Wednesday, November 11, 2015

DONKEYS for a King?



Last week I was quite amused by our neighbor's donkeys. 

It was hard to tell if they were fighting or playing.

After looking closely at the photographs,
I decided that it was all in fun to them.

They nuzzled each other,
and appeared to be whispering secrets!

As I looked at the photos I had taken,
I thought about when Jesus rode a donkey...
Here it is from Luke Chapter 19 out of The Message:

28-31 After saying these things, Jesus headed straight up to Jerusalem. When he got near Bethphage and Bethany at the mountain called Olives, he sent off two of the disciples with instructions: “Go to the village across from you. As soon as you enter, you’ll find a colt tethered, one that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says anything, asks, ‘What are you doing?’ say, ‘His Master needs him.’”
32-33 The two left and found it just as he said. As they were untying the colt, its owners said, “What are you doing untying the colt?”
34 They said, “His Master needs him.”
35-36 They brought the colt to Jesus. Then, throwing their coats on its back, they helped Jesus get on. As he rode, the people gave him a grand welcome, throwing their coats on the street.
37-38 Right at the crest, where Mount Olives begins its descent, the whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise over all the mighty works they had witnessed:
Blessed is he who comes,
    the king in God’s name!
All’s well in heaven!
    Glory in the high places!
39 Some Pharisees from the crowd told him, “Teacher, get your disciples under control!”
40 But he said, “If they kept quiet, the stones would do it for them, shouting praise.”
(That last verse is the one that got me started painting God's names on rocks!)

Did you notice that the donkey had never been ridden?
Jesus the Master who could calm a troubled sea,
could tame an unbroken animal to ride instantly!

(If this photo looks familiar,
you may have looked at my
 Rock4Today with the Names of God on Rocks.)

When Jesus rode that donkey into Jerusalem,
the people were looking for A DELIVERER,
to free them from Roman rule.
Zechariah tells of this in Zechariah 9:9-10 from The Message:

“Shout and cheer, Daughter Zion!
    Raise the roof, Daughter Jerusalem!
Your king is coming!
    a good king who makes all things right,
    a humble king riding a donkey,
    a mere colt of a donkey.
...He will offer peace to the nations,
    a peaceful rule worldwide,
    from the four winds to the seven seas."

Because Jesus did not meet these expectations, 
they quickly turned from praising Him,
and were ready to crucify Him.


But the day they were looking for will come.
 Jesus will reign!

John tells about this in Revelation 5:12-13 NIV
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
    to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
    and honor and glory and praise!”
 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
    be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Candle Lighting Ceremony


It was my privilege to help with this quarter's newsletter for our area's Compassionate Friends.
May I share it with you?


The Compassionate Friends of the Twin Lakes Area
Quarterly Newsletter for October-December 2015


     
The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting unites family and friends around the globe in lighting candles for one hour to honor the memories of the sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and grandchildren who left too soon. As candles are lit at 7:00 p.m. local time, hundreds of thousands of persons commemorate and honor the memory of all children gone too soon.
Now believed to be the largest mass candle lighting on the globe, the 19th annual Worldwide Candle Lighting, a gift to the bereavement community from The Compassionate Friends, creates a virtual 24-hour wave of light as it moves from time zone to time zone. TCF's WWCL started in the United States in 1997 as a small internet observance, but has since swelled in numbers as word has spread throughout the world of the remembrance. Hundreds of formal candle lighting events are held and thousands of informal candle lightings are conducted in homes as families gather in quiet remembrance of children who have died, but will never be forgotten.


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Here's another way a family found to honor their loved one.
You can find this article in its entirety on her blogsite by clicking HERE.



From Jill persenaire Sullivan,
 Author of “While We’re Waiting”



“Today I went birthday shopping for my daughter.

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some fun fall decorating items, and even a "JOY" Christmas ornament.  

I found the cutest wooden block that says, "You are loved" ... and I just couldn't pass it up. I love the "present tense-ness" of it.

...That's all I'm going to get her this year, because I really don't know what else she might want.  You see, she'll be turning 24, and I haven't seen her or spoken to her since she was 17.  She was just a teenager then, interested in clothes and boys and American Idol and politics.  (Yes, politics.)

 …But, although my daughter is absent, she is not lost.  And she is not under that headstone.  She is where she was created to be ... I am the one who is out of place.





I can thankfully say that on a day-to-day basis, God has restored my joy and I do not grieve with the intensity that I once did.  But there are still days when the "missing" is enough to bring me to my knees, and birthdays are one of those times.

But God has given us a promise.  Isaiah 25:8 (ESV) says, "He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken."

Death will be swallowed up, the sting of tears will be wiped away, and I will see my Hannah again.  I just have to wait.”



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The Compassionate Friends of the Twin Lakes area wish you
A Joyous Christmas Season!

Monthly Meetings: 1st Thursday of each month 6 to 8 pm, led by Charlotte Repp, LSW, Bereavement Coordinator
Location:  Hospice of the Ozarks Administrative Building (Behind hospital @ 701 Burnett Drive, Mountain Home, AR 72653)
Phone:  870-508-1789
Compassionate Friends Mission Statement:  “The mission of The Compassionate Friends is to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive.”

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION:                               REGIONAL COORDINATOR (AR):
The Compassionate Friends                                         David and Dana Penn
PO Box 3696                                                                 Phone 870-759-1299
Oak Brook, IL 60522-4696                                          Email:  djdp32@hotmail.com

COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS OF THE TWIN LAKES AREA
ADVISORY BOARD:  Esther Hunter and Steve Cushing
STEERING COMMITTEE:  Chapter Leader – Charlotte Repp
Co-Leader/publications – Jacqueline Grafton
Secretary – Jo Cushing
Treasurer – Norma Rollinger

Communications Coordinator – Lavon Lannoo



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A related post on The Compassionate Friends can be found by clicking
on the highlighted letters above.

Also, drop by Rock4Today sometime to check out
my Names of God on Rocks!