My sister, Amy, worked for a number of years for a Minneapolis Methodist Church they attended, as one of the church secretaries. She really enjoyed their minister, Mel.

Amy told last week that Mel died on May 17, eleven years ago - 4 p.m.

She went to say that his wife died this year - May 17 - 4 p.m.

Is it a coincidence?

Or part of God's plan?

You decide!

**

Today is Merry's birthday, June 1 - born 42 years ago today! While she was killed at 26, indulge a mother as we remember and celebrate a memory.

I have kept nine of her final emails and you have read them before, but......

"When a mother saw a thunderstorm forming in mid-afternoon, she worried about her seven-year-old daughter who would be walking three blocks home from school.

"Deciding to meet her, the mother saw her walking nonchalantly along, stopping to smile every time the lightening flashed.

"Seeing her mother, the little girl ran to her, explaining happily,

"'All the way home, God's been taking my picture!'"

***

Our summer adult Sunday School class is studying the book of John. Sunday we looked at chapter 2 together. I liked this one verse with its Bible commentary, telling about Jesus' first miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding ceremony:

"This miracle at Cana in Galilee was Jesus' first public demonstration of His heaven-sent power. And His disciples believed that He really was the Messiah."

~ John 2:11 LAB

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Bible Commentary:  "Miracles are not merely superhuman happenings, but happenings that demonstrate God's power. Almost every miracle Jesus did was a renewal of fallen creation---restoring sight, making the lame to walk, even restoring life to the dead. Believe in Him, not because He is superman, but because He is God continuing His creation, even in those of us who are poor, or weak, or crippled, or orphaned, or blind, or lame, or with some other desperate need to be re-created."

***

Today's writing from Sarah Young's "Jesus Calling:  Enjoying Presence in His Presence":

"I want to be central in your entire being. When your focus is firmly on Me, My Peace displaces fears and worries. They will encircle you, seeking entrance, so you must stay alert. Let trust and thankfulness stand guard, turning back fear before it can gain a foothold. 'There Is no fear in My Love', which shines on you continually. Sit quietly in My Love-Light, while I bless you with radiant Peace. Turn your whole being to trusting and loving Me."

~ Thoughts taken from 2 Thessalonians 3:16; 1 John 4:18

**

(Please note that this will be the last Karen's Korner until Friday, June 12, as I will be away from my computer for a few days!)

STRONG IN GOD'S STRENGTH

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

~ Philippians 4:13 NJKV

*

"I was once sitting in an audience when the speaker asked, 'What do you think God expects of you?' I mentally ticked off a list of things I thought God expected of me:  obedience, faithfulness, holiness, love, service. To my astonishment, the speaker went on to say, 'All God ever expects of you is failure!' I wanted to raise my hand and say, "I can do that! I can live up to the expectations of God! I know I can fail!' But then the speaker added, 'However, He has given you the Holy Spirit so that you need never fail!' Right! Without Christ I can do nothing, but in Him I can do all things!

"The difference between strength and weakness, righteousness and wickedness, success and failure, is Jesus - the Holy Spirit - in me."

~ Written by Anne Graham Lotz

***

(Back after a few days away. In fact I almost forgot to restart Karen's Korners today!)

"Jesus said to him (Philip), 'I am the Way---yes, the Truth and the Life. No one can get to the Father except by means of me.'"

~ John 14:6 LAB

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Bible Commentary:  "Jesus says He is the only way to God the Father. Some people may argue that this is too narrow. In reality, it is wide enough for the whole world, if the world chooses to accept it. Instead of worrying about how limited it sounds to have only one way, we should be saying, 'Thank you, God, for providing a sure way to get to you!'"

***

I like it when people write, give, send me something they have written or read.

Today's was a clipping mailed to me by friend Mary Tesdahl with this words, "probably too long for a Karen's Korner".

No, just right:

"For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength."

~ I Corinthians 1:25

"Faith is the willingness to look foolish. Noah looked foolish building an ark in the desert. Sarah looked foolish buying maternity clothes at ninety. Moses looked foolish asking Pharaoh to let his slaves go. The Israelite army looked foolish marching around Jericho blowing trumpets. David looked foolish attacking Goliath with a slingshot. The Wise Men looked foolish following a star to Timbuktu. Peter looked foolish stepping out of the boat in the middle of the lake in the middle of the night. And Jesus looked foolish hanging half naked on the cross.

"But the results speak for themselves, don't they? Noah stayed afloat during the flood. Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Moses delivered Israel out of Egypt. The walls of Jericho came tumbling down. David defeated Goliath. The Wise Men found the Messiah. Peter walked on water. And Jesus rose from the dead. If you aren't willing to look foolish, you're foolish. And that's why so many people have never built an ark, killed a giant, or walked on water.

"We stop short of doing or saying what God has called us to do or say because of our fear of what those around us might think. It is beyond time for the children of God to start walking and talking as our Father has taught us, no matter what the world thinks!"

~ Mark Knapp

**

Yesterday I took a short walk down the road, south of my farm home, I couldn't help admiring the beautiful corn fields, as I walked. Corn is green, tall.........just beautiful. Lincoln Township, where our fields are, is known for low spots where excess rain water gathers. Hasn't happened yet this year! Rains have come in a timely fashion, at just the right amounts each time.

My next thought was, "Don't get too attached! If we get too much rain, there will be drowned out spots. We will have less than the best corn plants leading up to the 'pot holes'........

But quickly, I grab the next thought, "No, today is the day to celebrate: what is. Not what might not be in the future!"

As I pondered those conflicting thoughts, I wondered how often I do that with other potentially pending things in my life and the lives of others. "Don't celebrate good health too much, another day there might be an illness". What about relationships? Am I enjoying them today? Or worrying about losing them tomorrow? Or governments? Or leaders? Or....?; you make up your own list?

What you and I have today might be tomorrow's history. But all the things we have and enjoy today are worth celebrating. Even if we have 'too much rain tomorrow'. And who knows, tomorrow might be even better than today.

So let's celebrate!

Dear Father in Heaven, thank You for all the wonderful things which You have given to me/to others. Thank You for allowing me to see and enjoy your beautiful heavenly garden, our Iowa corn fields. I/we don't know what is coming tomorrow, but we are thanking You for today. And trusting You for tomorrow. Regardless what might happen, we know that we can count on You being a part of it! In Jesus' Name. Amen.

"God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying."

~ Revelation 2

1:4 NKJV

*

"One day, God Himself will take your face in His hands and gently wipe away your tears as He reassures you that there will be no more suffering.

"There will be no more........

~ suicide bombers or fiery infernos;

~ broken homes or broken hearts;

~ broken lives or broken dreams;

~ No more cancer or strokes or AIDS;

~ No more war!

"You can look forward with hope, because one day there will be no more separation, no more scars, no more suffering - no more tears at all!

"In My Father's House."

~ Written by Anne Graham Lotz

***

As I have told Karen's Korner readers in the past, I tend to be a 'Bible reader'; not a 'Bible scholar'. I pick a book of the Bible, read it and then pick another one. Some I find to be more enjoyable reading (John, Mark, Psalms). Others are kind of a 'slug fest' to get through.

One of books which I am reading right now is I Chronicles. Slug fest of names I can't pronounce; glide past as I read. Lots of lists of genealogies or tribes of people doing things. But tucked in my translation near chapter 28 is a boxed graphic titled "Principles to Live By":

King David gave his son Solomon principles to guide him through live (I Chronicles 28:9, 10). These same ideas are ones that any Christian parent would want to present to a child:

1. Get to know God personally.

2. Learn God's commands and discover what he wants you to do.

3. Worship God with a clean heart.

4. Serve God with a willing mind.

5. Be faithful.

6. Don't become discouraged.

Good list for King David's kids; good list for us. How do we do it? Same way we lose weight or do any new task - one mouthful at a time.

Dear Father in Heaven, help us. Guide us. With one new thought, one new task. We don't stay on track too long without You. Thanks for being our loving, kind Father. Amen.

*****

Happy Father's Day to all the dads and grandpas who get and read Karen's Korners!

Several days ago Al Bennett who is Karen's Korner reader and good friend, told me about someone who starts his day of broadcasting early, at a local radio station. Pat Powers on KQWC (96.9 Fm) has a morning show beginning at 5 a.m., coming to listeners from Webster City, Iowa.

Since I tend to be someone who catches radio programs most often in snippets while driving to and from places, I have never heard it. Al says he is on the air just a couple of minutes before he reads:

"This Is my day. God has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is very important to me because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever and leave something in its place. May God who gave me this day show me the wisdom to know how to live it. To be directed. To add good to it and not evil. May the life which He also gave me, be well spent this day."

**

Near Father's Day last year, Shirley Choat emailed me this writing about fathers. I thought that I would save it until this year for a Karen's Korner and send it for Father's Day. I stumbled on to it on Saturday. Too late for Sunday's celebration.

Even though it is 'after the day', dads are still worthy of our thanks for who they are, what they do, and the impact they have, and have ha,d on our lives.

"On Father's Day we pay tribute to the role of father in family life. A good father is more than a paycheck with arms and legs. He is the head of the house, guiding center, protector, source of love and inspiration, model and example for living. We honor father for good reasons.

"God has paid fathers the highest tribute. He has used fathers as a picture of His relation to people. Jesus taught us to think of God as 'our Father in heaven'.

"God is all a good father is and more. He is the source of life; we live because of Him. Because he has put His life and Spirit in us, we are His children and rightly call Him our Father.

"Like a good father, God cares for us and provides for us. He knows our deepest needs and fills them. God disciplines us the way every good father corrects his children. Would a good father not who them the difference between right and wrong?

"Most important, as our Father, God is a person with whom we can share our lives. He is not an object or an impersonal force. He is Someone to whom we can speak. We can pray, 'Our Father who are in heaven' and can expect an answer."

A father who emulates God

Is one who is faithful and true;

A father who emulates God

Is one who is faithful and true;

And if he is honest and strong,

His children will follow him too.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:  "Good fathers not only tell us how to live, they show us!

 ***

Yesterday was a stormy morning in our neighborhood and much of northern Iowa; maybe the Midwest. Locally, we had 70 mph straight winds, they said. Some damage to livestock buildings and other properties.

The biggest common destruction was trees, branches and limbs blown off and over.

As I picked up the scattered debris in the yard of our farm home, I noticed that 95 out of 100 sticks and branches were dead. Few were alive with this year's leaf-growth.

Made me think about my life and the lives of others. When the storms of life come, will we remain attached to the tree because we are alive. Or are we blown away by what is happening to us, because after all, we are dead branches any way?

"Jesus said, 'Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit. For apart from me you can't do a thing. If anyone separates from me, he is thrown away like a useless branch, withers, and is gathered in a pile with all the others and burned."

~ John 15:5 & 6 LAB

*

Dear Father in Heaven, we ask today to remind us to stay attached to You. The Vine. The Tree of Life. We know that because of our 'attachment' to You, life doesn't have to be too hard or overwhelming. Because You have promised to be there and to go through the storms of life together with us. Thank You for Your great Love and Care. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

(This will be the final Karen's Korner until Friday, July 3 as I will be away from my computer.)

Don't Allow Fear To Win

By Max Lucado

"The fear-filled cannot love deeply. They cannot give to the poor. Benevolence has no guarantee of return. They cannot dream wildly. What if their dreams sputter and fall from the sky? Fear paralyzes people. Are you afraid? Afraid of job loss? Afraid of what people are saying about you?

"Jesus wages a war against fear. In Matthew 10:38 He says, 'Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.' In John 14:27 Jesus says, 'Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.'

"Fear's main goal is to keep you from God's plan for your life. Don't allow it to win! Punch fear in the face! If anything should be afraid, it should be fear itself."