King-Size Goodness

Psalm 119: 103 "How sweet are Thy words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

Yesterday, Halloween crept onto the calendar page; October 31st lit up our pumpkin's carved up smiles and filled up bags with sugary delight and the utterance of...

Sweets or Threats!  

Yep, we teach our little ones to say it...TRICK or TREAT?  

So whatcha got?  My bag is open, I'm expecting something and it better be good and it better be what I like and big and...

How many spotted the BIG KIDS at your door, more than the adorable cutie pies? 

It's not hard. They may cover their face with a mask but we know because they are tall, self assured with their thrusting-open bag,  and quick-to-make-an-exit to the next house.  

Today, in a class survey, the question of last nights escapades came up. "

"Did you go out and where did you go?"

Yes, the high schoolers I work with went out. They go to a specific gated community that is known for giving out FULL-SIZE candy bars and FULL SIZE fun.  

The thing is, some were complaining that this particular gated community, known for its mansions and high-end lifestyles, "closed shop" at 8:00p.m!    

We're done, Good night! See you in another year. Close the gate. Turn out the lights! 

When we come to the Lord's door, we come humbled.  He lit the way with His sovereign grace and we followed the path. Some of us come with parents, some with friends, some brave it alone. 

With a gentle knock, He is waiting and ready to give us the desires of our heart and of course, the Big Size of Blessings, no doubt. 

What does your treat bag look like?

Do you stand shyly with a small paper bag or do you have the KING-sized pillow case anxious for all He wants to give you?  

God knows the face behind the mask. He knows what's been stuffed into a costume, what props we use to pretend we have authority, control in our life.  He knows our hidden monsters, our demons and what gives us bad dreams and anxiety. His blood  washes our fears away for He conquered death. Stop living as a zombie. Enter His gates which never close, never lock up or lock out. 

He's waiting for you to ring the bell of forgiveness, and He's already picked out what he wants to put into your treat bag, the Fruits of the Spirit!  

 Mr. GoodBar- GOD, He melts hearts, and then uses our hands for His purpose.  Come,  taste the rainbow of His promises. He is the Creator of the Milky Way and the Starbursts.  His grace gives us a break from our sin even when we feel like a nut and even when we don't. The Holy Spirit refreshes us with the sensation of His Love. We are the apple of His eye and His Words are sweeter than the 'Bit O  Honey to our mouth. Come to God on any day of the week, and that day becomes our Pay Day.  We can be assured that mounds of  treats await us. God does not snicker at us but delights in us. We cannot trick God. Whether big or small, creepy or cute, funny or freaky, the Lord wants us all to knock and enter His Gates for an eternal Harvest Celebration. 

Thank you Father God for waiting by the door and filling my heart with your goodness when I took the step of faith and knocked.  Your sweet salvation assures my soul and satisfies what I crave. May I dump the bag of Your goodness at the feet of others and always have the desire to share.  Thank you for angel butterflies (my friends) who give candy kisses in my life. Your "candy bowl" is endless and I will never get a cavity!  Amen. 

What a Pain!

Psalm 34:19-20   Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. 

Last Saturday I slammed my little toe into the corner of my big, bulky dresser. 

Big and bulky now describes the top half of my foot.  

Don't think you can tell much from the picture
but the little toe is purple
and across the top, swollen 

I donned tennis shoes to walk Disneyland the next day. Very sore, my pace slowed down.  My friend mustered up amazing patience as we navigated the park. 

I don't know if I broke it or not. After googling "broken toe," there wasn't much advice I didn't already consider; buddy tape, elevate, ice.  

Six days later, it is still swollen, very sore and annoying. 

Things could be worse. 

While walking to my first period class on Thursday, a student sat on the sidewalk between the grass and the lunch area, his friend standing above him, both with puzzled looks on their faces. As I approached them, the boy on the ground called out to me. 

"Can you help me?"

Sensing something anyway, my steps already turned in that direction.   He was sitting, well, sort of, with his legs under him and one leg looked somewhat misplaced...crooked. 

"I fell, he said. We were throwing the tennis ball and I slipped on the grass and now my leg won't work."

He did not seem panicked, in any excrutiating pain, maybe a tad embarrased or concerned.  

Telling his friend to stay with him, most students were now in their classrooms, the tardy bell announcing the begining of classes for the day. I left and walked up to the Administration building, getting the V. P's secretary to get help for this young man. She quickly called campus security. 

Walking back to encourage the young student that help was on the way, I stayed until others began assisting him. Soon, a fire truck and paramedic pulled up in front of the school and the injured kid left in an ambulance for the nearest hospital. ( A REAL injury, I surmised). 

Later I would find out that he had snapped his femur completely through and cracked another bone!

I couldn't believe it; so calm and the accident...so nondescript!  Not one kid walking around him noticed, or stopped, only his one friend who he sported with.  

While sitting on the couch tonight, feeling my toe and its surrounding buddies throbbing and distracting me, I thought of the boy and his smashed up leg. Me? Whining, limping, complaining all week about my dumb little toe while many live daily in constant chronic pain. 

Perspective. I need a good dose of this medicine. 

Sometimes, the quiet ones, the ones everyone walks around, the ones who slip easily and stay down are the ones we need to pay attention to, have more compassion for.  I see it everyday in the kids I work with. Some sort of pain, whether obvious or not, exists in all of us.  Pain that is unplanned, unintentional, life changing, sobering, throbbing... Pain demands attention. 

“Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”  C.S. Lewis 

I know throbbing pain and it's not my toe.  God binded my wounds, tenderly cared for me and paid literally, divine attention to both my loud complaints and my quiet, personal aches. His perscription for me provided a promise to deliver me, send his Comforter and give me strong legs to stand on. In that, I am called to see other's pain, empathize and encourage.  

Maybe someday, an app, touched on one of our devices will instantly "self-x-ray" our boo-boos and "Suri" in her electronic voice will suggest our ailment and our remedy. I know that my God already does that. With a call in to Him in prayer, He sees my pain, my injury, and writes out the perscription of love. In my time and in His time, healing begins. 

Heavenly Father, Why do I sometimes run into things and hurt myself? Oh, yeah, I am human. Why do I worry and complain when things become a bother, annoy, make things difficult. Really? That human thing again?  Please help me Lord to have better perspective. I need Your perspective to see the obstacles in front of me and the hearts of others. When someone calls for help, allow me to be sensitive and wise. You are the Great Physician. Thank you Lord for your Healing Hands on my heart throbs and my toe throbs. Amen. 

Ticket Master

II Peter 1:11  And God will open wide the gates of heaven for you to enter into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.   


Tomorrow night is Homecoming and I am working the gate. Investing in a warm pull over sweatshirt with my school mascot on it, I wanted to look the part, be official, rally school spirit--stay warm!  

I received a page of instructions of "how to be a ticket taker." 

1.) Arrival time to start my job. 

2.) Do not let anyone in without a ticket!  

3.) Recognition of special passes for Boosters. 

4.) Students cannot come and go as they please. Once inside, they stay inside until the game is over. 

5.) No wandering over to the visitors side, must stay on Home Side Only. 


Do you think there are ticket-takers in Heaven? 

I read my instructional manual and studied it well Lord. You've given me a time of arrival, only You know. 

God made special tickets, personalized with the Believer's name on it.   

There they are!  Elijah and Moses waiting to take my ticket stained with the blood of Christ. I've got a crown with my colors on it. I'm official!  

And the Boosters? I see Gabriel, Michael...and all the whole cheering section!  

Why would anyone want to leave the Home Side? We've got a great view, watching and listening to the Heavenly Band, David leading each section. Keep an eye on the scoreboard as more and more of God's glory points flash. God's record is perfect, every season a winner, with a Holy Spirited coach orchestrating sovereign plays through His team members. Well padded and equipped in the huddle on Earth, the Super Bowl of Saints draws crowds every Sunday. 

One booster, in his arrogance, thought his presence on the other side might bring him into the same league. Thing is, the Gates closed on him. Eventually, that Gate closes for eternity, chained up, forgotten. In the meantime, he tries to throw the game by bad calls and fumbles. What a Loser! 

Sometimes a penalty may set us back a few yards, but by trust and faith, good defense in prayer and encouragement, we'll gain the first down, ready to move on toward's the End Zone of this life game. 

There is a Ticket with your name on it, reserved for you. Christ holds it in His nail-scarred hands. Come, join the cheering crowd. We've all experienced losing but that is not how the stats of God add up. He picks every one of us to be on His team--no fantasy!   

Father, thank you for not selling out the stands in Heaven, but instead preparing for me a Suite, the best seat in the House. Thank you for picking up my fumbles, tackling the enemy and promising me Victory. Your grace-filled practices help me to see the Goal Line clearly. Thank you for team mates I can count on and a spirited cheering section. Amen. 

In honor of Ayala High School Bulldogs!  

Finding the Pass

 Job 9:5a  "It is God who removes the mountains; they know not how..."

They call it "Capital Hill," but it seems like Mt. Everest. Today, as I write this, the U.S. Government is closed, furloughed, shut down, unplugged, somewhat dysfunctional. 

In the U.S. of A., we embrace a democratic system of government, set up by our forefathers in the Constitution with checks and balances. One branch of government should not become more powerful then another and accountability to constituents is paramount. 

In this age with instant communication in technology, real words of exchange are lost in a cave of ego.  Harmony packed up his belongings, shut off his utilities, grabbed his passport and sailed away to some island in the middle of nowhere. Impasse moved in, set up shop, ordered Chinese take-out, and sent the kids to grandma's. 

Compromise...Harmony, Peace, where are you guys?  

Possibly hanging out with Wisdom, in the realm of the Almighty.

I am sure there are some representitives who bow there heads and call on God to deliver this country. I am sure that there are some representitives who will be in tomorrow's headlines and scandal sheets for their "tweets or vines."  Which one will be immortalized in the history books? 

Everyday I say the Pledge of Allegiance in my 3rd period class. Usually, myself and the teacher are the only ones articulating every word. Most students barely utter. 

One nation, under God...indivisible...

INDIVISIBLE?????

The government is divided by a mountain of uncertainty, greed, debt, pride, rhetoric and waste. I love my country, I truly do. It is beautiful, full of heroes, and diverse. I still believe one can achieve thier dreams and that opportunity exists, God willing, with perserverance and faith. 

Return to Me, scriptures say, and I will heal your land. 

May this be our prayer in every utterance. 

Heavenly Father, giver of life, liberty, and the ability to pursue Your goodness, I pray for the senators, the congressmen, our President. I ask you Father to grant wisdom to those who call on Your Name in Washington D.C. I pray for peace, for fair negotiations and a quick solution. I pray for Your protection as many continue to feel hopeless. Open a pass through the rockslide of legislation to a clear view of a meadow where a deer pants for the water, American Souls longing to return to You. May our passions lie not in our "party," but in ideals like unity, truth, justice, freedom, and compassion and may that shine a beacon of Hope onto Capital Hill. Let us once again be a  government who embraces the motto, "In God We Trust." Amen. 

Birthday Hope

Psalm 27:13 "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord."

I've known OF despair. Defined, the word means: (noun) loss of hope; hopelessness, (verb) to lose, give up, or be without hope. Despair, a tool of the devil, is like a hammer to your heart. Pounding it, pulverizing it. Losing shape, the heart sinks, bringing with it a shoulder slump, a hanging head, hair in face, and shuffling feet--that is if you move at all. 

Do I have reason to despair? 

This coming week marks our son's birthday; his 33rd--if he were still present on this earth.  Of course, grief took its rightful place in my heart and mind. Yes, it is still there. I say for me, it is OK that I visit it on occassion, open the floodgates and truly feel the depth of how I miss my oldest son, Timothy. While I visit with grief, I have a restraining order against despair. 

 What are the charges against this criminal, this stalker?

 Robber of joy, murderer of spirit, embezzler of grace, cheater of will and purpose.

Slam the door, lock it,  and throw away the key. 

Can I get an Amen?  

Knowing the Chief of Eternal Security has its advantages. The Holy Spirit set up His comforting sentinel around my heart, and Hope never left. I believe in the goodness of the Lord and I see it every day, even through the bloodied gauze of grief. 

Lord, another September day comes and we celebrate the gift-memory of a son named Timothy Brian. Thank you Father for Your outstanding goodness to me, for filling me with understanding and a purpose to fulfill. I praise You, the lifter of my head,  until that day when earthly birthdays no longer matter but heavenly birthdays fill the sky with infinity candles set in the lampstands of Promise. 

A Silent Change

Hello faithful friends, welcome back to *Friday Footnotes. Taking one Friday off for Labor Day, I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable summer. I look forward to inspirations and encouragement from the Lord in and through His Word and my observations.  Thank you for continuing to encourage me. 
Walk well. 


I Peter 2:15 "For such is the will of God that by doing right, you may silence the ignorance of foolish men."

Returning to school, one dissapointment surfaces. Our extra 15 minutes for lunch on Fridays is now a thing of the past. Someone higher up, in an office downtown, decided it wasn't necessary. With no nutrition break, our only respite comes after 4th period where more than 2000 kids plus staff attempt to down a lunch, have meaningful conversations with peers and build relationships in a short half an hour. 

The subject came up today in one of my classes; the kids wondering why and if this could possibly be temporary or at least some options negotiated...

I have many interesting kids in my classes and one particular young man had this idea.

"I'm like Martin Luther King Jr. and Ghandi. I can make changes in this world with my words."

Though he is in the autism spectrum, youthful and idealistic...he's got the right idea. 

Jesus spoke in parables and preached with heart-searching application when quoting Old Testament truths. One day, the Pharisees brought a woman to Him, accusing her of adultery. Caught in the very act, they threw her at Jesus's feet, demanding He follow the law and commence stoning her to death. 

He replied, "He who is without sin amongst you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 

He then wrote something in the sand and these accusers, these non-negotiaters, began to depart one by one, leaving the woman with no one to condemn her. 

No one knows what Jesus's words were, but they prevented this woman's ultimate demise. 

We know God's Word changes things. Our belief, our direction, our passion, our eternity; we gladly embrace Scripture and the teaching of our spiritual leaders. By doing right, living righteously, God tells us we may silence the fools. Who around you seem foolish, off kilter, unwilling to negotiate and demanding? The whole world, right? Let us who serve the Lord, leave the judgment to God, persuing peace. We may not get a longer lunch, but we might give someone a long time in eternity by our obedience. 

God, we know Your greatest joy is when we trust You to do Your work through us. Help us to see and pray for those opportunities to be an "activist" for change through prayer and by doing the right thing by Your standards.Help us not to compromise, but negotiate change by shining Your light and girding ourselves in Your truth.Empower us to be meek, gentle servants of Your Perfect Peace and Love. Thank You Lord, Amen. 

See John 8: 1-11 

A Season of Eternity

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under Heaven--

   A time to give birth, and a time to die;

   A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. 

We shared news this week on the Facebook pages of our lives, that brought sorrow. First, the passing of a teenager named Kody, a very sick young man for more than a year; even his disease was hard to diagnosis. The community rallied for him in prayer and family support. Second, another friend's husband whose heart surgery and complications ended in today's update, his passing into glory. Culminating with the end to my summer and my sunflower season, I share a re-edited poem I wrote a few years ago as today's post.

 I planted sunflowers in a new place, a new yard, the first summer after my son died. The butterfly comes to me, a God whisper to trust. I stand amongst the sunflowers to say, yes Lord, help me to trust you today. Each season in our life God can use for His glory. Solomon, in all his wisdom, tells us so as he continues to name the seasons. It is hard to understand in our flesh, how a season of sorrow is not an end. Trust God are the only two words I could think for awhile in my own season of grief. Praise God, for Kody, Norm and Tim, a new season begins. Praise God that in our grief, what God has planted, He promises to nurture and restore. Praise God, that the Season of Eternity is just that, forever and ever! 

Sunflower Lives

Out my kitchen window, planted to see,

Giant sunflowers, swaying so softly.

Rising behind the marigold plot

Up they grow, along the fence spot.

Harvesting seeds from last year's crop

The dried, crusty bloom, many seeds I did drop

A few to the birds and I gathered the rest

To plant this year, sort of a test. 

And soon they emerged, up and up with speed

Staked, planted firm against their own weight and need.

The bees gather 'round, more than before.

I spotted a mantis, praying for more. 

And in my observation, today God speaks.

Standing at the window thinking on summer weeks.

The first, the largest, now hangs it's head in grace,

For it served it's purpose, now the seeds take their place. 

Others stand by; multi-blooms on stock,

Watching over the fence, no hesitant balk.

Knowing they serve us with whimsy and purpose;

But their days are numbered; preparing to leave us.

I think of my son, (Kody and Norm); a shining short season,

So like the sunflower, deliberate with reason.

Planted and nurtured to bring memory seeds,

I'll continue to sow for as long as God needs. 

And my hope is that one will grow in your yard.

A bright yellow flower to always stand guard. 

A reminder of seasons, some short and some long.

But a memory of grace told in a sunflower song. 

My friend JB and her husband Norm 

Kody

Thank you Lord for the promise of the Season of Eternity. For in You alone lies our hope. Great God of Comfort, minister to these dear ones whose season of sorrow is upon them. May those who mourn know peace. I pray for these dear friends, for their own seasons of growth, bringing them closer to You. Father God, lead them through the valley off sorrows, to the place where memories exist, where the weeping turns to a season of laughter and smiles, where what's been torn into what You can build up from the petals of their heart. For other's Lord, for myself, teach us to speak and when and where to find You in our own  "sunflower sanctuary"  and just listen. Your season is now and God, lift our heads towards Your glorious face, a face that brings life eternal. Amen. 

In love and memory of Kody and Norm, Coleene 

P.S. Hey Tim, Kody loved to play soccer, shoot some goals with him and Norm...neither of you have nasty scars anymore, perfect bodies of glory, all of you now. Send extra butterflys to our friends this week, peace out Tim. Love you.