Coffee With Jesus and Friends

  BEHOLD I AM DOING A NEW THING On a warm sunny afternoon this past month my husband and I took the dog for a walk. I learned new things about myself, and about what You want for me Lord. The two expectations, mine and what God hopes for in my character are two very different things. People may disappoint me but You Lord never do. You gently point out errors I make and lovingly redirect my behavior.  What you showed me I didn’t like very much. What you pointed out was my sin. My attempt to control the situation, under the guise of caring for my husband, was an act of pride. Wanting to be in control is in essence a sin of pride. I sometimes try to control that over which I have no control. The details of what happened are not important. The point is that my attempt to steer my husband’s behavior was not welcomed. He reacted harshly, in anger. My feelings hurt, I stormed ahead of him and the dog for a bit and sat on a park bench by a blooming pear tree waiting for them to catch ...

THE CLOCK IS NOT YOUR ENEMY One of the first indications that my partner had a pronounced cognitive decline was his inability to draw a clock face with the hours numbered and with hands pointing to a specific time given. He couldn’t put the numbers on the clock face, nor could he draw the hands on the clock. He simply could not do any of it.  Although I didn’t realize it at the time, at that moment, I began to view the clock as an adversary. I always felt like I’ve been racing against the clock, but for what reason? Sometime ago I came across a scripture passage, Epehesians 5:16-17 which spoke about redeeming time. It has lingered along the margin of my awareness where it has been swept away again and again by other matters pressing on my mind with their urgency. Today while I sat still in silence withYou, Jesus you brought that scripture to the forefront of my thoughts again; I heard You whisper, “The clock is not your enemy.”  I admit that I have a love-hate rela...

EVEN MARY POPPINS GETS THE BLUES Coffee With Jesus January 29, 2024  Good morning, Lord I love You.  I thank You for being our Ishmael, The God Who Hears. I came to You with my heart so full of tangled emotions, mostly negative. They sat like an uncomfortable, heavy stone of misery in my chest. I knew that was not a good way to begin my day and I really didn’t want those negative emotions spilling over on the person for whom I provide care, or any others who might cross my path. It’s so hard to untangle the snarls of all those dark ugly emotions that seem to overpower the sunshine in our day. I came to You hoping for you to calm the tempest in my soul. You listened as I poured out my heart. I told you that I was weary of trying to manage it all. I’m failing, floundering, drowning, weighed down by weariness, resentment, anger, hurt, fear and loneliness.  I love my husband but living with Alzheimer's is sometimes really hard to do. I’m tired of shouldering all the responsib...