Eugene H. Thompson
February 15, 1931 - February 12, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Of Mice and Women
Grief is a funny thing. It catches me unawares at the most unsuspecting moments.
Today I started on a project which I anticipate taking me all year. I'm attempting to organize the thousands of photos from both sides of my family-of-origin, my growing-up years, and then the past 32 of our marriage and family. Because of all the scrapbooking projects I've done, pictures turn up in the oddest places, perhaps stashed in a hurry when needing to "hide" what I was doing, or folders of pictures in a drawer for a project started but not finished.
So, I'm starting with my mom and her family. I went through an easily accessible box and then headed for the ones stored in the "cubby." Most of the photos are in plastic tubs, safe from the ravages of the elements, but I chose the cedar box. The one with broken hinges.
Now, I am fine with spiders and bugs. But mice bother me. And when I opened that cedar box with broken hinges, there was a mama mouse staring right at me. A pretty good sized one. And she had built a big nest using shreds of irreplaceable family photos, part of Mom's birth certificate, some post cards from her trip to Norway and Sweden, and the corners of letters my dad had written her in their early days. Precious things. And I started to cry. Grief. Unexpected.
Mom died nearly 6 years ago, but has been gone from us much longer. Alzheimer's Disease took her mind long before it took her body. And reminders of her are precious to me.
I run an ongoing battle with the issue of "things." Jesus reminds me that I shouldn't be storing up treasures on earth but in heaven, because where my treasure is, so is my heart. And I've thought about that. A lot. And I don't believe my treasures are on earth, really. But I treasure my mom's beautiful things. And the keepsakes that remind me of her. And it grieves me when moth and rust (and mice) destroy them.
So, I took a walk and cried, and talked to the Lord about it. And He reminded me again that He loves beauty, too. He made amazing things....because He could. He did it for His own pleasure, and for ours. He makes stunning sunrises and sunsets everyday and uses a color palette we can only dream of. He makes majestic evergreens to stand in groves and wave a fragrance over us that is unmatched anywhere. And He is the One who gives the ability to paint and sculpt like Michelangelo, to design architecture and incredible inventions like DaVinci. He is the One who stirs our hearts to craftsmanship......in all areas. His instructions for His tabernacle include things of amazing beauty. So He understands and loves it more than I do. He is the source of it all. He has no problem with loving beautiful things.
The question for me, then, is "where is my heart?"
Okay, where is it? Well, it's not in a wooden box with broken hinges. Neither is it in the drawers of the antiques that belonged to my mother's mother, nor in the cigar boxes full of pictures of generations of family. My heart is the dwelling place of my Abba Father and His Son and His Spirit, and therefore it belongs to them. And WITH them.....my treasures. In heaven.
So once again I attempt to wrap my heart and mind around the fact that these things that are hard, and bring grief, are part of Their work in me to conform me to the image of Jesus. I allow myself to grieve and cry. I clean up the mess and throw away the wreckage. And thank the mighty Three-in-One that they care about these things.
Mouse nests made of family memories that cause me to weep.
And search my heart.
And hopefully look more like Jesus.
Every time.
~
Today I started on a project which I anticipate taking me all year. I'm attempting to organize the thousands of photos from both sides of my family-of-origin, my growing-up years, and then the past 32 of our marriage and family. Because of all the scrapbooking projects I've done, pictures turn up in the oddest places, perhaps stashed in a hurry when needing to "hide" what I was doing, or folders of pictures in a drawer for a project started but not finished.
So, I'm starting with my mom and her family. I went through an easily accessible box and then headed for the ones stored in the "cubby." Most of the photos are in plastic tubs, safe from the ravages of the elements, but I chose the cedar box. The one with broken hinges.
Now, I am fine with spiders and bugs. But mice bother me. And when I opened that cedar box with broken hinges, there was a mama mouse staring right at me. A pretty good sized one. And she had built a big nest using shreds of irreplaceable family photos, part of Mom's birth certificate, some post cards from her trip to Norway and Sweden, and the corners of letters my dad had written her in their early days. Precious things. And I started to cry. Grief. Unexpected.
Mom died nearly 6 years ago, but has been gone from us much longer. Alzheimer's Disease took her mind long before it took her body. And reminders of her are precious to me.
I run an ongoing battle with the issue of "things." Jesus reminds me that I shouldn't be storing up treasures on earth but in heaven, because where my treasure is, so is my heart. And I've thought about that. A lot. And I don't believe my treasures are on earth, really. But I treasure my mom's beautiful things. And the keepsakes that remind me of her. And it grieves me when moth and rust (and mice) destroy them.
So, I took a walk and cried, and talked to the Lord about it. And He reminded me again that He loves beauty, too. He made amazing things....because He could. He did it for His own pleasure, and for ours. He makes stunning sunrises and sunsets everyday and uses a color palette we can only dream of. He makes majestic evergreens to stand in groves and wave a fragrance over us that is unmatched anywhere. And He is the One who gives the ability to paint and sculpt like Michelangelo, to design architecture and incredible inventions like DaVinci. He is the One who stirs our hearts to craftsmanship......in all areas. His instructions for His tabernacle include things of amazing beauty. So He understands and loves it more than I do. He is the source of it all. He has no problem with loving beautiful things.
The question for me, then, is "where is my heart?"
Okay, where is it? Well, it's not in a wooden box with broken hinges. Neither is it in the drawers of the antiques that belonged to my mother's mother, nor in the cigar boxes full of pictures of generations of family. My heart is the dwelling place of my Abba Father and His Son and His Spirit, and therefore it belongs to them. And WITH them.....my treasures. In heaven.
So once again I attempt to wrap my heart and mind around the fact that these things that are hard, and bring grief, are part of Their work in me to conform me to the image of Jesus. I allow myself to grieve and cry. I clean up the mess and throw away the wreckage. And thank the mighty Three-in-One that they care about these things.
Mouse nests made of family memories that cause me to weep.
And search my heart.
And hopefully look more like Jesus.
Every time.
Mom & Me in 1958 or so.....
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Prosperity and Adversity
~
I took a break from reading Spurgeon during my devotions for awhile, but I recently picked up my volume of Morning and Evening and have resumed my perusal of his writings. He was a man tempered by suffering, resulting, I believe, in a depth of insight and understanding of the Word that is amazing. To say nothing of "fitting him for heaven," this Prince of Preachers. In the midst of my own personal sufferings, this passage is one of those that has ministered to me.
"Does Job fear God for nothing?"
Job 1:9
This was the wicked question of Satan concerning that upright man of old, but there are many in the present day concerning whom it might be asked with justice, for they love God after a fashion because He prospers them; but if things went ill with them, they would give up all their boasted faith in God. If they can clearly see that since the time of their supposed conversion the world has gone prosperously with them, then they will love God in their poor carnal way; but if they endure adversity, they rebel against the Lord. Their love is the love of the table, not of the host; a love to the cupboard, not to the master of the house.
As for the true Christian, he expects to have his reward in the next life, and to endure hardness in this. The promise of the old covenant was prosperity, but the promise of the new covenant is adversity. (!) Remember Christ's words: "Every branch in Me that bears not fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit" -- What? He prunes it,that it may bring forth more fruit. If you bring forth fruit, you will have to endure affliction. "Alas!" you say, "that is a terrible prospect." But this affliction works out such precious results, that the Christian who is the subject of it must learn to rejoice in tribulations, because as his tribulations abound, so his consolations abound by Christ Jesus.
Rest assured, if you are a child of God, you will be no stranger to the rod. Sooner or later every bar of gold must pass through the fire. Fear not, but rather rejoice that such fruitful times are in store for you, for in them you will be weaned from the earth and made fit for heaven; you will be delivered from clinging to the present, and made to long for those eternal things which are so soon to be revealed to you. When you feel that as regards the present you serve God for nothing, you will then rejoice in the infinite reward of the future.
Charles H. Spurgeon
~
Nearly 6 years ago, on the day my mom died, a group of women prayed over me, prophesied over me, and spoke words of promise from the Lord. Among them was a word that there was much seed that would come from me -- not seed as in babies -- and that there would be much fruit in my life. After reading the above passage from Spurgeon, I am getting a glimpse of what that might mean. Much fruit, much affliction. Hmmm. Perhaps my current affliction is part of that promise.
And would that these afflictions result in the kind of depth manifested in the Prince of Preachers.
~
I took a break from reading Spurgeon during my devotions for awhile, but I recently picked up my volume of Morning and Evening and have resumed my perusal of his writings. He was a man tempered by suffering, resulting, I believe, in a depth of insight and understanding of the Word that is amazing. To say nothing of "fitting him for heaven," this Prince of Preachers. In the midst of my own personal sufferings, this passage is one of those that has ministered to me.
"Does Job fear God for nothing?"
Job 1:9
This was the wicked question of Satan concerning that upright man of old, but there are many in the present day concerning whom it might be asked with justice, for they love God after a fashion because He prospers them; but if things went ill with them, they would give up all their boasted faith in God. If they can clearly see that since the time of their supposed conversion the world has gone prosperously with them, then they will love God in their poor carnal way; but if they endure adversity, they rebel against the Lord. Their love is the love of the table, not of the host; a love to the cupboard, not to the master of the house.
As for the true Christian, he expects to have his reward in the next life, and to endure hardness in this. The promise of the old covenant was prosperity, but the promise of the new covenant is adversity. (!) Remember Christ's words: "Every branch in Me that bears not fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit" -- What? He prunes it,that it may bring forth more fruit. If you bring forth fruit, you will have to endure affliction. "Alas!" you say, "that is a terrible prospect." But this affliction works out such precious results, that the Christian who is the subject of it must learn to rejoice in tribulations, because as his tribulations abound, so his consolations abound by Christ Jesus.
Rest assured, if you are a child of God, you will be no stranger to the rod. Sooner or later every bar of gold must pass through the fire. Fear not, but rather rejoice that such fruitful times are in store for you, for in them you will be weaned from the earth and made fit for heaven; you will be delivered from clinging to the present, and made to long for those eternal things which are so soon to be revealed to you. When you feel that as regards the present you serve God for nothing, you will then rejoice in the infinite reward of the future.
Charles H. Spurgeon
~
Nearly 6 years ago, on the day my mom died, a group of women prayed over me, prophesied over me, and spoke words of promise from the Lord. Among them was a word that there was much seed that would come from me -- not seed as in babies -- and that there would be much fruit in my life. After reading the above passage from Spurgeon, I am getting a glimpse of what that might mean. Much fruit, much affliction. Hmmm. Perhaps my current affliction is part of that promise.
And would that these afflictions result in the kind of depth manifested in the Prince of Preachers.
~
Sunday, January 16, 2011
A Year at Innisvale
~
Two posts in one day is an anomaly for me! I just finished putting together our yearly calendar and wanted to get it into my blog for my own benefit and that of posterity. If you happen to read along occasionally, I hope you enjoy a glimpse into our year here at Innisvale.
Dale
Jessie
Deb
Fourth of July
Xander
Kids
Wedding
Family
Daniel
Two posts in one day is an anomaly for me! I just finished putting together our yearly calendar and wanted to get it into my blog for my own benefit and that of posterity. If you happen to read along occasionally, I hope you enjoy a glimpse into our year here at Innisvale.
"This is where the wasteland ends
and Love and Life and Joy begin.
This is where our God doth lend
the Power and Grace to see Eden again."
Dale MacInnis
Cover
Maggie
Boomer
The Band
Dale
Jessie
Deb
Fourth of July
Xander
Kids
Wedding
Family
Daniel
~
"I will help you," says the Lord.
Isaiah 41:14
Right now there are so many things that are difficult. It is a season of that for us. As I talk to the Lord morning by morning, I am hearing more and more, "It's all about Me, not about you. My Glory." And then, in the midst of that, He gave me this from Spurgeon this morning:
"This morning let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: "I will help you." It is but a small thing for Me, your God, to help you. Consider what I have done already. What! not help you? Why, I bought you with My blood. What! not help you? I have died for you; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less? Help you! I made the thing I well ever do for you; I have done more, and will do more. Before the world began I chose you. I made the covenant for you. I laid aside My glory and became a man for you; I gave My life for you; and if I did all this, I will surely help you now. In helping you, I am giving you what I have bought for you already. If you had need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it to you; you require little compared with what I am ready to give. It is much for you to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow. Help you? Fear not! If there were an ant at the door of thy granary asking for help, it would not ruin you to give him a handful of your wheat; and you are nothing but a tiny insect at the door of My all-sufficiency. "I will help you."
Oh my soul, is not this enough? Do you need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity? Do you want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifested in the influences of the Spirit? Bring here your empty pitcher! Surely this well will fill it. Haste, gather up your wants, and bring them here: your emptiness, your woes, your needs. Behold, this river of God is full for your supply; what can you desire beside? Go forth, my soul, in this your might. the Eternal God is your helper!
Fear not, I am with you, oh, be not dismayed! I, I am your God, and will still give you aid.
Thank You, Abba, for your lovingkindness. Always.
~
Friday, January 14, 2011
The Gifts God Gives
~
Okay, with all the response to the picture of my "new" double oven, I'm thinking it would be good to give credit where credit is due!
Last week, the element in the lower oven of my double wall unit kind of exploded. Boomer noticed fire-like symptoms and we ran to shut it off. The element had burned through in one spot and was spouting fire. So.
I felt rather bound by having only one oven. Now, I would imagine that could sound strange to some of you, but I have functioned with two ovens for a long time and I cook A LOT. Not just for us, but for the band, and extended family, and anyone who happens to show up at our place. In planning Maggie's birthday party, we actually planned the menu around ONE oven, because we couldn't be sure that there would be any alternative.
So, I decided to put a request out on Freecycle for a double oven wall unit and see what happened. The next morning there was a response, and I was able to go and pick it up -- in Onalaska! -- and bring it home. That was Tuesday. My dear husband called his brother who is an electrical genius, and he came yesterday, Thursday, and between him and Maggie and Boomer, they took out the old one, installed the new one, and I am back in business! Awesome. And to add to that, I Freecycled the old one and have two takers!
Oh, and did I mention that it's white? That means it matches the fridge and dishwasher. I wouldn't have cared if it were green. But it's white. :-)
I'm sharing this as a tribute to my loving Abba Father who, in the midst of all else, gifted me with a new set of ovens. He didn't have to. But He did. I love that. I love Him.
Thank You, Jesus.
~
Okay, with all the response to the picture of my "new" double oven, I'm thinking it would be good to give credit where credit is due!
Last week, the element in the lower oven of my double wall unit kind of exploded. Boomer noticed fire-like symptoms and we ran to shut it off. The element had burned through in one spot and was spouting fire. So.
I felt rather bound by having only one oven. Now, I would imagine that could sound strange to some of you, but I have functioned with two ovens for a long time and I cook A LOT. Not just for us, but for the band, and extended family, and anyone who happens to show up at our place. In planning Maggie's birthday party, we actually planned the menu around ONE oven, because we couldn't be sure that there would be any alternative.
So, I decided to put a request out on Freecycle for a double oven wall unit and see what happened. The next morning there was a response, and I was able to go and pick it up -- in Onalaska! -- and bring it home. That was Tuesday. My dear husband called his brother who is an electrical genius, and he came yesterday, Thursday, and between him and Maggie and Boomer, they took out the old one, installed the new one, and I am back in business! Awesome. And to add to that, I Freecycled the old one and have two takers!
Oh, and did I mention that it's white? That means it matches the fridge and dishwasher. I wouldn't have cared if it were green. But it's white. :-)
I'm sharing this as a tribute to my loving Abba Father who, in the midst of all else, gifted me with a new set of ovens. He didn't have to. But He did. I love that. I love Him.
Thank You, Jesus.
~
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Clan Christmas
~
Well, 2010 has come and gone. Wow. WHAT a year.
It ended with a precious family gathering at Jessie's and Dale's home on December 27th at which we celebrated Christmas and Daniel's birthday. It was a good day.
I am so grateful for my family, for the expanding of the clan, and the joys of being the matriarch. That was a new thought to me the other day. Matriarch. More on that another time. Here are some photos of our day.
Well, 2010 has come and gone. Wow. WHAT a year.
It ended with a precious family gathering at Jessie's and Dale's home on December 27th at which we celebrated Christmas and Daniel's birthday. It was a good day.
I am so grateful for my family, for the expanding of the clan, and the joys of being the matriarch. That was a new thought to me the other day. Matriarch. More on that another time. Here are some photos of our day.
The Clan
Maggie reading the Christmas Story
Boomer and his bale of drum sticks! :-)
Jessie & Dale
Uncle Boomer and Xander
Daniel, Xander and Sarah with the sign Maggie and I made for them:
"All your sons will be taught of the Lord
and the well-being of your sons will be great."
Isaiah 54:13
Xander flying!
Taking pictures of each other. :-)
Poor little guy was tuckered. He slept through dinner
but joined us for birthday cake!
~
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