What you find while surfing the web

Just recently, while researching posts on MacArthur's "Strange Fire" conference, I came across an old post from April of 2008 by Tim Brister (formally known as Timmy).   What memories came flooding back to my mind.  Prior to marrying Michael in 2010, I was Dianna Kane (now Dianna Wood) and spent most of my free-time in the Word, studying theology, and reading and writing blog posts.  One of my favorite blogs was Tim Brister's "Provocations and Pantings".   In 2008, Tim, started the "Puritan Challenge" where thousands of people were reading the same Puritan Paperback together; a new one each month for twelve months, and sharing our insights and comments each week.  If I recall over 2500 people (mostly men) were part of the Puritan Challenge.  I was known as "D.L. Kane" - There is a great story behind that. as well; but, I will save that for another post.

It was one of the greatest times that I can recall of "fellowship" and "iron sharpening iron".  I had forgotten all about winning the giveaway until I came across this just the other day:

Thank you "Timmy" for bringing so many of us together 5 years ago.

My husband Michael has since read through all four of the titles that I won during this give away, plus countless others.
 

Lucy

We met Lucy in September of 2011.  She was sitting in her wheelchair at a small bible study that Michael and I attended at Atria just a few weeks prior to him starting his Pastoral Care Ministry and Sunday Preaching ministry there.  I recall that first meeting vividly.  Myrtle, who has since gone home to be with the Lord, was easy to get to know and did a great deal of interacting.  Lucy, on the other hand, did not speak a word the entire time.  After the study concluded, I sat with her and discovered many things about her.  She was suffering with Parkinson disease and was having a rather difficult time dealing with her limited ability to do physical things; but there was still a twinkle in her eyes as we talked.  Lucy and I felt an immediate love for one another.

After meeting Lucy at that Bible Study, Lucy regularly attended the Sunday services that Michael led at Atria, and we got to know her quite well.   As Lucy's strength declined she was transferred to The Terraces at Roseville and Michael (with me accompanying him on occasion) continued to visit her on a weekly basis.  Deni (my best friend) would also stop in weekly and minister to Lucy.  It was through our visits with Lucy at the Terraces that we found out about the Friday morning Bible study there where it turned out that one of my old friends from Grace Bible Church, Arnold, led the study.  Although Lucy was later moved to another facility (Eskaton), Michael has continued to partner with Arnold in ministry every Friday morning at the Terraces.

Once Lucy was moved to Eskaton, we continued to visit with her there and Michael and Deni continued to meet with her on a regular basis at different times during the week.  When I was visiting with Lucy she would always tell me the truth about her struggles and how difficult is was to be so physically helpless.  Because Lucy was transferred to Eskaton, Michael felt led to meet with the activity director to discuss the possibility of a Sunday morning service for the residents there.  He was told that they had not had one in 2 years, but would welcome one.  Michael would not be able to fill that need; but, he wanted to make sure that it would be filled and so he passed along the information to another church (Immanuel Baptist Church of Sacramento) and now one of our dear brothers in the Lord, Paul Little, will be coordinating an every Sunday service at Eskaton--providing both a worship service for the residents and an opportunity for many other men to use their gifts in this ministry area.

We still marvel at how God used our relationship with Lucy and Michael's faithfulness to God and the Ministry to help fill so many spiritual needs in two additional facilities.  We had been praying that God would grant Lucy peace regarding her situation and also that she would be used by God in the midst of her own suffering.  God answered that prayer!  Just recently Lucy told Michael that for the first time in her life she shared Christ and the gospel with one of the other residents.  She also has recently told Michael that she has stopped fighting and has peace.

Lucy is still at Eskaton and we will be visiting with her tomorrow evening.  But; after checking the mail tonight, I simply had to post a little bit about Lucy.  There is so much more to the story; and someday I hope to have the time to share more of the details of how the Lord used, and is using, a 90+ year old little lady with Parkinson's disease named Lucy to work His will in so many people's lives.

Here is what came in the mail.  We suspect that her son David penned it for her.  What a blessing it was to my heart, as once again, I was reminded of how the Lord is still using Lucy.  This was such an encouragement to the heart of my husband as he faithfully ministers to so many of those who are unable to attend a church service and who have, in some cases, been forgotten by the church.

Thank you Lord and Thank you Lucy - We love you!

.

He Knows Our Sorrows

"I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you."
John 14:18

  

Blessed Jesus! How Your presence
  sanctifies trial,

takes loneliness from the chamber of sickness,
and the sting from the chamber of death!

     

Bright and Morning Star! precious at all times,
You are never so precious as in "the dark and
cloudy day!"

   

The bitterness of sorrow is well worth enduring,
to have Your promised consolations. How well
qualified, Man of Sorrows, to be my Comforter!
How well fitted to dry my tears, You who shed
so many Yourself! What are . . .

    
my tears,
my sorrows,
my crosses,
my losses,

     
compared with Yours, who shed first Your tears,
and then Your blood for me!

   

Mine are all deserved, and infinitely more than
deserved. How different, O Spotless Lamb of God,
are those pangs which rent Your guiltless bosom!

How sweet those comforts You have promised to the
comfortless, when I think of them as flowing from . . .

an Almighty Fellow Sufferer;
a Brother born for adversity;
the Friend that sticks closer than any brother;

one who can say, with all the refined sympathies of a
holy exalted human nature, "I know your sorrows!"

My soul! calm your griefs! There is not a sorrow
you can experience, but Jesus, in the treasury of
grace, has an exact corresponding solace: "In the
multitude of the sorrows I have in my heart, Your
comforts delight my soul!"

Excerpt from (John MacDuff, "The Faithful Promiser")

For My Mother...

I had not yet picked out a card for my mother, and here it is Mother's Day.  One reason that I put this off, is because I have yet to find a card that would speak honestly about my mother.  Our life was pretty dysfunctional and filled with uncertainty.  My mother faced many hardships and struggles as we were growing up.  There were many times when she had very little to put on the dinner table.  She constantly put her needs and wants aside to ensure that we could go to school without holes in our socks and she gave to us the things that truly matter.

Early this morning, while pondering my mother's love, I wrote this poem (which I will give to her today inside a handmade card):

Matching Ribbons for My Hair

Matching ribbons for my hair;

And perfect dresses for me to wear—

Could never match the way you cared,

Or measure up to the love you shared.

Our life was tough for many years

But, your love shined through your many tears.

Not many know the love I’ve known

And in my heart the loved you’ve sown.

You gave me more than most mothers do.

A love so deep, so strong, so true.

For things that matter and things that last.

You taught me well, as each day passed.

As I reflect back over the years.

My eyes can also fill with tears.

As I recall all you have done—

I realize that I’m the lucky one.

We know that “luck” does not exist.

It was God, who through you, I was kissed.

Another mother just would not do.

I thank Him daily that He made you, you!

No, I didn’t have what the world holds dear;

But,what I had, was your heart so near.

Through all the struggles that you faced—

Your faithful love couldn’t be replaced.

By matching ribbons for my hair;

Or perfect dresses for me to wear.

__________________________________

Happy Mother’s Day

Thanking My Lord for you,

Dianna

I Should have Posted this Last Week

Darn it, I forgot today was Valentine's Day!  I meant to post this a week ago.

A message to women:

What is it that most husbands would absolutely love for Valentine's Day? Well, based on my conversations with men over the past 25 years, as well as, listening and observing how men talk and act about this particular "holiday" (when their wife's cannot hear them); there is something that you can give them that would bless most, if not, all men.

Here is what I would highly recommend: First, ask your husband if you might be allowed this year to tell him exactly what you want for Valentine's Day. Once you have his attention, simply tell him that what you would like for Valentine's Day is absolutely nothing. Tell him that your gift to him this year is to let him off the hook.

Okay, I admit this was not what you might have expected to hear. But, perhaps some of you women, reading this blog, might actually embrace this concept. I don't think you will be disappointed--unless flowers make you happier than your husband's smile.

How I wish more women would do this. Do they have any idea how most men feel about Valentine's Day? I often wonder why women put so much emphasis on these things. Do they actually determine the level of their husbands love by how big a bouquet they get? Forgive me women, but I don't get it and I hope I never do.

Give your husbands a break this year and rejoice in the happiness you might bring him by blessing him with the freedom he will feel when he realizes that you are perfectly content without receiving the obligatory "Valentine's Day" gift. Now, men, make more effort to express your love for your wives all year round so that you don't feel you have to somehow make up for what was lacking the rest of the year by purchasing that ridiculously over priced jar of flowers that will die in a week or two.

Post Script:
In the event that you happen to be a man who absolutely looks forward to this day and can't wait to go shopping for that perfect Valentine's Day gift for your wife, please forgive me for even suggesting such things.

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A Prayer for the New Year

Oh LORD,

A long life does not profit me except the days are spent

     In Your presence,

     In Your service,

     For Your glory.

Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, and aids every hour, that I may not be one moment apart from You.

May I rely on Your Spirit to

     Supply every thought,

     Speak every word,

     Direct every step,

     Prosper every work,

     Build up every ounce of faith.

Give me a desire to

     Show forth Your praise,

     Testify of Your love and

     Advance Your kingdom.

I launch my ship on the unknown waters of this year, with

     You, O Father, as my harbor,

     You, O Son, at my helm,

     You, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.

Guide me to heaven with

     My lamp burning,

     My ear open to Your calls,

     My heart full of love,

     My soul free.

Give me

     Your grace to sanctify me,

     Your comforts to cheer,

     Your wisdom to teach,

     Your right hand to guide,

     Your counsel to instruct,

     Your law to judge,

     Your presence to stabilize.

May Your fear be my awe,

Your triumphs my joy.

The original version of this prayer, along with many others, can be found in The Valley of Vision by Arthur Bennet.

A Needed Word Regarding Singleness

Although I am married now, I often notice the unnapproving reaction, on so many peoples faces, when I tell them that I was not looking for a husband and that I was truly content in my singleness.  I can almost hear them thinking, "O, she obviously struggles with the sin of prideful self-suffienciency" or they roll their eyes with a grin on their face, and say, "Ya, right" as if they don't believe me .  I was so blessed to read this sermon by John Piper (excerpt below), which addresses this topic in a Christ exalting and truly biblical way.  What an encouragement to those who find they are content being single; but, are constantly having to question that contentment because of the influence of incorrect theology on the subject.

A Word to Singles

The apostle Paul clearly loved his singleness because of the radical freedom for ministry that it gave him (1 Corinthians 7:32–38). One of the reasons he was free to celebrate his singleness and call others to join him in it, is that, even though marriage is meant to display the glory of Christ, there are truths about Christ and his kingdom that shine more clearly through singleness than through marriage. I’ll give you three examples:

1) A life of Christ-exalting singleness bears witness that the family of God grows not by propagation through sexual intercourse, but by regeneration through faith in Christ. If you never marry, and if you embrace a lifetime of chastity and biological childlessness, and if you receive this from the Lord’s hand as a gift with contentment, and if you gather to yourself the needy and the lonely, and spend yourself for the gospel without self-pity, because Christ has met your need, then he will be mightily glorified in your life, and particularly so because you are a woman.

2) A life of Christ-exalting singleness bears witness that relationships in Christ are more permanent, and more precious, than relationships in families. The single woman who turns away from regretting the absence of her own family, and gives herself to creating God’s family in the church, will find the flowering of her womanhood in ways she never dreamed, and Christ will be uniquely honored because of it.

3) A life of Christ-exalting singleness bears witness that marriage is temporary, and finally gives way to the relationship to which it was pointing all along: Christ and the church—the way a picture is no longer needed when you see face to face. Marriage is a beautiful thing. But it is not the main thing. If it were, Jesus would not have said, “In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). Single womanhood, content to walk with Christ, is a great witness that he is a better husband than any man, and in the end, will be the only husband in the universe.
 

From My Husband

Happy Birthday Sweet Wife!

September 6, 2011

At fifty – one, you’ve just begun

The second half of a century.

And though in part, we know in heart

The love of God and the mystery

Of Christ alone, as He we own

To be our Lord and Savior.

He is our Life. We are His wife,

And part of that which is greater

Than we can phathom, as every atom

Is under His sovereign control.

Oh what delight, before we take flight,

As others we seek to enroll

To know the joy, be humbly employed

In all that pertains to His glory;

His Spirit will guide, in Christ to abide,

The cause and effect of His story,

Until He comes, this race we will run

Or we enter His presence through death,

Till then loving more, as He we adore,

Oh praise Him for every new breath,

He gives as our King, as to Him we sing

The songs of the saints here on earth,

But then up in heaven, no longer with leaven,

The praises that show forth His worth!