WEAK AND STRONG

Here is the story of what God was doing right after WW2 on an island off the west coast of Scotland.

God's Spirit was moving and using two unmarried sisters in their 80's, a 15-year-old boy, and an evangelist.  "God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." 1Corinthians 1:27

The revival was beginning in the years 1949-1952 with the two unmarried sisters, Peggy and Christine Smith, pictured above with Reverend Duncan Campbell.

Lewis (in gold) is the northernmost island of Outer Hebrides.
Pinks are the inner Hebrides and green is Scotland.

Peggy (84) was blind and Christine (82) was bent with arthritis, making them unable to go worship publicly.  Their "church" was in their little cottage.  Both sisters felt burdened because not a single young person came to church on their windswept little island.

They began to pray.  When Peggy had a vision in the night, the sisters sent for the local minister.

Rev. James Murray MacKay was told that in Peggy's vision, their church was crowded with young people and a strange minister was in the pulpit.  A verse was impressed on Peggy's mind from Isaiah: "I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring."  Isaiah 44:3

The pastor asked what they wanted him to do.  The sister's reply?  "Do?  Petition Heaven so that rivers of blessings will come!"

The pastor convened his elders and the plan was made for the church to pray on Tuesdays and Fridays at 10pm.  The sisters said they also would go to prayer at 10 and would remain on their knees until 4.

The pastor that Peggy "saw" in her vision was a famous Scottish evangelist, Duncan Campbell.  Reverend Campbell had turned down preaching the circuit; the custom was for successful preachers to go to London.  But God spoke clearly and Campbell chose obedience.  He told God that he was willing to go anywhere to preach revival.

Duncan Campbell was sitting in the front row of a conference, waiting his turn to speak when the Spirit of God came upon him.  He turned to the moderator and said "You'll have to excuse me.  God has another appointment for me."

Reverend Campbell got up, walked away, and got on a boat for the Isle of Lewis.  He got off the boat at 4:00 in the afternoon and a mailman was waiting for him.  The mailman said "We knew you would come.  You have just enough time for high tea before the meeting."  "What meeting?" said Campbell.  The islanders had posted notices for a meeting that afternoon to talk about what God was doing on the Isle of Lewis.

It is FASCINATING to read how God touched one heart after another as He brought revival.  What of the young boy?  God was working in a teen's life in the nearby village.  This LINK takes you to his back story.  The young man was Donald Smith, another relative of the Smith sisters.  He was an amazing 15-year-old prayer warrior.

Fifteenth-century church on the Isle of Lewis

You may wonder what fruit came from the Revival?  The bars on the island were put out of existence and the churches were filled with young people.  Church enrollment exploded and people came back to God.  There was a healing of the land.  The revival went on for the next 30 years and God prospered the whole land.

Heaven had invaded Scotland.

But the story continues.  The Smith sisters had a niece that was born on Lewis in 1912, the youngest of ten children.  Mary Anne McLeod lived in a thatched-roof, one-room cottage known as a "black house" on a "croft" (a small agricultural landholding).  The village had one street.

The croft could feed one family of children, but when the children married they had to go somewhere else.

So in 1930, at age 18, Mary Anne set sail for the United States to find a job in domestic service (as a number of her older sisters had done).  Mary Anne was an economic migrant, one of a new generation looking for a new life.

Please know that this story is about the way God moves people toward revival by prayer.  Knowing that the Smith sisters and the 15-year old Donald Smith were related, we can assume that their family held prayer high.

This is not about politics, but about God using who He pleases.

Mary Anne sailed for America and six years later, married Fred Trump.  After that, she no longer lived in a black house.  Perhaps Mary Anne Trump was close to God and perhaps she raised her children to love God.  I don't know.  We all make our choices.  The choices that her son has made in the past would cause you to doubt he knows God personally.

But God will use who He will use.  And it is a fact that His Word does not return void.  That means the same verse that impressed Peggy Smith's mind regarding revival in her town is still in play.  The first part has come true.  "I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground"  They asked and God watered the dry ground on the Isle of Lewis.  

And what of the rest of the verse?  "I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring."  Isaiah 44:3  God also promises to bless descendants/offspring.

Is God that good?  What about those who don't deserve it?  The folks who don't believe God would use our President to accomplish His purposes...don't understand that we all are sinners.  NONE of us deserve His blessings.

One day we all fall on our faces before Him, marveling in His grace and mercy.

Revival is a move of God in a community.  God works in individual hearts so that the community becomes God-conscious even before a word is spoken.

Shall we ask Him to make our sin known to us?  Shall we pray for REVIVAL?    

TWO MARCHES

January was a month of marches as Americans expressed their First Amendment rights.

One of our five freedoms is the freedom to assemble peaceably and petition the government for a redress of grievances.

There were two back-to-back marches dealing with women's issues which came down Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. First was the March for Life on Friday and then the Women's March on Saturday.

Contrast is always a good teacher and she taught plenty this time.

*The March for Life was overwhelmingly larger LINK than the Women's March, but it seemed the media primarily covered Saturday's smaller march.

*The first march had a tone of enthusiasm with winsome smiles and fresh faces and prayers that called people to higher ground.

Many of the signs said "LOVE LIFE; CHOOSE LIFE".  Who doesn't love life?

*Rancor, obscene signs, and hats knitted like a woman's private parts characterized Saturday's march as women demanded their way.

*At the March for Life...nobody was marching for themselves; nobody demanded their right to take the life of their child.  Instead, the March for Life defended the helpless and marched for those who could not march.  But Saturday's marchers were so quarrelsome that major factions dropped out this year.

*The Women's March has marched two years, while the March for Life has kept marching each of the 46 years since Roe v. Wade.  They march in January each year, often in freezing conditions.

In the days following those two march days, several states have legislated laws which allow a woman to "choose" to end life even after a baby is born.  People are aghast at how far we've come.

It was chilling to listen to the Governor of Virginia (who is a pediatric neurologist) speak about the process in a calm, dispassionate voice.  LINK  It was as if he were explaining a hangnail procedure.

Then the Governor's supporters were more outraged about a yearbook picture than about his advocacy of ending a life.

The selective harvesting of body parts from an abortion is already a reality; Planned Parenthood subsequently sells the body parts.  Perhaps the parts would arrive in better condition if the child were delivered whole.  This is beyond GHOULISH!

As Americans, we are given rights by our government for the outworking of our lives within the common good.  But as followers of Christ, we lay down our rights so that in all things, our lives would reflect His glory.

KAMALA

The Democratic nominees for 2020 look to be many.  If Americans are swayed by a pretty face, take note that Kamala Harris has jumped into the deep end.

Here's something I like about her.  She has an Indian Mama and a Daddy from Jamaica, but when asked about how she would describe herself, she replied "a proud American".

Her appeal will be multi-faceted.  She's a woman, a pretty woman, a woman of color, and smart.  Well, perhaps you wouldn't put dating Willie Brown in the smart column.  He is thirty years her senior and married, but he did have power to offer.

Ms. Harris' legal career pads her resume, assuming you don't count those 600 dismissed cases and other troubles.  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/opinion/kamala-harris-criminal-justice.html

At age 54, the rest of Kamala Harris' resume is "wet paint".  She is "new" to things such as NEWLY MARRIED (2014), NEW SENATOR (2017), and she had six years experience as Attorney General of CA.

Ms. Harris' campaign schtick will be a line from her opening foray:  "The value we as Americans cherish are all on the line now.  The future of our country depends on you and millions of others lifting our voices to fight for our American values."

So what are Ms. Harris' values?Here's what she is advocating in her speeches:

FOR abortion (100% rating with Planned Parenthood)
FOR gun control ("F" rating from NRA)
FOR free healthcare for all
FOR free college for all
FOR sanctuary cities/DACA
FOR cannabis
OPPOSED to death penalty

Not all Americans embrace THOSE values, Ms. Harris.

A NEW WOMAN

When the new Congress was getting sworn IN last Thursday, I was being sworn OUT of the Parkhill Women's wing of Washington Regional Hospital.

Parkhill kept some parts I no longer needed, and sent me home with a fine new sling, which I did need.

In the meantime, my husband has been amassing points.  He likes to talk about how fast he loses his points, but so far he has only lost ONE.

It seems on the night of surgery he ran home to get something and left the garage door up.  Overnight.  Mike and I are older people and we know older people do better when they stick to their routines.  But our schedule has been so upside down of late, Mike got a pass.  He deserves a medal for how he has waited on me.

Just look at these sweet people.  This is my Oasis group (and spouses) who came to pray over me.  Since it was New Year's Eve we threw in a party.  They brought their own food and even cleaned up.

All along this journey, we have felt so loved.  People have called and brought food and prayed.  I felt God's presence and protection throughout the procedure and we have been careful to thank Him that He is a Shield.

Of course, we also found some "new best friends" that were along the way:

SURGEON.  Please hold all jokes about my surgeon's name, Dr. Jason Hurt.  One of our LR friends who is a surgeon was quick to say "You cut to cure".  They must teach that in surgeon school.

I'm really singing Dr. Hurt's praises. If I had known him years ago, I would have done this a lot sooner. He is not only competent, but is good-hearted and attentive.  He kindly did not leave behind any of that gas which collects up around the collar bone.

I've thanked the Lord for Dr. Hurt and the skill set God gave him.  And I'm thankful that my friend Jo recommended him.  

Besides, who wouldn't like this Daddy?

ANESTHESIOLOGIST.  What's the best thing you can say about the one who put you to sleep?  I didn't throw up!  I don't even have a sore throat.  Thanks to YOU, Dr. Shepherd.

While we were chatting it up and he was looking down my guuzzle, I looked past him out into the hall at a posting board.  It said "Shepherd/21". I asked if he had twenty-one more patients after me or if that was the room number.  He said 'Oh, that's my brother".  "What does he do?" I asked.  "He's a neurosurgeon".

Those Shepherd boys got good genes.

NURSES.  Seriously, EVERY registered nurse we encountered was a pleasure.  One favorite was a tiny red-headed RN who was young and super compassionate.  She had just gotten married in December and I asked her what made her want to marry her husband.

She didn't miss a beat.  She said he defended her to her parents.  They had complained during nursing finals that she wasn't coming home enough.  Apparently his defense was a short cut to her heart.  I'm praying the LORD will give you and your husband many years together, Kayla.

WHAT I LEARNED.  Have you ever noticed that when you tell someone you've had a medical procedure...they tell you theirs?  Well, subjectively speaking then...I would have to say I don't think you could find two sets of ovaries in the whole of Washington County.  Of course, there definitely aren't any here at BTV (Butterfield Trail Village).

Color me grateful.  I'm told I will be a new woman.  I got to experience God's tender loving-kindness and the attention of His people.  Mike treated me like a queen.  But at the same time, we're also glad to be on the far side of the experience.  We're starting 2019 fresh and new...by God's grace.

RESCUED!

Didn't it feel good this week to celebrate the cave rescue in Thailand?

Just look at these scared young kids trapped far into the bowels of the earth.  Every mother in the world was affected by their faces.

And goodness, wasn't the story chocked full of spiritual parallels?

OUT OF DARKNESS INTO LIGHT.  This is Spiritual Picture 101.  Imagine if YOU sat trapped in that dark labyrinth, cold and hungry and with no idea of how to get out or whether you would ever be found. What would you do?

The boys were helpless and dependent on the WAY that was chosen for their rescue...just as mankind sits in the darkness of their own making, needing a way to be saved.

God made a way in Jesus.  "Salvation is in no other; there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

COOPERATION.  What abilities could the boys contribute?  They had no diving experience and they couldn't even swim!  None of them had this super-sized water pump to  suction out the water.

The team and their coach were just perched on a muddy ledge 2.5 miles into an obscure cave, surrounded by floodwaters that were rising and oxygen that was dwindling.  What could they do to help themselves?

The cave rescue was accomplished without help from the boys, just as salvation comes by grace and not works.  We love because God loved us first.

HELPERS.  You probably read that each of the "Wild Boars" (their team name) was accompanied by two divers who pushed the oxygen tanks before them and pulled the boys through tight spaces. Some were on stretchers and sedated.

What a blessing when these first three Seals and the medic (above) arrived with supplies and medicine!  The Seals stayed with the kids until the last one was out of the cave.

Doesn't that remind us of the three Persons of the Trinity who come alongside believers, promising to never leave or forsake us...and who also get us out of tight places?

SPEAK ENGLISH.  From the "just so happened" file...the Thai Navy Seals took the boys out, but it was English divers who first discovered them.  Only one boy on the soccer team spoke English.  The bright young man is an orphan and yet knows five languages.  Doesn't he seem like Esther...made for such a time?

And aren't we grateful God speaks our language?  Our Creator knows what communicates to each heart as God the Holy Spirit speaks life into our soul.

LIFE AND DEATH.  One Seal diver emerged from the cave to find out that his father had died during the rescue.  That Seal was part of saving lives, but he himself lost someone he loved.

Life can be unexpected and bittersweet; no one is promised tomorrow.  Don't you know these boys will remember this rescue of their lives forever?  May they live lives of gratitude to God!

PUTTING OTHERS FIRST.  The coach was weak when he was rescued because he had refused food in order to give it instead to his players.  They said he also taught them to drink water from the sides of the cave.  Philippians 2:3 calls us to consider others as more important than ourselves.

Outside the mouth of the cave, sticky rice and pork was prepared and sent in waterproof bags...along with this souped up gel.  The boys were only able to nibble on the rice at first because they were so weak.  Christians grow stronger as they feed on God's Word.

CREDIT.  It was sad to hear the Thailand Navy Seals post this on their Facebook page:  "We're not sure if this is a miracle, a science, or what.  All the thirteen Wild Boars are now out of the cave and everyone is safe."

People who believe that God is active in the affairs of men would have a different take on the situation. We see the rescue as bringing much glory to God.

ONE FOR ALL.  Perhaps the most striking spiritual parallel in this rescue story was the Thai Navy Seal who gave his life that the boys might be saved.

Saman Gunan, 38, is shown on left with his wife.  He was returning from delivering oxygen tanks to the boys when he lost consciousness and could not be revived.

Now Saman Gunan's life is a shiny picture of sacrifice and his name is being praised in Thailand.  Mr. Gunan volunteered for his mission, but he did not know that day would be his last.

But the ONE WHO OPENED HEAVEN'S GATES knew from the foundation of the world that He would die.  Jesus volunteered for the ULTIMATE RESCUE, giving up divinity in order to come to Earth to pay sin's debt.

People who call on the name of Jesus make it safely out of this world.

KRAUTHAMMER

This morning I woke thinking about Dr. Charles Krauthammer.  Mike and I miss that dear man; we've already had a year of missing him on the FOX NEWS nightly panel.

The Cruses were two of Charles' conservative bobbleheads.  We loved hearing him reason.

I guess that's why it's strange that within his conservative "flock", there is wide divergence of thought.  Guess we're not total bobbleheads.  Why?

The doctor's personal beliefs belie huge chunks of my worldview...BIG THINGS... such as who he worships.

On Dr. Krauthammer's Wiki page, it speaks of him having Orthodox Jewish parents, but choosing to be "non-religious".  He practiced "ancestor worship" (a fusion of Shinto and Jewish thought).

 He also fully supported scientific evolution and abortion legislation, while opposing capital punishment and intelligent design.

Those philosophical beliefs are polar opposites to mine.  Guess conservatives aren't all sheep, cloned to group-think.

So why did we love Charles Krauthammer?  Well, if you like videos, you can see for yourself at this LINK.  And what else?

I loved:

*HIS INTELLIGENCE.
Dr. K's gifting led him to literary accomplishments such as books, a Presidential candidate's speeches, columns, and a Pulitzer (plus other awards).

In medicine, his psychiatric research discovered a new kind of bipolar mania.  And of course, there was his wonderfully witty repartee on television.

Of course, SMART doesn't get anyone to God...

*HIS MORALITY. Charles Krauthammer was the husband of one wife and a family lover (see son Daniel at left).  He and Robyn were generous charity-givers and Charles was a decent man whose life story preached the value of life.

But of course, LIVING A GOOD LIFE doesn't get you to God...

*HIS PERSEVERANCE AND COURAGE.  These character traits pushed Dr. Krauthammer to complete medical school after his devastating spinal cord injury in 1972...and also to live a full life, marrying Robyn in 1974.  One way he made the most of his paralysis was to develop the skill of composing his medical school papers in his head so that he could then dictate them.  Later that skill helped him put cohesive thoughts together as he made political analysis.

Still, neither PERSEVERANCE NOR COURAGE buy a ticket to God...

We all come to the Lord as God says to come.  There's no going off in the Shinto/Ancestor weeds.  The quote on the right seems to suggest that Dr. Krauthammer's life was his own.

Does holding tight to your lifeplan get you to God?

God says we are sinful and the way to be with Him is to come humbly through the Sacrifice He provided for our sin.  We are to bow, confess, and ask that the blood of the Messiah's sacrifice be applied to our life.  Then (and only then) is our debt to God paid.

I'm not so self-aggrandizing as to suggest that I knew Charles Krauthammer's heart.  But IT IS POSSIBLE to see the paths he employed toward God...and it is possible to examine the words his mouth professed.  I can remember years ago praying that the Lord would send someone to Charles Krauthammer.  Maybe you prayed that, too.  We have no idea what Dr. K's final decisions might have been.  I sincerely hope there was an unknown "update" to his Wiki page, known only to God.

Yesterday and today we have seen people put "REST IN PEACE" on Dr. Krauthammer's picture.  What exactly does that mean?  How does someone rest in peace?

Most know that "shalom" is the Hebrew word for peace.  Shalom suggests more than just the absence of struggle; shalom is a return to wholeness as God remakes you into the person He intended from the beginning before sin took its toll.

OUR REST IS COMMUNION WITH GOD.

Rest begins at salvation and continues into eternity. And what about when you go to be with the Lord?  Then you experience shalom because you are continually refreshed in His presence FOREVER.

But the other option?  Separation from God is a place devoid of any rest.  There is no option to choose to "rest in peace" after death.  THAT'S why there is sadness today for Charles Krauthammer as he met his Maker.

God is faithful to set life choice before each person.  He entreats us in Deuteronomy 30:19 to "choose LIFE!" because He would have us join Him.  After all, He is the God of all PEACE, offering the ultimate Peace Sacrifice, His Son Jesus.  As the Jewish prophet Isaiah said 700 years before the Messiah came..."For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.  The government will rest on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and PRINCE OF PEACE."

OASIS GOES TO HARRISON

Someone asked me who my Oasis group was.  It's just some women who love Jesus and each other.

When Oasis gets together, each meeting becomes something different.  Last time we met, there was porch-sitting on a sunny, 75 degree morning.  This time five piled into the van to go to Harrison because Jan and Bobbie are our June girls in need of a birthday party.

All along the way, one member we call "Junior" was in the third seat, calling out cow/red barn alerts. The hooting and laughing was deafening at times, but don't we profit from women of differing ages?  The one with the most life experience in our group was born in 1929 and the chickiebaby was born in 1952.

At first we had Oasis rules that we were only to serve coffee.  You can imagine how fast that rule evaporated as legitimate intentions to shower one another with good things swerved into more.  Isn't this the loveliest tablescape?

We all were full of anticipation because our "long-distance" member always has a treat for us.  We are like little kids when we go to Jan's house.  This time we got to take home the vases on the table.  Jan would say they were nothing, but just some things she cut out of her yard.  But there's something about when someone makes a fuss over you...

When we pray at Oasis, we ask that our conversation honor the Lord because we all are aware of our capacity to stray into the weeds with our mouths.  I wish "catty" didn't come so easily for women!  This time our conversations were as serious as the abuse of women...to a lighter fare, the newest decorating trends.

There is a storm going on now in a denominational convention because of their leader's remarks about women.  Our Oasis "reading file" assignment was an article from a pastor in the same denomination who took a different stand.  I found his comments to be refreshing.  LINK

And one more thing.  All these women are involved in ministry, so there's always much to catch up on.  One is in prison ministry, two are in "one-to-one" ministries, two are leading Bible studies, and Bobbie is the quintessential lady with noble character who opens her mouth in wisdom.  There is much to learn at Oasis.

My favorite Friday thing?  My best favorite was just the shiny time together which refreshed my soul.  But an also favorite was the fun talking about decorating as we saw Jan's upgrades...and then she took us to go through another house she is working on that was almost complete. And third favorite?

Jan's husband.  We arrived Friday at 10:00 and were still gabbing at 3:00 when Ron walked in.  It was the end of his work week and Oasis came to attention, knowing it was time to exit stage left.  But instead of smiling, waving, and going off to the garage...Jan's husband plopped down in our circle and fearlessly joined in.  What a great guy!

We were made to live in community.  We just follow God's example because He lives in the community of the Trinity.

Women need other women.  We need to release some words so our husbands won't have to hear everything that is on our minds.  And we desperately need the prayers that shore one another up.  Galatians says "carry one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ".

So what's so good about Oasis?  We smile at the future together!

BIRTHDAY BABES

LOVE THE GRANDS ON THE WALL

BRING ON THE CHICKEN POT PIE

LITTLE HIDEYHOLE FOR GRANDS
(behind the curtain it says "enter His courts with praise")