Abi & Asa

This little sweet sprout is coming to spend the weekend with us tomorrow.  I couldn't be more thrilled!  And though I'm sure it will not all be quite as peaceful a picture as this one, you can bet there will be fun and lively disorder here at the Bollinger cabin!  I am reminded of my prayers requesting that our home be filled with love, and once again, God is swinging that door wide open!  Might this be an "altar" if you will - a remembrance of His faithfulness.  

Might it also cause you who would read these words to consider YOUR blessings - perhaps in the form of another person who brings you joy....one who truly reflects the love of the Father - child, spouse, family or friend.  And...if you happen to be struggling with an absence of that kind of relationship, consider this; could it be that God has picked YOU to bring that kind of joy to another?  Often God opens doors for His blessings to be poured out upon us.  He also often asks US to be the light bearers so that His joy can continue to thread hearts together into a very large and colorful tapestry.   

Tomorrow we will participate in a beautiful blessing - our grandchild bringing life to our home.  I know that in the days ahead there will be plenty of opportunity for me to pass His joy to another.  May I recognize it and allow it to continue!

"Between the worlds of men and make believe I can be found."  These are words from a rather mysterious and lilting song by Dan Folgelberg.  It probably describes us all at one time or another during our lives.  Mine?  Maybe more than a few!!  Being a Christian from a very early age, I have lived with hope in my heart concerning eternity.  Sometimes its a lot like make believe to imagine what the next life will be like.  I trust that God has that all prepared and that He knows better than I just how glorious it will be.  Until that time when I meet Him face to face, I can only read tid bits about those future events and try to picture such a dramatic and marvelous stage!  I have caught myself on many occasions wondering about the details and looking so forward to the promises the Bible speaks about.  Christianity is a religion of faith.  It is not based on what we see necessarily, but upon what a God who we cannot see has spoken and accomplished through an incredible story of redemption.  The story revolves around sacrifice and  victory...a heroic death that won eternal life.  I have been ridiculed, unfriended, and isolated because of this belief.  Many have thought me crazy - or different.  Some have avoided me simply because they cannot decide what they think about the subject and so choose to just not deal with it - or me.  I am ok with that.  Everyone is unique and individual in how they contemplate eternal things.  However, I continue to choose to await the day when I meet the King of kings face to face with joy in my heart.  I so wish everyone could experience the kind of relationship I have discovered in knowing Jesus Christ and the Creator of the universe!  It is an incredible journey and I am sometimes saddened that all will not choose to accept this treasured hope.  Please know that it is free for the taking.  There is no price, except that we must offer Him a heart of commitment and love as He has first loved and dedicated His all to us.  it is a relationship, and therefore requires covenant and unity.  I know, it sounds like a fairy tale, right?  You might say it is make believe come true because all the things we want most are what we eventually find when we know Him!  Afraid of rejection or believing in the unseen?  All I can say is try it!

Bright.  

Blazing.  

Brilliant, 

Announcing its presence.  

It captures the eye and tantalizes the feisty.  

It is remarkable.

Unmatched in dramatic display.  

It lures stares and demands attention.  

It is confident and serious,  

Elegant and fearless, 

Beautiful and bold.  

Provocative

Exciting  

Passionate and inspiring.  

Red is a flower.  

A child's choice toy.  

An accent.  

An exclamation.  

Without a word it commands and invites respect.  

It symbolizes the strongest emotion - and love - and sacrifice.  

It represents life and relationship.

It preaches about depth and loyalty and covenant.

It is primary and cannot be created.

It stands alone.

Amazing red.

Fall:

Brilliant, blazing and beautiful!  It seems like yesterday when the leaves were beginning their journey from green to golden...and now, the chill and drizzle has begun.  The "rain" of old life has started to gently fall to the ground from where it began.  

So similar are our lives.  We begin tender and green - young shoots of promise bursting through the warm earth into the sunlight of hope and expectation.  Though our limbs receive some marks and scars from weather, they tend to remain supple and flexible for years.  

Sometimes there are breaks that create stunted growth or a bend in our posture.  Sometimes life's tragedies prematurely snatch us before our fall seasons ever come.  

But for the ones who walk through spring and summer into fall, there are often colors that accompany the journey; hues of red, orange and golden that are displays of wisdom and understanding.  They are joined by deep tones of past experiences that have included both pain and promise.  Real beauty begins to glow in brittled brilliance...more-so than at any other time of life!  

Let us remember those who have stood in the weather for many years.  Some on their knees - on behalf of the next generation - who would see them through their fall season and into winter.  May we honor and respect the contributions of those who sought to bring care, nurture and provision throughout their lives.  The mothers, fathers, care-givers, soldiers, fighters, workers, martyrs, and servants who are walking ahead and dropping their leaves of sound insight onto the ground where we will walk.

Might we recognize the beauty of the aged and find reason to smile on their offerings in a rushed world where the quiet and the frail so often fail to receive the respect or thanks due.  May their fall seasons be more pleasant due to the love and care of the green that surrounds their aged trunks and colorful leaves.  May what falls from their vivid foliage be gathered and embraced, for surely therein are the seeds of life and love to come.

My favorite little short person!

Evans Tabor Earlier last week we had a guest at our home who has been a friend for many years.  We went to high school together and just always seemed to have similar interests and thoughts.  The hours we have spent talking about life, music, God, family and every other related and unrelated subject are too numerous to count.  The chuckles and belly laughs - well let's just say I'm still laughing!  I would love to sit here and try to write out the story of this man's life, however, I could not fill in the countless details as he has so openly shared them with me.  I will say it has been full of some incredible happenings, all of which the grace of God has sustained, embraced and rescued him through.  He humbly acknowledges the amazing grace that seems to have caught and carried him - in the most unfortunate and difficult times. Sure, some of those trials were a result of poor choices....and some due to circumstances beyond his control.  Regardless, it has been both refreshing and delightful to see real gratitude and an attitude of true thanksgiving from one so dear.  

An answer to my prayer that our house would be filled with His light and life has already become evident through such wonderful visitors and people recently.  This precious friend brought a dip of clean, living water to my door and has left my heart watered and running over!                                                                                      

This is a "selfie" that took almost 35 years to get!  How sweet it is to reunite with friends.  This dear couple were my home away from home during my college years.  They provided love, a safe setting, spiritual encouragement and guidance as well as nurturing for my very hungry heart through some of the most vulnerable years of my life.  Their example to me of the love of Christ made an impression that has lasted an entire life time.  

Today we were able to take a picture of us together once again after all those years.  They live in Newberg, Oregon and though miles, time and many experiences have been between us, there remains a bond that has extended from heaven to earth that I am sure will glide right into eternity.  Sometimes God just creates the ties that bind and nothing is able to separate us from that supernatural kind of love!  Tonight my heart is warmed and swollen by new memories and the smiling footprints left in the sands of my heart.  

Some have said that timing is everything.  "Some" might be right in many cases.  Words spoken "out of season" might be wise ones, but not heard because the listener was not in a position to hear or learn.  The fruit in this picture is a persimmon.  Persimmons have a very sweet taste in the later fall season - but only when they are ripe.  Tasting them after they have been plucked too early will indeed result in turning most any mouth and expression into a pucker with a capital "P"!  They are extremely bitter unless they have ripened to a soft, almost banana-like texture.  So, one might resolve to never try them again, unless they taste them at the right time!  I have been guilty of speaking "out of turn" or saying something that another completely missed, simply because the timing was not right or "ripe".  Sometimes wisdom is in the "when" more-so than in the "what" as it relates to our words.

Timing even seems to be a factor when we come to acknowledge and accept what Jesus did for us.  Some seem to embrace these truths at an early age and never turn back.  Others might go through life and discover eternal treasures at an older age.  Still some never accept what God offers.  The good news is that God is not picky about our timing on this one...as long as we are still breathing.  He is always ready and never rejects our acceptance of Him!  The only risk on our part is that we wait too long.  We do not know the number of days we have been given on the earth.  There is a great, but often small window of opportunity to accept the fruit of His love - but it must be done before our life ends.  In that respect, timing is everything!  Take the fruit while it is offered and while it is ripe!

"Sow righteousness for yourselves; reap the fruit of unfailing love and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes and showers His righteousness on you."  Hosea 10:12