Today's entry from Sarah Young and her "Jesus Calling:  Enjoying Peace in His Presence":

"Follow ME one step at a time. That is all I require of you. In fact, that is the only way to move through the space/time world. You see huge mountains looming, and you start wondering how you're going to scale those heights. Meanwhile, because you're not looking where you're going, you stumble on the easy path where I am leading you now. As I help you get back on your feet, you tell Me how worried you are about the cliffs up ahead. But you don't know what will happen today, much less tomorrow. Our path may take an abrupt turn, leading you away from those mountains. There may be an easier way up the mountains than is visible from this distance. If I do lead you up the cliffs, I will equip you thoroughly for that strenuous climb. I will even give My angels charge over you, to preserve you in all your ways.

"Keep your mind on the present journey, enjoying My Presence. Walk by faith, not by sight; trusting Me to open up the way before you."

~ Taken from Psalm 18:29; Psalm 91:11 - 12 (AMP); 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV)

***

Friends and family in a close proximity to me and/or Clarion know that my sister, Amy, had a cerebral hemorrhage on Wednesday evening. It was and is serious. She remains in the University of Minnesota hospital. Another sister, her husband and I spent all of yesterday there.

Since there was a number of friends from here who knew what had happened, I emailed a 'batch' of them this morning.

Here is a portion of what I wrote:

"A couple of things you might like to know about Amy. She had breast cancer when she was 45; her kids were moving through upper elementary school. She wanted to be able to see them grow up. She is now 70! In 2000 on Christmas Eve, their house burned. While firefighters were battling the flames, she collapse in the street. They said an adrenalin surge........she was hospitalized for a couple of weeks. A pacemaker/defib was advised for her as doctors said they couldn't take a chance on that happening to her again.

(Since I have a new way of sending Karen's Korners, whenever/if you reply to what has been sent, it doesn't come back to me. There is an address but I don't know how to access them! Please don't take my lack of response back to you as not interested. If you Do want to let me know your thoughts.....any time, use jkweld@wmtel.net until I learn how to access the reply responses.)

Last night my sister Amy passed away. She never regained consciousness after she collapsed in the bathroom of their home on Wednesday evening.

Since she was 13 months younger than I am, I have never known life without her being in it. There is a void.

Hard to recap an entire life in a couple of sentences. But I hope you will allow me a few memories:

Because we were so close together in ages, Mom used to tell about she would get us dressed in the morning. She wouldn't see us again until almost lunch time, as we would go play either upstairs or outside, depending on the season. We did that until we were 5 and 4; or maybe 6 and 5. One day Amy came downstairs telling mom that she was tired of me always telling her what to do. No wonder we got along so well!

About in the same time period, we went Christmas shopping one day in our small town of Fertile. Part of the family was in the grocery store. Another part went to our local hardware store where there were several gift aisles. Amy came into the grocery store, crying. She was mad and sad. She and I had split up the good amount of change in our shared piggy bank. I had given her by far the most coins. I had given her all the pennies and kept all the silver coins for me. She didn't have enough money to buy anything. Mom saw to it that the coins were re-divided.

Those were some of the last days when I 'knew better' or thought I did!

Amy was a reader. She devoured books. She would tell that at any given time, she would be reading 5 - 6 books. One by her chair. One in the bathroom. One by her bedside. One in the car. One in the kitchen. Lots of them were fiction I think. But she knew 'stuff'. You didn't want to watch Jeopardy with her. Not that she knew all of the answers but she knew a bunch of them. She'd have the answer before I'd have the time to think what the answer might be.

She loved her home and her family. She was a decorator. Christmas? Oh, my! She had collections of things:  Santa Clauses. Nutcrackers. Various kinds of ornaments. A number of Christmas trees. She could  have won the prize within the five sisters for how good she was or interested in doing it (not that there was a contest!).

She and Keith hosted Christmas at their house in early December  this past year, for as many family members as could make it. It wasn't a large crowd, but fun. I hadn't been there for awhile so I was snagging some changes which I really enjoyed seeing. Some was her decorating work. Some seasonal throughout her house. Since my sister Jill and I had stayed overnight, we had more time together in that outing. And I can remember telling Amy about four times different things that caught my eye and how good I thought she put things together (something I am a little devoid of!).

"I like doing that kind of thing," she said.

Not always do I tell people things that I appreciate about them. But I did that time.

I couldn't help but think in the last few days, "We never know when it is the last time we are going to see someone!"

Thanks for your nice notes back to me, in light of my sister Amy's death.

Here is our future and our hope:

"In the same way, our earthly bodies which die and decay are different from the bodies we shall have when we come back to life again, for they will never die. The bodies we have now embarrass us for they become sick and die; but they will be full of glory when we come back to life again. Yes, they are weak, dying bodies now, but when we live again they will be full of strength. They are just human bodies at death, but when they come back to life they will be superhuman bodies."

~ I Corinthians 5:42 - 44 LAB

*

Bible Commentary: "Supernatural means 'more than natural'. Thus our spiritual bodies will be above and not limited to the laws of nature. This does not necessarily mean we'll be superpeople, but our bodies will be different and more capable than our present earthly bodies."

***

While our family is coming to grips with a death, everyone deals with something they'd just as soon change.

Yesterday's entry in Sarah Young's "JESUS CALLING;  Enjoying Peace in His Presence" was a good one for me. It might be a good one for you too:

"Come to Me and Rest. I am all about you, to bless and restore. Breathe Me in with each breath. They way just ahead of you is very steep. Slow down and cling tightly to My hand. I am teaching you a difficult lesson, learned only by hardship.

"Lift up empty hands of faith to receive My precious Presence. Light, Life, Joy, and Peace flow freely through this gift. When your focus turns away from Me, you grasp for other things. You drop the glowing gift of My Presence as you reach for lifeless ashes. Return to Me; regain My Presence."

~ Taken from Matthew 1:28- 29; I Timothy 2:8

***

The older we get there are more and more people who we care about who leave planet earth for heaven.

I have a book which I have read more than one time (it is sort of like a travel book) written by Dr. David Jeremiah's "Discover Paradise:  A Guidebook to Heaven, Your True Home":

A couple of excerpts:

Five Reasons Why Heaven Will Be Exciting

* God is exciting;

* We will be exciting.

* Our friends will be exciting.

* Our work will be exciting.

* Heaven will fulfill our longings.

"You will show me the path of life. In Your presence is fullness of joy. At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

~ Psalm 16:11

*

Thank you to each of you who have offered your thoughts, prayers, and sympathy in Amy's passing.

Yesterday I received an email note from retired missionaries Jacob and Jaynie Michael. They had similar words and finished with these words:  "Congratulations on Amy's promotion!"

Praise God!

(Sorry for not posting a Karen's Korner on Friday. We had left on Thursday for Amy's funeral on Friday and I was away from my computer).

Readers know that I enjoy reading Sarah Young's "Jesus Calling:  Enjoying Peace in His Presence". Here is today's entry:

"I am ever so near you, hovering over your shoulder, reading every thought. People think that thoughts are fleeting and worthless, but yours are precious to Me. I smile when you think lovingly of Me. My Spirit, who lives within you, helps you to think My thoughts. As your thinking goes, so goes your entire being.

"Let Me be your positive Focus. When you look to Me, knowing Me as God with you, you experience Joy. This is according to My ancient design. when I first crafted man. Modern man seeks his positive focus elsewhere; in sports, sensations, acquiring new possessions. Advertising capitalizes on the longing of people for a positive focus in their lives. I planted that longing in human souls, knowing that only I could fully satisfy it. Delight yourself in Me, let Me become the Desire of your heart."

~ Taken from Matthew 1:23; Psalm 37:4

***

"Always be full of joy in the Lord,

I say it again, REJOICE!"

~ Philippians 4:4 LAB

*

Bible Commentary:  "It seems strange that a man in prison would be telling a church to be joyful. But Paul's (writer) attitude serves to teach us an important lesson---our inner attitudes do not have to reflect our outward circumstances. Paul was full of joy because he knew that no matter what happened to him, Jesus Christ was with him. Several times in this letter, Paul urges the Philippians to be joyful, probably because they needed to hear this. It's easy to get discouraged about unpleasant circumstances or to take unimportant event too seriously. If we haven't been joyful lately, we may not be looking at life from the right perspective.

"Ultimate joy comes from Christ dwelling within us. At Christ's Second Coming, we will fully realize this ultimate joy, because He who dwells within us will fulfill His final purpose for us."

God, thank You for giving us joy, whether we feel like it, act like it, or not.

You have done unbelievable things for us so that we can enjoy this life and the plans you have for each one of us.

We are so happy that you are God and you have everything under control. Yesterday. Today. and Forever.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Some people are lavishly remembered be a loved one or loved ones!

For others, not so much. It becomes just another day.

No matter who we are:  those who believe in God. Or not! He loves each of us! Yesterday, today, and forever!

On Monday night, each Hiz Kid (ecumenical after school program) got a baggy with a box of candy hearts (you know the colored sugary treats with words printed on them) and a pencil. The added note said, "God's Conversation Hearts". Here are the words and the corresponding Bible verse. Do the treasure hunt if you can:

BE MINE:  John 3:16

ALL MINE:  John 10:27-30

TRUE LOVE:  Jeremiah 31:3

LOVE ME:  Luke 10:27

I'M SURE:  John 14:1-3

SWEET TALK:  Psalm 119:103

BE GOOD:  John 14:15

FAX ME:  Jeremiah 33:3

***

We all experience lots of changes in our lives. Some we like. Others we don't. Some come infrequently. Some come at us pretty fast, almost like a tidal wave. Chances are pretty good we might need some help. I need some help.

Writing from Anne Graham Lotz:

The Wonderful Someone

"It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you."

~ John 16:7 KJV

"The very promise Jesus gave us contains a name for the Holy Spirit that reveals the uniqueness of His nearness in our loneliness. This name, 'Comforter', is equally translated from the Greek text into six other names, each of which describes a slightly different aspect of the Holy Spirit's precious, personal ministry in our lives:

Comforter:  One Who relieves of mental distress

Counselor:  One Who give advice and manages causes

Helper:  One Who furnishes relief or support

Intercessor:  One Who acts between parties to reconcile differences

Advocate:  One Who pleads the cause of another

Strengthener:  One Who causes strength and endurance

Standby:  One Who can be always relied upon

"Can you imagine how wonderful it would be to have Someone with these attributes in your life? If you belong to Jesus, you do have that wonderful Someone. You have the Holy Spirit."

***

"Lazy men are soon poor; hard workers get rich

"A wise youth makes hay while the son shines, but what a shame to see a lad who sleeps away his hour of opportunity.

"The good man's earnings advance the cause of righteousness. The evil man squanders his on sin."

~ Proverbs 10:4,5 & 16 LAB

*

Bible Commentary: "Every day has 24 hours filled with opportunities to grow, serve, and be productive. It is so easy to waste time, letting life slip from our grasp. Instead, refuse to be a lazy person, sleeping or flittering away the hours meant for productive work. See time as God's gift, and seize the opportunities to live for Him.

"God supplies some people with the personal and financial abilities to respond to the needs of others. If these people all realized why God has blessed them, and if they all used their resources to do God's will, hunger and poverty would be wiped out. God is not opposed to wealth. He expects us to work hard so that we can be a blessing to others. But wealth is a blessing only if we use it the way God intended."

***

Today we celebrate Presidents' Day. A handful of quotes from former presidents:

"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."

~ George Washington

*

"So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be my home that they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectable members of society....."

~ John Quincy Adams

*

"That book, sir, is the rock on which our republic rests."

~ Andrew Jackson

*

"I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong."

~ Abraham Lincoln

*

"Almost every man who has be his life-work added to the sum of human achievement of which the race is proud, of which our people are proud, almost every such man has based life-work largely upon the teachings of the Bible."

~ Theodore Roosevelt

*

"We have staked the whole future of American civilization not on the power of government...not in the Constitution...(but) upon the capacity of each and every one of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments"

~ James Madison

*

"The government of a country never gets ahead of the religion of a country. There is no way by which we can substitute the authority of the law for the virtues of men"

~ Calvin Coolidge

****

Later Sunday afternoon, our church hosted a Family Fun time at Crossroads in Goldfield, a youth and family center.

There are all kinds of quotes and sayings posted on its walls.

Here are a couple of them:

"Stop being afraid of what could go wrong,

and think of what could go right!"

*

F.E.A.R.

has two meanings -

Forget

Everything

And

Run

OR

Face

Everything

And

Rise

The choice is yours.

***

Thanks for your comments and cards in memory of my sister Amy.

This poem I received from friends. It means a lot to me. May mean something to you as readers. If not you personally, it might to someone in your life:

A Message From Heaven

"Perhaps you aren't ready yet

to have to say good-bye...

Perhaps you've thought of things

you wish you'd said...well, so have I.

"For one thing, I'd have told you

not to worry about me.......

I'm with the Lord in Heaven now.....

You knew that's where I'd be.

"I'm sorry that you're feeling sad,

for I'm so happy now....

I've asked the Lord to ease the hurt

and comfort you somehow.

"It's hard at the beginning,

but I know you'll make it through...

I hop it helps to know

that I'll be waiting here for you."

**

(To email me any time, don't just hit reply. Respond by using jweld@wmtel.net .)

Nearly everyone has heard by now of Billy Graham's death yesterday morning.

His death made me think about a book I read a number of years ago, written by his daughter Ruth. It was titled "In Every Pew Sits a Broken Heart". Since I don't have a copy in front of me, I am operating from memory.

The opening pages of Ruth's book told about her failing marriage. Living in Florida, she made a phone call to her mom in North Carolina, a call she dreaded making. Her mother said simply, "Why don't you come home?"

Packing a few items in her car, she took mom's advice. All kinds of thoughts flooded her mind as she traveled the distance between the two states:  "what would she say to her mom? dad?"; "what would they say to her?"; "would the media have a frenzy telling about the 'daughter of evangelist Billy Graham...?" And the thoughts continued to rattle.

When she turned up the familiar drive of the family home, she found her dad standing outside waiting for her. As the car stopped, he reached for the car door handle. Opened it. Met her with a firm embrace saying simply, "Welcome home!"

Billy Graham did that to millions of people in the span of his life and ministry, saying on behalf of Jesus, "Welcome home...."

Quoted a number of times during his life and waning years, he'd say, "....some day you are going to hear 'Billy Graham has died'. Don't you believe it. On that day, I will be more alive than I have ever been here on earth......."

So yesterday, Jesus met him on His driveway in heaven and said simply to Billy, "Welcome home!"

The same message He says to us every day, "Welcome home! Let's enjoy the day together!"

Here is some of the good news at Easter!

Mary Magdalene and the 'other Mary' went out to the tomb:

"Then the angel spoke to the women: 'Don't be frightened!' he said. 'I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified, but He isn't here! For He has come back to life again, just as He said He would. Come in and see where His body was lying.......And now, go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and that He is going to Galilee to meet them there. That is my message to them.'"

~ Matthew 28:5 - 7 LAB

*

Bible Commentary:  "Jesus resurrection is the key to the Christian faith. Why? 1) 'Just as He said.' Jesus rose from the dead. We can be confident, therefore, that He will accomplish all He has promised. 2) Jesus' bodily resurrection shows that the living Christ is ruler of God's eternal kingdom, not a false prophet or imposter. 3) We can be certain of our resurrection because He was resurrected. Death is no the end--there is future life. 4) The power that brought Jesus back to life is available to us to bring our spiritually dead selves back to life. 5) The resurrection is the basis for the church's witness to the world.

"The angel who announced the Good News of the resurrection to the women gave them four messages: 1) Don't be frightened. The reality of the resurrection brings joy, not fear. When you are afraid, remember the empty tomb. 2) He isn't here. Jesus is not dead and is not be looked for among the dead. He is alive, with His people. 3) Come in and see. The women could check the evidence themselves. The tomb was empty then, and it is empty today. The resurrection is a historical fact. 4) Go quickly and tell. They were to spread the joy of the resurrection. We too are to spread the Good News about Jesus' resurrection."

***

An entry from Sarah Young's "Jesus Calling:  Enjoying Peace in His Presence". This is from yesterday's writing:

"Rest in My Presence, allowing Me to take charge of this day. Do not bolt into the day like a racehorse suddenly released. Instead, walk purposely with Me, letting Me direct your course one step at a time. Thank Me for each blessing along the way; this brings Joy to both you and Me. A grateful heart protects your from negative thinking. Thankfulness enables you to see the abundance I shower upon you daily. Your prayers and petitions are winged into heaven's throne room when they are permeated with thanksgiving. 'In everything give thanks, for this is My will for you'.

~ Taken from Colossians 4:21; I Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB)

***

"The Lord is good and glad to teach the proper path to all who go astray;

He will teach the ways that are right and best to those who humbly turn to Him.

And when we obey Him, every path He guides us on is fragrant with His lovingkindness and His truth."

~ Psalm 25:7 - 10 LAB

*

Bible Commentary:  "We are bombarded today with unlimited appeals to 'go my way'. TV advertising alone places hundreds of options before us, in addition to appeals made by political parties, cults, false religions, and dozens of other groups (and this was written before email, facebook, etc.). Numerous organizations including Christian organizations seek to motivate us to 'support the cause'. Add to the dozens of decisions we must make concerning our jobs, our families, our money, our society, and we become desperate for someone to show us the right way. If we find ourselves pulled in several directions, we need to remember the Lord 'will teach the ways that are right and best to those who humbly turn to Him' (verse 9)."

***

Something written by Max Lucado:

JESUS 'CATCHED ME

"A family was making a short drive to their neighborhood pool. Mom was driving so slowly that the automatic door locks hadn't engaged. Little Noah opened his door and fell out. She felt a bump and braked to a quick stop. Noah was on the pavement, his legs covered in blood. Incredibly, tests in the ER showed no broken bones. A five-thousand pound vehicle had run over his legs, yet Noah had nothing but cuts and bruises to show for it.

"Later that night when his mom checked on him he said, 'Mama, Jesus catched me.' She said, 'He did?' Noah replied, 'I told Jesus thank you, and he said, you're very welcome.'

"Storms come. But Jesus still catches his children. He still sends his angels. Because you belong to him, Jesus sends this message to you:  'When you pass through the waters, I will be with you (Isaiah 43:2 NIV).