Sunday, December 30, 2007

Old and New

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Ever have a date in your life that was significant for more than one reason? No, I don't mean a DATE date. I mean a calendar type of date. In the 1970's, I went to tech school with a girl whose birthday was November 22, and she said that 22 was a special number to her, rattling off a list of reasons why that I can't seem to remember.

December 29 has become memorable to me:

In 1987, it was the day we moved our family from Dublin to Americus. That was 20 years ago, and I still can't believe it. This is the longest I've ever lived in one town. Americus is sort of a hard town to merge into, especially in the winter time and especially during the Christmas and New Year's seasons. Our children were 5 years old and 17 months old at the time. Our daughter barely remembers Dublin, although she grieved and cried for the longest time over leaving her best friend, Lisa, there. I think she finally got over it. Our son, however, remembers nothing about that dear town. I loved it there. It was where I became a Christian, so it's always gonna be my spiritual home until I get to my Real One.

On December 29, 2003, my husband's 85-year-old mother succumbed to cancer. She'd had it only a short time, obviously, since she only found out she had it in September of that year. Hers was a quick and quite painless death. I had prayed two things for her when I found out she had it: "Lord, please don't let her suffer, and please just let her go to sleep." That is exactly how it happened. She had three months to get her arrangements made (she asked that I sing "He Touched Me" at her funeral, which I did, completely dry-eyed, much to my tender-hearted sister's amazement. What can I say? God is good) and to accept visits from friends and relatives. She was placed, by the doctor, into a nice nearby nursing facility and was quite pleasant throughout the whole three months...eating well, making new (albeit short-term) friends, laughing. Thankfully, she had needed only a few Tylenols for an occasional pain. Over a period of several days, we think beginning on Christmas Eve, she just sort of lost sight of reality and drifted off to sleep. On December 29, I showed up for a visit and found the nurses discussing her condition...her blood pressure was extremely low, and I couldn't make her open her eyes. In a few hours she was gone. Not suffering. Just going to sleep. Fortunately, all of that happened about eight months before the leaders of our then-church suggested that maybe we would be happier elsewhere.

On December 29, 2006, at a new church we celebrated with our new pastor and his wife and family the birth of their first grandchild, Toby. A few days ago, on December 29,2007, Toby turned one year old.

Somtimes with unhappy endings come happy beginnings.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

A Little Bird Told Me

This time of year my mind becomes cluttered, not that it's not already, but as Christmas approaches my head becomes so full of "stuff" that I sometimes have a hard time going to sleep, or staying asleep, at night. Couple that with the fact that I'm at the age when it's hard to sleep sometimes anyway, and you have the makings of one of those nights when a person has to either just lay there and fight or get up and find something constructive to occupy one's mind until it thinks it's ready to rest. Last night was classic.

To make a fairly short story even shorter, I fought for awhile then decided to get up and DO some of the things that I was just laying there THINKING about doing...like tying those new Christmas ornaments on our dining room chandelier...and making those red bows to put on the deck. I'm not a particularly good bow maker, so I was mildly excited that they turned out halfway decent. Only halfway. Good thing they're going to be outside...out of close-range vision...amongst the birds and squirrels and greenery.

I finally decided that I'd give sleep another chance. By now it's around 2:15, 2:30. I think the last time I checked the time (you HAVE to do that when you're fighting to get to sleep, don't you?) it was around 3:15, so I figure I was asleep by 3:30.

God is so good...He knows I need to get up by 7:00-ish on Sundays in order to get to worship team practice on time, which I'm usually late for anyway, so what did He do this morning.? Around 7:05 I'm jolted awake by a sound outside the bedroom window...seems one of our precious (loud) little birds had been commanded by God to give me a wake-up call. (He knew I had refused to set my clock.) It was as if the little darling were saying, "God-says-"Get-up!' God-says-'Get-up!'" Yes, Lord. Thank You.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Please Help our Tornado-Ravaged Hospital

The "Judy" that sent me this is a close friend of mine whose husband is a surgeon here. He has performed procedures on my husband and me. Please read this and act, if you feel so inclined. Here is the link mentioned: www.winanmri.com Thanks. June

Dear Friends and Family.......As most of you remember.....our town suffered through an FE3 tornado on March 1st which devastated 800 homes and 1/3 of our business district. Our hospital was totally destroyed as were most of the Dr.'s offices in town. Below you will find a 'tangible' way to help our community win a new million-dollar MRI machine from the manufacturer, Siemens. Follow the instructions below and it will take about 4 minutes of your time. If you would be so kind, would you pass this on to your contact list?? We would greatly appreciate it! Judy

Judy...Subject: Help Sumter Regional Hospital Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:17:21 -0400> Subject: Help Sumter Regional Hospital So many of you have asked of ways that you can help Sumter Regional Hospital and Americus, Ga. This is an easy way to help our community and would be such a Godsend for our hospital. Seimans is having a contest to give away a one million dollar MRI machine to a hospital in America. The hospital must come up with a video to present their need and it is a vote of popular opinion. There are many videos already submitted. Many are silly, a few are business-like, but none are as touching as the story of the tornado that ripped apart our town on March 1st. You can submit one vote in a 24 hour period from each email account. Please visit www.winanmri.com and place your vote for the video entitled "Blown Away" by Sumter Regional Hospital every day until the end of the year.

Thanks so much.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Dreaming Again

Three years ago, one of the most painful situations that I have ever experienced occurred in my life. I won't go into it now. Maybe another time. The important thing I want to express here now is that I have come full circle...run the gamut, as it were, of emotions concerning the situation.

In the beginning I was so ripped apart that I pretty much promised myself that I would never dream again. I was just going to live my life one day at a time and not think about the future. I am a Christian...born again, Holy Spirit filled...and I knew that only one thing mattered about the future: that I live my life in such a way that I would please God and spend eternity with Him in His beautiful Heaven. The Apostle Paul was given the privilege of making a short visit there once and allowed to come back and tell us that there were things about it that there were actually no words for...there was no way to describe to us what he saw, it was so wonderful. That's what I'm looking forward to, and that's what I had my eyes on at the time...and that's pretty much ALL I had my eyes on. Thinking about anything here on earth in the way of hopes for the future or dreams of the future was out. I would just live my life one day at a time and go to Heaven at the end of it all.

Since then God has healed my heart and my life and brought me full circle. I actually dream again. "I dream of travels to make, roads to take, and wonderful, beautiful movies to make. I dream of conquering sin, poems to pen, and precious and drifting souls to win."

On September 30, October 1, and October 2, 2007, our church had a thing we called "Seeking Revival." We called it that because you can't just say, "We're going to have revival," because you really don't know whether you're going to experience revival or not. Many times we had "revivals" that were "planned" when I was a child. I never saw anything different come of it, maybe it did and I missed it, but I don't think so. You can hope for revival, as we recently did, and you can pray for revival, as we did; but unless the people desire it, unless the Holy Spirit is welcome, I just don't see that it's gonna happen.

Well, it did for us. And on the last night the visiting preacher said that there was someone in the congregation that was hurting, someone that he had sat in his pew and wept for just before he got up to preach. He asked that person to come down so that he could pray for him or her. He knew who the person was, and he said that the person knew, too. I just knew it was me, but I waited just in case it wasn't. No one moved. I didn't want to miss my blessing, so I stood up to walk down the aisle...so did two other people!

When we got to the preacher, he prayed first for the man, then he turned to me and said that what the canker worm had eaten would be restored. I knew what he meant. Then he prayed for me and spoke in tongues. I fell out on the floor! While I was laying there he began to talk with the other woman (the one he'd had in mind in the first place)...and practically everything he said to her was for me! I was renewed right there...on that floor. When I stood up and took my seat, the animosity I had felt toward those who had sinned against me had been replaced with pity for them.

Later my good friend turned to me and told me that she had the interpretation for the tongue that had been spoken to me. It was: "I will give you what you desire my child. Delight yourself in me. Trust also in me, and I will give you the desires of your heart. Peace, be still. Rest in me."

Now, I don't care whether you believe in that sort of thing or not (actually, I do because it's such a blessing and I want you to be blessed...but that's up to you,) but whether you do or not doesn't negate the fact that it happened to me, and you can't take that away from me. The peace that has been afforded me since that night is unbelievable. I still pray for those people and the people who are still under their influence. They are pitiful.

I have been delivered and I can dream again. Praise God!

May He bless you and yours.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Life Chain

Sunday, October 7, 2007

This won’t be news to anyone local, but my town is one of diversity. This was proven again to me today as I spent an hour this afternoon standing with many, many others on the sidewalks in front of one of our banks holding signs saying: "Abortion Hurts Women," "Life...the First Inalienable Right," and "Adoption...the Love Option." Cars, a motorcycle, SUV’s, trucks, and vans carrying African Americans, Asians, Caucasians, and Hispanics passed by as The Life Chain stood silently, patiently delivering its message. We were acknowledged with thumbs up, smiles and waves, and horn honking.

The message is one that I don’t take lightly. It is a strong belief I’ve carried for years, one that I believed when, years ago, a friend in a faraway town became pregnant and feared her husband would insist on an abortion. They had planned to never have children, you see. My husband and I had wanted more children, and I asked her to give me time to talk with my husband about adopting hers; but they kept the baby and, of course, they adore him. He’s a wonderful young man now.

It’s a belief I consider every time I think of the abortion of another friend in another faraway town during the promiscuous teen years of her life. She never married, never had children, and grieves still for the baby she killed.

It’s a belief I consider every time I think of Ethel Waters who, for many years, sang hymns with the Billy Graham Crusades. Ethel was a product of rape. Of a 12-year-old girl. Ethel’s was one of the most beautiful singing voices you could ever hope to hear.

A wise man once said, "If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything." So today some of us stood for those who can’t stand for themselves. How long that will be our right is yet to be seen, but for the moment, that is our right; and there are many brave men and women on foreign soils standing shoulder to shoulder to make sure we have that right for as long as possible.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

An Attempt at Movie Reviewing (Spoilers Abound)

I just rented and watched "Chocolat" for the umpteenth time. I also just finished drinking a cup of hot chocolate. Wonder why. "Chocolat" is not a new movie, copyright year being 2000 on the VHS tape I rented. (The video store didn’t have it on DVD. Wonder why.)

This movie touches so many emotions...happiness, sadness, pity, anger...AND I am supremely tempted by all the chocolate. Throughout the movie chocolate abounds. Thankfully they haven’t invented smellivision yet or I would be undone! It doesn’t help that Johnny Depp shows up midway through the plot line either. Intelligent moviemakers know if they’re going to make a movie about temptation, their leading man’s just gotta be Johnny Depp.

The story takes place in a straightlaced French village in 1959. Vianne, a stranger, drifts into town and opens a chocolate shop at the beginning of Lent, drawing the contempt of the mayor, who strives desperately to keep everyone under his thumb and to make sure everyone attends Mass and strictly keeps all his rules, which are not necessarily God’s. The mayor seems to think that obeying religious rules is the most important thing in life. With him it’s the letter of the law, not the spirit of the law. Heck, going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a carport makes you a Ferrari.

Vianne and her little girl, however, are not churchgoers, but they do try to make friends, only to discover that the mayor has warned the village to leave them alone as he feels they are a bad influence. Stop right there. Wouldn’t the Christian thing have been to try to befriend Vianne and her daughter and win them to Jesus Christ instead of shunning them? Wouldn’t the wrong thing be to turn the entire village against them?

If we could become Christians (or be won to Jesus Christ or get into Heaven or whatever you want to call it) through being good and doing good works, then in this movie the non-churchgoing Vianne would have made it hands down, her few indiscretions notwithstanding. She befriended an old lady whose daughter had forbidden her little boy to see his grandmother and brought them together secretly (okay, that would have made me mad had I been his mother, but Vianne’s heart was right,) she saw a bad marriage and sheltered the battered woman, she helped heal another bad marriage, she saw an older man’s feelings for a widow still mourning her husband after 15 years and Cupidized them, and she accepted the dregs of society just as they were (reminds me of an old hymn.) All using the temptation of chocolate. (Hey, it’s a movie! Gimme a break.)

With God, it’s always a heart thing. And Vianne’s heart was for helping. I don’t know that she ever accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior, thereby becoming a Christian, and thereby going to Heaven, but her example far and away surpassed that of the pious mayor, who gossiped and judged and lived in denial of the truth, on several matters, and demanded perfection. Even God knows we’re not perfect. The Bible may say, "Be perfect as I am perfect," but He knows that’s unattainable on this earth; it’s just something to strive for till we get to Heaven, where all is perfect.

Hollywood’s perennial tolerance agenda was thinly veiled in this piece, and there were times when I wanted to just throw something at the TV, but Hollywood is made up of humans, and there is never going to be a perfect movie. I haven’t seen one yet, nor do I suspect I ever will. However, I am pleased every time I watch "Chocolat" and don’t see the lewdness and hear the repeated foul language that seem to be spewing from almost every movie hitting the screens these days. Refreshing.

Is "Chocolat" the best movie ever made? No. Is it the best-acted movie ever made? No. Is it the most thrilling movie ever made? No. In fact, there are few thrills. But it will make you think, which says something for it as far as I’m concerned. Usually movies are very superficial to me. I take them at face value, most of the time. I watch them for the entertainment value, not to write an English Lit. book report on alliteration and allegory and foreshadowing. As a Christian, this one made me think, and I almost always look at things from the Christian perspective. This one's a thinker.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Deceived on Purpose

In 2004, my family experienced one of the most painful circumstances a Christian can encounter: the murder of our church. Although it is quite interesting, it is a long story...too much to tell here, too much to read here. I will just say that if you read "Deceived on Purpose," by Warren Smith, you will see at least why it happened: leadership in a church can stray from its duties and become slack in upholding its office. This will give Satan a foothold...and he WILL push his way into a church and set up shop. This gives way to every wind of doctrine to invite itself to come in, and in our case, these winds blew hard. You may not be able to find "Deceived on Purpose" in any bookstore, but give it a try. If you don't find it, it is readily available at several of the usual online stores. It is a paperback, approximately 200 pages and very easy to read. The author had spent considerable time in the New Age movement (which is now also called the New Spirituality) and subsequently became a Christian. When the firestorm of The Purpose Driven Life occurred, he picked up a copy and began reading only to discover that he was being re-introduced to some of his New Age teachings. "Deceived on Purpose" is the result, and I, for one, appreciate Mr. Smith immensely.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Hello, World!

July 14, 2007

Add me to the list of bazillions of bloggers in the world! Then look out...I'll probably say something you don't agree with, but at least I'm saying something! The folks who know me best know that it's not a stretch for me to say something...it seems that's what I do best! Or at least that's what I do most.

By way of introduction, my name is June Anderson and I am a Christian...a born-again Christian, not an I-must-be-a-Christian-because-I'm-not-anything-else Christian. That wouldn't be a Christian at all. Okay, so maybe you don't know what a Christian is. Well, here ya go:

To become a Christian you first realize that we are all sinners. (I KNOW it's not a popular word...and I KNOW you're not comfortable with that, but bear with me.)

First you realize that we're all sinners and that separates us from God, then you realize that in order to become right with God again, we must accept His provision for reconciling us to Himself...the fact that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for our sins. So you confess to God that you are a sinner and ask His forgiveness for your sins. Then ask Jesus to come into your life and give you a "clean slate"...in other words, take all your sins away and make you clean again.

Now you can do all that and just be trying to fool God, but He knows if you're sincere or not. He will honor what you've said if you're true about it. Otherwise, it's just jibberish that He recognizes immediately. All this can be backed up with scripture from the Bible. Now, if you don't believe in God (the real God...not the made-up ones by folks who don't like the real One) and you don't believe in The Holy Bible, then you have to ask yourself one question: Am I willing to bet my life on the belief that God and the Bible don't exist? That's not my call or God's...that's yours. He gives you the freedom to decide for yourself. Here's the clincher: Whatever you believe, you can't change the truth; so if you choose not to believe in God, Jesus Christ, or His Holy Spirit, that's your decision...but you can't change the truth, and the truth is that God, Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit are real. The three-in-one God. I can't explain Him, but I know He's real. (I can't explain air either, but I know it's real.) I'll never be the same again (thankfully!) since I chose to become a Christian about 23 years ago.

So here are the scriptures that bear out all of the above:

Romans 3:23--for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Acts 26:18--...to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me (Jesus)
Romans 6:23--For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:8--But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Ephesians 2:8-9--For it is by grace you have been saved, though faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.
John 1:12-13--Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, not of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
1 John 5:12-13--He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
John 3:16-18--For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the Name of God's one and only Son.

Now if you're ready to make this decision and are at a loss for words, here is a prayer that you can pray to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior from your sins and start a new life:

Heavenly Father, I know I’m a sinner. I confess my sins to You and ask You to forgive me. Thank You for your forgiveness. I know that the only way I can be saved from my sins and come to Heaven to be with You one day is to accept Jesus into my life because He died for me for this reason. Right now I accept Him. Jesus, please come into my heart and my life and make me Your child. Thank You that You love me enough to do this. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

If you have decided to do this, it will be the most important decision of your life...more important than getting married, having children, going to school, buying a house, taking a trip around the world...well, you fill in the blank...it'll be the most important, life-changing thing you ever have done or will do...ever.

Now if there is good (God), then there must be evil (Satan.) Another thing you can believe or not, but it's true. My husband likens the old scientific principle to God and Satan: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. God is good, Satan is evil.

Satan does not like God or His kids, so he wants to cause us trouble. Not to worry...when Satan tries to give you a hard time, submit to God and tell Satan, in the Name of Jesus, to leave you alone! The Bible says that he has to. James 4:7

Gotta run...stay tuned!