Meet my buddy, he is an angel. I wrote about him in the last entry and I told you all I would post our photo here when my daughter Marianna emailed it to me.This was taken at the nursing home we go to to visit and make new friends. I've always liked for my children to have friends of all ages... In homeschooling we are so blessed to be able to do that.
Calvin here is a younger little guy as you'll read below, he is almost completely deaf and has a hard time speaking, bless his heart, he is an angel. The first time I met him he dug into his pocket and pulled out a business size card with his name, "Calvin" on it.
He's truly an angel to me! Look at this sweet face of his! When I go to see him, he now holds his cheek up for me to kiss and I kiss him upon that chubby cheek, and make a big Muah! sound. He's a love and just a little bit of Heaven.
If you think you have problems, and you feel hot under the collar about anything....Just see my precious buddy here. His beautiful innocent smile says it all. This past visit Marianna was playing the piano and I was dancing around lightly clapping my hands with him, it brought tears to my eyes. A fellow volunteer, a precious homeschool mom and I met eyes, I mouth Hi to her with a smile, looking at her through tear-filled eyes across the room...She smiles back and looks back through big blue understanding eyes...
Oh friends it's the simple things! The simple things! It's not the busy-things, no. If you want to make some nice friends of all ages who will really be friends and minister to you more than you minister to them? If you want to teach children compassion and mercy and let them see a glimpse into a true relationship with Jesus, living out salvation? To a forgotten mission field? A place where folks may step over to the other side and it may be just you to have the blessed privilege to whisper the sweet name of Jesus to them before they depart? I recommend the nursing home.
Marianna brought me a nice little book by Helen Steiner Rice yesterday, it's called A Book of Hope. It has all kinds of wonderful verses in it. I was feeling blue yesterday and this book was just the thing!
Blessings in Disguise by Helen Steiner Rice from A Book of Hope
God sends His little angels in many forms and guises.
They come as lovely miracles that God alone devises.
He does nothing without purpose, everything's in a plan
To fulfill in bounteous measure all He ever promised man.
For every little angel with a body bent and broken
Or a mind quite challenged or with little words unspoken
Is just God's way of trying to reach out and touch the hand
Of all who do not know Him and cannot understand
That often through an angel whose wings will never fly
The Lord is pointing out the way to His eternal sky,
Where there will be no handicaps of body, soul or mind
And where all limitations will be dropped and left behind.
So accept these little angels as gifts from God above,
And thank Him for this lesson in faith and hope and love.
I hope all is well with everyone, today we had a rain and that is nice. We've experienced quite a drought.
I hope you enjoyed meeting my buddy, Calvin. He loves Jesus too.
8 comments:
...you will never know how much you teach me through your blog.
you will never know.
can I just say here real quick, because I have a baby that has a poopy diaper on my lap that needs to be changed:)
it's this-
Last year when I was struggling if I should come home full time from my outside job as a nurse it was a message I listened to on your blog by david wilkerson. he was speaking of women at work. the lord really spoke to me through this and I began to pray. last october I lost my job and now I am home full time.
so, my friend. keep on pouring your heart out like you did today.
you are blessing others around the world more than you will EVER knkow.
Amelia!! I never knew about this blog! How beautiful! I'm "following" now of course! :)
Thanks so much for your sweet comment on my post yesterday. You know, we thought for the most part that we were doing okay before, but once we really examined things, we saw why God was almost "forcing" us to change. Like Kevin says, when you compare yourself to someone else and feel okay because you're doing better than they are, you're still comparing down instead of "UP." Like UP to the sky! ;) It's God's standards we need to compare "UP" to and everything else is comparing down. That's my wise husband for you. :)
Anyway, I so appreciated your encouraging remarks. Thank you!!!
Love you,
Laurie
Amanda, I cannot tell you how much your comment blessed my heart. I have been feeling a little discouraged lately, thank God for your encouragement! I wish I could have responded earlier, our girls have an out of town visitor this week and things have been out of unusual lately. The visitor is still here. (Oh I am so tired!): )
I was telling my husband about your comment, and just read it to him outloud. Your comment blesses him too, he sees how I am feeling at times.
My goodness, isn't that something? I had no idea you were working at all, you just seemed like a homeschool mom doing a beautiful job with your children having a ball in the country.
I need to go back to the David Wilkerson sermon and maybe I too would enjoy re-listening to it. Oh he really spoke the truth when he was alive, who would have knows he wouldn't be with us this year? Have you ever read of his testimony? The movie, The Cross and the Switchblade was made from his life story, also the testimony of Nicky Cruz the famous gang member David Wilkerson ministered to. I think the testimony is on the Time Square church site, or perhaps World Challenge. Enjoy and be blessed!
You know, once when I called their ministry his sister Ruth answered the phone, it was ten years ago when we first moved to the country for the first time, I was away from all of my friends, my step-daddy had suddenly passed away. She was so helpful and really encouraged me to have daily adventures with the Lord, she too lived in the country! I noticed when I talked with her the way she said "God". It was just like her brother, David and I asked her who she was....She tells me Ruth Wilkerson. I later wrote a thank you note to her, she was so very helpful to me over the phone that day. I still remember how she would have prayer walks with her dog and would ask God what adventure He would have for her.
Thanks so much Amanda for coming over to leave me encouragement and care, the timing was very right on. I praise the Lord for you Amanda.
Thank you for being an instrument of the Lord. Jesus with skin on.
Love, Amelia
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Oh Laurie, that is so true, we get ourselves in trouble when we compare with others, especially since God doesn't grade on a curve right? : )
I'm just so thankful to see parents taking a step back, it will be such a blessing. I know the best times are the times we are quiet it seems.
So glad you are here Laurie, I'm glad we can talk here on blogspot. That makes me smile that you like this newer blog...My girls seem to like this one too. It's been hard adjusting and finding a blog I can hang loose on a bit.
I look forward to see your adventures with Little Mister on your blog!
Love to you! ~Amelia
Hi, Amelia.
I was thinking about you all as I am hearing more about these wildfires. I hope you are no where near them!
As I was reading your blog last week, I noticed to hurt your back. I'm so sorry to hear that. Hopefully, you are recovering more each day.
God bless you and your family. Hope you are well and safe.
In Him,
Caroline
Hi Caroline, As always it's so nice hearing from you. Your daughter and family doing okay? We're all plugging along in Jesus.
The fires are unfortunately becoming closer, we see the smoke in the air and smell it as well. One of the families who attend a Bible study with our girls have evacuatated, the fires are 2 miles from them. The father is trying to get back to get the rest of their poor little goats. Poor creatures! Oh I just cannot imagine! I've had to put out one wildfire myself as it started on the way back from the store a couple of months ago. It is as if someone is holding a giant magnifying glass above the prairies!
Read Joel...It sounds just like what is happening. This drought is hellish. Where are the pastors? I haven't heard any say anything about any of it or about God trying to get our attention, the possible spiritual causes etc. What is going on? Why are they so asleep?
Thanks for prayers for my back, yes, something happened to it a year and a half ago and it's very tedious now.
Thanks so much Caroline for stopping by, I appreciate it so much. And thanks especially for your prayers! Please pray for our protection.
A hug. ~Amelia
Amelia, the photo of you and your Buddy Calvin—well, it's just precious. And how like you to take your daughters and minister to some of the sweetest people on earth, living out the book of James, as Kay Arthur says, the gospel in shoe leather.
I enjoyed reading the other responses to your post, and the mention of David Wilkerson brought bitter-sweet memories. He came to Tennessee Temple when my husband was there many years ago, then I had the blessing of seeing and hearing him in his own ministry at Times Square Church in NYC after Carter Conlon took the pastorate (another great one!). What a man of God, David Wilkerson! And isn't it just like him to get a head start on Glory! He was always aggressive! But the lessons he left us are innumerable.
Thanks for sharing your life and times here. You bless me! Keep on!
Jane
Aw, I am so glad you enjoyed the book! Her poems are beautiful... especially when they are in an antique illustrated book! Win win! ;)
Calvin is very dear, as are all our friends there. We go to be a blessing, but it's always we who leave blessed.
These are the things life is made out of... real people and friends, like our nursing home friends. They are precious.
It really is the little things that are the big things.
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