For Ladies ONLY!

 I am trying to stay calm.  Once again my daughter is in the hospital with signs of going into labor 2 months early.  We were hoping that the extra progesterone would keep baby in longer.  To say the least, we are VEEEERRRRYYYYYYYYY disappointed.

  This will be my daughter's 5th C section.  PLEASE PRAY FOR HER AND BABY.

  I wasn't planning on being gone for a month for several weeks yet.  Now I have to hussle to get clothes washed for me and my guys.  I had hoped to have some casseroles in the freezer for them before I made the 5 hour trip to my daughter's home.  I told her that I cannot leave today.

  The good news is that God provided a friend who has been coming in to their home 5 days a week for several months.  The children know her and love her already.  Cora said she asked her to come in early today.  I sure hope she could as the other Grandma, who came in the middle of the night, will have her hands full with 5 children at home as they wake up wondering where their Mama is.

  I know I should be getting the washing machine going but writing has always been my therapy.  Also I know that many of my readers must be prayer warriors as I can feel the prayers coming when I ask for them.  May our loving Heavenly Father bless you for keeping my daughter's family in your prayers for their needs are urgent.

  I need prayers, too, as I have to make the long trip alone tomorrow if they need to take the baby today.  My guys are still planting the crops so Robert is unable to get away until that is done.  I'm still dealing with cancer in my right shoulder but it is mostly gone now.  Like I said, "I am trying to stay calm."

  When I taught my children to be pro-life, as they watched me have miscarriage after miscarriage, I never thought it would mean my daughter would have to go through 3 week NICU stays with premie babies.  She is THE MOST AMAZING WOMAN I KNOW.  How I wish she didn't have to go through this again. 

  More good news is that they gave her the steroid shot when she got to the hospital at 2:00 AM this morning.  They'll give her a second one 24 hours later if the contractions can be stopped for that long.  This rapidly develops the lungs of the baby so no oxygen is needed.  Two babies back there was time to get both of those shots and the baby needed no oxygen unlike the baby before who didn't get the shot as it was the first premie.  That baby needed oxygen for 10 days.  With the last baby there was only time to get 1 shot in and that baby's lungs were fine too.

  Please pray that this baby's lungs are fine if there is only time for 1 steroid shot.  

  Like I said before, I am trying to stay calm as I wait for news if they were able to get the contractions to stop.  I'm praying that they stop and baby stays in a couple more weeks.  That will help so much!!!

  May God bless you all,

  Dawn  

  

  

  

Happy 70th Birthday to my Precious Husband!

 Good morning everyone,

  I'm not exactly sure what Father is saying to me through this devotional this morning.  I often can tell what He is "Getting at" when I read these messages from THE PASSION TRANSLATION.  I will need to ponder on this today.

  Today is a special day in our family.  My husband, Robert, turns 70 years old.  I think I'll share what I posted on Facebook this morning about that.  Please send him prayers for a joy-filled day as he drives tractor all day--doing what he loves the most!!! 

Please join me in wishing my sweetie a happy 70th birthday today. We had Robert's party last Sabbath because he is happily driving tractor all day today. Maybe I'll catch a ride with him this afternoon. Thanks go out to our daughter-in-law for elegantly decorating the cake and our future daughter-in-law for making him a sour cream raisin pie which is one of his favorites.

Encounter God’s Heart…

People of Our Word

Following through on our promises is as important as the vows we make. In fact, it is even more valuable. If we do not faithfully do what we promise, then our word means nothing to others. Instead of building bridges of trust, we tear at the fabric of our own character. We cannot forget the power of keeping our promises. It is not too late to do what we said we would. Importantly, we should also consider how we can transform going forward. Instead of overpromising and underdelivering, we can ask God to help us be discerning in the yeses we offer. When we are honest about what we can do and don’t offer an inflated idea of our potential, we are able to take the small steps toward rebuilding trust. When we realize that we’ve overpromised, let’s be honest about it and ask for forgiveness. Honesty is the critical first step in restoration. And when others fail to meet our expectations, we can also offer compassion and tender mercy to them, giving them the chance that we hope for. Restorer, thank you for the permission to say no to things without feeling guilty. Help me be selective about the promises I make so that I have the ability and resources to meet them.

From Wisdom from Above written by Brian Simmons

Proverbs 19:22 TPT

A lover of God who is poor and promises nothing is better than a rich liar who never keeps his promises.

It's Bible Study Today in the Neighborhood!

 Hello everyone from sunny North Dakota,

  Today is Bible study day in the neighborhood.  My daughter-in-law is hosting at her house.  She and Andrew have a bin-zebo where we'll meet today.  YAY we can FINALLY gather outside again!  

  This email caught my attention as I prepare my heart for Bible study.  As in all groups, some people are easier to love than others.  We all love each other but sometimes we rub each other the wrong way.  I don't like that feeling in myself especially when we're meeting to study God's word together.  Leave it to God to speak to my heart about this before I meet with the ladies I love so much!!!  

  I don't have to fake it.  God loves them IMMENSELY.  All I have to do is get out of the way and let HIS love for them flow through me.  Sometimes just being aware of the need for change is enough to let God make the changes in me that are needed.  I don't have to fake being pleased to see them.  All I have to do is surrender my heart to God.  I love this line from this devotional.  "When you find yourself laboring to love those around you, it is a sign that you need to turn your heart toward me in surrender!"

  Here's to surrender.  You probably can guess what song came to my mind now.  I'll share it below.

  As always, I covet your prayers for me and my family.  With 2 babies and a wedding coming up, we sure can use prayers.  

  Lots of love,

  Dawn

   

I Hear His Whisper...

Be true in love.

Drink in the deep delight of my heart today. Fill up on my unending kindness. Feast on my compassion. Does it feel like I’m pushing you too hard to receive? It is only because the more you receive, the more you have to give. I don’t want the well of your heart to run dry because you feel as if you have to stir up love on your own. First drink from my living waters, and you will find that you have more than enough to offer others. When you find yourself laboring to love those around you, it is a sign that you need to turn your heart toward me in surrender. Let me water the garden of your heart with the showers of my mercy. There’s no need to strive to love. Your choices matter—of course they do. But you have the resource of unending love at hand. Let your soul come alive in the light of my kindness, and you will find that kindness flows freely from you. There’s no need to pretend. Just be true in love by allowing me to refill you constantly. Keep coming back to me and drinking up every chance you get.

Adapted from I Hear His Whisper for Women written by Brian Simmons

Romans 12:9 TPT

Let the inner movement of your heart always be to love one another, and never play the role of an actor wearing a mask. Despise evil and embrace everything that is good and virtuous.

Happy Mother's Day

 It's mother's day in my country.  It's a day to ponder how much the love of our mothers has done for us.  I know that's a bad sentence but it seems to pertain today.

  My mother died suddenly on April 25, 2009. She worked all day and then slumped over dead in her doctor's office a little after 8:00 PM.  

  For weeks before that I had been preaching to her about the dangers of alternative sweeteners.  Substances like aspartame, which the FDA approved of, are neurotoxins that mess with our brains.  I will always remember her angrily saying to me, "So you think aspartame is building up in my body?"  I calmly replied, "I know it is."  Would she listen?  A few months later she dropped dead.  GRRRRRR  

  So I've been motherless for 17 years.  I wish I could say I'm devastated with the loss of my mother but she was such a blockhead.  

  When God called us to home school our children, she threw a fit.  When God called Robert and I to adult immersion, she threw a fit.  When I kept having miscarriages, she threw a fit.  When we wanted to go back into farming, she threw a fit.  When I dropped out of my singing group because of laryngitis, she threw a fit.  When we started keeping the Sabbath, she threw a fit.  

  I think you get the picture.  My mother only approved of me when I fit into her narrow view of the world.  When God was trying to grow me up into a natural healing practitioner, that didn't fit with her "The doctor knows best" brainwashing.  Come to think of it, I can't think of too many things that I did that she approved of so I went on without her.

  When she dropped dead, I cried very hard for several weeks.  It was such a shock.  My growing children said  "Mom, why are you crying so hard?  She was your biggest enemy."  I had to ponder a bit as I saw their point.  Then I replied, "Because now there is no more hope that we might have a good relationship."  

  After that, things got better.  There were no more unrealistic expectations that some day mom would grow up and appreciate all that I was doing with my life.  Then a friend gave me a book called TOXIC PARENTS and I started to really heal.

  So yes, my mother taught me good things when I was growing up like how to garden and how to be a homemaker.  What she couldn't teach me was that these things can REALLY show love when done with a heart full of love.  

  My mother loved herself and her comforts money could buy.  Once she slapped me when I defiantly declared "Some people love their money more than they love their own family!"  I guess it hit a nerve because it was the truth.  Robert asked her to leave our house shortly after the slap.  There was no apology for the slap--no checking if I was ok--no love.

  So for those of you who really felt loved by your mothers, I am so happy for you.  For the rest of you, may the Lord be the comfort that you need to be a loving person even though it wasn't modeled for you.  The Lord is a GREAT lover of people.  May we all be like Him especially when our Earthly parents failed us terribly.

  If the word "Mother" does not bring all the warm fuzzies that others experience, this song is for you.  May you find peace in being the person God knows you can be and wants you to be.  

 Sad today,

  Dawn

Lessons from a Cemetary!

Recently I've been going through many changes.  My 2 daughters will have babies this Summer and I just learned last night about another big change coming this year. 

Not only that but next week my husband turns 70 years old.  It's hit us both hard as we ponder our family moving on without us a bit more every year.  

Last Sabbath Robert and I went walking through the local cemetery.  It was interesting to see who was all buried there.  We both felt the need to talk about where we'd like to be buried some day.

This man I've been wife to for 45 years is my soulmate for sure.  We walked around the tombstones and remembered the times we'd spent with several whose bodies are there.  In our minds we were pondering where we would like to be buried when it's our turn to go to our rewards.

We spent several hours walking together and alone.  I was praying for wisdom to understand what we were doing there.  Neither of us is sick.  Lots of people turn 70 but I vividly recalled the fatalistic doom that settled over me when I was turning 50.

Here we are 28 years later as God saw fit to keep us here.  Yet we know that we won't be here forever so we walked and talked--or didn't.

It amazed me how we both ended up under this huge Ponderosa Pine tree just like we used to have in our yard years ago before the tornado came through.  We talked then about how close it was to our field the Lord just gave us--how our sons could drive by Spring and Fall and see us there and know how much we did to give them a good life!!

It was kind of sad but peaceful too.  We've been different since then--better and closer.  When you're in your 20s, people are invincible.  In your 30s, you're a new parent and just tired.  In your 40s, people are starting to get a hold of parenting.  In your 50s, you end up dealing with your parent's decline.  In your 60s you're working hard to make sure your descendants have a good life.  In your 70s?  I guess we'll find out if the Lord continues blessing us with more years.

With everything going on in the world, it seems insignificant that Robert and I picked our final resting place together.  We do everything together and have for 45+ years.  Some day we may not.  That thought led me to this poem.

Robert is a good forgiver.  I haven't been as fluent in forgiveness as my husband is.  I've watched him, though, and his peace and calm have inspired me to lay it all down little by little.  I hope this poem will inspire each of my readers to lay down your grudges and abuses too.  

Happy Sabbath dear friends,

Dawn

Forgiveness

 by John Greenleaf Whittier

My heart was heavy, for its trust had been
Abused, its kindness answered with foul wrong;
So, turning gloomily from my fellow-men,
One summer Sabbath day I strolled among
The green mounds of the village burial-place;
Where, pondering how all human love and hate
Find one sad level; and how, soon or late,
Wronged and wrongdoer, each with meekened face,
And cold hands folded over a still heart,
Pass the green threshold of our common grave,
Whither all footsteps tend, whence none depart,
Awed for myself, and pitying my race,
Our common sorrow, like a mighty wave,
Swept all my pride away, and trembling I forgave!