Change?

I was thinking this morning of how my life has kind of been a dichotomy of likes and dislikes and do’s and don’ts!  Let me explain…

In particular, I was thinking about change.  When push-comes-to-shove, I really don’t like change.  I think the same could be said about most people.  But yet, as I look back at my life, I can readily see that my wife and I tended to be proponents of change within our immediate circle of friends, family, co-workers as well as with the members of the various churches in which we served. 

For me, the rumbles of change were first heard in high school, when I began to date this spunky, freckle faced, enthusiastic, bundle of joy named Piper, who amongst her many other positive attributes (at least to me… not so much my Catholic family at the time) talked about Jesus like He was her best friend!  I was raised that one’s religion was very personal and private and not to be shared with others.  So… when she came over to the house, much of my family’s comfort level was stretched.

For Piper, it began with her getting serious with this Catholic guy.  She later told me that it highly concerned her Baptist Father.  Then after attending her church for many years and serving as Youth Ministers there, we shook up our Baptist friends by leaving and becoming members of a small (but powerful in the Word) Pentecostal, Word of Faith church that met in all places… in a hotel room!

Then there was my wife’s dream and passion to homeschool our kids (both our Dads were teachers and to put it mildly… they thought we were beyond crazy!), our calling and burning desire to the ministry and not being happy with a “normal” steady, well-paying secular job, our desire to raise a large family, our love for hot cars, our pioneering spirits that really set us apart from the rest of both sides of our families… and the list goes on and on!

So, even though I didn’t like things to change… we were always open and obedient to whatever changes… no matter how drastic they were… that we felt the Lord was directing us to make.  After a while, we just accepted the fact that many people would not understand us and think that we had lost our marbles!

And so, here I sit today, forced to live without my best friend and the love of my life for 48 years, some 1800 miles away from our home in northern California, living through some wild thunderstorms, tornado warnings, high winds and quarter size hail… like the threats we had last night… with no mountains or an ocean for miles and all the while, trying desperately to accept the fact that BIG changes are looming on my horizons.    But lately, I’ve begun to have some new insights on my present life and foreseeable future.

Ephesians 1:10 tell us that “because of God’s unfailing purpose, this detailed plan will reign supreme through every period of time until the fulfillment of all the ages finally reaches its climax—when God makes all things new in all of heaven and earth through Jesus Christ.” (The Passion Translation)  Now, I understand that in the context of this statement, that Paul is writing about God’s plan for mankind through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, but I also am beginning to see that I can take it as a word from the Lord for my particular set of circumstances.  When I first read this yesterday morning, I couldn’t help but jump up from my chair at my desk and shout “GLORY!”

I suddenly understood that God’s plan for me hasn’t changed.  That his unfailing purpose with the detailed plan that He has had for me will continue to reign supreme through every up and down of my life!  That yes… some of the participants in His plan may change, but His overall plan and purpose for me hasn’t!

I’m gonna date myself here… but for some reason, as I pondered all this in the shower this morning, I recalled a TV series that I really enjoyed back in the 1970’s called “The Rookies.”  At the end of the first season, one of the main characters left the show and was replaced with another actor… and let me tell you, I was NOT a happy camper!  I really liked the actor who left… he was my favorite character on the show.  To me, the whole show revolved around him.  Needless to say, I did not like the change. 

To me it upset the established interactions of the other main characters.  It introduced new tensions into the show, and in many respects, changed the flavor of the show.  But the more I watched the series (which went on for another 3 seasons), the more I began to enjoy the new character.  I even began to realize that the new presence on the show brought a new spark and depth to the overall success of the storyline.

And with those thoughts in mind, I started to envision the positive possibilities of living the rest of my earthly existence without Piper.  I began to see from Paul’s words in Ephesians 1:10, that God wants the TV series of my life to go on with its original plan and purposes intact… but with the changes of a major character and its physical shooting location!  I don’t know why, but that really brought a new peace to my being.  In my way of thinking, life for me now will consist of some personal adjustments and not compete changes from the way things were before.

Then as I was slipping on my shoes before the dog and I stepped out for a walk, I started to get a little excited and laughed thinking that God wants to bring some new flavor and spark into my life.  I recalled that at the end of Psalm 91, that the Lord promised us that “You will be satisfied with a full life and with all that I do for you. For you will enjoy the fullness of my salvation!” (Psalm 91:16 The Passion Translation)

Today I am beginning to realize that the Lord only has GOOD things planned for me and that if He has His way… that I will ENJOY them!   Have a great rest of the week, and as you do, say with me… “I am expecting to enjoy the life that my Father God has plan and purposed for me to live!”

Out of the Box!

The more I study and read about heaven, the more I am convinced of the supernatural power, omnipresence and omniscience of God… and more importantly for us… of His strong desire for us to experience it within our daily lives!  As I look at various accounts of dreams, visions or out of body experiences emanating from a diverse mix of individuals, who represent different backgrounds, with a wide range of religious affiliations, I continue to be amazed at how strikingly similar their descriptions of heaven are and of the way things seem to operate in that realm.

This picture of heaven gives me a good feel, for lack of better words… of God’s “modus operandi” (M.O.) which is simply defined as “a particular way or method of doing something, especially one that is characteristic or well-established.” (Oxford Dictionaries)

This study has, to me, acted as the clinching confirmation to my long-held conviction of the belief that God wants us Christians to think out of the box and have big and great requests, unbelievably humongous dreams and wild imaginations in our faith life that are lived out through our daily activities… because that is EXACTLY where HE lives… Out Of The Box! (See: Ephesians 3:17-19)  Do you catch a hint of excitement here?  I SURE hope so!

If you’re anything like me, then you’ve been spending a lot of time in Psalm 91 throughout this world-wide Covid-19 pandemic.  Within that Psalm, the writer seems to summarize all the protection, abundant provision, healing, worry-not, encouragement, confidence and comfort scriptures that are found throughout the pages of our Bibles!  The fourteenth verse boldly declares:  “For here is what the Lord has spoken to me: ‘Because you have delighted in me as my great lover, I will greatly protect you. I will set you in a high place, safe and secure before my face.’” (The Passion Translation) 

The King James Version states the section described as "delighting in me” as, “because you have known my name.”  The word “known” is a familiar one from both the Hebrew and the Greek that is used many times throughout the scriptures and refers to having an intimate knowledge (or relationship) of or with something or someone.  In this reference the connection is with the “name” of Jesus.

Thayer’s Greek definition of “name” explains that “the name is used for everything which the name covers, everything the thought or feeling of which is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, remembering, the name, i.e. for one’s rank, authority, interests, pleasure, command, excellences, deeds etc.”  In layman’s (or laywomen’s) terms, these two words infer that this verse works best for those of us who endeavor to have an intimate knowledge of everything that the name of JESUS covers!

It is my personal belief that many Believer’s live below God’s best in their lives and/or deny the reality of the supernatural power and blessings of God in their lives, because they don’t understand the way He thinks and operates.  We tend to try and understand the supernatural within the limitations of our natural minds!  In other words, we’ve got God in a box!  For more information on this, take some time to study out the book of Romans, chapter eight from a variety of translations.

There were a couple of times when reading about heaven this weekend where I couldn’t decide if I wanted to cry or stand up and shout… so I did both! (that’s one perk of living alone!)  Isaiah 55:8-9 seems to be a very accurate explanation of what I have been growing in understanding about lately.  Here the prophet declares the simple truth of what God had and has been trying to get through to us for centuries… mainly that: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways," declares the LORD.  (for) "Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts." (God’s Word ©)

Do you mean that God’s love, God’s grace, God’s peace, God’s joy, God’s abundance, God’s wisdom and His understanding of anything could possibly be more than what I can conceive of?  YES!

Piper and I discovered that life was a lot more interesting and exciting when we sought to let go of ourselves and our (and the world’s) preconceived ideas of how things should be… and then followed through by doing our best to see, do and believe for things THE WAY THAT HE DID… and still does today!  That when HIS WORD says He can… we simply, with a child-like faith believed Him!  Is life perfect?  Did it always turn out the way we thought it would?  Did we always do it right? NO!  But the YES’s sure out did the NO’s, we learned a lot along the way and had a lot of fun doing it HIS way!

How about YOU?  How Out Of The BOX are your dreams, desires, hopes and imaginations today?

The Old Boom Box!

I keep the old boom box that I purchased in the early 1990’s on the counter that separates my kitchen from the living room.  Since my home entertainment system isn’t fully programmed yet, I still use the radio to listen to the local Christian radio station, news talk/extreme weather stations and have the ability to listen to some of my old audio cassettes.  I normally listen to the Christian station for a few hours first thing every morning.  The hosts are funny, inspirational and informative, especially concerning local events in the Tulsa area.   Around ten I usually switch to satellite radio where I enjoy the southern gospel channel on the enLighten station, permeating the house with deep notes that play through my big floor speakers.

This morning after flipping off the radio station, I paused and pressed the play button on the cassette player in order to catch a few moments of Piper’s voice from a sermon she preached twenty years ago during a Wednesday night service at our church in California.  In the spot that played, she was accentuating the point of our ability as Christian’s to be “more than conquerors” in the negative situations that come against us in this world, as stated in Romans 8:37.  I listened for a short period of time and with a huge smile on my face and in a loud tone of voice, called out to anyone listening (ie; the dog sleeping on the couch in the study) “That’s my girl!”

My pleasure and joy was due to the excitement that she was projecting with her voice as she hammered home her point.  You see, I knew her well and every time she got excited and the anointing of God came on upon her while preaching to the adult congregation or teaching a lesson to our children’s or youth classes, the volume as well as the pitch of her voice got higher and higher and louder and louder!  She was by no means a screamer, but anyone listening in the room clearly knew that God was making HIS purpose known through her!

That walk down memory lane this morning brought to mind a little blurb I posted on Facebook yesterday afternoon.  In it I related the sullenness that I saw on the faces of many of the people in the Super Walmart that I shopped at earlier that morning.  The people’s expressions seemed to exhibit how tired they were of the local “Stay at Home” policies enacted across the country… and most of the world for that matter!  My antidote was for us Christian to let the light and love of Christ shine through us by “Being cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life. And let His joy overflow, for we are united with the Anointed One!” (Philippians 4:4 The Passion Translation)

I’m not sure what process you might use to cheer yourself up when life attempts to drag you down, but in our house, it was through a dose of the Word of God and a time of praise unto the Lord.  Piper even made mention of this during that same sermon, telling of how she and the kids would take “Praise Breaks” in the afternoons when everyone in the Berruto Homeschool was getting tired, attentions were waning and attitudes needed a little adjusting.  That’s what I meant when I hollered out “That’s my girl!” in the midst of her demonstrated excitement over the Word that she was sharing with the congregation on the cassette.  Her words and actions that night was simply who she was!  She was giving the people that night an honest and humble glance into the daily life of Piper Kaye Berruto.

I noticed very early on as Piper and I walked along that final stretch of the trail of her life from 2010 – 2018, that I would be in a much better state of mind, emotional well-being and physical strength when my faith was current, active and built up.  The beginning of Proverbs 3:5 in The Passion Translation encourages the reader to “Trust in the Lord completely…” I came to understand that if I discovered at any point during the day or night, that I wasn’t totally believing that statement… if I could not honestly say that I was trusting the Lord COMPLETELY – then I needed to pause right then and there, take a “Word and/or Praise Break” and get things right in me.

Throughout our personal lives and ministry, Piper and I gained a pretty good knowledge of the personal and collateral damage that being out of FAITH and in FEAR could have on an individual, their spouse and on their family.  We saw it happening in the lives of family and friends around us and always strove to avert it on our lives.  We faced it head on throughout our journey with the battle for Piper’s health.  We had first-hand experience with the reality of how FEAR is repulsed by FAITH. 

Psalm 27:2 says that “When evil ones come to destroy me, they will be the ones who turn back.” We saw that happening as our stand of faith just seemed to be too much for some people to handle and they slowly but surely backed away from us.  Likewise, Romans 8:1 asserts that “the mind-set focused on the flesh fights God’s plan and refuses to submit to his direction, because it cannot!”  (both verses from – The Passion Translation)

I firmly believe that this is the only explanation for why some reacted the way they did to our needs back then.  I have to believe in my heart that they really wanted to help us and be a strong part of the answer to our situation and not part of the problem, but couldn’t respond as such due to the FEAR that they had – whether knowingly or unknowingly - allowed into their lives… that was repulsed when it came in contact with FAITH.

So, what is the proposed solution to FEAR and/or letting the negativity in life get the best of us?  Simply said: DO Proverbs 3:5 and learn to take whatever steps are necessary for you to get into the Word and exercise your ability and right to PRAISE HIM whenever you need to.  Remember that I John 4:18 informs us that: “No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn't have perfect love.” (God’s Word ©)  And how do you access His Love… You guessed it… By getting into HIS WORD!

So, as we enter into this weekend, let’s plan to get into HIS WORD and take regular PRAISE BREAKS along the way!  Then you can say with great expectancy that, “I am expecting to take the action steps that I require in order to stay uplifted and thereby be a blessing to others this weekend!

Don't You?

It is no great secret that I love books and reading.  I fondly remember my mother taking me to the little Montgomery Village branch of the Sonoma County Library or the classic old 1904 Carnegie Library in downtown Santa Rosa on warm summer days to choose a book to read as I wallowed away the dog days of summer as a child.  I don’t recall if Piper had similar library memories of her childhood or not, but she also retained that same love for books that I did… even though you’d hardly find her sitting down alone and reading except for her Bible or in her dramatic or silly sharing from the written volumes of many good children’s books with our four kids. 

In fact, that’s how I read… or rather heard the entire Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  For months the four kids and I would gather in one of the kid’s rooms while Piper read to us at their bedtime!  I bought Piper a brand-new set of the series for our last Christmas together, but didn’t get the time to re-read every book to her before she passed on to her new home in heaven.

I purchased a Kindle digital reader numerous years back, joined a few discount digital book clubs and have been purchasing volumes of books ever since.  I have so many now, that I forget what I've bought.  I’m thankful that my Amazon account keeps track of my purchases and lets me know if I already have a particular book or not! 

I recently purchased one called “The Best of American Heritage: The Old West.”  It contains a collection of articles from “The American Heritage Magazine” which was first published in 1949. Yesterday I was reading a chapter entitled “Pioneers in Petticoats” that was written by Helena Huntington Smith in February of 1959.  Through painstaking research and countless interviews with direct descendants or still-living participants, the author totally debunked the well-crafted idea of the “dreadful experience” that most known literature of the West wrote of, concerning the women who pioneered the West with their husbands and families.

She wrote that most of these individuals were a special breed, who worked hard, stood in the harrowing face of the vast myriad of troubles that came against them, did what it took and enjoyed the simple things in life.  Sure, it was rough and tough, but they harbored a good attitude and faced hardship while rejoicing in the good times and the life that they had chosen.

I couldn’t help but tear up as I read this chapter for it reminded me of my Piper.  She was of that unique breed that possessed the (I) “Can-Do” (all things through Christ who straightens me” -Philippians 4:13) attitude.  She approached most things in life with a smile and saw it as an opportunity to see God work in, through and for her… and most times she somehow made it fun!

Like me, once we set our face toward a goal, we went all out to successfully complete it.  We had jointly decided early on in our relationship (years before we got married) that we were going to “Trust in the Lord completely, and  not rely on our own opinions, but with all of our hearts to rely on Him to guide us, and know that He would lead us in every decision we needed to make.”  Our number one plan was to initiate all that we did “by staying intimate with him in whatever we would set out to do, and once again, KNOW and DEPEND on the EXPECTATION that He would lead us wherever we were to go.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 The Passion Translation, personalized)

During our time together we occasionally had those who criticized our decisions and bemoaned some of our choices or even the way we raised our children, but I have come to realize that they simply did not understand our personalities, our giftings, our hearts, our pioneering spirits nor our callings in life.  I learned through some personal experience’s while Piper’s life deteriorated before my eyes, that you cannot judge what another individual does or doesn’t do based on your own background or experiences.  We’re all different!  It’s the unique way that God created each of us.  It’s one of the things that makes life interesting, enjoyable and exciting… and although different, we are all very special in His eyes!

Psalm 91:15 in The Passion Translation tells us when talking about God’s ability to answer our every cry for help, that “I will be your glorious hero and give you a feast.”  Well… I want to be just like my heavenly Daddy and be a hero as well!  Don’t you?  I want to be a hero like Him and love and accept others who may not think, act, speak, hold similar political beliefs or live exactly like I do.  Don’t you?  I want to be known as someone who will encourage others and not seen as one who becomes a part of their problems.  Don’t you?  When people see me, I want them to see Jesus… Don’t you?

Have a great rest of the week.  We’re in the middle of a day of potentially severe thunderstorms, so our “I’m expecting to trust in the Lord” barometer is registering at the top of the scale today!  Where is yours registering?

A Word of LOVE

Wow!  What a beautiful day out here in mid-America today!  Fiver and I went for a walk around 9:30 this morning and I was instantly captivated by the deep blue skies, the few remaining white puffy clouds and the gentle but warm SSW breeze coming up from Texas and the Gulf of Mexico.  I was pleasantly surprised at Fiver as he barely seemed to notice that just about every dog was out and loudly barking at us as we traversed the gauntlet of backyards that face the golf course.  Upon the approach of our destination of the neighborhood park and pond, I caught a glimpse of two city tractors mowing the grass along the sloping bank of the large pond.  It seemed like everyone was out enjoying the morning!

On our return trip I found myself staring out over the neighborhood, the canopy of blue overhead and the reappearing green on the lawns and golf course.  Fiver seemed content to sniff the alluring scents on the lawn and in the air and to be honest… I didn’t want to go home but to keep on walking!

Piper loved to walk and through the years, in every state we lived, we spent countless hours strolling around our various neighborhoods almost daily, enjoyed the challenge of new trails whenever and wherever we went on vacation, and explored many new-to-us walking paths around the city when we originally lived here from 2006-2009. 

I realized this morning that Piper and I had been holding hands and walking together since the very beginning days of our relationship, starting with our daily lunchtime strolls around the high school campus.  While at Chico State we regularly walked through the neighborhoods bordering the school’s beautiful campus and hiked many trails in the famous Bidwell Park where the forest scenes for Earl Flynn’s Robin Hood were filmed in the 1930’s.  And we just never stopped ever since!

So, it is not unusual to find me and Fiver out walking when I feel overwhelmed with emotions over Piper’s homegoing.  I’m not sure what it is, but by the time we come out the front door, walk across the lawn and step foot on the sidewalk, I already have begun to feel regenerated and re-powered with the love of God for me.

And speaking of the love of God… While out walking on Saturday, I had the revelation that on the final section of trail that Piper and I walked during her existence on this earth, that the Lord expressly encouraged us to focus on: “The great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions.” (Ephesians 3:18-19 The Passion Translation)

After I quit my outside job in 2010 and could focus 100% on Piper’s care, I clearly remember the Lord instructing me to “saturate Piper in the Word (of God).”  I didn’t realize it at first, but after a while I came to understand that all that Word was not only for her benefit, but for mine as well!  On Saturday’s afternoon jaunt along the golf course, I realized that scripturally speaking, one could rightfully exchange the command to “saturate Piper in the Word” with the thought that maybe He was actually telling me to “saturate us in His Love!”

If you recall, John 1:1 tells us “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (God’s Word ©)  Then in I John 4:8, 16, the Apostle of love also declares that “God is love!” (God’s Word ©)  So, if you put the two definitions together you can justify the command of the Lord instructing me to “saturate Piper and I in HIS LOVE which is HIS Word!”

Immediately following that revelation, I saw how God had begun to show me during the second year of Bible School, the need of having an intimate, experiential and very personal knowing of God’s LOVE for me and Piper in what was just then beginning to come to light concerning what was going on with her health.  I understood that it was my ever-increasing knowledge of the intimate ways in which God loved us that got me up every day with hope in my heart and an uncanny joy about me, for the next ten years.

I also saw on that walk over the weekend, that our daily saturation in His Word was not just about increasing and fortifying our intimate knowing of HIS LOVE FOR US, but also of OUR LOVE FOR HIM… as well as increasing the capacity of MY LOVE FOR PIPER so that I could take care of her and do anything, at anytime for her WITHOUT question or ANY hesitation.

I’m not sure if it was the right reaction or not, but when that last thought hit me, I immediately burst out laughing and thought back about some of the different things I did for her that were not easy, very personal, and emotionally (as well as physically ) difficult… but yet necessary.  I realized that on most of those occasions, I didn’t take the time to think… BUT JUST DID!  It didn’t matter what the need entailed.  I loved her and promised her that I would ALWAYS be there for her… simply said, nothing else mattered to me but her best.

And all of that effort, energy and ability was empowered by the saturation of HIS LOVE in us, for us and through us!  Have you ever taken a personal inventory to see just how much of HIS LOVE you have residing in you at any given time?  From my personal experience… It’s definitely something that YOU HAVE to keep building up in you through the daily input of HIS WORD!

Now that’s something to chew on… wouldn’t you agree?  Have a great new week, and as you do, say with me… “I am expecting to fill up on GOD’S LOVE today, in order TO DO what God calls ME TO DO today!”

Glad or Sad - Good or Bad

While I was studying the Word this morning, I had the thought that there are people out there who only see what they want to see.  With that in mind, I pondered what had happened to Piper and I, as well as a most recent example of the way the mainstream media seems to twist and turn every word that our president speaks and then print it as something negative, while totally ignoring all the positive steps that he and his teams have taken in battling the Corona Virus pandemic raging across our country.

I realized that this type of behavior is perfectly explained in one of Piper’s all-time favorite movies, the 1960 Disney favorite, Pollyanna.  This movie chronicles the antics of a young optimistic and bubbly orphan girl who single-handedly changes the town’s “think the worst of everybody” mentality to one that “looks for the best in everyone.”  A key element to her charge was the “Glad Game” that her missionary father had taught her to always look for things that you were glad about in the midst of needy times.

We had a birthday tradition in our family when the kids were at home, where the celebrant always got to choose their favorite dinner and their favorite movie on the night we recognized their special day.  Unlike most of the rest of us, Piper tended to pick different meals as her favorite for her birthday dinner… but NOT for her movie!  Her choice was almost always Pollyanna!

In many respects, Piper was a lot like the character of Pollyanna.  She had the bubbly personality, the big disarming smile and the joyful countenance about her.  Her gentle, sweet, encouraging and non-combative approach could melt the walls of even the most hard-hearted people that she came into contact with.

I came across some pictures of an event from the first youth group we ministered to back in the 1970’s and it reminded me that throughout our ministry together, Piper was always drawn to the troublemaker boys and the girls that were not quite excepted by the others or to those who were quiet and withdrawn.  I on the other hand tended to be drawn to the leaders in the group as well as to those that I felt had leadership qualities that I could help to develop and or disciple.

Looking back over the 48 years of our relationship, I can see that those patterns in each of us showed forth within our interactions with most people whether they be children, youth, College Career age or adults.  And it also spilled over into my secular jobs and Piper’s extracurricular activities with our homeschool group, friends, neighbors and family members!

The Apostle Paul touched on the subject of how we see things or people, when he discussed the differences between the individuals who are motivated by the human nature verses those who live by the impulses of the Holy Spirit. (See: Romans 8:1-11)  He rather bluntly declared:

“Those who are motivated by the flesh only pursue what benefits themselves. But those who live by the impulses of the Holy Spirit are motivated to pursue spiritual realities.  For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set controlled by the Spirit finds life and peace.  In fact, the mind-set focused on the flesh fights God’s plan and refuses to submit to his direction, because it cannot!”  (Romans 8:5-7 The Passion Translation)

I learned the hard way, that as born-again, spirit filled Christians, that we can still have areas in our lives that continue to be motivated by our old human natures.  I believe that each of us have to take the initiative and the time to pray and seek the Lord’s guidance in the potential discovery of such areas in our own lives.  I am NOT talking here about the once popular Inner-Healing teaching, but of simple, humble and heart-felt prayer to the Father that allows Him to make the changes in us as we open up those once closed areas to Him.

These verses demonstrate in plain and vivid detail the exact same things that Piper and I experienced in the early years of her sickness.  And it has helped me to understand that this type of reaction and/or “seeing” of things or people cannot always be helped, but is a natural, instantaneous response to our yielding to the human nature (or flesh).  It doesn’t make it right or okay, but it helps (me anyway) to have a better understanding of why things happened the way they did!

I DO like the part in these verses where Paul explains that “the mind-set controlled by the Spirit finds life and peace.”  For again, that perfectly describes what we experienced during that most difficult and turbulent time in our life together.  Even though it was excruciatingly tough on us, we still found ourselves enveloped in His peace, love, comfort and joy! 

And while some drew inward and gave up, we went on living, moved 3000 miles away to be closer to the majority of our kids, were able to purchase the house of our dreams, saturate ourselves daily in the promises of God, be a blessing to those around us and then escort Piper through the veil of heaven… EXACTLY the way she wanted to go!  (And from what I’ve been reading about heaven, her current surroundings are so spectacular that human words, thoughts and feeling cannot find ways to come close enough to describing its peace, joyfulness and beauty!  Isn’t God Good!)

Have a spectacular weekend.  Give someone an encouraging smile and choose the life that God has given us in His Word to enjoy!

The personality of Jesus Christ

Do you know that I still wake up during the night thinking that Piper is laying next to me in the bed?  It is one thing that I just can’t seem to shake.  I’ll wake up and in my half-asleep consciousness, automatically believe that she’s there and that everything is fine… but then as my brain begins to awaken, I’ll realize to my sad dismay, that nope… it’s just me and the dog in the house!   And even though I know that information to be truthful… there is always a wave of disappointment that sweeps over me.

One night after I had returned to bed after a bathroom stop, I sat on the edge of the bed thinking of her and was suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude when I considered the thought of how thankful I would always be to her for introducing me to the personality of Jesus Christ in His Word.  Most of you probably know the story of how I was an active and devout Catholic and fully believed that I was a Christian.  I believed in God, talked with Him in my prayers on a regular basis, had served faithfully as an altar boy and had even considered entering the Priesthood (for a short period of time).

But then there came this spunky, energetic and joyful girl Piper, into my life.  She was like no other girl I had ever known.  And I know that I probably sound like a broken record here… but she talked about and lived her life like Jesus was her best friend!  I had never seen or had that concept before.  But with her it was easy to spend hours talking on the phone about Him, while sharing our most intimate thoughts, dreams, inhibitions and strengths and weaknesses with each other.

We had a couple of Bibles in our house when I was growing up, but no one ever read them!  They were best served as a part of the décor on the living room end table.  Piper’s beliefs and her Bible were just a part of who she was, and in the midst of those first couple of years together, she introduced me to the personality Jesus Christ through the pages of her Bible and the little paperback New Testament she gave me while still in High School.

I quickly came to realize that the Bible isn’t just some holy book about Him… but it IS HIM speaking directly to me through the written word on its pages.  I saw the light, sort-of-speak and realized to my amazement, that when the writer of the book of Hebrews wrote that, “God's word is living and active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet. God's word judges a person's thoughts and intentions.” (Hebrews 4:12 God’s Word ©), that he meant EXACTLY what he was saying!  God’s Word IS spiritually alive and speaks LIFE directly into us, when we take the time to fellowship with Him through the Word.

Through the many years since those early days of our relationship, I have grown and matured in the faith to the point that I EXPECT God’s Word to work in my behalf, when I love and trust in Him on a constant and continual basis. (See Hebrews 11:1)  Through the ups and downs of my life and especially over the last eight years of Piper’s existence on this planet, I came to know “the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ (for me) in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! (that it is an) Endless love beyond measurement that transcends my understanding—this extravagant love (that) pours into me until I am filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!” (Ephesians 3:18-19 The Passion Bible - personalized) 

I’ve learned that it is my increasingly intimate, experiential and very personal knowing of Christ’s LOVE FOR ME that gives me the ability, strength and fortitude to ACTIVELY BELIEVE His Word over any and all the circumstances that life may try to throw at me.

So yeah, as I sat on the edge of the bed the other night smiling, laughing and crying all at the same time, I was and continue to be immeasurably thankful to that very special women of God for introducing me to the life changing personality of Jesus Christ through the pages of His living Word, the Bible!

How about You?  If not or you aren’t sure… then take a trip in your Bible, your Bible phone app or online and turn to the book of Romans, chapter ten, verse nine* and simply DO what it says!  Then continue on to the next verse in order to understand what just happened to you!

God Bless you!  Have a great mid-week in the midst of your city’s “Stay at Home” order and let the LOVE of God in you splash onto everything and everyone you see today!



*Romans 10:9-10 is found in the New Testament immediately following the four epistles (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and the book of Acts!  And if you want to get to know the personality of Jesus a little better, I’ve heard that the epistle of John is a good place to start… and most of all ~ ENJOY!

Get Ready to be Out-done!

I decided to take a hiatus from the news over the weekend and except for the updates on the different local news apps I have, I did a pretty good job at it.  I normally watch Fox News while preparing dinner, so in order to continue my news abstinence, I turned on a program called “Oklahoma Outdoors” on the local PBS station. 

This particular episode was about a fishing derby held on one of the many lakes surrounding the greater Tulsa metropolitan area.   I wasn’t totally focused on every point that they were making, but I did see a little banner come up across the bottom of the screen when they were showing a parking area next to the lake that was crowded with people, trucks and bass boats.  The banner said something to the effect that this program was recorded before the Corona Virus restrictions were put into place.

That notice sent my thoughts off into two similar directions.  The first being thoughts of when and how and if they would ever be like they were again.  And the second direction of thought concerned something I’d be pondering all weekend, mainly the heart-felt question of when my life would get back to like it was before and then maybe closer to reality… if it would ever again be similar to the way it was.

My study into glimpses of heaven has opened up my understanding to some of the greater dimensions of God’s love, His grace, His peace and of His joy.  So, while praying over this subject in the dark, early this morning, I suddenly had the thought pop into my heart that there may also be new dimensions of ME that God wants ME to explore in this new day of this new chapter and season of my life.

I had picked up what I call a “God Hint”* from a line in a movie that I was watching last night after dinner that got me to consider the fact that I have trying to see my immediate future through the Jim Berruto of my past.  As I stared off into the dark this morning, I started to laugh when I realized that I did not have the required experience, education or know how for just about every secular job that I’ve ever had, and succeeded in, when I first entered into the position.  I rapidly learned the ins and outs through on the job experience, training classes, asking a ton of questions and doing a lot of reading!  So why then, was I trying to foresee something different happening now in this later stage of my life?

I guess I was looking for something comfortable to slip into without a lot of thought or effort!  But why change now?  God reminded me that after all, He had put a pioneering spirit into me (and Piper) and had gifted me with the personality traits and characteristics that tend to thrive in the new, different and unexplored arenas and paths of life that were less traveled by most others.

In Psalm 40:5, the Psalmist exclaims, “O Lord, our God, no one can compare with you. Such wonderful works and miracles are all found with you! And you think of us all the time with your countless expressions of love—far exceeding our expectations!” (The Passion Translation)  The God’s Word © Version states part of this verse as “You have made many wonderful plans for us. No one compares to you!” 

That REALLY excites me!  How about you?  Just think about that for a moment or two…  “Wonderful works and miracles are ALL found with Him” that He expresses to us through His “countless expressions of love- far exceeding our expectations!”  I mean “WOW!”  And in line with all that He has “made many wonderful plans for us” that are out there just waiting for us to grab hold of and run with them!

And… if there are any intrepidations still left in you… Paul caps off his very descriptive discussion on the power of God working in our past, present and future in Ephesians 3:20, by boldly and without hesitation declaring that “He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.” (The Passion Translation)

Well, I’m not sure about what you may be thinking after all these stated facts… but I am pretty excited about what He’s got planned for me... and YOU as well!  I may not have any idea as of yet, what it may be… but according to His Word, it will be new and different, exciting, fun and meaningful to me as well as for the kingdom of God!

Have an exciting new week.  And as you do, say with me… “I am expecting God to outdo what He’s done for me in my past, in my future!”





*I call it a “God Hint” as I’ve come to realize that God has led me in certain directions throughout most of my adult life by little “Hints” that He gives to me through all kinds of situations, conversations, magazine articles, ads, etc, and yes, even movie lines.  For instance, I can recall countless times when caring for Piper throughout her illness when He led me to discover new medications, benefit programs, needed supplies and many other seemingly unrelated bits and pieces of information that directly assisted me in my desire and need to serve her in the best ways possible.  I have found it to be a good practice when I pray for wisdom and/or guidance from God, to keep my eyes and ears as well as my heart receptive and alert to these divine “Hints” that He brings across my path.

Glimpses of Heaven - pt 2

If you know me personally or have been reading this blog for very long, then you know that I like to research things!  If I learned anything (and I actually learned quite a few things about human behaviors) in my college studies in Psychology, it was how to write, dissect and review a well written research paper or thesis.  After I left my outside job to take care of Piper full-time, I dove into the research of Alzheimer’s.   I quickly discovered that there is a vast multitude of information out there concerning the disease that one has to wade through to get to the truth, as much of it has no real bona fide research or proper study data to back the writer’s claims.  This was especially prevalent with homeopathic or natural remedies that claimed the complete miraculous reversal of symptoms.

You wouldn’t believe some of the things people suggested to me in the early stages of Piper’s fight.  Some of these folks even got verbally angry with me or toward my kids because I refused to follow their advice… and believe me… I did check them all out and had some deep discussions with Piper’s brain specialist in San Francisco.  One time she actually burst out laughing when I told her of a particular remedy that was being strongly suggested by one individual.

So, with my love for research and Piper’s departure through the veil into heaven’s realm, it was only logical that I study and find out as much as I could about her new digs!  As I mentioned in my last post, I have always taken personal reports that I have heard or read about heaven with a grain of salt.  But what I am beginning to find out, now as I have been spending more time researching the subject, is that many of their unrelated experiences entail descriptions that tend to match or line up with each other!  Things such as fragrances, the brightness of the colors, the way the inhabitants of heaven looked, how they communicated, how they just seemed to know or understand things and mostly, with their ecstatic joy and peacefulness.

I am only about halfway through the current book I’m reading but I find that I can hardly go a paragraph or two before needing to grab a tissue, wait until my emotions settle and then utter an awestruck “WOW that’s how that will happen!”  I have had so many questions about how my life is supposed to go on with her in heaven.  I've found myself pondering with some real concerns that if I do certain things down here… things that are Biblically okay… what happens with Piper when I get to heaven.  And I am constantly thinking about what she is doing, thinking and seeing up there… and with all the glory and greatness of God where she is… if she ever even thinks about me anymore!  This latest book has been helping me to find many mind-boggling answers to some of my deepest questions and concerns.*

When I was reading Ephesians 3:17-20 during my early morning escapade, sitting on the edge of my bed with my flashlight and Bible at 5:30 AM yesterday, I came to the place where the Apostle Paul is attempting to describe the power of God saying, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us…” (Ephesians 3:20 KJV) and it suddenly dawned on me why he had a tendency in his writings to use a multiplicity of different descriptive words to try and best explain the over-whelming audacity and largeness of God in the points he was attempting to convey to his readers.  It was because he had been to heaven and had seen and experienced how God operates when free from the constraints of the natural world that you and I live in!

Most scholars understand Paul’s discussion in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4 of visions and revelations and the man he knew who had been caught up to paradise, to be talking about his own personal experience. So, it would make sense then, that he would find himself at a loss for just the right words to explain what he saw that was way beyond what we can understand with our human limitations.  Vincent’s Word Studies states that Paul’s use of the words “exceeding abundantly above all” in Ephesians 3:20, are “one of the numerous compounds of the Greek word ‘huper’ of which Paul is fond.  Of twenty-eight words compounded with this preposition in the New Testament, Paul alone uses twenty.”

What Paul must have seen was unexplainable in mere human terms… which is exactly what I am beginning to realize as I read of many different accounts of people’s encounters with the heavenly realm.  That’s why things are so much better, why His love abounds so much more, why there is an over-abundance of His peace, joy, and happiness… and why things that seem unexplainable or impossible are explained and very possible to Him and to us… when we get to heaven!

All I can continue to say is “WOW!”  All I can continue to do is to trust Him even more for the things that seem impossible in my life.  All I can do is to continue to know that “by constantly using my faith, that the life of Christ will continue to be released deep inside of me, and that the resting place of his love will continue to be the very source and root of my life.” (Ephesians 3:17 – The Passion Translation/personalized)

How about You?  Have a blessed Easter and let the resting place of His love in you, splash on to those around you.  (from 6' away... of course!)



*“Appointments with Heaven.” The true story of a country doctor’s healing encounters with the hereafter.” By Dr. Reggie Anderson.  Tyndale Momentum, an imprint of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Glimpses of Heaven - pt 1

With the onset of some warmer weather (high 80’s) around here for the last few days, I’ve been taking Fiver for a walk earlier in the morning.*  Once again, I had to smile and laugh as we walked down the gauntlet of backyards that face the golf course and their array of dogs that bark at us every time we walk by… both coming and going to the neighborhood park. 

Today, as I was looking at the different dogs and saying hello to them with the names I’ve made up for them like, Brownie the brown and black German Shepherd, her faithful, tiny, wild-haired companion Sparky, Blackie the old black German Shepherd next door and Butch the Lab mix with a cropped tail and his Pug yard-mate Barney, it suddenly dawned on me that they weren’t all SMACK-TALKING to Fiver every day, but were most likely FLIRTING with him!  From what I can tell from my distant observation point, they are almost all females!  No wonder Fiver gets all excited every time I take his harness off the coat rack near the front door!

I’ve also been getting excited lately as I’ve felt the freedom to read some books about heaven.  I picked up one of them back in October but was never able to do more than thumb through a few pages without getting all emotional.  I thought about it again recently and like I said, sensed the “Okay, the time is right” sort of feeling and began to read it.

This particular volume is entitled “Appointments with Heaven” by Dr. Reggie Anderson.  It had caught my attention on that chilly day in early October of last year as I perused the shelves for interesting reads at the large Mardel Christian and Education Bookstore in Tulsa, across the street from the Home Depot that I used to work at.  In many respects the store reminds me of the old but large, One-Way Books Christian store in downtown Santa Rosa in the 1980’s… just a whole lot newer!  It was always an adventure for Piper and I to go in there and shop… we never knew what gems we might find!

I’ll be honest with you, as I have always been a little skeptical when I read about people’s accounts of heaven, but had a peace about this one.  When I turned over to the forward of the book I learned that the author is a long-time personal friend of the Steven Curtis Chapman family and was the first one they called when they suddenly lost their youngest daughter.

I began to read in earnest a couple of day ago and found that I could hardly put it down.  In the first section of the book he details a couple of “dreams” he had, one as a child and another as a young man while attending medical school.  It was the second dream when he saw into heaven, that kept me glued to the book.  His descriptions of the physical surroundings about him were very similar to other accounts of heaven that I had read before.

He detailed how the colors, fragrances, sights, sounds and feel were brighter, deeper, sweeter, more intense and almost indescribably more beautiful than the most wonderful places he had visited on earth.  Then he talked of how the friends that had gone on before him came up and conversed with him… without speaking words.  These were family and friends of whom he had had been extremely close to in his childhood before they were murdered in the most awful of circumstances.  Because of that traumatic event, he had slowly but surely turned away from the God of his childhood and replaced it with the god of science.

I won’t go into all the details, but his turnaround had begun a year or so earlier when he began to physically observe the complicated makeup of the human brain and realized that a Higher Power had to have a hand in creation.  It also involved a beautiful Christian coed who would have nothing to do with him because he was not a Christian.

His descriptions of how ecstatic and happy his friends now looked and the peace that flowed from them in their heavenly home, instantly confirmed many things that I believe that the Lord has been showing me over the last year and a half about Piper’s new home in heaven.  Scripture insights like Ephesians 1:4 where Paul writes that “he chose us through Christ to be holy and perfect in his presence” combined with similar verses such as Psalm 16:11 that declare that “Complete joy is in your presence. Pleasures are by your side forever” (God’s Word ©) were brought to light with how he saw things in the heavenly realm.

What really caught my attention was his explanation of how wonderful their physical appearance was.  There were no scars from the mortal wombs they had received, their childhood blemishes and physical imperfections were gone and replace with smooth glowing skin.

The shell that Piper left behind was not even close to the once healthy, vibrant and beautiful form that she displayed for the majority of her 65 years on this earth.  The descriptions of his friend’s heavenly features once again, confirmed the vision I have had of Piper in heaven today!

The picture the author painted of Jesus is incredible and beg to draw the reader beyond the reaches of one’s human understandings and limitations.  I’ve barely touched the bases in the book and can hardly wait to pick it up again, in order to learn about the divine abode of my companion of 48 years… and to look with an ever-growing anticipation of what’s ahead for me …and you who are believers in Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord! (See Romans 10:9 for the “how to’s" of salvation)

I’ll share more in future blog posts, but I’ll let you know that the “pressed down, and shaken together, and running over,” “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” (Luke 6:38/Ephesians 3:20 KJV) goes A LOT further and deeper in heaven than what our human limitations allow us to perceive and/or understand!

Have a great rest of the week, and as you do, say with me… “I am highly expectant of gaining a greater working knowledge of the impossibilities of my God!”



*Don’t let me kid you as it is probably not as early as you are imagining.  We would usually go out for our first walk of the day around 11:00 in the morning, but recently it has been more like 9:30ish.  With people staying home, there are more out walking as the morning wears on!

Piper's Proverbs 1:4

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but depression drains one's strength.”



I mentioned in my blog post yesterday that I am seeing a lot of unhappy people on my occasional trips to the store and during my daily walks with Fiver in and around our neighborhood.  This morning as we began our walk along the perimeter of the city golf course right next door, the quiet atmosphere of the morning was suddenly broken by a loud, angry scream.  When I looked toward the direction of the utterance, I witnessed a golfer stomp back to his cart, stop and turn and then dramatically toss his club back toward the direction that his ball (I assume) was supposed to go! 

It was so sad and unexpected that I couldn’t help but laugh!  I was under the impression that they only did those kinds of things in the movies… but obviously, I was mistaken!  Isn’t golf supposed to be a game that helps one to relax?

Later this morning I read a report where a shopper sprayed Lysol in the eyes of a cashier at a Walmart somewhere, when he or she informed the shopper that they were exceeding the store-set Corona Virus limits on how many containers of disinfectant they could buy.  I mean… come on people!

But you know?  I am not really surprised at the fear and depression that many people are dealing with right now.  Besides the harsh realities of this virus pandemic and the fact that most people are not working right now, almost every time you turn on your TV, computer or phone you’re being bomb blasted with fearfully bad news.  It’s so bad that the I’ve noticed the reporters asking questions at President’s Trump’s daily Corona Virus Task Force updates get visibly upset when he announces and dwells on some of the good things that are going, on in order to encourage the American public and give them a sense of hope.

I have to believe that you are a little bit like me in that I am putting my ultimate trust in this whole thing in God’s hands!  Over the years I have become one of those who puts more trust and hope in God and the truth of His Word than the negativity I hear on the news.  I refuse to give into fear because in the end… I know that my God will prevail… and that is exactly what gives me the ability to walk around with a joyful heart, a hop in my step and a smile on my face.  I’ll not let depression have a hold on me!

How about you?

My HERO!

I decided to concentrate yesterday, on the half a dozen or so boxes that were stacked in my room.  It was a pretty painless job as all of the boxes except for one, were filled with my stuff.  It turned out to be mainly clothes, a box of ties, shoes, hangers and some personal care items.  The only odd-ball in the stack was a box packed to overflowing with children’s Christian music/musicals cassettes and their accompanying story books.  I never realized how many we had accumulated over the years.  Some were for musicals we had done with our students in the various churches in which we served, but the majority were for our own kids (and Piper’s and my) personal enjoyment.  Our kids still repeat some of the funny lines from these musicals!

Having musical parents… and especially a Mom who homeschooled them, and loved to play the piano (flute, piccolo and a little guitar), teach the kids to master the piano keyboard, sing and silly dance with them and put on impromptu performances during school hours in order to emphasize a point, our kids didn’t have much of a chance at not being musically inclined!  Add to the mix that much of our ministry at the churches involved singing, plays, drama productions, youth bands, puppet skits, comic relief and just a whole lot of fun… our kids had a convenient stage in which to perform and hone their talents and giftings for life!

And speaking of a homeschooling Mom, after finishing in the bedroom, I went back to the temporary storage area in the guest room to see if I could find anymore boxes of stuff that belongs in the master bedroom.  One of the first things I spotted was a light blue sleeveless women’s T-shirt of Piper’s laying on top of a box labeled “Homeschool.”  Without thinking I immediately brought the shirt up close to my face and was a little shocked that I could actually still smell some of Piper’s perfume residing in the fabric!  It was a wonderful experience but quickly sent me over the edge in missing her!

Once I got ahold of my emotions again, I cut open the box and began to dig through its contents.  It was full of all kinds of Piper’s office supplies, consisting of writing utensils, watercolors (which I can use for with my granddaughter), card stock, various stickers that she would put on the kid’s projects after she graded them, a stapler and so on and so forth.  Toward the bottom was a small stack of folders with projects that the kids completed over the years.  Under that was about a 2+ inch thick file folder filled with some of the quarterly and detailed end-of-the-year reports that Piper had to compile and turn in as part of the requirements for the Independent Study Program at the Santa Rosa Christian School that we belonged to.

I had forgotten all the record-keeping and paperwork that she had to complete for each of our four kids as a part of the homeschooling process.  Piper was terrific at most things… but she did have a habit of waiting until the last moment to complete certain details when it came to her school reports, sewing costumes for church productions or completing projects for the yearly ISP Arts and Crafts Fair. 

She never really grasped an understanding of how a computer worked – as our generation never used them in school, so I needed to set her up and stay handy in case she ran into a problem. (I became proficient during my early days at Hewlett Packard)  She could type around 70 words a minute and could fly through the reports once the computer files were set up, the correct forms were created and the margins established.  So, all those last minute, deep dives into the night were normally a family effort which we laughed about… at a much later date!

But I always enjoyed helping her.  It gave me a good sense that I was contributing to the homeschooling effort and helped me to feel a little like Piper’s HERO in her time of need.  I recently realized how big that desire to be Piper’s HERO was engrained into psyche.  I had lots of positive examples of the husband helping out their wives whenever the need arose. 

My Dad, my Grandfather and My Uncle were all loving husbands who excelled in caring for their wives.  But in today’s modern society, chivalry is not practiced… nor expected, like it used to be.  One of the hard lessons I had my eyes opened up to in caring for Piper’s physical needs for the last eight years of her life, was that not all husbands would automatically do what I did without any differing thoughts at all.  There never was ANY question about it.  I fully expected to do it and so did she!  If the roles were reversed, I am without doubt that she would have done the exact same things for me.  She was always very protective of our relationship and would do anything for me whenever the need arose… and she knew that I would always do the same for her.

One of the things I miss the most today, with her absence, is that unique, cute little smile that she would give me after I would do something special for her.  After all those years together, it’s now very difficult for me to go without those daily reassurances.  I'm finding that I enjoy movies that end with the HERO successfully saving his damsel in distress!

And the other day, I came across a scripture verse that explained my long-held desire to be my Piper’s HERO.  It seems that I was just trying to emulate my heavenly Father.  In Psalm 91:15, our Father God speaks to us and tells us that, “I will answer your cry for help every time you pray, and you will find and feel my presence even in your time of pressure and trouble. I will be your glorious HERO and give you a feast.” (The Passion Translation)

So you see, it is something that I believe God has engrained into me, as well into every Christian Believer!  He wants us to be like Him and be a HERO to those in need around us.  I made a quick trip to the nearby Casey’s Country Store (gas station/ min-mart and Pizza restaurant) early before church yesterday morning to pick up a few needed essentials. 

While the gal was checking me out, I asked her how it was to be working with all the Covid-19 stuff going around, and without a second thought, she said that its actually terrible as many of the customers have been so mean!  So, I took the opportunity to offer an apology for them, encourage her and gave her a good laugh! (When I pulled out my wallet, one of Fiver’s poop bags that I always carry with me, fell on the floor, so I made a big joke about it and how I never leave home without one!).  I kinda walked out of that store with a smile and a slight swagger, thinking that I might have just been her HERO!

What’s my point?  We are to be living breathing examples of our heavenly Father to our world where we live.  In my limited travels right now, I am seeing a lot of unhappy looking people out there.  So, I encourage you to be a HERO today and give someone in need a big smile, a friendly hello, a wave or an encouraging word (from 6’ away of course!)  You might not be riding a big white horse… but your love toward them will be greatly appreciated… especially with all the fear that’s being put out right now!  So, go ahead and say with me… “I am expecting to be somebody's HERO today!”

He'll Do It Again!

We transitioned from a beautiful but windy day in the high 70’s yesterday to a cold, wet and windy day in the mid-30’s today!  I gotta say… when I took the dog out around 5:30 this morning to take care of his morning duties… that it was a little bit brisk as I stood in the back yard in my hoodie, raincoat and paper-thin pajama bottoms… YIKES!  I am SURE that if Piper was looking down on me, that she would have been bending forward in a deep belly laugh!

For the last month or so I have been getting up around 5:15 every morning to take Fiver outback and then hop back into bed for another couple of hours.  I am really not sure what started this strange behavior.  I guess I was concerned about his not having gone out since around nine each evening! 

But it is a habit now… and is actually one that I enjoy for a number of reasons.  Firstly, because I am still not sleeping through the night without waking up numerous times thinking that I need to go over and check on my wife… who’s now been through heaven’s veil for over a year and a half!  Some habits are difficult to break!  That which had become a normal tradition of restless sleep was causing me to wake up a little on edge, tired, sore and much less happy with life than I usually tend to be!

So, one of the first positive results from Fiver’s and my early morning adventures was that I immediately noticed that when I went back to bed, that I slept soundly and woke up feeling rested, peaceful and upbeat.  Plus, I realized that I REALLY enjoy being out in the pre-dawn of the day to take advantage of the quiet, the beauty of the Great Plains skies, the morning fragrances in the air and the soft chirping of the early rising birds… you know… the one’s who get the worms!

This week I have also taken to reading some of my favorite Bible verses and praying before I climb back into bed.  I got so excited and into this special time yesterday and today, that I lost track of time before realizing that I’d been up for over an hour!  It was Fiver’s (literal) snoring on the bed that interrupted me and actually brought me back to reality!  So, for me, it has been a really good new habit to embark on!

One of the scriptures that has been getting me excited during these times sitting on the bed, in the dark with my flashlight and Bible* is from Psalms 27:1-3 in The Passion Translation where David wrote, just before being anointed king saying:

“The Lord is my revelation-light to guide me along the way; he’s the source of my salvation to defend me every day. I fear no one! I’ll never turn back and run from you, Lord; surround and protect me.  When evil ones come to destroy me, they will be the ones who turn back.  My heart will not be afraid even if an army rises to attack. I know that you are there for me, so I will not be shaken.” 

This passage stirs me because Piper and I lived it… almost word for word!  We physically saw THIS Word unfold right before our lives in those first few confusing, heartbreaking and yet FAITH-BUILDING years when we returned from Oklahoma and were faced head-on with the rapidly unraveling conditions of Piper’s health.  We made a pact with God that we would NEVER retreat from, and He surrounded us with His Love and His promises and protected us.  Evil accusations and lies were made against us but we held firm and refused to budge from how He was leading us… resulting in the fact that those individuals physically turned away from us… just like David wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit thousands of years ago!  Amazing right?

And that example of how He specifically moved in our past is energizing and empowering my faith to believe that He is doing the same for me in this new day, chapter and season of my life without her.  It is also giving me the confidence to know that I know that He is working His positive plans right in the midst of this Covid-19 pandemic that seems to be threatening the world as we’ve known it. 

Because of my past interactions with God… I can’t do anything but continue to firmly believe in Him and the truth of His Word to overcome it all… no-matter what the naysayers are saying on the news or the way many are highly critical of the Christian leaders who have come out claiming God’s protection for us as well as proclaiming God’s hand in stopping this virus!

I have come to be under the contention that those who came against us for following God’s plans instead of their opinions, were in reality angry with God and NOT with us.  We just happen to be the physical point of contact for their anger.  I wonder how many who are critical and angry with the body of Christ today, with our dependence on God instead of the ways of the world… are actually angry with God… and we Christians simply make for a convenient scapegoat?

What do you think?  Have a good weekend.  Stay safe, don’t yield to fear and do something special with your family.  Then say with me… “I am expecting God to surround and protect me in the midst of the evil one’s attack on me, my family, friends and the world.”



*Don’t ask me why I don’t just turn on the light on my bedstand!  I guess it just seems a little bit more intimate and private between me and God… or maybe it just brings back warm memories of when I was a kid and used to read a book or play with my Matchbox cars under the covers with my flashlight… thinking I was being sooo sneaky and that my parent’s would NEVER catch me… which of course, they always did!  Did any of you ever do that? (leave me a note – I promise not to tell your folks!)

Do The Tango! (Piper's Story)

“That is why a man will leave his father and mother and will be united with his wife, and they will become one flesh.”  Genesis 2:24



I mentioned in a post yesterday, that our last dog Mandie was most definitely Piper’s dog.  She was a sweet tempered black Australian Shepherd Mix with brown socked paws.  Piper was the one who first spotted her when we were at the county animal shelter looking for a potential dog for my folks.  It was Piper who convinced the owner of the house that we were renting to change her NO dog policy, and it was Piper whom the dog followed throughout the day… and slept snuggled up to her at night… with me snuggled on the other side… I guess Piper liked to be warm at night!

Anyway, while forging on with the unpacking of boxes yesterday afternoon, I came across one that was simply marked “Pictures” with the date of 2014 on the top.  It contained a potpourri of items ranging from pictures of ministry events at our church, pictures from our trip to a week-long Children’s Leaders Conference at Camp Dry Gulch USA here in Oklahoma, family birthday parties, a small stack of homeschool reports that the kids had completed and at the very bottom… a folder containing things from Piper’s and my wedding.

While sitting on the floor in the study and going slowly through its contents, I spotted a daily notebook of Piper’s on the shelf of the bookcase in front of me.  As I thumbed through it and read the daily inputs beginning with our first days in Oklahoma in September of 2006 and the last entry dated May 30, 2007, I smiled, laughed, kept saying things like “Wow!,” “Hummm,” “Oh Geez,” or “I never knew that” and cried!  In one spot she happily penned that “I took a 2-1/2 hour nap today… with Mandie!”

The laugh at her innocent comment gave me the courage to look through the file with paperwork and multiple copies of the wedding party group picture.  The paperwork included a thank you that we sent to the 300 guests, the church bulletin containing the order of service, complete with the congregational readings and hymn, and a copy of our vows…

That one was tough to read and to be honest, took me quite a while to get through it!  But when I finally completed it, I leaned back on the floor and with tear stained eyes and a weak and shaky voice… had to admit that we most definitely accomplished everything we covenanted together to do beginning on that special day in mid-July of 1975.

I know that I have a tendency to put Piper on a pedestal whenever I think, talk or write about her, while at the same time, relegating my role in the marriage to something less important than hers.  But lately, the Lord has been showing me… as my maternal Grandmother would say with a slight smile on her face… “You know, Jimmy (she and Piper were the only ones who ever called me that), it takes two to tango!”

When I take the time to really think about it, I can see how we were perfectly matched for our union.  We both encouraged the other’s dreams, goals and desires and brought out the best in each other.  I’ve always said how that I am who am today, in a HUGE part, because of her 48 years of influence in and on my life.  Well, I can see now, that the very same thing could be said about the wonderful women that she became, in part… due to my 48 years of influence on and in her life as well!  You were right, Grandma!  It does take two to tango through a successful marriage!

In our vows we covenanted with each other to;

•            Trust each other as our best earthly friends

•            To love, cherish, and protect each other

•            To be considerate of each other’s welfare in all our plans of life

•            To cultivate for each other’s sakes all manly virtues/womanly 
              graces 

•            In all things to seek each other’s welfare as we do our own

•            To have and to hold from that day forward, for better for 
              worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to 
              love and cherish, according to God’s holy ordinance; as 
              long as we both shall live.

I had a boss at Agilent Technologies who had a saying that he repeated quite often, flamboyantly declaring: “Been there!  Done that and won the T-Shirt!”  Well… I’ve got to be honest and let you know, that I believe I found one of those T-Shirt’s with my name on it under that file in that box yesterday!  And Piper’s insightful, innocent, and tender comments in her diary would also seem to guarantee that she was wearing that same victory T-Shirt as she passed on through Heaven’s gates!

FRENZY - updated reprint from 4/1/16

Did I mention to you the unique experience we had the other day? (This would have been back in March of 2016 in North Carolina)  My wife and I were sitting at the dining room table when I thought I heard some strange but yet somewhat familiar sounds.  I turned down the volume on the Pandora station we were listening to and got up and opened the sliding door to the back deck.  Then, as I concentrated on the sound, I turned to my wife and asked: “Is that what I think it is?”  I even turned to the dog lying next to my wife on the floor and asked her the same question as her ears stood at attention!

You know what?  It sounded like an old-fashioned Fox Hunt that you might see in the movies!  In fact, for a moment there, I thought we were on the set of the old 1961, 2-part episode of the “The Magical World of Disney” TV show entitled “The Horse Masters” starring Annette Funicello and Tommy Kirk.  This movie was a favorite of our kids when they were young and follows a group of young adults as they go through a 16-week horsemanship course at a prestigious riding school in England.  At the end of the course the participants are given the privilege of entering into a Fox Hunt with a famous pack of award-winning hounds.

And that is what it sounded like right outside our own backyard!  Our yard backs up to a family estate of natural woods.  Our property line actually extends about ten feet beyond our back wire fence and blends right into the other property.  As I started to walk out to the fence line, I got to see the hounds running through the trees sounding off for everyone to hear.  That everyone included our black Australian Shepherd Mandie who ran to the fence and joined in with the barking with her own loud but slightly higher pitched bark.  It was actually kind of fun to listen to them and catch the occasional glimpse of the pack chasing whatever it was they were chasing.  

I read that modern-day Fox Hunts in America chase not only foxes but coyotes or other such critters and that they do not end in the kill.  But end once the hunted has been accounted for by running into a hole in the ground, called an earth.  The dogs finally changed directions as they got closer to our fence and headed northwest past our home into the unpopulated areas beyond us, as our house is the last home on our side of our rural neighborhood.

That incident got me to thinking about how both the pack of dogs and the fox (if that is what they were chasing) were doing what is naturally inside of them in the midst of all the frenzy that was going on.  I’m sure that the hunted animal was using all its natural instincts and inclinations to run and hide, while the dogs were running in a pack and doing what they have been bred for generations to do… to hunt!  Philippians 2:7 tells us that Jesus “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the FORM of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” (KJV)  The commentary I am currently reading entitled “Be Joyful” by Dr. Warren Wiersbe defines the word translated “FORM” as “The outward expression of the inward nature.”  Thayer’s says that it is “The form by which a person or thing strikes the vision.”

It is like the animals on the hunt the other day, when push came to shove and the action got a little frenzied, they reverted to what was in them.  The dogs chased and the fox ran for its life because in the heat of the moment, that is the only thing they knew to do.  

Hummm… kind of sounds like the way you and I react in the frenzied activities and moments of our lives… doesn’t it?  (Think Covid-19 – today!)  There are occasions when we don’t even have time to think about what to do and we simply react!  I’ve always held that at times like that… the real man or women on the inside comes out of us! 

I’ve seen it repeatedly with the way people have responded to my wife’s condition.  Many have instantly stepped up to bat and reach out to her, while some reacted totally opposite to the way they normally carry themselves.  Our scripture says that Jesus gave up His heavenly reputation and took on the FORM of a servant.  My commentary states that “Jesus did not pretend to be a servant; He was not an actor playing a role.  He actually was a servant.  This was the true expression of His innermost nature.”

When you look through the four gospels, you’ll quickly notice that Jesus always served others… not the other way around!  He was at the beck and call of all kinds of people… the good, the bad, those mixed up, those who were living what many would consider as the wrong kind of lifestyle, and those who totally disagreed with His theology.  He lived His Zoë infused life as a servant to all… independent of other’s fears!

One thing I have had to learn (sometimes the hard way…) throughout these last few years, is to become more self-confident in who I am as a Christian, in what I truly believe and as a man “In Christ” in order to successfully minister to my wife’s increasing needs… in spite of others!  When push comes to shove and life gets a little frenzied, I am relying and expecting… more and more… on what is inside of me to rise up and take over!

Are you confident on what is inside of you being able to do the same?  I’d like to hear about it!  If you’re not confident about the inside you… the real you, then I would suggest you bone up on the love of Christ and what His Word says about the real you!  You might be a little surprised at what you find!

Have a great rest of the week, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “What or Who am I expecting to come up from inside of me when life gets a little frenzied?”