Chariots of Fire

Do you remember the story about Elisha and his servant when they were surrounded by an army?  His servant was scared and said, “What shall we do?”  Then Elisha prayed that God would open his eyes and his servant would see the spiritual forces that were there to protect them.  His servant looked up and saw horses and chariots of fire encompassing them. 

I love this story!  I wonder if there aren’t Angels encompassing me sometimes.  I pray we will always remember that “our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Visitors

My great grandchildren are coming for the weekend.  My grandson and his wife are taking a trip, and Joe and I will have the joy of entertaining two lovely grandkids.  They don’t look like aliens, unless they’re the cute cartoon kind that you might expect to come out of this cartoon spaceship. 

I still haven’t figured out how to post my own pictures.  I’m sure the first step is to ask my daughter how to get them on the computer in the first place, but that will have to wait until next week when my out-of-this-world visitors return to their home planet.

Insomniac “Surfing”

I think that’s what they call it, “surfing the web,” right? Well, that’s what I’m up to at this late hour. These hands are slow typists, but they get the job done.

Joe is snoring and I can’t sleep, so I came out to type on my new diversion. When my daughter, Angie, first bought it for me, I thought it wasn’t very practical, but as it turns out, I am becoming addicted to the internet, especially the shopping websites.

Tonight I discovered a medical website and I think I can now treat Joe’s snoring. There’s a special mouthpiece that he can wear, or can he? I wonder if it works when someone is missing his teeth. I hope it won’t rattle around his mouth or get stuck in his windpipe. That’s a funny thought! I’ll have to talk to his doctor. I probably shouldn’t be writing this about him, but he wouldn’t know how to turn this thing on; he’ll never read it. Oh my, I think I’m becoming a terrible wife!

That’s enough frivolity for the night. Perhaps I’ll post something more serious tomorrow. Back to shopping. What do you think, should I buy a neon pink or yellow mouthpiece for Joe?

Hosanna!

I am currently reading through the Gospels.  I love the story of Jesus coming in on a donkey.  What a humble Lord we have!  I pray all of us can remember to be so humble.

Parrot Coffee

On a usual morning I wake up and put on the coffee for Joe and myself.  I find coffee is good for the pain I deal with daily.  Actually, I have always found coffee to be medicinal, even when I was young and the malady was a long night of intense study.  I usually awake at five or six a.m.  Joe isn’t up yet, but our parrot sure is.  He’s out in the living room, reciting the nonsense he learned before we took him in: sometimes it’s the words of a song or poem, sometimes profanity, and sometimes he has a wry urge and mixes the two.  The strangest thing is when he begins reciting long strings of random numbers, at least I think they’re random – I’m getting off track. 

This morning was different.  I awoke to silence and immediately knew something was wrong.  I shuffled down the hall, getting closer and closer to sounds of digging and crunching.  What had that parot gotten into?  I sidled quietly into the kitchen to see Bruno trying to eat my coffee!  I’ve never heard of a parrot who ate coffee, but I was sure he wouldn’t do too well with all that caffeine in his system.  Joe took him to the vet and thankfully he hadn’t eaten more than a single bean.  What an exhausting morning.  I think I’ll take a nap.

Ragamuffin Worship

As some of you know, I have been communing with the Church by way of pod-cast and CD – I am unable to attend on a regular basis because of my poor health.  I love the youthfulness and passion with which Matt speaks.  His candor is so obvious that there is almost no need to say that the Church strives to be real with ourselves, others, and God. 

Recently, I was delighted to join in the worship of our Lord through the music of Mr. Whittaker and the rest of the band.  Although the musical style is foreign to my elderly ears, I thoroughly enjoy the exuberant praise of my Church.  It is a humble expression of authenticity and the perfect compliment to Matt’s raw, heartfelt preaching.  I am such a lucky old soul. 

I’m sure most of you already know about it, but if you don’t, please visit Mr. Whittaker’s website: ragamuffinsoul.com. My, is it lovely!

Geriatric Magic

My husband Josef has always been an amateur magician.  He loves magic, especially escape tricks involving ropes or handcuffs.  He hasn’t performed any escapes in years, and at 70, he isn’t nearly as dexterous as he was in his prime, performing for our children.  The great grandchildren are beginning to hear the legend of the Escapist and his daring feats of auto-liberation.  They have heard he can’t be confined by any bonds.  But the children know the Escapist never escapes their persistent requests.  So grandpa allowed his hands to be tied while he stood inside his Room of Mystery, the hall closet.  The children watched, and they knew that in a few minutes Grandpa would come out, free from his bonds, ready to receive hugs and kisses of praise.  Did I mention that my husband is 70 years old?  The minutes went by – two, to be exact – and the Escapist hadn’t emerged.  One of the children opened the door, aghast to find the Escapist folded over on the floor.  Fortunately he’s okay, but I think we should change his moniker.  Any suggestions?

Being Real

I currently attend a church that emphasizes being real with ourselves, others and God.  I assume this is because whoever made up the slogan was hurt at some point by someone who was not being very real.  I understand this, but it ends up sounding like my Church looks down on other Churches.  The slogan implies we assume that people are generally false.  I don’t think this is consistent with the love chapter in the Bible, which talks about the fact that love “believes all things.”  The point of that passage seems to be that we should give other people the benefit of the doubt, and, as loving individuals, take on the burden of being hurt when someone else is not being real.