When You Pass Through the Waters, I Will Be With You

I showed this map of the Sea of Galilee and the places of many of Jesus' miracles to my kids when I was sharing with them about my recent trip to Israel.

The question most of our tour group had was how could there ever be such winds and waves in this small body of water that could cause such fear in those who were sailing from one side to the other? Our guide told us that there have been waves that exceeded eight stories on those waters. No wonder the disciples were concerned for their lives.

Over the years, our family has enjoyed every water feature you could imagine. We frequented lakes and rivers all over the U.S. and Canada where we camped, sailed, fished, river rafted, canoed, and kayaked, and there are no adequate words to convey about the majestic oceans and seas that we cruised.

I recall my Sweetheart sitting back, delighting in the stillness and beauty of those moments in all of those water places. He loved taking it all in. He was "home" by the water. I'm quite sure he's made sure that our mansion in heaven is right by the River of Life.

What if life was like living by a pond or lake? A lake can represent stability and tranquility. A lake doesn’t change much from year to year. With the exception of a severe storm (we were at the lake on plenty of occasions when a tornado was coming through), a lake is a secure place with clear boundaries, stable waters, and a quiet shore. There is a sense of order, control, and safe predictability about a lake, with few major surprises from day to day.

I have found life to be more like traveling down a river. It's extremely unpredictable and filled with many twists and turns, highs and lows, rapids and calms, unseen obstacles and unexpected objects that go drifting by. But, it can also be filled with exhilarating experiences that are packed full of adventure. You can ride the currents of a fast flowing river in a raft or kayak, but you have to avoid the potential dangers which can be devastating to a rider. We know that for a fact – when, one time, our kayaks tipped over and we were pulled into the rapids, and but for the grace of God, could have lost our lives. Our kayaks went on down the river….without us in them. Thank God, we had on life preservers.

As we journey on, we want life to be safe and secure for us and our loved ones, like that lake with borders -- no big changes or surprises. But, in reality, life is more like a river as it is continually moving in ways that we cannot control, predict, or expect.

The good news for us is that our security, stability, AND sanity are not found on the rivers of our lives, but in the Lord of of our lives. Our hope is in Him who knows the way through the obstacles and the twists and turns. Our peace is found in the One who directs our course. Our hope is fixed upon the One whose hands not only created the waters, but calms them, and He is THE ONE Who causes the unpredictability of the waters to work things together for our good.

Isaiah 43:2 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you....."

Work Hard. Play Hard. Fall Hard.

This day is dedicated to my grandson (Happy Birthday Payton Wallace), and his wish for his 17th birthday TODAY, to be here at Marval Camp in Gore, Oklahoma. This first couple of pics are from Tuesday when we arrived here (note the coveted photo with the ginormous trout letting us know of things to come), and then the rest from yesterday when we started our day out at 5 am (yes, we are serious fisher-people) to get to our favorite fishing spot by daybreak, just below the Tenkiller Dam. It is a picture of heaven (at least in a fisherman's eyes) to arrive to those quiet, calm, peaceful, glass-like-waters (except for the fish jumping and saying (in our imagination) "Come get me", long after the dam gates from yesterday were closed, leaving behind all those hungry trout and striped bass to jump on our hooks. We like to think those fish are people-whisperers, and we are fish-whisperers. LOL! They were no doubt disappointed by the breakfast they went after because they will end up in our tummies tomorrow, but we weren't. By 8:30 am, we had reached our limits on the number of fish we could catch.

Bless Larry Wallace's heart -- he spent so much time getting all the poles rigged up, helping getting lines untangled, taking the fish off the hooks for the girls, that he didn't get as much time fishing, but when his line went in, he made up for the lost time by the number of fish he hauled in! Of course, Staci's line is in the water from start to finish -- they cleaned the fish we had back at camp -- and then fished more at the river. Notice that fishing necklace around her neck? That was her Daddy's. She represents him well in her love for fishing as much as he did. Alexia Wallace has become a great all-around fisher-girl too so now, it's a total family affair!

The boys (Payton Wallace & his buddies from church, Matt and Darian) ventured over to the other side of the river to see what their take could be on that side. They were gone a couple of hours and then we saw them heading back. They decided to walk across rocks in the river in order to stay dry. No sooner than they started across, that the horn started blowing that signals the huge dam gates are opening to let the heavy flow of water come through. In their haste, all three guys fell in the water. Hence the photo of the soaked and cold guys here! LOL!

That incident leads me to where I'm at right now as I type this post. All those wet clothes were bundled up and I'm doing their wash at the Gore laundromat, which by the way, has free wifi! Thank you, Lord, for helping me to stay on point to my commitment to You -- to post a daily encouragement on Facebook.

So what is my encouragement for today, particularly in the light of my not being in a church or cathedral or the privacy of my home? As I sit here listening to the hum of the dryers here in this unconventional "online" setting, the first scripture verse that came to me was John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." I totally get it. The enemy of our souls wants our thoughts to be on the politics, the concerns and the lives of those in the public's eyes -- most of which deals with negativity. He wants us all consumed about matters of the world and matters in our little worlds, rather than taking to the words of Christ to heart "I CAME to give you life and have it to the full". All I know, my life is FULL and running over with God's abundance and blessings. That's what I purpose to fix my mind on -- and NOT those things that the enemy purposes to use to steal, kill and destroy my good thoughts and good attitudes! So, until next time, I think I'll get back to my gang and continue with celebrating the life of my awesome grandson and celebrate that abundant life Christ came to give us! http://ow.ly/OYhD30c10HN

When You Pass Through the Waters, I Will Be With You

Over the years, we’ve enjoyed every water feature you could imagine. We frequented the lakes in Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri. And then there was Saddleback Lake in Canada where I officially became a Master Angler when I caught an 8 lb 9 oz Walleye. Mama brought home the fish. Papa had it mounted, and it's prominently placed in Mama's office!

We had fountains in three of our homes that provided such calming sound effects in our backyards. We had a pond at our Sapulpa OK home where our grandkids loved to hang out with Papa. In fact, they all learned to fish there. There's a fishing pond where I live now. We camped, fished and river rafted, canoed, and kayaked in rivers and there are no adequate words to convey about the majestic oceans and seas that we cruised on.

I recall my Sweetheart sitting back, delighting in the stillness and beauty of those moments in all of those water places. He loved taking it all in. He was "home" by the water. I'm quite sure he's made sure that our mansion in heaven is right by the River of Life.

What if life was like living by a pond or lake? A lake can represent stability and tranquility. A lake doesn’t change much from year to year. With the exception of a severe storm (we were at the lake on plenty of occasions when a tornado was coming through), a lake is a secure place with clear boundaries, stable waters, and a quiet shore. There is a sense of order, control, and safe predictability about a lake, with few major surprises from day to day.

I have found life to be more like traveling down a river. It's very unpredictable and filled with many twists and turns, highs and lows, rapids and calms, unseen obstacles and unexpected objects that go drifting by. But, it can also be filled with exhilarating experiences that are packed full of adventure.

Larry, Staci, the kids and myself recently enjoyed a trip to the Illinois River. When the Tenkiller Dam is closed, the river flows nice and slow, and it’s easy to swim and relax, even fish while standing right in the middle of the river. But when the gates at the dam open up, the strong force of those waters is a force to be reckoned with. You can ride the currents in a raft or kayak, but you have to avoid the potential dangers which can be devastating to a rider. We know that for a fact – when our kayaks tipped over and we were pulled into the rapids, and but for the grace of God, could have lost our lives. Our kayaks went on down the river….without us in them. Thank God, we had on life preservers.

As we journey on in life we want things to be safe and secure for us and our loved ones, like that lake with borders -- no big changes or surprises. But, in reality, life is more like a river as it is continually moving in ways that we cannot control, predict, or expect.

The good news for us is that our security, stability, AND sanity are not found on the rivers of our lives, but in the Lord of of our lives. Our hope is in Him who knows the way through the obstacles and the twists and turns. Our peace is found in the One who directs our course. Our hope is fixed upon the One whose hands not only created the river, but calms it, and He is THE ONE Who causes the unpredictability of the river to work things together for our good.

Isaiah 43:2 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you....."