Often, I have heard the statement “when God closes a door, look for a window”.  That statement has bothered me when I have heard or seen it.  Why would one look for a window if God has shut the door?  Are you trying to get back into an area God has said to stay out of?  Family, friends, and people who are invited go through the door.  Who goes through a window?  Someone who has been locked out (by accident or intentional), emergency personnel, or people who are not supposed to be there, such as the thief. 

If God is closing a door, He has something else in mind.  Don’t try to force your way into an area where you don’t belong.  Look for the door He has for you.  In time, after you learn some things, God has for you to learn, and the timing is right, He may open that door for you.  Or you may mind you are no longer interested in it because the doors He gave you to go through were so much better than the one you thought was so great. 

When God closes a door, don’t settle for something like a window.  Look for the door He has for you and although it may not be easy, you will have His blessing on whatever it is that He has given you to do.  When He opens a door, you can walk through with confidence knowing it is the right door for you!

A lot of Amish have moved into this area.  We have gotten to know a number of families.  We stopped in at one of the families last Monday for some business.  There were Amish people working all over the place.  We found out the husband/father passed away one month before.  The day before was Sunday.  Amish meet for services every other week.  They rotate to each other’s homes for the service.  It was this particular family’s turn for the service.  A few hours before the service, their horse barn and another building caught fire and were destroyed. 

The Amish showed up on Monday to clean it up and rebuild.  We arrived a little after noon, by that time the buildings were cleaned up and cement poured for the new buildings.  The next day they came back to rebuild.  By Wednesday, both buildings were finished.  We had heard of how the Amish work together for things like that, but this was our first time observing it close up.  It was quite amazing.

I have seen farming communities come together to help a farmer who had a heart attack.  The community farmers lined up their combines and trucks to harvest his fields before returning home to harvest their own fields.  It is a beautiful sight to see a community work together.

I think that is what God would intend for us to do.  He said to love your neighbor as yourself.  Watching the news, one can see that many have forgotten that.  And the Scripture in Luke 6:31 “ Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Is a good one for everyone to practice.  If we all made these verses part of our lives, what a difference it would make.  I think we all would live less stressful and happier lives.

We all go through hard times, but how we deal with it is what matters. A few days before Christmas, my father-in-love passed away. 11 days later, on New Year’s Eve, my mother-in-love passed away. They were 94 years old… dad was 3 weeks from turning 95. They had been married 76 years. That is not a typo. 76 years. Isn’t that amazing. Then about 3 weeks later, my oldest brother passed away, ending his fight with cancer. Even though this has been difficult, I am not the only one who is going through things that are difficult. In fact, everyone reading this is dealing with tough situations. It seems at times that the tough things come in waves. One thing after another hits, then it calms down before another wave hits.

Going through tough times is not unusual. How we go through them makes all the difference. If I could do something to remove the painful things in your life, I would try to do that. But many times, the things we go through have a huge influence on molding us. That molding can be positive or negative. We know a family who has a child that is severely disabled. It is a day to day struggle working with her to keep her going. On top of that, the dad had 2 jobs and lost them both inside of a week. One thing after another hit them. Now it seems that things are straightening out again. But things can change so quickly.

It seems like during the difficult times we learn the most. However, when things turn around, often lessons learned are quickly forgotten and old habits can be resumed. It doesn’t matter what our situation is, it can make us bitter or better. Perspective. How we let it affect us. Sometimes the load we carry is overwhelming. The only way I have found to navigate life is to follow the leading of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without His help, things I have gone through would have left me swimming in a sea of despair. You might find yourself in the same situation. Jesus will help you through it if you let Him. Sometimes He removes the problem, other times He walks with you through it. Either way, you are so much better off when you let Him help you!

Yesterday my husband and I were sitting in our woods.  It was quiet except for the sounds of nature.  The wind was rustling through the trees.  Leaves crinkled as they floated to the ground.  An occasional bird flew overhead.  The colors of fall were all around us.  It was a very peaceful setting.

Then we returned to our home and turned on the news.  Immediately it was evident that the peaceful environment we had just left was not worldwide.  I can’t even imagine what emotions the people in the Israel/Gaza area are feeling.  The same can be said for people in other parts of the world that have been going through wars and various sorts of incursions.  Dad’s and mom’s trying to raise their children in situations where even going outside is not safe.  My heart goes out to them.

In the US we have been watching all sorts of protests because of the middle east conflicts.  This causes a lot of turmoil.  Add to that, individual situations such as health issues, financial problems, work situations, relationships, and on top of all that having a loved one incarcerated.  For me, all of this can be overwhelming.  What we can be certain about is there is a LOT of uncertainty.

Even when everything seems to be going wrong and your whole world is falling apart, you can have peace.  The more out of control a person may feel can be the best place, as long as they give that control to the Lord.  When we quit trying to control all the situations of our life and leave it all in the hands of Jesus, we are in the best place possible.  We may think we know what is best, but we can’t see what the end result will be.  He can.  So, we need to stop trying to force our own way and rest in His care.  It won’t stop all the bad things from happening, but you will have peace and be in the best situation.  When we trust him, we can know all things will work out for good.  That is a promise He gave us, and He keeps His promises.

Recently I read that if you put bunch of black ants and an equal number of red ants in a jar, nothing will happen.  They will get along just fine.  But if you shake the jar, they will start to kill each other.  The red ants will consider the black ants as their enemy and the black ants will think the red ants are their enemy.  Neither group did anything wrong, the person who shook the jar is to blame, but they attack each other. 

If we are not careful, we can do the same thing.  We get upset about something and take it out on those around us, when they are not at fault for whatever happened.  Once the attacks start, they can escalate quickly.  Unfortunately, way too many get hurt in these circumstances.  Recently, I was in a situation where someone was taking everything out on the person they are the closest too.  I am not sure if they thought that was a safe person to vent on because the person would still love them, but it was not good to watch.  I think that is the reason for a lot of relationships fail… whether marriages, friendships, or even business dealings.

When we got married, someone we respected told us to always be kind to each other.  At the time I thought that was a bit strange since I expected something much more profound from them.  Someone else that meant a lot to us said, always leave the others dignity intact.  Those pieces of advice have saved us a lot of heartache.  When we remember that no matter how upset we are, we need to still be kind, and not say anything that would hurt their dignity, it saves a lot of heartache. 

Sometimes it can be hard to deal with our feelings in a manner that deals with the issues without making a greater problem with the person.  That is where it has always helped me to be able to pray about it and for the person(s) involved.  I can’t see things from everyone else’s perspective, but my Father in heaven can.  And He helps me deal with tough situations.  He can do the same for you.  When we all treat each other with kindness and dignity, things will be a lot better.

God bless you,

Love, mary

We lived in Michigan for many years and there were a few lighthouses within driving distance.  All along the coast of the Great Lakes and oceans are lighthouses.  Many are very old and have guided ships and boats of all sizes to safety for a very long time.   As storms hit or even on a very dark night, having that beacon shine to point the way to safety was/is a lifeline.

Many times, in life we all find ourselves in situations where we don’t know what to do or what will be happening next.  Solutions to problems seem few while we seem to be sinking in the storms that life is throwing at us.  It can mean one financial set back after another, or maybe illness and diseases plaguing our loved ones and/or us.  Maybe it is caused by job problems, marriage relationships, problems with children, incarceration of a loved one, or many other things. 

If one thing happened it would be bad enough, but when they compile and one thing after another hits, it becomes unbearable. One can find it difficult to navigate through life and accomplish the simplest activities because it is too overwhelming. 

Sometimes we can see no possible way out of what is happening. It can be so overwhelming, and we may not have anyone to turn to for help. Or maybe the people who think they are helping are really just adding to the problem. It can be hard to know where to turn.

That is when we need to turn to the One who loves us most. His name is Jesus. We need to watch for the light from the Lighthouse.  Jesus is the lighthouse, and He has guided me through many storms, storms that I thought there was no way I could survive until I looked to the light that was shining from the lighthouse.  That same light is shining to guide you through the storms that are battering you as well. You can find peace in the storm! May His light guide you through all you are going through.

Sometimes we need to look deeper to see the value in people and things.

I ate a grapefruit.  That in itself is nothing special.  People eat grapefruits every day.  This particular grapefruit was not eye appealing.  In fact, most would probably have thrown it out.  In all honesty, I was about to throw it out, but on a whim, decided to peal it and taste it.  That grapefruit that would have been rejected and not given a second thought by most… and was almost considered chicken food by me, was well worth the effort of pealing.  The rind was tough, but the fruit on the inside was juicy and delicious. 

As I was eating the grapefruit, I was thinking how sad it would have been to throw something that was so delicious away.  If I had  thrown it away, I would never even had known that I was throwing one of the best flavored grapefruits away.  That got me to thinking how often we do that to people.  We think they are of no value, so don’t spend time with them, or listen to their advice.  They don’t come from the right financial and social class.  Maybe they don’t have the right education, or anything that we deem as beneficial.  We don’t literally throw them away, we just ignore them.  Ignoring them may not even be a conscious thing, we just don’t see them because they don’t fit in a category that we think will promote whatever we are trying to do or achieve. 

Because of our oversite, I wonder how often we are losing out on some of the best friendships we could ever have, and maybe even someone who would be more help to us than anyone one we think of as being worthy of our attention.  This sounds like a bunch of snobs, and maybe we really are not snobs, but have bought into the whole “surround yourself with people who can get you where you want to go philosophy”.  We become so goal driven that we forget that some of the people and things right near us may be just what we need…. And not just to reach our goal.  They may have advice, help us relax, laugh and enjoy life, and even just be a friend. 

Maybe it is time we quit throwing out the grapefruits and other things we think may not be good until we prove that to be true or false.  And maybe on a greater scale, we should start noticing those who we would normally walk by.  Just because they don’t seem like they are on our class of existence, doesn’t mean they are not valuable.  It could be they are there to test our character, or maybe they are just having a hard time right now.  Life is to short to ignore the jewels around us. 

I am so thankful God didn’t ignore me.  I could have been one of those not worthy of attention, but He loved me all the same, and He loves you too.  God considered you worthy of sending His son to die for you. You can trust Him with your life.  God bless you!

I can look back at the past few years since I wrote the last blog and would never have dreamed of all that would change for me.  Even though those changes are not bad, it did mean a totally different direction for me.  It has required rethinking some areas of my life, including things like desires, goals, and dreams. 

Some things that happen are not in our control, and we can either accept it, or fight it.  Usually, the fight means we are left bitter and angry.  We may need to see how we can live with the outcome of someone else’s actions or decisions that changed everything in our lives. We will need to decide which things we can change, and which ones we need to find the best working solution. 

Life happens to us all.  When it happens, it is often unexpected and may not be something we are prepared for.  We may not be able to stop it from happening, but we can control our reaction.  Sometimes that means going through a grieving process and then moving forward.  Often, we have to reevaluate everything, our finances, time, relationships, etc. to see which things need to be changed or improved on.

Whenever I am in a “life happening” situation, the thing I can count on is, no matter how much everything and everyone around me changes, God never changes.  He has never stopped loving me or left me alone.  Friends and family can turn their back, but Jesus is always there.  He is my constant.  Knowing that keeps me grounded and helps me be able to move forward again.  He can do the same for you!  Life will happen, it always does.  Things, people, situations change.  But the Word of God never changes, and He keeps His promises.

You can count on Him too. No matter what life has thrown at you, He can and will help if you let Him. Life does happen, but it doesn’t have to be the final chapter. We can move forward. We can overcome the challenges.

Recently, my husband and I went fishing.  We sat for 2-3 hours without even a nibble.  When we were about to leave I got a bite.  I was on an ultra-light pole with 8-pound test on it, so I really didn’t think the way the pole was bending meant much.  When I was able to get it close enough to briefly get a look at it, we were both shocked with how large it was.  After considerably more play time, I brought in a 53-pound carp that was 45 ½ inches long.  We got some attention as we took that to our vehicle.  If you saw me, you would laugh at how this 4 ft 11 inch person could bring in a fish that big.  I was surprised too.

We took it home and cleaned it and I fried a little of it.  My husband has had a fish allergy in the past but has been able to eat it again.  He could feel the allergy reaction from just a couple of bites so we knew eating it would be a problem.

The next day we went by the bait shop to tell the owner and show him pictures.  He got excited.  He said we should have brought it in.  It was 8-pounds over the State record for that type of fish.  If we had brought it in the day before, it would have been recorded.  All the same, we know I caught a fish bigger than the record fish.

Maybe you are wondering why I am telling you my fish story.  There are a few reasons.  Sometimes we can’t see anything happening.  My hook was below the water, so we couldn’t see it or the fish.  We were close to quitting when the biggest fish I have ever caught was about to take my line.  I wonder how many times we give up right before the blessing comes.  God is working, even when we can’t see what He is doing. 

Many people consider carp as a garbage fish and don’t want anything to do with them.  We have since found there are a number of ways people do eat and preserve carp.  Sometimes people or situations that come into our life that we may be quick to discard, but if we look a little closer, we might find they are of more value than we would expect, and even an answer to prayer.  We may not see right away what His plan is, but never doubt He has a plan.  Never take lightly what God gives you.  If it is from Him, He will show you the value and how to use it.   

Passion. That is a word that has been on my mind lately. What do you feel passionate about? Some people are passionate about sports. They can name the players, and all the statistics. Others may be passionate about cars or jobs, or making money, or food, or some cause, or many other things. I sometimes hear people tell others to find their passion, but what does that mean?

I googled the word “passion”. It came up as a strong, barely controllable emotion. A man with impetuous passion. The second listing was, the passion of Christ. I don’t think it is possible to come up with a better example of passion than what Christ did for us. When we compare all the passions people have in life, how many would go to the extent Christ did for His passion. His passion was us. Today I am in humbled wonder of how He could suffer so greatly for a people who still reject Him.

So many things in our world today are out of control. One can’t help but wonder what the future holds. Yet for the people who place their faith in Christ Jesus, we know that even though things will get tough, we will not walk through it alone, and we know what the back of the book says. We know who will win. We know our Hope is secure.

Because the One who displayed the greatest passion ever has already taken care of it all. His resurrection sets Him apart from all other religious leaders. He is alive, and He is coming to claim His bride.