Skip to main content

Twists and Turns

 


It’s funny now when I look back to our drive home from Tucson yesterday how the upbeat sermon we heard along the way prepared us for what we would face.

My daughter, Amy, told me:   “You can drive home with me, mom, but you’re going to have to listen to Joel Osteen, okay?”  I replied:  “I am totally on board with it!” 

Joel’s sermon reminded us about those twists and turns which come along in life and how God will get us to our destination as long as we trust and follow His lead.  Osteen used examples from his actor friend who taught him sometimes the best movies we watch are not filmed in sequence.  The last scene might be filmed first.  Surely, God sees the end result as we face challenges and He can get us to finish well just like a good movie! 

The CD just about ended when we noticed the lull in traffic on the interstate highway.  Why were cars exiting in Chandler just before we headed into Phoenix?  In a few miles we came to a complete stop.  My GPS showed a traffic accident ahead which closed down the interstate indefinitely! We decided to maneuver the truck onto the opposite oncoming traffic and turn off in Chandler too!  Lots of twists and turns followed as we chose another route taking us through Phoenix to get back onto the interstate.  Hours later, we landed back on track heading north to home.  We laughed as we lived that sermon!  We got home eventually, a little harried but safe nonetheless!  

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving this week. 

Our family gathered at our younger daughter’s new home in Tucson over the weekend to celebrate early this year to accommodate work schedules.  We prepared a big turkey dinner which is always a lot of work and clean up but as my daughter said:  “When you sit down to eat dinner and taste all the wonderful family recipes handed down through the years, it's worth all the effort.” 

My husband, an only child, grew up with cousins.  We were blessed to have his cousin with us along with his wife, all the way from New Mexico.  They're still an integral part of our lives. 

We all arrived on different days over the long weekend, left back for home on different days, but everyone stayed safe despite the twists and turns!

 

“Don’t let the twists, the turns,

The things that don’t make sense cause you

To get discouraged.

Keep moving forward.”

                                     Joel Osteen



















Comments

  1. We can plan all we want but thank God He is the One Who directs our steps. Happy Thanksgiving sister Mary and what a lovely time with family! God bless and protect you all always. Love and prayers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. SO thankful you all were able to gather and enjoy your day in spite of the covid mess and all that is going on. It was so wonderful to see your smiling, happy faces in the photos! Much love to you, sweet friend.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It always amazes me how the Lord teaches lessons in life so amazingly! Thankful you had such a good time together! Such a blessing!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Merry Christmas sister Mary and a blessed New Year!!! May His richest blessings: love, peace, joy, hope, peace and faith fill your hearts and minds... Love and prayers always.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Memorial Day Reflection

  Memorial Day is always noteworthy for me and my girls.  Next Thursday marks the third year of missing their father, my husband. So many thoughts  run through my mind.  The journey of loss takes on various emotions.  The strongest feeling, at first, was emptiness.  In a split second, I would forget he departed forever.  I imagined things I needed to talk to him about when he got back home.  My mind is realistic now.  He's not coming back.  There will be no more times of sitting on the porch swing together on the front deck staring at the moon and the stars.  He would tell me all he knew about the majestic night sky. I have so much I wish I could tell him, like the excitement of seeing our oldest grandchild make a decision to follow Jesus and get baptized on Mother's Day!  And our little Amy, 11 years old, I wish he could have seen her on stage receiving her induction to the National Honor Society. Our daughters have their own ...

Mama's Lipstick

I always wished I could do things with my mom like shop in the mall, share makeup secrets or go to the movies and watch romantic comedies.  My wish never materialized.     My mama behaved like a tomboy.   She loved baseball and pitched with a strong right arm.   She could care less about the latest fashion or the latest movies featured on the big screen.   She never polished her fingernails.    One day after elementary school, I walked into the house to find my mom all dolled up in front of the bathroom mirror, foundation crème, powder, eyebrow pencil and rouge all over the counter sink.  “Who are you?” I asked, thrilled to see my mama putting on the Ritz.  Makeup in place and blotted, she immediately took it off.  “I don’t like the way it feels,” she exclaimed. She retired in Arizona and protected her dry lips with a light rose lipstick, the color of natural lips, a step above ChapStick.  She wore it a few tim...

Book Review of Biblical Minimalism and Give Away

What does minimizing look like?  To the empty nester it may mean downsizing real estate.  To the co-dependent, it may mean pitching some toxic friendships they tend to collect.  I thought I had a handle on Biblical minimalism, but I wasn’t even close.  Biblical minimalism is much more than cleaning out a drawer and discarding unwanted things into a box to take to the thrift store. In her book, Biblical Minimalism, Cheryl E. Smith defines Biblical minimalism as “a complete, whole person release of anything unlike Jesus, a letting go of everything that hinders us from following Him wholeheartedly and single- mindedly , and a relinquishing of all that brings us under bondage to this earthly, very temporary life.” The author gives us a visual of a whole pie that is divided into eight slices.  Each slice describes our lives with areas to analyze to see if pruning or adjustment is needed.  I won’t name them all, but one example is the “emotional ...