Unexpected?

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--> --> I have heard it said so many times "God is always there in the unexpected storms". Which of course I believe to be true. As I sit here watching the rain coming down for the 5th straight day, I started thinking about that.
This storm was expected - it’s been "forecast" and the news channels have been telling us all about it - Be prepared! It’s coming! It’s expected - you know it’s coming. So why are we surprised? Why do we act shocked at what is going on around us?

The storm is or was expected - Could it be that the consequences of the storm is what is NOT expected? The flooding? The mudslides? The funnel clouds? Is that the unexpected “storms” that throw us off? I can’t help but think so.

As a Christian I have been taught that the storms will come – Be prepared! Get yourself ready! And yet when they come I am so surprised and shocked – So I have to ask myself why?? I know they are coming so why does it catch me off guard!?

Its all the unexpected consequences that I fail to prepare myself for. And yet as I look back over the “unexpected” times I can see very clearly just how much my God has been ever present. I can see how much He has provided and protected me – even when I couldn’t see it or feel it.

So don’t just be prepared for the storms-be prepared for the consequences of the storms because that can be the unexpected. But most important hold onto the only Anchor that matters – that is what sustains us through the storms & the consequences.

“My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand; All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand; All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, His covenant, His blood, Support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my Hope and Stay.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand; All other ground is sinking sand.

When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh may I then in Him be found. Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne.”

Fautless - a great word - don't you think :)
 

 

Continuing a Theme

"When it's dark and it's cold and I can't feel my soul You are still good. When the world has gone gray and the rain's here to stay You are still good. With every breath I take in I'll tell you I'm grateful again. And the storm may swell even then it is well You are good "

It reminds me of the Tree 63 Song.....
"Blessed be Your name when the sun’s shining down on me When the world’s “all as it should be” Blessed be Your name And blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering Though there’s pain in the offering Blessed be Your name ... You give and take away... My heart will choose to say - Lord blessed be Your Name.... Every Blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise... When the darkness closes in Lord still I am going to say...."

God's character does not EVER Change - NEVER. When all around is sinking sand its Christ the solid rock we stand.

A co-worker lost her husband tonight - this was not expected at all. He was I believe in his early 50's. He loved the Lord raised his family with God's leading and direction. Life just changed for her and her 2 daughters. The life they knew is now different. The norm is not the norm any more. Once they get past the shock of life without their Husband, Dad, Friend, they will begin to try and figure out how to live & move forward without him.

Once again - he immediately stepped into his eternity and although he is better off - life for those left behind stinks.

And once agian - I hold onto the truth - God does not change - His goodness and faithfulness is still the same. Even when it feels dark and cold or we can't see whats ahead - we focus on Who He is so we can remember Whose we are.

He is so good - and this song seems to be a running theme for me over the last year - despite what is happening in life God is good - His character does not change! Ever!

When the sun starts to rise and I open my eyes You are good, so good. In the heat of the day with each stone that I lay You are good, so good. With every breath I take in - I'll tell You I'm grateful again. When the moon rises high before each kiss goodnight - You are good

When the road starts to turn around each bend I've learned You are good, so good . And when somebody's hand holds me up, helps me stand You are so good. With every breath I take in I'll tell You I'm grateful again 'Cause it's more than enough just to know I am loved And you are good

So how can I thank You And what can I bring - What can a poor man lay at the feet of a king. So I'll sing you a love song It's all that I have - To tell You I'm grateful For holding my life in Your hands

When it's dark and it's cold and I can't feel my soul You are still good. When the world has gone gray and the rain's here to stay You are still good. With every breath I take in I'll tell you I'm grateful again. And the storm may swell even then it is well You are good

So how can I thank You And what can I bring - What can a poor man lay at the feet of a king. So I'll sing you a love song It's all that I have To tell You I'm grateful For holding my life in Your hands

Still Thinking

I can't quite figure out my thinking process over that last few days - Having a hard time putting into words what is going through my head & heart. There really is a sense of sadness surrounding me the past few days. I never thought that Father's Day would be hard yet it was. It was everything I could do to keep it together. And I was so grateful someone didn't come up and say "So how are you today" - Didn't want to answer that and didn't want to cry.

Father's Day has always been a strange day for me anyway - I grew up without one. He left when we were young. Although we had contact with him at first he eventually moved out of state and basically did not have any connection with him. Its funny because as a child that was the norm - not having a dad around was 'okay' because we had a Mom who loved us. Having that stable force or foundation made a huge difference. Did I miss having a dad? You bet. As someone said on Sunday "Dad's need to love their little girls" - and mine didn't. There is a loss there.

Yet - has my life been miserable because of it? Nope - not at all. Are there things I have had to work out? You bet! It took awhile to not get use to those strong tugs on the heart when I would see a Dad walking with his daughter hand in hand. I missed out but I was not deprived.

Maybe thats why I titled this blog "God's Faithfulness Revisisted" - I am constantly looking at where I am now and where I have come from - the one constant thing in my life has always been His Faithfulness.

1. It was His Faithfulness that carried my Mom through raising 3 kids alone. She was Mom & Dad. And despite what she had to work with she did a great job if I do say so myself ;)
2. It was His Faithfulness that has protect us from the lifestyle my Dad chose.
3. It was His Faithfulness that ..........

I will have to keep thinking on this list because it could potential get very long. Guess that is why the sadness has been there for the past few days. One of the constants in my life is no longer there. The mom who was always there - who had been there for all of my life is no longer here.

One of my favorite words is "Process" - life is a process - nothing happens in an instant. Everything has a certain order in how things happen or pull together. This is certainly a process and I am convinced that even though it may get easier with time - the loss will never go away.

Posts From Mom's Passing.....

posted by Sheri Dickinson, Sunday, 11/23/08, 10:26 AM
Good morning to all of you~
It is with sadness and yet a sense of peace that we let you know that Mom finally arrived back "home" @ 12:00 am this morning. She had some labored breathing for that last few hours which we understand was part of the process but that last few minutes of life here she was at peace.
It is such a comfort to know that Mom has gone from this world in the direct presence of her Heavenly Father. My guess is she is having a big family reunion as we speak.

As much as we are grateful that she is no longer suffering - the reality of life without her now begins. This will be an adjustment for all of us. However I believe that this will be an even bigger adjustment for Christina - her every day life really changed.

You have all prayed us through this part of the journey and I know you will continue to pray us through the next part.

Thank you all for the prayers and support. We ask that you would please keep them coming through this next phase.

God is good and He is gracious. His character does not change and for that I will always be grateful - and even more grateful that God gave us such a great mom!

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Write up on Mom
posted by Sheri Dickinson, Thursday, 11/27/08, 9:59 AM
Annette Claire Dickinson went back Home on November, 23 2008 - Which was the wedding anniversary of her parents. She had all 3 of her children with her when she took that final step.
She was born December 13, 1937 in Freewater, Oregon. Her parents Mary Elsie Cass Ellis Mason and Nathan LeRoy Mason were God fearing and instilled that into Annette’s life. Although her dad died when Annette was only 2 he left a legacy for her to follow. She was eventually raised by her mom and step dad affectionately known as Grandpa Louie.

Annette was raised by a Godly mother and although she walked away from Him for a short time when she was younger - She came back to the Lord when her children were young and never looked back.

Annette knew that everything in her life was attributed to having Jesus Christ as her Savior and Lord. She never forgot that if it wasn’t for the grace of God she would have nothing. She communicated that to those who crossed her path.

Her greatest joy in life was her children - Christina Denise, Sheri Jo & Kevin Scott. When Kevin married Sonia it was an added extra joy for her. When God was gracious enough to give Kevin and Sonia a baby girl - Ann was in seventh heaven. She loved and adored her Nicolette and was so very glad to spend time with her any chance she had.

Annette sacrificed, worked hard, and gave of herself for others. Her love for her children was always evident. Her love for her God was lived out everyday.

Annette will be missed but there is great comfort in knowing that her final step here was her first step into the rest of eternity with her God and Father. She will never suffer again.
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, or any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”

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posted by Sheri Dickinson, Sunday, 11/30/08, 10:28 PM
To God Be The Glory!!!
Thank you to all of you who attended the graveside service on Friday. It was estimated by the gentleman from the Mortuary that there was between 125 - 150 people on Friday.
God was honored and the message of the gospel was presented. It was a beautiful setting and I know Mom would have been pleased with all aspects of the morning.

Thank you to Mr. Lynn Cravens for his words - What he shared from God's word as well as the heart felt words he shared about Mom. He - like so many of you - have walked with Mom through some very difficult times and I know how much she loved you.

For those who were not able to attend - Please know that each of us - Annie's children - felt your presence and support. It has been a difficult week and we know that as time goes on it will get a little easier - But as was shared on Friday there is an empty chair for us kids now and its just going to be different.

We loved Mom so much - We feel so humbly honored to have had her for as long as we did. I know that we would have loved to have a little bit longer but we are trusting God's timing.
We are so hoping that we can see some of you at the Celebration service on Saturday, the 13th. I will be sending out information on that in just a little bit.

God's blessings on each of you and again we humbly thank you all for the love and support as we have walked through this difficult time.

In His Service,
Sheri Dickinson
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

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posted by Sheri Dickinson, Sunday, 12/14/08, 3:17 PM
Good afternoon to all you,

Praise God from Whom ALL Blessings flow! I just want to send a quick note regarding Mom's service yesterday. For those of you who were able to attend - thank you so much for making it a day Mom would have loved! For those of you who were not able to attend - Just want to fill you in on how the day went.

The service was what we had prayed for - Honoring Mom, Music, food of course but most important - Honoring our Lord Jesus Christ through the life of Annie.

We had music from Nicolette (Annie's Grandaughter) & Luanne Olsen (A friend of Christina). They played the violin & cello. The choir from First Baptist of Garden Grove sang. And Kay Pitsenberger sang. It just reminded me of how much Mom loved music.
Good rememberances from others - Kind words from all those who loved Mom & and loved her kids.

Encouraging and challenging words from Mr. Cravens. He presented God's word so wonderfully - as he usually does. God was honored and the message was given - Praise God!
It was a wonderful service - wonderful fellowship - God's presence was felt throughout the whole day.

For those of you who attended the service - we hope you picked up a bookmark. It was a small token of thanks from us her kids to all of you. A way to remember Mom. The beads on the pin represented us kids. Each one represents our birthdate. Each time you look at it we pray you will remember Annie's 'gems' - Her children.

For those of you who were not able to be there - we will be sending a bookmark and a program - Your presence was felt even though the miles seperated us.

We - her children - are relieved in some ways. Yet we know that now the reality is even more so that there is a hole. One that will never be filled.

Is God still on His throne? Most assuredly!
Is His presence still here? Absolutely!

Even though the most important constant in our lives is now gone we know that God does not change and that Mom is complete.

Thank you to so many of you for your prayers - support - encouragement - mostly for your love of Annie. She was a wonderful lady - wonderful friend, mom and grandma.

In His service
Sheri

Thinking Out Loud

I will write more later - but it just feels strange that it has been just a few short months since Mom finally arrived back home

Update

I didn't realize it had been so long since I wrote here - I have been thinking about why I titled this blog "God's Faithfulness Revisited". I have been walking with the Lord for many years. I have not always walked on the straight and narrow. I have wandered off a few times but no matter how often I wandered off God was always waiting with open arms.

God's faithfulness - It seems to me that as you "grow up" in the Him you become more and more aware of Who He is, What He requires of His children, and the one thing that I keep learning more or maybe a deeper appreciation of - God's character does not change! Never! He is not capable of changing who He is. He remains faithful - always!

It reminds me of the passage in Lamentations where Jeremiah says, "The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him."

I hold on a little bit tighter each time something comes along in live that pushes me or tempts me to doubt my God. Our pastor titled a sermon recently "Is God Trustworthy?" For me personally? I can only say without a doubt - YES! No matter what comes along or what "tragedy" gets thrown at me God is trustworthy! Like I said He has never failed me in the past, He won't fail me today and I can stand on His promise and His character that He will not fail me in the future.

"I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder How He could love me a sinner condemned unclean. How marvelous, how wonderful and my song shall ever be. How marvelous how wonderful is my Saviors love for me"

God's faithfulness revisited? Most assuredly! It is new every morning - Fresh and available to me all the time. Amen and hallejuah!!