Keep Tryin'

grandboys in a pumpkin patch

"So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up." (Galatians 6:9)

Tuesday, three-year-old grandboy and I frantically searched to no avail for his one-year-old brother's paci. When I moaned, "I don't know where that paci is," three-year-old grandboy cheered, "Don't give up, Memaw. Keep tryin'!"

Gettin' tired of doing what's right and not reaping the hoped-for results? Don't give up, beloved. Keep tryin'! God promises a blessed harvest at just the right time if we refuse to throw in the towel.

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Learning to Lean

Our Rebecca, 1992ish





"I depend on God alone; I put my hope in Him." (Psalm 62:5)

At Church of the Highlands' first Wednesday service last night, guest speaker, John Maxwell, preached a dynamic, heartfelt sermon about dependence on God and ended the service with Lyn  Alejandrino Hopkins' "Learning to Lean on Jesus." 

The old chorus walked my mind down memory lane to a 1980s young couples Sunday School class where Mr. Earl Moak taught his naive flock the song and the precept: "Learning to Lean on Jesus."

Thank you, Earl Moak, and thank You, Lord Jesus. Thirty some-odd years later, I'm still learning to lean on You.

Sad, broken-hearted, at an altar I knelt

I found peace that was so serene

And all that He asks is a childlike trust

And a heart that is learning to lean

Learning to lean

Learning to lean

I'm learning to lean on Jesus

Finding more power that I've ever dreamed

I'm learning to lean on Jesus

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A Pointillism Life

grandboy and a pointillism masterpiece in progress

"Now if you will obey Me and keep My commands, you will be My own treasure..." (Exodus 19:5)

I'd never heard of pointillism until our Rebecca posted on Instagram this picture of the grandboy. Trusty Google explained to me that "pointillism, developed by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac in 1886, is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form a beautiful image."

Any life can be a Masterpiece, you know, when obedience-to-God is applied to each small point of everyday circumstances. But if we fill in the dots with our own colors, the potential Picasso turns out a fiasco.

Beloved, "today when you hear His voice, don't harden you hearts" (Hebrews 3;15). Simply obey and become God's masterpiece - His own special treasure.

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Muddy Boots and Candy Canes

Our Ben, 1985

"You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. But I [Jesus] say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!" (Matthew 5:43-44)

The picture above of our Ben with his muddy boots and candy cane is one of my favorites and to me captures the reality that people, like kids, are messy. 

We love our kids with combed hair and smelling as sweet at  honeysuckle in the summer sun, and we love 'em covered with mud and the sticky of candy canes. Jesus says, likewise, we are to love people sweet and kind and patient, and we're to love the mean-mouthed, angry, impatient, and unkind. For...

"If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal...Love is patient and kind. It's not jealous or boastful or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged...Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." (1 Cor. 13:1-7)

May every person we meet today - muddy-hearted or sweet - be met with the kind and patient love of Jesus Christ. And may you, beloved, have yourself a merry Christmas season! I love you, Jill.

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Courageous Ones

Our Dan and his MRAP
2009

"This is My command - be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)

As an infantry Marine in Iraq, our Dan courageously drove the lead MRAP on his unit's patrols. My hope for his safety rested more on God than the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected military vehicle designed to withstand IED (improvised explosive device) attacks and ambushes.

This morning, I received a request for prayer from a traveler in a dangerous land across the sea. 

Beloved, will you join me in praying for our military and missionaries putting their lives on the line for the safety and salvation of others?

O courageous one, the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. May no weapon formed against you prosper in Jesus' name, and may God Almighty guard your going out and coming in from this day forward and forever more!

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Blunders into Wonders

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)


I normally post new book releases on our neighborhood social network. But when I announced A Willowkins Christmas Story, the "powers that be" deleted the post and politely informed me that I'd broken the "promoting my own business" rule. Because I'm a stickler for rule keeping, I felt badly about the faux pas and posted an apology.

The original post was virtually ignored, but the apology for a children's book announcement raised a rumble, which led to two kind offers for book signings.

Made a mistake, beloved? Apologize. And trust God who is able to work blunders into wonders.

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Crucible Faith

Our Dan (back row, 2nd from left)
2009

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the suffering of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation." (1 Peter 4:12-13)

A story revisited:

The Crucible at US Marine Corp boot camp is a 54-hour, 9-mile hike with heavy backpacks and limited food and sleep to test the future Marine's physical and mental endurance. Before our Dan's Crucible, a team of faithful prayers fervently asked God for fair weather, and He answered with a hurricane. A few years later, when Dan hunkered down in the sand storms of middle eastern desert lands, I appreciated the mission and purpose of a hurricane.

This Christmas season is far from holly and jolly for multitudes in war-torn nations and hospital beds and prison cells and far from home and risking their very lives to follow the Savior. One such believer, our friend, wrote:

The smallest faith can move a mountain;

Cast it in the sea.

I'm glad I have my faith in God,

A mountain is on me.

With God all things are possible,

And I'm so glad that's true,

For what I need, it seems to me

No man will ever do.

You raise the dead, You part the sea,

Such wonders You have done;

The greatest wonder of them all,

The greatest Gift Your Son.

The smallest faith can move a mountain,

Cast it in the sea.

Please my God remove this mountain;

Father set me free!

O Lord, have mercy on the broken-hearted and down-trodden and please extend that mercy through me!

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Raise the Roof

Bible study small group 

"Celebrate God. Sing together - everyone! All you honest hearts, raise the roof!" (Psalm 32:11 The Message)



Our celebration of Jesus' birthday kicked off last night with a Christmas pajama party with the Bible Study girls - a fun evening of games, decorating the tree, Christmas cookies...

and a farewell-till-next-year blessing:  

May the good LORD bless you and keep you

May the LORD make His face to shine upon you

and be gracious unto you

May the LORD lift  up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.

(Numbers 6:24-26)

Remember, beloved, Jesus is the reason for the season. Celebrate God! Sing together and raise the roof!

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Bend, Stretch, and Strengthen

Our Rebecca and 12-year-old grandboy
Thanksgiving 5K Turkey Trot
(in 20-degree weather)

"Do not fret...Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness." (Psalm 37:1,3)

Saturday, when I leaned over and my back "caught," I quickly remembered the bend, stretch, and strengthen rule: 

• bend the knees, NOT the back, 
• stretch muscles, ligaments, and tendons daily, 
• strengthen my core.

Monday, when I caught myself fretting over an upcoming event, the spiritual bend, stretch, and strengthen rule came to mind: 

• bend (submit) to God's will and purpose, 
• daily stretch my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
• strengthen my trust in God. 

Caught in a fretful frenzy, beloved? Bend your knee to Jesus. Stretch your faith in Him, and strengthen trust in God.

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It's Just a Drill

Grandboys and Memaw
North Piney Woods
Coosa River Farm

"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"

While playing super-hero action figures, Wonder Woman got mowed down by a school bus and was rushed to the hospital with a broken leg. Dr. Three-year-old-grandboy told his patient, "Now, be still and don't be scared, it's just a drill."

Life mowed you down, beloved? Be still and don't be scared. Dr. Jesus can change your wreck into better than new.

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Full

"Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth! Sing about the glory of His name! Tell the world how glorious He is!" (Psalm 66:1-2)

Full house.

Full bellies.

(Three-year-old grandboy, "Will you come to my house to play, cousin Clint?")

Full hearts.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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He breathed and the Stars were Born

"Ingrid," the great white heron
Coosa River farm




"I'm thanking you, God, from a full heart,
I'm writing the book on Your wonders.
I'm whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy;
I'm singing Your song, High GOD."
(Psalm 9:1 The Message)

"Before He made the world, the Creator made a plan - a very grand plan. And at the appointed time in His very grand plan, the Creator made the heavens and the earth, and the earth spun empty and dark - inky black and darker than a moonless night. No shiny stars bejeweled the night sky. No big oaks stood tall in the forest, no humans or field mice or little, speckled tree frogs scurried over the face of the earth."

"The Creator merely spoke and the heavens appeared. He breathed the word and all the stars were born. He commanded the waters to gather, and there were oceans. He charged the earth to sprout, and ferns and Indian paintbrush and Grancy Greybeard and trees of every species sprang forth."

"He spoke the sun and the moon and the stars into the galaxies and water creatures into the seas and land creatures onto solid ground and birds into the heavens."

"And before He rested, the Creator formed a human creature in His very own image and named him Adam."1

Dear human creature, beloved of God, in this Thanksgiving season, offer praise and thanks to the One who made the heavens and the earth and you.

1 A WILLOWKINS CHRISTMAS STORY. Jill Glassco, 2017.

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Out of Darkness

Confirmation Class, 1963
First United Methodist Church, Fort Payne, AL
(brother, Mark, 3rd boy from left, I'm the little girl, 2nd from left)

"But you are the ones chosen of God...instruments to do His work and speak out for Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9)

The photo above was snapped on the day I joined the church and was baptized, but it was not the day Jesus called me out of darkness and into His marvelous light. That day came a few years later at an "altar call" by the young pastor, Bobby Welch, after an evangelistic movie at the DeKalb Theatre. Jesus called; I answered, and He brought me out of the darkness of my sins, forgave me, and granted me His free gift of eternal life.

Oswald Chambers wrote: "Never build your case for forgiveness on the idea that God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. That contradicts the revealed truth of God in Jesus Christ. It makes the Cross unnecessary, and redemption 'much ado about nothing.' God forgives sin only because of the death [and resurrection] of Christ."

Are you out of darkness, beloved, and walking in the light of Jesus Christ? Then speak out His praises to a world still lost in the darkness.

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Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving

illustration from Secrets of Shiloh 
by talented artist, Donny Finley




"Enter His gates with thanksgiving;
go into His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the LORD is good
His unfailing love continues forever,
and His faithfulness continues to each generation."
Psalm 100:4-5

Benjamin and Viola Robison
my paternal great-grandparents

Oscar and Elsie Brazelle
my maternal grandparents

Winfred and Verna Watson
my parents

Phillip and Jill Glassco
my husband and me

Phillip and Jill Glassco's children and grandchildren

"Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
how I praise You!
I will praise You as long a I live,
lifting up my hands to You in prayer."
Psalm 63:3-4

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