Ezekiel 32-34: God's Hydrangea Promise

Ezekiel 34:11-16
Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹¹ For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I Myself, will search for My sheep and will seek them out.

 

¹² As a shepherd seeks out his sheep in the day that he is among his flock that are scattered, so will I seek out My sheep; and I will rescue them out of all places where they have been scattered in the day of clouds and thick darkness.

 

¹³ And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and will bring them to their own land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

 

¹⁴ I will feed them with good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be; there shall they lie down in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.

 

¹⁵ I will feed My sheep and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord God.

 

¹⁶ I will seek that which was lost and bring back that which has strayed, and I will bandage the hurt and the crippled and will strengthen the weak and the sick, but I will destroy the fat and the strong [who have become hardhearted and perverse]; I will feed them with judgment and punishment.

 

These verses give me personal encouragement among many verses of censure directed towards the Lord's sheep.  No matter how we have failed or others have failed us, our Heavenly Father promises...

 

• I Myself, will search

• I will rescue

• I will bring them out

• I will feed them 

• I will cause them to lie down

• I will seek and bring back

• I will bandage and strengthen

 

The Lord is wonderful!  He has revealed Himself to me, personally in all of the ways He has promised above!

 

One of the ways He fulfills His promises to me is through dreams.  Several years ago, my Abba gave me a beautiful "promise dream." 

 

In this dream, Jesus handed me a single blue hydrangea.  My heart could feel His intense love and I awoke feeling loved simultaneously a sweet flowery scent permeated the atmosphere in the room!

 

I knew the Lord was pouring out His love.  I knew He was giving me a gift.  But, I didn't fully comprehend what He was communicating until recently.

 

My husband, Strongman, and I just celebrated thirty years of marriage on September 22nd.  My sweet husband took me to the beach for a week to celebrate. 

 

During the months before our trip, the Lord reminded me of the beautiful "blue hydrangea dream."  I felt like He said that His gift of love to me was a husband who has loved me from my youth.  That no matter what trials or temptations or failings both of us have walked through, His grace kept us together.  His grace empowered us to love and forgive each other.

 

In honor of the Lord and my Strongman, I covertly planned a beach renewal of vows.  Both of my wonderful sisters assisted me with my plan.  My sister, Maryann, ordered the dress so Strongman wouldn't see the charge on our credit card.  My sister, Jane, altered the dress.  Thank you, wonderful Sisters!  My Dad allowed me to store the dress at his house, so Strongman wouldn't see it.  :)

 

Let me encourage those who are married.  The Lord binds two together; His grace is the glue.  No matter what attack the evil one launches against your marriage, His grace, the awesome power of God is available.  Cling to Father!  Embrace your mate!  Remember to forgive!  Receive His gift!

 

 

 

 

 

A Celebration of Twenty Five Years: 1984-2009

The places we've been.

The experiences we shared.

The sons we love.

Happy Anniversary, Strongman!

I love you!!!

How's this for a card! ;)

My Dear Teasing Husband

Yesterday was my birthday, and Strongman teasingly wrote not only words of love on my birthday card, but also an algebra problem.

If you figure it out, then you will know how old I am. ;)

(90/4)2 = ?

Strongman also took me out for dinner!

I am blessed!!!!>

Just Because, A Dinner For Two

Just Because,

the flowers are beautiful,
I haven't used the china in awhile,
there was spring mix to be used,
rice is an excellent source of complex carbohydrates,
your eyes lit up when shrimp creole was mentioned while watching Deep Space Nine the other night,
shrimp was on sale,


you work hard to provide for our family,
and we were alone last night

Just because, I love you

Thank you, Strongman, for all you do!

Valentine Dinner

Valentine's Day began with a gift to Strongman, a replacement for our coffee pot that sprang a leak back in November. Later on Saturday I served my Valentine a feast fit for a king.

Homemade Buttery Rolls

Cream Cheese and Crab in Phyllo Dough Cup Appetizers

(My Recipe)


Spring Mix Sprinkled with Red Onions, Currants, Parmesan Cheese, Sugar-Glazed Walnuts With Honey Sweetened Balsamic Vinegar and Oil Dressing

(My Recipe)

Crab-Stuffed Orange Roughy, Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Sirloin Steak and Yucca Con Mojo

Sounds and looks like a perfect meal? Well, I had three exciting episodes in preparing it! I planned to serve one of Strongman's favorite desserts, chocolate pudding pie topped with coconut and chopped almonds. On my first attempt, I forgot about the pie shell in the oven and burned it. My second attempt ended as the light toasting of the almond and coconut topping was incinerated by over-broiling. The finale climaxed with four foot flames shooting up from my grill!! Amazingly enough, the steak survived the licking.

In spite of the three incidents, our meal was successful! We topped off the meal with chocolate pudding scraped out of the burned pie in to cups topped with non-toasted coconut and almonds.

Burned Coconut and Almond Topped Chocolate Pudding Pie

Through Many Storms...By Your Side

My Dear Strongman,

This Valentine's Day, I rededicate myself to you! We've walked through many storms since that September day in 1984 when we said, "I do," but together we braved the wind and rain. I will continue to be by your side until death parts and new life in heaven begins!!! Thank you for standing by me when it would have been easier to walk away. I trust you more than ANY OTHER human being! Thank you for being my Valentine!

I LOVE YOU!

This Day in 1984: I Take You...

I promised to take you in sickness and health, whether rich or poor, in the good times and the not so good times.

Twenty-four years later...we've seen sickness and health. We've had more money and less money; We've shared in the calm and the storms.

Thank you for your steadfast love, my Strongman!!!

My Knight in Shining Armor

Art by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992. To order prints visit her "Revelation Illustrated" site, http://revelationillustrated.com.

"After that I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse [appeared]! The One Who was riding it is called Faithful (Trustworthy, Loyal, Incorruptible, Steady) and True, and He passes judgment and wages war in righteousness (holiness, justice, and uprightness)." Revelation 19:11 (Amplified Bible)

Last Wednesday, while standing by my kitchen sink, I thought about how most young girls and even women, dream of their "knight in shining armor." This gallant man would rescue the fair damsel in distress, and that distress usually manifested in the form of a heinously devious suitor or a fire-breathing, flesh-eating dragon.

Fiction...Fairytale...Fantasy!!!!

Jesus, the Courageous, Faithful Knight, constantly rescues me!!! He has rescued my spirit by providing eternal life. He washes my soul and causes it to be renewed and changed from glory to glory. He has rescued my physical body from various maladies throughout the years. Jesus is perfect in his knighthood!!!

I then thought of my husband, who throughout our years together, has "rescued" me multiple times, not from a devious suitor or from an imaginary reptilian, but from the situations and heartaches, this world (physical and spiritual) sometimes heaped upon me and sometimes I heaped upon myself.

Later that day, I returned home to find I had locked myself out of the house, yikes!!! (Last Wednesday's scorching heat made me feel like my makeup was melting off my face) I called Strongman, and to my rescue, he came riding in his white cube van. He even said something about coming to my rescue. (He didn't know what I was thinking earlier that day.)

That night after my bath, I noticed tiny red dots all over my feet and upon closer inspection noticed brown specs within the red...splinters! Strongman lovingly removed ten of the tiny skewers from both feet. (I'll explain about HOW I managed to get all of them in a posting I intend to compose soon.)

These incidents got me to thinking about the ALL the "rescues" Strongman has performed in the twenty-nine years I have known him. Strongman "rescues" my "psyche" by constantly encouraging me with his words...he tells me I'm beautiful (inside and out) and has thanked me for being a good mother to his sons. He thankfully eats what I put before him and never complains even if he doesn't really prefer what I have prepared. Most of all he never forgets to speak freely of his affection for me.

My knight has "rescued" me physically as well. After discharge from the hospital for brain surgery, I developed a fever, became weak, and constantly lost my balance. My knight helped me to the bathroom in the middle of the night and actually set out alarm in order to take my vital signs every four hours. When I was pregnant, he shaved my legs. After a breast biopsy, I became extremely weak due to a drug I had received and my knight was there to help me walk and assist me in getting a bath!!!

What I appreciate most about my knight is his spiritual growth the last several years. Every night, he prays over me before I go to sleep. A few years ago when I struggled with depression, he passionately prayed for me and actually saw a "dark force" leave me. There were times when anxiety would overtake me and my heartrate would increase dramatically, sometimes well past 100 beats per minute. Strongman would pray, and I could feel my heartrate decrease within minutes!!!

My knight, my strongman, my husband, rides to my rescue in a white van rescuing me over and over again. Thank You, Jesus, for my knight in shining armor!!!

Your Bridegroom has Rescued You, Princess!!

"Listen to me, O royal daughter; take heart to what I say. Forget your people and your homeland far away. For your royal husband delights in your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord...The bride, a princess, waits within her chambers, dressed in a gown woven with gold. In her beautiful robes, she is led to the king, accompanied by her bridesmaids. What a joyful, enthusiastic procession as they enter the king's palace!"

Psalm 45:10-11, 13-15

Last evening I had the privilege of ministering to a group of Princesses. Our youth group hosted a Princess Ball for high school aged girls. The night was patterned after the ancient Jewish wedding ceremony and began with light refreshments.

After a time of reflection, the girls repented of anything that might separate them from their Bridegroom and then took the marriage cup of commitment by participating in communion.

Then the young woman recited their vows of faithfulness to Jesus under the chuppah.

In the presence of a witness the Princesses signed a scroll stating that they would remain faithful to their Bridegroom, forsaking all idols and offering their inner beauty and worship from this day forward.

The Bride was then beckoned to enter into the Throne Room where she received her royal crown and was anointed with myrrh (symbolizing death to the flesh), frankincense (symbolizing each young woman's anointing and unique destiny), and gold dust (symbolic of the Holy Spirit and God's glory).

Then the young women were escorted into the King's Garden where they received prayer and prophetic words from the Lord.After this, the Princesses were directed to enter the Holy of Holies where they could spend intimate time with their Bridegroom.

We ended our time with celebration...feasting at a chocolate fountain (Jesus and Dark Chocolate, you'd have loved it!) and dancing.