Ewan Davis and Jim Kelly

 Ewan Davis and Jim Kelly could not be more different, but in the most important respect, they are so very much alike.

Jim Kelly was a resident at a local nursing facility when we first started doing services
there 19 years ago.  Jim was a vibrant, effusive man who was active until he was 98 when a stroke confined him to a wheelchair. The stroke, however, only diminished his strength.  His mind was as sharp as a tack and the twinkle in his eye and light in his spirit were as bright as ever. Full of laughter, kindness and love of life, he was a joy and pleasure to all who knew him.  We were blessed to know him for three years.  His love for life was contagious and he taught us all that the love and wonder of life was not based on what was around us, but upon what -- or better, Who -- was within us.

Ewan Davis is an energetic five year old and our youngest grandson.  He is kind, loving and thoughtful and has an impish grin that will make you smile back, whether you feel like it or not.  His laughter is infectious.

Last night our family met at the house of our youngest daughter, Emmie, to decorate her tree.  This has become a Christmas tradition to which we all look forward.  Ewan, of course, was there.  Ewan loves to have his family around him and loves to be involved in what the grown-ups are doing.  At one point he could contain his exuberance no longer and stated, "This is the best night, ever!"  With Ewan, this was not hyperbole, this was what he was actually feeling.  It is not the first time I have heard him express this sentiment and it reminded me so much of Jim Kelly.

Jim Kelly made a conscious choice in his life to see the best in everything.  Like Ewan, I heard him say on more than one occasion, "This is the best day of my life!"  Also like Ewan, this was not just a sentence, it was the expression of his true feelings at the moment.  The man in the wheelchair, living in a nursing facility, was so full of the love of God and knowledge of His goodness, that each day was "the best day of my life".

If we believe that the Lord is "working all things together for good" (Romans 8:28) in our lives, then we must also believe that He is actively working in this moment, and each and every  moment.  This is exactly the belief that leads to the "best day of my life" outlook.  God is working right now, wherever I am, whether in a wheelchair in a nursing home, or at my aunt's house decorating her Christmas tree.  

Am I headed to work knowing it will be a busy night, with many babies to come and not quite enough nurses?  God is working in that very shift, each of those 12 hours, each of those 720 minutes, even each of those 43, 200 seconds.  He has a lesson to teach me and truth to reveal to me in the place and time He has placed me that I can learn no where else.  Not only that, He also has some blessing He wants me to be to others in that same place and time.  He has prepared the possibility of "the best day of my life" if only I will trust Him by faith to see that.  Jim Kelly, in his years of experience with the Lord knew this and Ewan Davis in his experience of joyful childhood, knows this, too.  I pray that, like Jim and Ewan, I will know this more and more each day.

"This is the Lord's doing, it is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day which the Lord hath made,

we will rejoice and be glad in it."

Psalm 118:23, 24

Seen, Heard, AM

For the last few days our daughter's dog, Sally, has been critically ill.  Sally spent four days at the emergency vet requiring close supervision, frequent lab tests and a blood transfusion.  We waited with prayerful anticipation for each update in her progress.  Friends across the country joined us in praying for the healing of this little dog.

Sally is a sweet dog, a combination of multiple breeds, and was rescued from an area animal shelter by our daughter, Marie.  No dog could have had a greater transformation of situation than sweet little Sally.  When Marie adopted her, she was infected with heart worms and Marie nursed her back to health as she recovered. She has loved and cared for her as much as we love and care for our dog Ellie.  Thankfully, Marie was able to bring Sally home this week, and while she requires much medication and testing still, she is much better and with Marie.

Loving a dog, and more importantly, having loved and raised children, I knew the anguish Marie faced as Sally was critically ill.   I knew she was broken-hearted to be apart from her dog when she was ill.  I knew she was tempted to fear the worst may happen. I knew, also, that she also trusted in the Lord to work out His perfect way and will in her life and in Sally's life. I knew, because I have been there.  I have been there with our dog Sparrow, and with my children.  In fact, I was there once with Marie.

She was eight-years-old when she fell off the top of a sliding board and received a serious concussion.  As she lay unconscious in the Emergency Room, all the fears that a mother could face assaulted me.  There was only one place I could reasonably turn and that was to the Lord.  He alone could be that "shelter in a time of storm".  In that moment, as in every other time I have trusted Him, He was completely faithful.  In fact, Marie had such a miraculous recovery - and awakening from her unconscious state -- the Neurologist told me he had never seen anything like it.

The day Sally came home, I had read these verses in Exodus:

"And the Lord said, 'I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians."

"And Moses said unto God, 'Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name?  What shall I say unto them?'"

"And God said unto Moses, 'I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.' "  Exodus 3:7,8,13,14

As I read these words, they seemed to jump off the page.  "I have surely seen..."  The Lord knew the sufferings of the Israelites in Egypt,  He knew their difficulties in bondage. He had "heard their cry".  

His response was I AM.  

His response is always I AM.  

He is the complete provision of everything we need, He is the complete fulfillment of everything we desire.  "Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing." (Psalms 145:16.) 

He sees, He hears and in all our situations, as we turn to Him by faith, He is.  He is all we will every need in every thing we will ever face.  

Trust in the Lord always, for having Him, we have all.

All My Springs

words and music by Glen Davis

All my springs are in Thee,

You are the fount of my being,

And I look only to Thee to find

fulfillment and meaning. . .

For all my springs are in Thee,

All my springs are in Thee.

Rivers of purest joy

flow swiftly into our spirits,

And as the mercy tides roll,

Your voice, Lord,

Oh, I can hear it. . .

For all my springs are in Thee,

All my springs are in Thee.

So let me drink, Lord, of Thee,

o, lead me beside Thy Wellspring;

And in the water I'll see

reflections of Christ so lovely. . .

For all my springs are in Thee,

All my springs are in Thee.

All my springs are in Thee.

Photo - Beside the Still Waters

 This photo was taken early in our kayaking adventures.  We weren't yet comfortable enough for large expanses of water, but sought out creeks and smaller rivers.  A friend recommended Chickasabogue Creek to us and we decided to give it a try.

It was an easy drive and there was a nice put-in for kayaks.  Glen and I and our youngest daughter, Emmie, then eleven, unpacked the kayaks.  I was very surprised at how cool the water was.  It was delightful on a humid Mobile day.  As the creek curved into the area we see in this photo, I was struck by the stillness of the water and how clearly the reflection could be seen.  My camera was always with me in those days and I quickly snapped this photo.  

Taking a photo on a kayak isn't always an easy thing.  As you let go of your oars to frame the photo, the kayak begins to drift with the current, meaning whatever was nicely centered in your viewfinder is drifting as well.  Thankfully, I was able to capture the beauty of this area to serve of a reminder of that day.

I actually don't need a reminder though, because the events after the kayaking comprise a story we often regale in our family.

We had borrowed our son's truck to transport our kayaks for the trip.  Before we started we placed his keys in the hold of the kayak, thinking they would be dry there.  Apparently, we did not close the top well, because water leaked into the hold.  (Remember, we were still new to kayaking at that time.)

We didn't realize this until we were getting the kayaks out of the water and retrieving our belongings.  We secured the kayaks in the back of the truck used the fob to unlock the door.  The water in the fob set off the car alarm.  Several yards down from the put-in was a swimming and picnic area.  There were many people in the water and even more at the picnic tables and I believe everyone of them turned to look at what caused the offending noise.

We would have loved to make the noise stop, but we could not cancel the alarm.  We tried everything we could think of, but it would not stop.  We finally decided to just leave as quickly as we could with the alarm blaring.

As we were leaving, we had a choice in exits.  We had never been there before so we didn't know the one we chose would take us right into the picnic area and in front of all the swimmers.  Irritated looks met us as we passed by, our alarm sounding at its loudest.  

We were  a little nervous passing the entry to the park, fearful the attendant might think we had stolen the truck, but there was no haling us down, no car in hot pursuit as we left the park.  We continued the ten miles down the interstate with the alarm still crying out, which it did until finally the battery in the fob died.

Our son was happy to find out we had ruined his alarm system, and I don't believe we ever borrowed his truck again. But now, years later, the event is something Glen and Emmie and I laugh about whenever we remember it.  The embarrassment of the moment has led to moments of shared laughter and reminiscence.  

The calm quiet stillness of the photo could not predict our frantic - and loud- departure from the park, but I remember both with fondness.

So, Santa Doesn't Really Do That, Then?

This post is a repeat from December 12, 2012.

This past weekend our daughter Emmie told our five-year-old granddaughter Emma that the present she had for her was the biggest present under the tree so far.  Immediately Emma had to rush into the living room to inspect the dimensions of all the presents.

"I saw it!  It is the biggest one, it's in the back, behind the tree!"  Emmie and I then causually entered into a conversation regarding our need to finish wrapping presents.  Emma brought that conversation to a dead stop with this question that was poised more as a statement:

"So, Santa doesn't really do that, then?"

Emmie and I just looked at each other and I explained to Emma that not all presents come from Santa, that in fact most presents come from other people who love you and want to give you a gift for Christmas.  Emma's disbelief about Santa was brought to my memory last night when I heard a preacher ask "The word believe can be tricky, can't it?"

Sometimes you may believe something, but not nearly enough to support it.  Take for example a political candidate.  You may believe in them enough to vote for that person, but you may not believe in them enough to put signs in your yard or stickers on your car.  You may not talk to others about them encouraging others to vote for them as well.

There are those who "believe" in the Lord Jesus to the point they believe He was a good man.  They may believe He did good things. But they don't believe in Him as Lord and Savior.  Some may even believe He was a prophet.  Many of those who heard Him speak and saw His miracles believed this. 

There were some who believed He did His works through the power of Satan.  These were the religious rulers of the day who could not accept that He was from God because He spoke against the very attitudes and actions of their hearts.

The Scriptures tell us that even the devils believe in Jesus, "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble, But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" (James 2:19,20), but theirs is not a belief that leads to salvation.

Then there were a very few who believed that He was the Son of God who was come to be the Savior of the world.  It was these very few men through whom the Gospel was sent to all the world after the Lord's resurrection.

What about us?  Is our belief a head belief?  Do we believe Jesus Christ to be a "good man", a "prophet"?  Or do we believe Him to be the living Son of God, the "Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world?"  Do we each have a heart-belief?

Make no mistake, there is coming a day when  every single knee shall bow and every single tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  Some will do so with the joyful heart of a believer.  Some will do so with the broken heart of one who realizes they should have believed.

Emma may wonder if Santa really "does that".  There is no wondering about Jesus.  He is, He does and He will eternally do so.

"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, 

and given Him a name which is above every name:  

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, 

and things under the earth;  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 

to the glory of God the Father." 

Philippians 2:9-11