Archive for May, 2021

God’s Heart

{ May 24, 2021 @ 9:53 pm } · { Grandkids, My Faith Journey }
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The other evening several of us were sitting at mother’s bedside singing some of the old familiar precious hymns of faith and hope; “Solid Rock, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, Shall We Gather at the River, I Love to Think of My Home Above, Oh Come Angel Wings, Blessed Assurance, What A Friend We Have In Jesus, Power In the Blood, I Have Decided to Follow Jesus, Near To The Heart of God, Sweet Peace the Gift of God’s Love (mother’s favorite)…..” mother was singing along and it was a binding together time of worship, hope, love and faith. The hymns spoke to and of our heart need.

Mother’s time on earth is drawing to a close and yet as a family we could sing songs about gathering together some day in heaven. I mentioned to mother to stand by that grand river and watch for us to come. Music has a way of binding us together and connecting us with God’s heart. Scriptures says “He inhabits the praises of his people” (Psalms 22:3). To think that when believers sing together it moves the heart of God in a special way and He literally comes near. A holy, almighty, loving, Father God settles himself in our midst. Do I really comprehend how tender and precious that is. Maybe we should sing all day long!

As we were singing, I was reminded of another precious time when a song ministered to me through my granddaughter Lauren. She was sitting on my lap in church when a song touched and moved her even at the tender age of 18 months. I have never forgotten the experience. As I watched my ninety-two year old mother attempting to sing along and my dad moping his eyes, I knew we were on holy ground. It was a moment to be treasured and remembered.

Below is the blog post I wrote July 6, 2003.

By Cleland B. McAfee

There is a place of quiet rest, Near to the heart of God:

A place where sin cannot molest, Near to the heart of God

Chorus:  O Jesus, blest Redeemer, Sent from the heart of God,

Hold us, who wait before Thee, Near to the heart of God

 

There is a place of comfort sweet, Near to the heart of God;

A place where we our Savior meet, Near to the heart of God

 There is a place of full release, Near to the heart of God;

A place where all is joy and peace, Near to the heart of God.

Sitting on Grandma’s lap in church is a very special privilege and one my granddaughters relish.. On this particular Sunday, it was 18-month-old Lauren who reached out her arms to me after Sunday school. As we worshipped in singing, Lauren amused herself by quietly flipping the pages of the songbook When the chorister started to lead “Near to the Heart of God”, she pushed the book aside, turned around on my lap, wrapped her arms around my neck and laid her head on my shoulder. With her little heart quietly beating on mine, Grandma and Lauren shared a very special bond for the entire song. With my head resting gently against hers, I gently rubbed her back hoping to not break the specialness of the moment. Suddenly the words of the song took on new meaning. It was as if Lauren knew and understood the words to that precious song. Tears welled in my eyes as I vividly saw my Jesus gently rocking and holding me tight. It was a holy moment to be near to the heart of God and my granddaughter unknowingly showed me how precious it is.

Meeting Jesus in a quiet place is a special privilege that only His children know. Words cannot convey the pure love of the moment when my heart beats against God’s heart and He wraps His arms around me, holding me tight. That moment doesn’t happen accidentally.

Psalm 73:28 says, “It is good for me to draw near to God.” God is always there, but I have to turn and give God a squeeze. It is a “place of full release, where all is joy and peace, near to the heart of God.”

Show Me Your Path

{ May 19, 2021 @ 10:05 pm } · { My Faith Journey }
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This morning I was running an errand and I was pleading out loud to God, “God show us your way, your path through this difficult time.” My mind immediately went to Psalms 25: 4. David cried out to God the same prayer.  I do not know what David was going through when he penned these words, but it was not a calm, peaceful day. His enemies had galvanized an army to find and kill him. He was afraid and desperately needed to feel God’s presence, protection, and truth. He needed a way, a path through the mess that was totally engulfing him.

Psalms 25:4-6

(A Psalm of David)


Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.

6 Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they are from old.

When we face difficult times or tough situations, we feel like we are “between a rock and a hard place”, squished between two boulders that you can not wiggle your way out of.  The only way to look is up because in that situation you cannot see your feet! David looked up and pleaded with God to show him, teach him God’s path forward. He knew there was a way, a path forward, and he wanted to be led in truth, a truth that saw the broader picture, a truth that was beyond the muddled, jumbled mess in his brain. Sometimes paths meander through flowers and meadows with a cascading stream and mountain top views. But often it is through rough terrain with rocks, mud, briars, and danger lurking on all sides. Sometimes it seems impossible to move forward. The path is there, even when we can’t see it or it is too difficult to walk. 

I enjoy reading books about the adventures of people who hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. The 2,190-mile trail is a hand-hewn, well-worn path through the forest, across meadows, rivers, and up and down the mountain ranges. Even though the trail is marked with white blazes, hikers tell of crossing a meadow and not being able to find the continuing trail or suddenly not knowing where the trail you were on just disappeared to.  They tell of being stopped in their tracks because a rattlesnake is relaxing and enjoying his day curled up on the trail or a black mama bear with cubs steps out of the dense forage.  Their heart pounds when the path is a narrow ledge on the side of a cliff or there are only rocks to jump crossing a stream or river. They are constantly on guard against creepy crawly things, roots and rocks.  To see the beautiful wild flowers, colorful birds and sweet berries growing in the wild you have to look beyond your feet. They have to be ever vigilant, brave, strong, and preserve with their eye on the finish line.

The Appalachian Trail is marked with white blazes, which are painted on trees and rocks so hikers don’t lose their way. (Aislinn Sarnacki | BDN)

And so, it is with life. Our eye must be on the goal, the finish line, but in the meantime we navigate the path.

David had an personal relationship with God; you are my God, and I am going to sit before you and wait. He reminded God of his mercies and loving kindnesses from times past. When we remember the past, we can see from a different perspective the faithfulness of an ever-present, ever-faithful God who knows the way. When we come to God and lift our heart pleas to him, confirm our trust, He will show us the way and in the rough times, we will see the flowers and eat sweet berries.

Mr. and Mrs. Goose: (Part 2) Harsh Reality

{ May 8, 2021 @ 7:58 pm } · { Life on the Farm }
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I suspect the one on the left was the female as it was the one doing all the honking.

Life can be hard and sad and the reality is that it is sometimes harsh. Mr. and Mrs. Goose are experiencing harsh reality.

Yesterday morning we notice both of them in the pasture behind the house grazing. It was a beautiful, cool, pleasant morning. The sun was shining, the cows were grazing and the birds were busy feeding.

I opened the patio door and Mrs. was honking as if she was crying as she ate. There were no little goslings in tow. A cow will stash her baby calf in the brush or tall grass and somehow tell him to stay while she goes off to eat, sometimes for several hours. When she comes back, the calf is waiting for her. But not geese. When the pond is probably half a mile away, through the woods and across several fields the parents do not leave their babies. Not for one second. But here they were, grazing without the goose children. Mostly one would keep watch while the other grazed.

I texted Mark. “Have you seen the geese? Has something happened to the babies. Mr. and Mrs. are over here grazing by themselves. Geese don’t do that when they have babies”.

The sad reply was, “No, they haven’t seen the babies for a couple of days and mama was on the pond yesterday making a lot of noise.”

It is nature. Survival of the fittest. Foxes, coyotes, turtles, hawks, and coons are all creatures of prey. Their next meal is a feast on something they just caught fresh!

But that didn’t keep Mrs. Goose from grieving over her lost. For a long time she honked. Finally they flew over the treetops towards the pond, honking as they went. Were they going back to look, just in case?

This evening they were back in the field again. It will be interesting to see if they nest again or eventually join other fellow goosers.

Geese mate for life and stick together through thick or thin. Hopefully the next time they will be more successful. It truly is amazing that they are able to ever raise youngun’s.

Blog post, Part 1: Mr. and Mrs. Goose

Mr. and Mrs. Goose

{ May 2, 2021 @ 10:12 pm } · { Life on the Farm }
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Several weeks ago one lone goose showed up in the pasture behind the house. Every evening we watched it wandering around and grazing with the cows. It seemed to be frantically eating as if it was really hungry.

The cows paid it no mind. This seemed rather strange and baffling as geese travel in flocks or gaggles. We do not have a pond on the farm but often hundreds of geese will land and graze and then fly with loud honks over the tree tops to where ever they go. You never see one lone goose by itself day after day. I took pictures and wondered if it was a Mr. or Mrs. I started thinking of a name; a name that could be a Mr. or Mrs. I considered just “goose” but finally decided on “Sam”. I figured Sam could work for either male or female. I wondered, was it injured and not able to fly, had it lost it’s mate, or was it’s mate nesting near by. It seemed a little unusual for a nesting pair to be on our farm with only a small stream meandering through the woods.

Last week on Monday evening I sat in my golf cart by the field until dark watching to see where Sam went for the night. I watched and watched and then suddenly it was too dark to see him. I drove down closer to where he was seconds before but he had magically vanished, right before my eyes and I could not find him.

The next evening (Tuesday) I went down into the field with my golf cart and eased up as close as possible. I wanted to see if he would fly away or whether he was injured. He was not overly afraid but became restless, alert, head up, watching me intently. When I was about 100 foot from him he flapped his wings, turned on his honker, and flew up and away over the treetops behind the barns honking his pleasure as he sailed. I suddenly realized he was heading straight for a neighbor’s pond. That ruled out option #1. He was not injured.

I called neighbor Mark Johnson and told him the story and wondered if he had a lone or setting goose at his pond. We were so curious to know the story on Sam. Mark did not think so but would be on the lookout. Sam was back the next evening (Wednesday) and following morning (Thursday) and then we didn’t see him anymore.

This afternoon (Sunday) I got a call from Mark. He suddenly has a pair of geese swimming on the pond with three newly hatched, fluffy, yellow goslings. Sam is a daddy goose!!!

With camera in hand we went over to the pond this evening to get the goose family portrait. Now we know the rest of the story!

Canadian geese mate for life.
I loved how they swim together, mom and dad, keeping their young’uns between them.
They parked to rest and think they are hiding from me!
The goslings had to really paddle to keep up but the did not fall behind..

Another blog post: Mr. and Mrs. Goose (Part 2) Harsh Reality

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