GIVE ME MORE OF IT.
                   -from "Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan Prayers"

Christmas Letter

Winter Wonderland

After the heartache and illness we experienced in 2009, I am glad to report that 2010 was filled with joy spent with family and friends along with a bit of job turmoil thrown in for
“fun”. It is rare that I get to see my family more than twice a year but this year I made a surprise visit to Ohio for my mom’s birthday in April, back again to see everyone in May, a dream come true vacation with sister Debbie and Mark to Hawaii in July, back to Ohio
for a couple of great weeks in September including some “sister time” at a cabin on Cowan Lake, and a first time in 25 year visit from my sister Sherri and hubby Chip to our home in Texas in November. WOW. We made a short trip to Angel Fire, New Mexico for a “family reunion” with Mike’s sister Deb and brother Pat in October when the autumn colors were at their peak....another WOW.
    In between these special family times both Mike and I have had to deal with job “issues”. The good news is we still have jobs. Express Script purchased my previous company, Wellpoint, last January and I was required to work full time. I have found this tough after working part time for so many years and having ample hours in the week to have a life outside of my JOB. I am ashamed to admit I have found myself whining much too often about my situation instead of being grateful. Since total retirement isn’t yet possible, Mike spent this year attempting to change to a part time day shift position after working 24 years of graveyard shift at the Children’s hospital. After months of hiring and training his replacements, he FINALLY started his new position this week. It was weird getting ready for work, sharing the bathroom, and eating breakfast together. I am so used to leaving the house before he gets home from work I almost didn’t know how to act. Ha. I am thrilled for his new opportunity and am hoping that maybe next year I will be allowed to cut back my hours. Meanwhile....since he now has more time on his hands, I am devising lists of household chores for him take charge of while I “toil” away. We’ll see.
    We bought a telescope this summer and joined the local astronomy club in an effort to develop some hobbies together and meet new people. Mike has always had a passion for astronomy and all its technological gear and I love the outdoors and science stuff. So, it has been an adventure for us as we learn volumes of information and sit under the starry skies. Kind of romantic too.
    Last, but not least, I must add that Biskit and Cookie are as frisky as ever and our daily companions whether we are watching TV, walking the neighborhood, or scoping out the heavens.
    As 2010 comes to an end, I pray that the Lord of heaven, Jesus Christ, continues to guide me in His ways as a new year unfolds allowing me another opportunity to know Him and the depths of the riches of His wisdom and knowledge.
                                                            Have a Blessed Christmas !