The Unfortunate

I emerged from a troubled past, a dysfunctional home, yet I still had a happy heart. An old, beat up folk guitar provided a new interest, somebody had given it to me. I knew nothing of playing the guitar, but I quickly found out that it needed to be tuned and I needed guitar chords. A few friendly souls sketched out some basic chords for me on scraps of paper and demonstrated how to play them. I remember thinking back those many years ago, "That's not so hard, I think I can do that."

I needed a song to play, I would have to learn it by repetition. This was achieved by checking an album out of the library. Having no money because I was only 14 and had no job, I did have a library card so I checked out a Bob Dylan record. I read the Bible daily and that along with the lyrics of one of his songs would develop my first musical objective. The song was "There But For Fortune". That song and the Word of God began to form in me a deep sense of empathy for the unfortunate.

Over the next few years, I checked out several Dylan albums and acquainted myself with songs that I liked and were innocuous to my teenage years. I would sing his lyrics as I walked around town, and the images were very meaningful in fact; they helped me memorize the words. My mother was not against his music or me listening to it, as they formed no rebellious attitude in me. There was nothing to be on guard of. There was no violence in his music, no sex or drugs. There was, however, the rich tapestry of human life and its struggles, which I found very kindred to my own life. It provided a glimpse into the lives of others around me and so I walked with the narrative of the Bible and Bob Dylan lyrics, side-by-side, straight into adulthood.

In 2020 I wanted to listen to some of his more recent music and I came upon the album Modern Times. I was filled with great delight as I listened to it because I could clearly hear a very spiritual undertone and God all the way through it. It was very spiritual.

This month I came upon a phenomenal reality...Bob Dylan is a confessing, born-again believer and has been sharing his convictions since 1979 when he came to Christ as his Savior. I knew he had received Christ in 1979, but had heard that he had walked away from his faith. In actuality, he never did. Today, when he has a concert, he shares his beliefs in both word and singing Gospel songs, including old hymns such as "Rock of Ages" and "Pass Me Not". Check out this book, Bob Dylan: A Spiritual Life by Scott M. Marshall.

"Never before has a book like this one delved into the spiritual odyssey of cultural icon Bob Dylan. Tracking an American original--from his Jewish roots to his controversial embrace of Jesus to his enduring legacy as the composer of the Tempest album--Bob Dylan: A Spiritual Life delivers the story of a man in dogged pursuit of redemption. Based on years of research and original interviews, this book sorts through the myths and misunderstandings and reveals Dylan to be both traditional and radical in the way he expresses his spiritual quest for purpose and meaning."

Lillie Ruth

 Our third great grandchild...

This little beauty was born to our family on November 6th and her arrival was an anticipated one. She is the third child in the family, born to loving parents and two loving brothers.

Oh, how she has captured our hearts!

And, I believe Lillie could hear her Creator's voice as he spoke to her in her spirit. 

She has a peaceful and calm presence.

Father in Heaven, Thank You for the gift of Lillie Ruth!

Community & Learning

This past June I spent time with a pastor’s wife in a remote area of our island. It was a very depressed area, and a poor community, and the members of the church were representative of this. The fellowship and joy the pastor's wife and I experienced together was special, as seen on our faces. I have learned through the loss of others, through distress and adversity and how it affected them, that if they endure with a vigilance of prayer and self-control they will achieve its reward.

My education continues through books which I've read expeditiously with my Audible.com app. I can say, with a smile on my face and countenance, the world of Learning is open to me again through this app. I would like to recommend these books which I have posted from my reading list for you to enjoy & learn from. I do not read fiction books, but only those that relate to our lives and times.

In the first major biography of Bonhoeffer in 40 years, New York Times best-selling author Eric Metaxas takes both strands of Bonhoeffer's life - the theologian and the spy - to tell a searing story of incredible moral courage in the face of monstrous evil. In a deeply moving narrative, Metaxas uses previously unavailable documents - including personal letters, detailed journal entries, and firsthand personal accounts - to reveal dimensions of Bonhoeffer's life and theology never before seen.

What can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the soldier, the laborer, or the aristocrat? What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is his will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between "cheap grace" and "costly grace." "Cheap grace," Bonhoeffer wrote, "is the grace we bestow on ourselves...grace without discipleship....Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the girl which must be asked for, the door at which a man must know....It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."

The Cost of Discipleship is a compelling statement of the demands of sacrifice and ethical consistency from a man whose life and thought were exemplary articulations of a new type of leadership inspired by the Gospel, and imbued with the spirit of Christian humanism and a creative sense of civic duty.

ECPA BESTSELLER • A compelling emotional and spiritual case against hurry and in favor of a slower, simpler way of life

In their own words, recorded in the famous journals of Lewis and Clark, the members of the Corps of Discovery tell their story with an immediacy and power missing from secondhand accounts. All of their triumphs and terrors are here: the thrill of seeing the vast herds of bison, the fear the captains felt when Sacagawea fell ill, the ordeal of crossing the Continental Divide, the misery of cold and hunger, and the kidnapping and rescue of Lewis' dog, Seaman. The natural wonders of an unspoiled America are here, and the lives and customs of its native peoples also come vividly to life, making for a living drama that is humorous, poignant, and, at least once, tragic.

Dr. Miriam Grossman is a child and adolescent psychiatrist whose practice consists of trans-identified youth and their families. In Lost in TransNation, she implores parents to reject the advice of gender experts and politicians and trust their guts—their parental instincts—in the face of an onslaught of ideologically driven misinformation that steers them and their children toward risky decisions they may end up mourning for the rest of their lives.

The Return of the Gods, Cahn takes the reader on a journey from an ancient parable, the ancient 

inscriptions in Sumer, Assyria, and Babylonia that become the puzzle pieces behind what is

 taking place in our world to this day, specifically in America.

Is it possible that what we in the modern world take as nothing more than 

ancient mythology could actually possess a reality beyond our fathoming?

Tour of Life

 The beggar, who is crippled of legs.

Prior to leaving for the Philippines last June, God’s Holy Spirit put on my heart, a certain lame beggar,

I have known of since 1987, bringing to my mind several times for no apparent reason, a strong desire to see him and share the Lord. This was a very intense feeling because I sensed the urgency of it to share with him face-to-face.

I knew literally nothing about this man. I did not know his name I did not know his language, literally I knew nothing about him but that he was gentle and easy to approach. In the first week of our being there Jim and I found him. I had brought a tract to give him, and to my joy he started reading it! The tract had the two hearts and he looked up and said aloud, “I have a good heart." I was shocked as I didn’t know he could speak. I took my sunglasses off and bent down low enough for him to look into my eyes and to see if he recognized me. Yes indeed he did and made sounds of delight! However the most important purpose still lay ahead. We had to arrange a meeting with our staff pastor and the beggar, so that the pastor could explain the offer of forgiveness and the gift of salvation!. I wanted to have the assurance that Leonardo would be in heaven at the end of his days.

Everything in Scripture points to the love of God for the individual. God is interested in the individual. He is not impressed with our education, the way we look for the pedigree that we come from, but God is interested in our heart and how we respond to him.

Indeed it says in the Bible when one sinner repents the angels in heaven rejoice. That is the act of one. Jim and I looked for this man every day, first in the morning hours and then later in the afternoon hours up and down the street and could find him nowhere. The following day we did the same, pursuing where we thought he might go to have the most foot traffic.We were very diligent to go out into the town and scour the different blocks looking for him with great intent all to know if we would find him before we had to leave.

I could not know what the days ahead would bring for my friend, Leonardo but August 10th, I heard from our Office Manager in the Philippines that our pastor had found Leonardo! He shared the gospel with him, he listened and then prayed to receive Christ!

It really is the love of God that reaches out to find a lost soul, comforts them with his grace and makes provision for them to Himself. Is this not why we love the Lord? He is all about the individual. Even when that individual is not presentable, has not eaten food in several days and is not eloquent of speech, God is waiting for such, that the man would simply call out to God for help and God hears him! “ This is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” I John 4:10

“His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,

    nor his delight in the legs of the man;

the Lord delights in those who fear him,

    Psalms 147

Me giving Leonardo the tract in June

Leonardo Praying with our PTA Pastor last week! Praise God!

Spring Arrives!

Spring arrives! The forest in the woodlands will soon erupt with the sounds of newborn fawns and small mammals. In our backyard the birds have premed their nest as baby birds hatch, soon to fill the air with chirps and bird songs.

New life is the sign accompanying Spring here in India. In the north east where we gather with friends enjoying Indian tea, we were stirred into enthusiastic conversation about the new life in the Bible studies and the churches. The kind of life that happens by being born again. That sweet fellowship flourishes among the believers and joy fills the room. The transformation of such believers delivered from darkness know now that they live in His glorious light and life.

A Hindu priest positioned in the temple to execute a macabre act of child sacrifice…his own daughter who was seven years old. Her father was a Hindu priest and he told her there was a special service that night at the temple so he went and bought her a new dress for the occasion. Little did she know that her father‘s plan was to sacrifice her that night to the Hindu gods. When they arrived at the temple the little girl said, "Father, where are all the people?" and he said, "We are early." He took her in and there were only other Hindu priests and they went to the altar and he told her to put her head down and began to get ready to cut her head off with a big sword. She saw the sword and started to cry and pray, "Dear Jesus, save me!" When she prayed all the articles of worship and the incense holders fell on the floor. They put them back in place and as they proceeded a second time, it happened again as she prayed a second time, "Jesus save me!" The priests stopped the sacrifice ritual. The other priest told the father, this is a bad omen, and they could not sacrifice her. Her father was very angry and ended up cutting his own flesh to give blood to the gods. He continued in his anger and took her home and locked her in her bedroom for two days with no water or food. She had heard from a friend at school that Jesus is the loving powerful Lord who answers prayer. Today she is a beautiful believer and is loved and has a prayer ministry praying for the sick to be healed.

The woman next to me is that "little girl", she expressed to our team that she could not let me go but wanted me to stay with her.

In our friend's home, just as dinner was being prepared for us, I saw a quiet man standing aloof, so I went over to say hello. He was polite but reticent to speak. Then very slowly he began to tell me his testimony. His joy was now all over his face and he was saying “Yes, yes! I too know! Very, very happy I have joy now. It's Jesus I have now.”

This man was a high cast Brahman and in that status receives praise and privileges in this Indian culture. But he chose to give it all away and put it aside for Christ as his Lord and Savior. He has walked away and is denying himself of all that could be his to follow Jesus. As the Bible says, "Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and He will lift you up.” James 4:19

This believer who came out of darkness and evil because he saw the love of God extended to him through believers in Christ. Please pray for India, there are over 1 billion people who do not know the love of God in Jesus Christ.

French Heaven

I have been an aficionado of the French language since the very first time I heard It. So, when I had a chance to study French in high school I jumped on it. I received an A for my performance in class but after graduation and into marriage the pursuit of my French language skills faded, but my love of the language and desire to speak fluently has never faded.

This beautiful French family of 6 arrived via invitation. They arrived at our home in Parisian style, each with their backpack of clothing, homeschooling necessities, personal bedding rolled up in the straps and each child caring a new skateboard. They were happy of heart and expressions when they entered our home, the oldest daughter, 13, expressed enthusiastically, “I love your house, I want one just like this when I’m older.” The children milled around momentarily gazing up our walls at my large Polynesian themed paintings, then the cathedral ceilings and gasped in surprise as they fully saw the looming elk head juxtaposing into the living room; not to be outdone by the sailfish hanging above the French doors. That in itself would become a remarkable memory for them, and they hadn’t even heard the story about the sailfish, but it does make for things children dream about when adventure fills their minds.

 I was in Heaven surrounded by French language spoken by adults and children. The children’s whispers and laughs camping out in the upstairs TV room, and filling up water balloons in the bathroom for the long surprising drop off the balcony to an unsuspecting sibling below was a joy. The happy rolling and scooting on their skateboards upstairs through the kitchen into the dining room and circling the sofa in front of the fireplace and down the long haul to the front door, and the absolutely never-ending adventure of these happy spirited children brought joy to our home.

 

The sweet late-night pleading in French, by the youngest daughter, to watch “a little movie”, as I was told later by the father, made me laugh. The late morning walks down to the beach with their hands full of beach paraphernalia which included two boogie boards, two skateboards and a beach bag full of assorted necessities, was a sight to behold. The beautiful and pleasant tradition of the eight of us praying and eating together around our outside deck or evenings of laughter, storytelling and bonding will be forever sweet.

 Cooking together in the kitchen was so memorable because Malé and Louie prepared their French meals at the kitchen island while ours we prepared at the counter next to the stove. Vegetables galore were cut up tossed and drizzled with a pleasant sauce before they made their way to the oven, careful preparation on the barbecue was also a regular event. The nights were a combination of happy dining and cleaning up, or afterwards bringing out a musical concerto with Tom on his flute, playing the Mexican hat dance, and Jim and I on the guitar singing in accompaniment. Well there were no words to sing but just expressions of happiness. The next song we ventured upon together was La Vie en Rose in French listening to it on YouTube to get the timing right. Oh, we all broke out in an English rendition. Tell me it is not a romantic evening singing with your friends in English to a typical French song. The one daughter made a video of her father singing this song and sent it immediately to his family before he had a clue what she was doing!

 In an old fashion style, we celebrated Louie’s birthday with party hats, balloons and horns! Jim and I experienced tremendous joy with this family as all the children we’re comfortable and happy in our beautiful beach home. We went out for a special night to enjoy sushi together which Louie and Male’ our friends loved. The four of us laughed over silly jokes but I think we realize we were simply happy to be out and eating sushi together, it was a cultural dessert.

 Their youngest daughter expressed to me that when I write her I must do it only in French! She bonded with me and presented me with a beautiful art card she had painted, Jim and I fishing from a boat but only my line had a huge fish on it! Then inside of the card she painted me surfing quite skillfully with long prose in French that was a very dear letter to us. Her father translated it for me, it was quite obvious that I was the apple of her eye with her words sweet and tender. She opened her greeting with, “You took us into your home and we felt just like family. You treated us like friends you had known for a long time.” She went on to express a full-page of happiness in our home and how she had experienced it and it was obvious her heart was a grateful heart, she is only five.

The evening before the family departed for the trip to Nubia, Africa, Louie expressed to me, “Shonda this was providential” in the context of them coming and staying with us for three weeks, it was providential. Louie and Malé extended a very warm invitation to Jim and I to come to Paris and visit them. In addition to this they Face-timed both their parents and introduced us to them. What an extremely warm family.

Yes, I do believe it was God’s plan that we should meet and have the love of God shared among us.

Shonda

 

OUT OF THE COCOON

 

OUT OF THE COCOON

My last visit to Jules Stein Eye Institute (JSEI) in March presented me with questions. Unable to see the Retina Specialist, I had a brief conversation with a Hospital Administrator, who being courteous and thorough I was left without any indication or direction as to what I should do.  By mid June I was feeling discouraged at the lack of any communication from my JSEI doctor.  This dampen my spirit and I became sad and angry. There was no information coming forth from JSEI, this being one of the leading Eye Institutes in the Country.  I have been thinking of all the things I could do again with restored eyesight via stem cell treatment.  Would this slip away before I could ever realise it?

  It has been 20 years since I have lost my eyesight which is now at a visual measurement of 20/300.  This  has made it impossible to do anything skilfully that requires adequate vision.  It has made every day of my life exceptionally challenging some days more difficult than others.  Simple and mundane tasks, such as seeing clearly the settings on the washing machine, dryer, threading a needle to mend a shirt, or sew on buttons.  For most people these daily task are not even given a second thought, yet in my case they are major challenges, such as: following a multi step recipe, recognising the shampoo bottle over the moisturiser once in the shower, or locating my magnifier, house key and sunglasses.  Because I can’t see, even up close as everything falls into a blind spot, so I must sweep the surface to locate, making ever task tremendously time consuming and discouraging. The only technology I can use is an Apple iPad which is limited and causes thwarting my every task I attempt to do. Keeping a vital sense of accomplishment as I continually need to ask for help is an on-going stress factor.

I have dreams of taking care of Jim as he gets older and drive him around to doctor visits also assist him in care for him as he has done for me.  I thought it prudent to take computer classes,  to continue my Spanish guitar lessons, also would like to develop my art with some formal instruction. At present time I am happy continuing  my college courses online. I was facing the death of dreams and would need to gather the courage to admit it. In a word it was terrifying.  The  following two months passed in silence from JSEI.

The beginning of August found me very motivated to contact my doctor and ask why I must be“wrapped in a cocoon” of silence and wait?  We send a registered letter asking the Doctor when might the stem cell procedure begin?  Two weeks past and we got the response. 

Remarkably on August 3 a call came in from Jules  Stein Eye Institute there was a voicemail for me saying the doctor had not forgotten me and that I was to make an appointment or they would call me by December.  There was also an explanation for the delay. Hallelujah!  A explanation and acknowledgement after a year and a half of waiting now this is something I can work with!  I am leaving my cocoon jubilantly.     Roshonda     (Jim assisted me with this post)