KEY SA#8: A FUTURE OUT OF THIS WORLD

Today is my mother's birthday, Nov. 28th.  As I write this, I picture her in heaven strolling along the streets of gold with my father, hand in hand, as they so often were in this world.  Maybe Jesus is walking with them and they are chatting about all the prayers He answered for them when they resided for a short time in Earth . . . only 86 years for my mom and 96 for my dad. . . not much time when compared to Eternity.   Or maybe they are talking about their children and grandchildren still living here and asking for His protection and guidance for us.  Who knows?

Last week, I blogged about our fabulous trip to Cancun to celebrate the wedding of our oldest son, K, and his beautiful bride, M.  Now I am remembering the luxury of the resort where we stayed.  Every room had a canopy bed and a jacuzzi.  Our deck overlooked one of the huge pools surrounded by coconut and other palm trees.  Gorgeous bushes produced a lavish display of deep rose blooms and green and purple leaves lined walkways.  Gourmet meals were constantly available at the many restaurants as a tempting treat for our tongues.  Yes, it was expensive, although we got a deal because of the wedding.  But it was well worth it!

What is it about us humans that we are attracted so easily to luxury?  At least, most of us seem to be!  It is because of greed?  Or discontent?  Or a legitimate desire to rest from our daily problems and be served for a while?  Or is it a part of our longing for Home?  For no costly luxury available on this Earth can begin to compare to the richness and glorious splendor of Heaven's Home.  And our Home in Heaven is FREE!  It's already paid for by our Savior Jesus Christ.  At least, a reservation is made for each of us who have confessed our sins and accepted Jesus payment in full for our transgressions . . . our rebellion . . . by His death on the cross of Calvary.  No place we go, nothing we do in this world can satisfy us in a permanent way, for humans were made to find their greatest pleasure and satisfaction in a relationship with their Creator .  I think we each long for that Abundant Life of perfection that God originally designed for the people He created.  And some of us are searching for it in the wrong places, rather than surrendering to the will of the God who made us and knows what will satisfy us perfectly.  Even though it may seem "too good to be true," the fabulous, forever future God has in store for His children will be better than any of us can imagine.

This Christmas season, I hope each of you can be certain or make certain in your hearts that your eternal future will truly be "out of this world spent with the One who loves you more than anyone else."

KEY SA $7: GOD'S PLAN . . . ONE WOMAN, ONE MAN

I just returned home from my oldest son's wedding at a fabulous tropical resort near Cancun.  Once again, I am awestruck by the wisdom of God's plan . . . one woman for one man.  God, Himself, originated the incredibly fulfilling union of a husband and wife in the marriage relationship intended to display, among other things, the character of God.

As I write this, my brain is foggy due to fatigue resulting from traveling and celebrating.  So I hope for your sake my thoughts file together in a normal progression tonight!  But here is what is on my mind . . .

Aside from God's obvious intention to institute marriage as a way to propagate the human race and fill the earth with people He created, I see several more reasons for the establishment of marriage as a base for the family unit.

First of all, God says in Genesis 2:27, "And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."  All the male and female characteristics are embodied in the character of God.  Man alone cannot claim to reflect the whole image of God by his personality.  Nor can woman.  Only when the two are joined in the holy state of matrimony can humanity truly reflect even a small representation of God's completeness.

Which brings us to the concept of balance in the home . . . of God's plan for parenting children.  Due to our imperfect world, death and divoorce often place a father or mother in the challenging role of a single parent.  I was one myself for two years.  But God's s ideal intention was to provide both a male and female role model for children in the home.  A woman cannot be both a mother and a father.  Nor can a man.

Male and female characteristics compliment each other to provide a stable and secure environment that can promote the normal emtional and spiritual development of a child.  God can and does "fill in the gaps" when needed, as in the examples cited above.  But we can only succeed as a culture if we commit to live in obedience to His design for marriage.

Finally, apart from the union of a man and woman, there is no natural, God-ordained way to produce children.  As I watched my son and his bride standing under the canopy, holding hands and exchanging vows, bubbly sparks of love and delight flew from eye to eye.  The strong male physic of the groom enhanced the soft, gentle form of his bride.  Their physical differences filled out the picture .  They "fit" together.  Since his original ploy for deception in the Garden of Eden, Satan has been attempting to distort God's perfect plan for the people He created.  Through the distortion of marriage, Satan attempts to thwart God's plan for procreation.

We will find God's ways to be victorious at the end of time.  May we as a people choose to follow His ways now.

KEY SA#6: STAY CLOSE

Exciting news in the Land of Abundant Living!  My grandsons, Big C and Little c, welcomed their baby sister, Baby B, into their family this week!  God is so amazing and His gift of life so precious.  I was honored to spend a couple of days with Mommy and Baby B in the hospital so Daddy could take the boys home for a brief period of "normalcy" after his long night at the hospital.

I spent a good portion of the night happily relieving Mommy so she could get a few hours of sleep.  Treasured moments were recorded in my memory of cuddling my first precious grand-daughter, staring with awe at her tiny, yet perfectly formed, fingers and toes . . . her rosebud mouth . . . tenderly stroking her soft cheek and running my hand gently over her velvety hair.  I do not believe anything can compare with the softness of a new-born baby's cheeks and hair.

Daddy and the boys came to visit "Baby Sister" the next day.  Nurses and family have held the precious infant since then.  But I noticed in the hospital that, even as this young age, Baby B knew her mommy.  No matter who held her or how she was held, when Mommy picked her up a sense of peace and contentment was immediately evident.  She recognized Mommy's voice from 9 months of life inside her womb.  Others gave her love, but the one she clung to was the one she knew the best.

That is how we humans are made to be.  Just as a new-born infant latches onto her mommy . . . the one who gives her security and assurance . . . so we are meant to stay close to the One who gives us the ultimate security and love, through the sacrifice of His precious Son, Jesus Christ.    By reading God's Word, the Bible, and spending time alone in prayer, we learn to listen to Him and to recognize His voice.   We find some of our needs met by spending time with other people and through involvement in activities, but the One we need supremely . . . the One who truly satisfies . . . is the God to whom we cling . . . the One who is always there for us.

In a few weeks, I plan to make the switch to my new blog site on word press.  In order to receive my emails to your email box without disruption, please go to lindaruthstai.com and click on "blog."  You will find a box there to sign up.  I would be happy to make the switch for you, but I can't figure out how to do it!  So I ask for your help and greatly appreciate your desire to continue on with me as we journey through the Land of Abundant Living!

KEY SA#5: "IT WILL GO WELL . . . "

As I write this on Tuesday, November 6th, after placing my vote, I have no idea who will be our president tomorrow.  But I do know that God is still in charge and will continue to be in charge of our country and He will, in His perfect wisdom, allow what will we need and what will give Him glory.  His love is perfect and His justice is perfect.

Whoever wins the election, changes and adjustments will be required of us.  Our culture has been degenerating; I feel like I'm living in a different country from the one where I grew up.  Since I was sick this past week, I have spent more time than usual in front of our television, resting.  The channel my husband and I enjoy the most is ME TV from Minneapolis, MN.  It displays the old shows that we watched as children and teenagers.  Please forgive me for commenting on  "the good old days."  As a child and young adult, I always hated to hear grown-ups talking like their "youth worlds" were so much better than mine.  And I'm truly not claiming that, because after all, it was my generation of the sixties that promoted the drug culture and the Hippie "free sex" movement!

But in the fifties, when I was a child, my parents never had to worry about what television shows I saw.  Back in those days, even the bad guys didn't swear (at least not on television)!  The theme of one "Dick Van Dyke" show I watched revolved around the predicament that he and his wife, Mary Tyler Moore, found themselves in when their young son used a "bad word." Of course, we never heard the bad word; they never said it aloud, just whispered it into each other's ear and made horrified faces.  I don't know what it was, because the television stations at that time knew that the typical citizen of our great country would also be shocked to hear that word on TV.

My friends and I could roam the streets of our little town safely at any time of the day or night.  Kidnappers only took children of wealthy people . . . primarily for money, of course!  As a child, I never heard of abortion and I didn't know what a homosexual was until I was full grown.  Now both practices are given status in our country. And while I truly love and have compassion for the people caught up in such situations, I am sad that the practices are commonplace in our modern culture.

Obviously, sin and evil have existed since the time of Adam and Eve, but at least where and when I grew up, most people recognized that God was supreme and when we died, we would "meet our Maker."  There was a healthy respect; even those who were not Christians generally lived by (at least superficially) by Christian values and showed respect for God.

I am praying that God will send repentance and revival to our nation; that we will once again become the Christian nation that our founders established and provided for in our unique constitution, a country that respected and defended religious freedom for all citizens.  But since I cannot predict our future, I will also share words of comfort from Isaiah 3:10, where in the midst of a discourse on the wickedness of the culture of the nation, Israel, at that time period, God spoke through the prophet to assure His people, "Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, for they will eat the fruit of their actions."

MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA AGAIN!