Happy Thank the Lord Day!

Happy Thanksgiving dear family and friends,

Our blessings, like yours, are countless.

But count them we must,

So that we remember always…

That these gifts we’ve received,

Have been given by Almighty God,

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Hands gifted to work,

Minds gifted to comprehend,

Hearts gifted to care, and

Bodies gifted to act all for His glory.

And we’ve also been gifted with you

Dear family and friends, rich treasure that you are,

Sharing our lives.

You help us soar higher in our joys

And shoulder us up when we need lifting,

You’ve done both this past year.

We are grateful beyond words -

Saturated with love,

Sealed with gratitude

For God, life and you.

Happy Thank the Lord Day!!!

Wayne and Judith Rolfs

Thanks be to God and you 1170 copies of Directive 99 went to readers this past week with its strong pro-life message!

Psalm 45:17 I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.

A Perfect Fall Day

A Perfect Fall Day

On a perfect fall day I yearn to chase the wind.

I love to smile and play games of pretend.

I imagine dancing feet on everyone in WalMart.

I look for goodness everywhere it may be found.

I listen for mouths with moving tongues speaking real truth with kindness.

I watch for love that’s a light, a force, rich with supreme energy.

I bow and honor God’s moving via His Holy Spirit shooting divine sparks throughout creation sustaining it for another day.

Joy begins deep and spreads wide.

Happy fall day, God!

Happy fall day, me!

Happy fall day to you!

 

1 Chronicles 16:33

Let the trees of the forest sing, let them sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.

Free ebook at amazon Oct. 15-17^th for women Loving Every Minute, 52 Ways To Live, Laugh & Love As A Woman Click the link:  http://www.amazon.com/Loving-Every-Minute-Judith-Rolfs-ebook/dp/B00CTD2E14 

Dirty, Smelly Feet

Dirty and Smelly Feet

When Jesus walked the earth it was the Jewish custom to offer guests water for foot-washing. The Israelites wore sandals instead of shoes, and usually went barefoot in the house, so frequent washing of the feet was a necessity.

Scripture refers to this duty of the host to give his guest water for the washing of his feet in Gen. xviii. 4, xix. 2, xxiv. 32, xliii. 24; Judges xix. 21.

Dirt was a given, and it was visible. People entered each other’s presence despite dirty, smelly feet.

How differently we live today when we try to clean ourselves up before we get together with others.

Of course, we aren’t always clean and perfect but we try not to show the dirt that’s within us and on us to others.

Our culture has phrases for dealing with our inner “dirt” like “getting our act together.” As if an act is a good thing when it’s really being fake, putting on an external facade. When painful feelings make us cry we speak of dissolving in tears or having a melt-down as if we’re disappearing when our emotions are becoming more real and visible.

Yet, when we can brave being real, dirt and all, really good things happen in us and in our relationships with others.

Christ sees our dirt, our inadequacies and He loves us even with the dirt and requires no “acting.” He’s always waiting to give us a wash, the clean-up and affirmation we need.

MY FREE E-BOOKS ON AMAZON THIS WEEK

Truth For Teens - Tips teens need to know but seldom hear plus good topics for parent & teen discussion. Wed. August 21

Love Always, Mom - A love story about God, a mom and her son. Wed. & Thurs. August 21 & 22

Romans 10:15:  As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

We Are What We Read

Planning What We Read

Author Bob Hostetler gave an excellent plenary speech at the Wheaton, IL Write-to-Publish conference this past Friday. I especially liked his idea of choosing the books you want to read each year and setting up a yearly reading plan for yourself.

My book selections are usually arrived at on the fly. A book passed on by a friend, a book review in the paper, a wander among the library shelves.

The idea of carefully planning my reading is new for me. I love it - whether I have time to read twenty or thirty books or eighty to a hundred per year as Bob does.

How wise, just as we are what we eat, we are what we read. I wouldn’t just grab anything on a supermarket shelf without giving some thought to what’s entering my body. Why should I be any less discriminating about my brain food?

Bob suggested we include a variety –like a good nutritional mix - some biography, autobiography, historical fiction, spiritual, contemporary fiction, classics, a couple of children’s books, even re-reading two or three books that impacted us in the past.

The idea of reading children’s books surprised me! Being a parent and grandparent is such fun because I got to read children’s literature again. But I never thought of reading this category for myself.

So what shall I choose for my list this year? I asked the gentleman in the picture below to give me suggestions for the plan that I’m going to begin in July. He wasn't helpful.

What books do you suggest? Let me know your favorite biography or historical fiction. 

Has any classic book other than the Bible inspired you enough to reread it every few years? 

What about a recommendation for a good mystery? You can leave a comment below if you wish.

Hunting for a Scripture about the wisdom of planning I found this gem: Isaiah 32:8 “But the noble make noble plans, and by noble deeds they stand.”

The titles of Bob Hostetler's books intrigued me: Don't check Your Brains At the Door, Quit Going to Church, The Bone Box, American Idols. I'm definitely putting one on my list. 

Don't miss Love Always, Mom  my  free e-book on amazon June 13-15th - a heart warming true miracle story of our son's healing. 

Blessings and love dear readers!

Incredibly thankful...

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you, two simple words but we write them with huge sincerity and deep gratitude. Your outpouring of love and prayers following the sudden death of our twenty-four-year old beloved grandson, Drew, has astounded us. Such love! So many of you have literally ached with us as we grieved his death. Those first days of shock were very tough. 

We continue to be saddened by our loss – if you knew Drew you can understand – he moved among people with unique charisma and reverent respect for each individual. To be with him was to become even more energized about life. He loved nature, delighted in even the size of radishes and the perfection of a single flower and listened to Harvard business school podcasts for fun because he loved ideas and learning.

It’s not a surprise that God would take Drew’s soul to be with him. It’s probably a wonder that God allowed him to be among us as long as he was. A disclaimer: All our grandchildren are extraordinary (as are yours if you’re a parent or grandparent ) but even his cousins knew Drew radiated a special kind of joy. I’m not implying he was perfect, he certainly wasn’t. He spent a year and a half battling addictions and trying to make sense of a world that wasn’t perfect and people who disappointed him and the beauty of it is DREW DID figure it out! He got his life together, worked two jobs with a passion for perfection and for serving others and was focused on sharing the spiritual truths he’d learned. His primary truth: God is real, God can always be depended upon (just like his Grandpa Wayne he often said) and heaven is a worthy goal for each of us.

In the two months before Drew died he started writing an inspirational blog that more than 2000 people have read. Even for one so young Drew lived with an awareness of the importance of keeping an eye on the goal of eternity with God. He shared this in his writings on Facebook and his blogs and in his last conversation with his brother, going through the travail of medical school studies: “Remember Jack, it’s all about Jesus.”

Drew's personal journal entries always ended with ACTS –adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication. Tamara read from his journal at his funeral: “Entry 1/9/2013  There is SO much I want out of life and so much God wants out of me.  I am so blessed to be called His son, to do His will.  He requires everything though, and whatever I give Him always brings fruit.  Hold up.  Everything I give to God bears fruit in my life.  What am I waiting for!  Today Lord I give You God my all in mind, body and spirit. Search my heart, and use me as you will.  I pray your power in my life be shown and your will be done.  You are real. You love me. You want me to know you. Take control today. Lord, in spite of all my sin and shortcomings, my heart is yours, AMEN!”

So dear friends, in answer to your question how are we doing, we are good, truly, yet those tears still pop up unexpectedly. I hear Drew speak phrases in my mind that stir sweet memories. But we’re all committed to moving forward knowing someone special has lived among us. Our prayers for Drew’s victory over drugs were realized. He died peacefully in his bed with no illegal drugs in his body. Three weeks later we still don’t have a cause of death even after autopsy and pathology reports, but we know he still lives on in heaven because our grandson dedicated himself totally to Christ.

We mourn our loss with supreme peace that God’s will and purpose have been completed for his life. Thank you for the comfort your love and prayers gave us. May you be blessed and also know the incomparable riches God has in store for all those who love Him.

***

If you didn’t know Drew well but would like to meet him, you can read his blogs at www.drewswan.com For those of you who couldn't attend any of his memorials you can watch the one put on by his amazing friends in Florida http://tinyurl.com/ckj4unj (set the viewing bar in 25 minutes to bypass intro music), or view one of the slide shows at www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SPfkqr1iXg‎ or perhaps watch Drew sing one of the songs he wrote: You gotta have faith.www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvB4cr9hSoA‎