Hello to you. Hope this finds you well today. Today was a good day. I joined several ladies from church at Idaho Pizza in Caldwell. We met at Grace House and carpooled over there. Most of us got the buffet that included various pizzas and salad. I had cheese pizza I think – that’s my favorite. It kind of tasted like a pretzel! There was enough seating for all of us. My friend Charlotte treated me to the meal – she is so kind. She gives such great hugs! I rode with Missy and Linda and I’m glad I did – that place was really busy for the lunch hour! It was good for me to get out with such a nice group of ladies. It helps me not feel so isolated and alone.
I decided to bring my phone on the walk tonight so I could get a couple pictures of the blooms on the walk. Link actually made it all around the block! He’s not been wanting to this past week.
These roses on the walk smell so good! An unusual Iris in neighbor Diana’s yardA rose bush in full bloom across the street
2 Corinthians 4:15New International Version
15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Hello to you. It’s been a couple days since I’ve written to you – I hope this finds you well. Today’s message at church was a serious one. Are we in the end times? For many of us the signs point to yes. This is the scripture we read:
2 Timothy 3:1-9New International Version
3 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited,lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men,their folly will be clear to everyone.
Some other messages were to spend time in the company of fellow believers and to recognize foolishness when we see it. For me it’s always keeping the lamps lit for whenever Jesus returns! It could be any time!
The prompt today is hard for me to answer. In the course of my life I have wanted for little and that which I was lacking was made up for in some way. I never had children so the ways that parents typically have to sacrifice things I haven’t had to. The trade off I made was being being a pet parent for many years and I have sacrificed being away from my fur babies for great lengths of time. This has meant not going on trips away from home!
Just got the good news that my Aunts granddaughter is in the hospital tonight and going to be giving birth to a baby boy! Praise God! We are hoping for a smooth delivery!
A couple residents The flower arrangements The cookies went over really well
Hello to you on this sunny Thursday. Today I joined Sandy, Jera and Charlotte in delivering flower arrangements and cookies to our local assisted living home called The Cottages for Mothers Day. They really seemed to appreciate the gesture. The staff at the facility appreciated us coming as well. We got a chance to see some of the rooms and they were really homey! One gal we visited with had a beautiful picture of Jesus by her bed. It was nice to bring something a little special to their day and visit for a little while. When you live in such places you don’t always have visitors.
Sandy, the head of our women’s ministries, wants to go back for Fathers Day next month.
Matthew 25:40New International Version
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Good evening to you. I hope you are well and if you are not I hope you have the support you need. We are living in trying times! I hope you know if you are reading this and are struggling in any way that I and many others are praying for you. You may feel alone but I assure you you’re not. Reach out to Jesus and see him go to work in your life!
I wanted to post a praise. It’s good to have recognition when God answers our pleas for help. In these times it’s good to read good news! My Aunt Ruth just came through a health crisis and there was the possibility she was going to need surgery. She was diagnosed with diverticulitis but there was the possibility she would need surgery to remove infected parts of her intestine. We had been praying for a miracle for her not to need surgery and sure enough she found out today – NO SURGERY! Praise God! Through our faith Jesus is still very much alive and at work!
Here are some examples of Jesus healing in the NIV:
Matthew 8:2-4:Jesus cleanses a man with leprosy by saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” and the man is instantly healed.
Matthew 9:20-22:A woman with a hemorrhage, having touched Jesus’s cloak, is immediately healed and told that her faith has healed her.
Luke 5:17-26:Jesus forgives and heals a paralyzed man who is lowered down from the roof.
John 9:Jesus heals a man who was born blind, restoring his sight.
These are just a few examples, and many other instances of Jesus healing can be found throughout the Gospels in the New Testament.
Hello to you on this windy Monday afternoon. There has been some things happening the past couple of days that have been good for me and good for my church. On Sunday I went to church and got to hear from the inspirational representatives from a mission our church supports – Missions of Hope International or MOHI.
https://youtu.be/4jeA6wW9H5Y?si=AhGhYXA7QFyMeBoG – Be a Spring – Pastor Jason Boyd Grace Bible Church Middleton ID – includes interview with representatives from Missions of Hope International (MOHI)
This morning I was asked to join some ladies at Grace House for coffee and to help assemble some Mothers Day gifts for residents at our local assisted living home called The Cottages. We will be taking them over on Thursday. They really appreciated the Easter baskets we made and asked if we would come back! I didn’t get to deliver the baskets but this time I will be involved in this delivery. Our women’s ministry leader Sandy has a lot of ideas for our little group to include may be making care kits for women at a homeless shelter. She was inspired by the message from MOHI – how can we reach out to those in need in our own communities? We have been known in the past as the “hot dog church” but with how much we are growing it’s possible we can be much more!
I just got off the phone with my friend Jeannie. Normally we would be together today but it didn’t work out. So we decided to pray from home and she asked if we could pray via a telephone call. I’m so happy we did! She has such a talent for prayer. The words seem to come to her so easily! We prayed for the people who normally join our little group, our family members, the town and schools of Middleton and this country and world. I felt it was important to share this today. Anyone reading this who feels alone – doesn’t have a support system like a church – a dear friend – know that there are people like Jeannie and I praying for you. You matter! There is so much power in prayer and it doesn’t matter how it occurs be it in person or on the phone. God hears our petitions!
James 5:16New International Version
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Today was Baptism SundayHe was baptized jeans and all! I almost went up myself! Not ready yet
Today we were in 2 Timothy 1:1-7. The message from Brad was a lot about legacy. His family wasn’t rich when he was growing up but they left him a loving legacy in Christ. He asked us who is your Paul and my mind immediately thought of my Aunt Ruth. She is such a good role model as is my cousin Tony and his wife my dear friend Tawna. It is through their example that they can count me and my drawing nearer to Christ as part of their legacy. I have been blessed throughout my life to have had loved ones and friends leading by their example in their faith. Today was baptism Sunday – I almost went up! I’m almost ready!
2 Timothy 1:1-7New International Version
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my dear son:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Thanksgiving
3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
Appeal for Loyalty to Paul and the Gospel
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
Hello to you. I hope this finds you well. I stayed up until the wee hours of this morning and caught most of the funeral service of Pope Francis. I have mixed emotions – sad yet happy for him to be free of his failing body. I can remember how excited I was when he was first appointed- the name he chose being that of my favorite saint – Saint Francis of Assisi. The job of Pope really takes its toll and it’s sad how his body failed him in the end. They would fix one thing and then something else would happen! I hope the next Pope will have good health.
Last night without realizing who this was from I started reading – this was from my Grandpa Becker. This was his church. My Grandpa walking my Mom down the aisle. He never recovered fully from her death.
Yesterday would have been my Grandpa Beckers 112th birthday. Last night as I was trying to calm my mind I was lead to grab the tiny New Testament I’ve had since graduating high school. I didn’t realize until I talked to my Auntie today that It was from Grandpa! It’s funny how our loved ones reach out to us. He was in my prayers and on my mind! I told my Auntie today about a vivid dream I had after asking God if my Grandpa was ok in the afterlife. I dreamt that the spirit of Grandpa was in me and we were dancing with Ken my husband at the time. We told my Grandma Becker that we would see her on the other side. We apologized to his wife Charlie as she was the one who found him. Then we tripped and Grandpa popped out of me. The next thing I knew I saw him a ways away about to enter a church and he yelled out “there is life after death if you believe in Jesus Christ!” I woke up so comforted after such a dream! He was in heaven for sure! I miss him very much but know he’s not far away. Each night I pray for him and all those who have left this material world. I ask them to pray for us too!
I read this out of tiny print – one of my favorite passages:
Matthew 5:1-12New International Version
Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount
5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Good evening to you fellow earthlings! Something else we have in common in addition to the red blood that flows in our veins- we share a common home called earth. This precious and rare blue marble is truly one of Gods greatest gifts to us! I am constantly reminded and amazed by her resilience. Just look at a sidewalk that seems so inhospitable to life and yet flowers still grow there with barely any soil. Think of how land can be cleared but if left unattended will be reclaimed quickly by growth. Nearly every harm done to the earth finds a way to make it healing, make it good again.
Back when I was in Texas I spent a lot of time outside. As I spent that time I got really immersed into the nature of plants and the insects that I shared my yard with. I used to sit for hours and just watch and listen. The cottonwood trees became teachers as did the so called weeds. Wasps, spiders and flies showed me things I had never seen before. When I was really still I would ask God what he wanted to do with a single blade of grass I would point at and the wind would either blow it or something would land on it. It seemed in those moments God had a plan for every single thing around me! I felt so close to God in those moments we shared. There seemed to be a collective intelligence in everything be it a blade of grass, trees, flowers, birds and insects. There was a bush in the backyard that I noticed was a whole community. Flies seemed to live and die on it – spiders occupied the same bush like traffic cops. I would watch this bush and its life and death for hours. My little backyard taught me so much – even how to make peace with fire ants! They loved it when I fed them sweet treats! The smartest insects were the wasps and spiders. One day when I was out back a wasp dragged the body of a spider twice its size in front of me like it was showing me what it could do. I watched a wasp in seconds dispatch a spider limb from limb. One time a mud dauber wasp (black) got in the house. I caught it with the pink plastic cup we always used to catch insects. When I took it outside I was surprised to see other daubers seemingly waiting for the one we were releasing! One other surprise with a yellow jacket was watching one seemingly disarming itself of its stinger as I looked at it! I miss my yard and all the inhabitants I spent so much time getting to know. Where I live now isn’t the same – it’s all gravel so I don’t spend much time outside in my yard. I get to see most of nature on my daily walks. I have been enjoying seeing the return of birds and blooming trees and flowers.
Psalm 24:1 (NIV) – Just as we are called to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we are also called to love the earth simply because it is God’s creation.
We had a full house today at Middleton High School – He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
It’s a beautiful Easter Sunday. Today’s message was out of John 11 again. Do you believe? Do you believe that Jesus is the son of God? Like Pastor Jayson said there are so many things each day we believe are going to happen from the alarm clock going off to coffee brewing – the car starting when we turn the key. Our belief as Christians each day should be that Jesus is our salvation and unlike so many things we should never take that for granted!
John 11:25-26New International Version
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
After church Link and I went over to my Aunt and Uncles house for a feast with family and friends. Uncle John made his special ham. Everything was so good! I didn’t stay long as I was feeling very tired. Link has been waking me up in the wee hours the past few nights. We have his annual exam tomorrow so I’ll mention that. My back has been hurting again – thank goodness for Biofreeze! It was good to see everyone on such a lovely spring day. So many of the trees are blooming and smell so nice!
My Aunt Ruth is having a medical procedure in a couple days – please keep her in your prayers.
To be 