I HEARD THE RAIN

Friday night, Steve and I decided to watch a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie we had previously recorded but never found time to enjoy. With only 30 minutes of the movie remaining, we lost power. Thanks to my conscientious husband, the flashlight had working batteries and helped us find candles and matches. I fully expected the power to come back on at any minute, but the darkness continued. At 11:00, I called it a night and took a relaxing bath by candle light. Sound wonderful? Oh no, all I could do was complain.

It is amazing how many of our things require electricity. How did the pioneers ever survive? My first complaint, I lay down on my Select Comfort bed which had been freshly made that morning with soft 400 count pima cotton sheets and a light summer quilt, sound wonderful? On no, a Select Comfort bed requires ELECTRICITY to bring it to your personal firmness. My number is 40, the firmness was at 100, the only thing comfortable was my memory foam pillow. I felt like I was sleeping on hard ground and I complained.

Have you ever noticed how quiet a house without electricity becomes? There is no hum of the refrigerator, dishwasher, or clothes dryer. The incessant chatter from television and radio is suddenly silenced. Ok, I admit it; I am addicted to back ground noise. I cannot drive without my favorite radio station providing remote company, soft praise and worship music is an inspirational accompaniment to my daily devotions and Fox News keeps me focused on everything from housework to exercise. Every night before sinking into my personal firmness bed, I turn on a box fan. In the winter it blows air toward the wall, in the summer, the fan blows a soft breeze in my direction. Guess what? Background noise requires ELECTRICITY. So, there I lay on my “hard as a rock” bed with no background noise and I complained.

I tossed, I turned, I prayed that God, in His mercy, would give the electric company the wisdom to fix my problem. As the lonely pity party continued, I became aware of a sound that was faintly familiar. It stirred a long forgotten memory reaching back several years, when I could actually sleep on a floor pallet and didn’t require anything but a throw pillow and a blanket to settle in for the night. I HEARD THE RAIN. The steady drumming against the porch and roof became strangely soothing. Once the murmuring and complaining began to diminish, I began to notice other sounds; the soft breathing of my sleeping husband, the tinkling of chimes swaying gently in the breeze and the rustle of parched leaves drinking in each life-giving drop of rain. I slowly drifted off to sleep, a light mist riding on the gentle breeze cooling my face.

Psalm 89:15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance. How can we hear the joyful sound when we are surrounded by every other sound vying for our attention? Sometimes we need to turn off all the background noise in our life. It clutters our life to the point that we can no longer hear the Holy Spirit as it rains down around us. He is waiting to pour out “Showers of Blessings,” but we aren’t even aware of the gentle breath of God brushing against our face. I want to return to that place a little more often where I can drink the life giving water into my parched spirit and let all the problems and cares of life slowly melt away because I’m walking in the light of His countenance.

A song by Bart Millard and Pete Kipling says it best:
Verse 1
I'm finding myself at a loss for words and the funny thing is its okay.
The last thing I need is to be heard but to hear what You would say
Verse 2
I'm finding myself in the midst of You beyond the music beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You and in the quiet hear Your voice
Chorus
Word of God speak would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see Your majesty
To be still and know that You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest in Your holiness
Word of God speak

Around 3:00 A.M., the power came on, my bed was adjusted and the fan began its familiar whirr, but I HEARD THE RAIN.

I SURVIVED GRANDKID'S CAMP

I’m not sure how the grandkids are doing, but I survived Grandkid’s camp!!!! About a year ago a “brilliant” idea popped into my brain; during the month of June 2008, the first annual Niswonger Grandkid’s Camp would take place. This would give Grandpa and me an opportunity to spend quality time with our three grandkids, allow the cousins to get to know and love each other and at the same time start a family tradition. I had spread sheets of plans, sent out colorful reminders to each grandkid, and collected all the toys, activity materials and food for 4 days of fun. I was smart enough to bring easy, kid-friendly foods and plan activities that could be adapted to a 1 year old, 2 year old and 4 year old. The thing I forgot was Michigan weather. In Michigan we have sunny 85 degree weather one week and cloudy 50 degree rainy weather the next week. Guess which week I chose to schedule Grandkid’s Camp? Grandpa’s work picked up and he was so busy he could only come for two days, Caleb had a fever on Monday and the weather was cold and damp, but by Tuesday evening, Grandkid’s camp was in full swing.

It was just Girl’s Camp for the first 24 hours and you can’t stop 3 determined girls. Grandma, Mackenzie and Madison loaded the wagon and walked to the beach. On the way we saw several caterpillars, a dead squirrel and a live bluebird. We found seashells and wrote our names in the sand. Mackenzie was very adamant that since it was camp, we had to have a tent. Grandma set up a tent in the bedroom and we camped out. The next morning, there was more rain. After breakfast, we put puzzles together, watched videos, played ring-a-round the Rosie, the Hokey Pokey, colored some beautiful pictures and waited for the sun. Finally, we went outside and dug up pretty rocks, collected sticks and found caterpillars to put in our “bug keeper.” Grandpa arrived about 7 and we ate ice cream with chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a cherry on top.

Wednesday Morning, more rain. More videos, more games, played hide and seek, built towers with blocks; Grandma’s running out of ideas. Wednesday afternoon, the sun peeks out of the clouds for a brief visit. We bundled the kids in long pants, jackets, sun hats and sun block across the nose and headed for the beach. We weren’t there to show off the latest in fashionable beach wear, no, we had more important things to attend to. Grandpa helped make a sand castle, Mackenzie dipped her bucket in the water to make a moat, Madison kept a grip on all the sand buckets and Grandma kept a grip on Caleb to keep him from taking a swim in the chilly lake. We played tag, ate fruit snacks, drank juice, found more seashells, skipped stones and wiped noses. After cookies, chocolate milk, a funny book and bedtime prayers everyone was ready for a good night’s sleep.

Thursday was Zoo Day. The weather was cloudy and misty, so we began to pray. Mackenzie asked Jesus to please take the rain away in Jesus Name. The sun broke through; we went to the zoo and had a great time. We wore our matching “Grandkid’s Camp” t-shirts with our names on the back to the zoo. We were definitely the classiest group there. After dodging mud puddles, feeding and petting the animals, we settled down at the kid’s playground for a picnic lunch and to burn some pent up energy.

Friday dawned an absolutely gorgeous day. Blue skies, sunshine, 70 degrees; time to go home. Grandma took more pictures and packed up each kid. I’m not sure who was more excited to see Mommy; Madison and Mackenzie or Grandma. Grandma and Caleb arrive back in Saginaw, Grandma is exhausted. Caleb goes home; Grandma takes a long hot bubble bath and goes to bed.
The tiredness is gone, but the memories are still fresh. I can’t wait until next year!!!!

GABE, OUR ANGEL DOG

He was an 8 pound golden fur ball that instantly captured our hearts. Steve wanted to buy a memorable present for my 40th birthday and I wanted a puppy. I have always loved dogs and acquired my first, Rex, at the age of 10 months old. This would be a special dog so I spent a month researching all breeds of dogs and finally settled on a Golden Retriever. One sunny Saturday in September, 1997, we paid a visit to a home that had a litter of 5 week old Goldens. One puppy lay quietly in the pen while his sisters playfully nipped each other and yipped for attention. One by one the puppies were placed in the open where we could observe them and make our choice. One little puppy followed us around and began chewing on my husband’s toes; it was an easy choice. One week later Gabe joined our family.

He was house-broken within a week, maybe because I sat my alarm and took him out every 4 hours even in the rain. He went to obedience school but never lost his independence. A year later we acquired a brother for Gabe, another Golden named Charlie. Suspicious at first, Gabe finally accepted and loved Charlie, but let him know that he would always be in charge. Gabe was a true alpha dog. Charlie would stand patiently while Gabe ate, then eat his portion. The played tug-of-war and chased each other across the yard; always on Gabe’s terms. Charlie died of cancer a year ago in April and Gabe never played with another dog.

Although Gabe was getting old and had slowed down, he still managed to play with Caleb. He would lie quietly as Caleb would climb on top of him; use him as a pillow while watching videos; happily share his treats and wait patiently for the crumbs to drop under the high chair. Last Thursday, Gabe allowed Caleb to ride him, check out his tongue and try a piece of his dog food. He lay in the yard as Steve and I completed some landscaping and slowly followed me into the garage to get a drink out of the hose as I filled my watering can. Little did I know that this would be the last evening that we would share with Gabe.

Friday morning he seemed listless and exhausted. He would not eat or go outside. His breathing became more labored and at a little after 2 pm Gabe’s great big heart simply stopped. I knelt beside him as he took his last few breaths and stroked his silky golden red fur and told him how much we loved him; then he was gone.

This week has been a little lonely and the house has been a little too quiet. For just a moment every morning I expect to see him at the foot of the stairs. I am still getting used to coming into a silent house and listening for a door bell instead of a friendly bark to signal visitors. I have no one to eat the crust of my sandwich and share a big bowl of popcorn. There are no hairballs in the corner or dog bowl to avoid in the kitchen and leftovers are placed in the garbage.
Instead of dwelling on what we have lost, I choose to remember what we had. We had a loyal friend for 11 years. We had a faithful companion that tried so hard to please us and always gave unconditional love. We miss you Gabe. You will always be in our memories and in our hearts.

SOMEONE IS COUNTING ON YOU

It has now been FIVE full months!!! Healthy living has its rewards. I have lost over 45 pounds, wearing clothes I have not been able to wear in 3 years and have more energy than ever. Believe me, the energy required to chase after my one year old grandson is a huge reason to continue eating healthy and exercising daily.

I have to confess the hardest part was getting started. For the entire month of December I hated the way I felt, the way my clothes fit, and my appearance in the mirror. Negative feelings are not a good motivator for change. Despite the constant negativity, I continued to stuff cookies, candy and other rich holiday foods into my mouth. Finally, January 2, D-Day dawned. My husband had announced that beginning on that magical day, we were going to start eating healthy. I started off on the right foot with a healthy breakfast and progressed to a healthy lunch with Steve. So far, so good!!!! Then the long afternoon happened, I polished off some leftover holiday dessert, ate two or three pieces of chocolate crèmes and a handful of nuts. I prepared a nutritious supper so Steve wouldn’t know how “bad” I had been. He came home bragging about his “successful” day of dieting and I had a monumental revelation; SOMEONE WAS COUNTING ON ME. I was not on my own anymore; someone was depending on my dieting expertise and moral support. I could be hypocritical and lip sync the experience or I could become committed to the cause and gain the future rewards. I decided to quit fooling myself and become a real part of the team.

There are times we become discouraged. The “whole picture” is so overwhelming that we give up before we can even start. There have been times in my life that I have felt like giving up on my walk with God. One of the things that kept me hanging in there was my husband and kids. It was nothing they said or did because they were not even aware of my secret thoughts. No, what kept me going when I couldn’t make sense of anything was SOMEONE WAS COUNTING ON ME. Influencing someone else to give up on God or bringing a loved one down to my level was more horrible to contemplate then continuing to blindly plod along on an uneven path. Although to some it may seem hypocritical I continued to go to church and give lip-service praise. God rewarded my faithfulness to my family even when I waivered in my faithfulness to Him. The breakthrough finally came. One day I realized I was excited about the Sunday service; I wanted to pick up the Bible again; the tears began to flow as I raised my hands in worship; it had changed from a commitment to my family to a commitment to my God.

Psalms 61:1-5 Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.3 For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.4 I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings.5 For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.

Every one of us has someone in our life who is counting on our walk with God. It may be a family member, a co-worker, a neighbor or a friend. If you are in a situation where it seems like too much effort to fully commit, do it for them. As you continue doing the “right” things and making an effort when your strength is gone, God will join you on your journey. Soon you will find a little more strength and a little more joy. The path will become more clear and the burden lighter. SOMEONE IS COUNTING ON YOU; DO IT FOR THEM!!!