A Couple times every week someone asks me the question, “So, how’s the empty nest?” We have been empty-nesters for a month now, and I can honestly say, “It’s wonderful!” I miss our girls, but the truth is, we prepared them to leave home, as we also prepared ourselves. We did that by staying in love and spending time together while they were growing up.

Our youngest is enjoying college life and is facing its challenges by trusting the Lord – not Mom and Dad. What a blessing! She’s had a bout or two of mild homesickness, but has pulled through with the Lord’s help. We talk to her via phone call or text usually once a day, sometimes every other day, depending on both our schedules.

As for us nesters, we are enjoying the freedom to come and go, the flexibility of our schedule, and our time together. We’ve found that we still have to plan for a date night just as when our daughters were home. It would be very easy to stay busy from morning to night and not take time to be together. So, to protect our time, we’ve planned things on the calendar. Octobers’ Mondays have some short little day trips planned. We’re going to Dollywood one week and the Blueridge Parkway another. Other weeks will find us doing inexpensive dates near home.

Yesterday was the first really chilly fall day we’ve had. I suggested we have a movie date night on the deck, since we didn’t have a date on Monday due to church activities. At about 8:00 pm we plugged the laptop into the outside outlet and set it on a small table in front of our glider/swing. I popped some popcorn, gathered some warm blankets and we headed outside for a “swing-in movie” (as opposed to a drive-in!). We watched one of my favorites and laughed, munched our snack and sipped hot chocolate. It was just fun being outside on a chilly night and snuggling together to watch a movie.

We live in a world that expects everything to be obtained quickly. As I considered this I thought of:

The list could go on and on. The point is – we expect to be taken care of quickly, do what we need to do quickly, and we want others to move quickly too! If that doesn’t happen, we let others know our displeasure by our words or attitude.

However, there are some areas in which the word “quick” just isn’t acceptable. The one I’m referring to today is that of spiritual growth. There is just no way to mature in the Lord quickly. I referred in another post to a book I’m reading entitled, A Long Obedience. The author’s point is that in order to grow, we must continue on the path of obedience, and we must keep at it for the long-haul. If there were some shot or pill to take that would guarantee spiritual maturity how many would jump in line? It just cannot be! Instead, we must study the Word, obey it, apply it, and pray to our Heavenly Father to use it in our lives. The teaching of the Truth can be a long, hard process, and it is part of the growth that often makes us squirm.

Our ladies’ group has just started a ten-month Bible study on being a woman after God’s heart. We had fifty ladies sign up for the study. How wonderful! Come next June I pray there will still be fifty (or even more) that are finishing the course and finding their hearts more like our God’s. We cannot jump in expecting to have a heart like His by next month. It won’t even happen if we jump in, then out, then back in again. No, it must be by a long obedience. I am praying for each of you that are a part of our study. Let’s run this race with patience and keep our eyes on the goal – that of becoming like our Savior.

By the way, what “instant” product would you love to come on the market?

I can’t believe it’s Friday already. This has been another busy week for me. I pray you’ve had a productive one. Here we sit looking into the weekend. As I think about and prepare for going to church on Sunday I’m reminded of a story my dad told me last night when we were on the phone.

Have you ever lost something, or the use of something, then some time later regained it? It’s such a treasure! As of yesterday I finally got back the use of my computer printer! I forgot what a blessing it is to be able to print something from my own desk! I got so much more done with not having to first email my documents to my husband’s office! I was almost in a printing frenzy I loved it so much!

I remember very vividly when I got to go on a mission trip to Spain a year and a half ago how frustrating it was passing out tracts on the streets. Our group had been given a few lessons in Spanish before we left home, but it was only enough to say a greeting and share a tract (don’t even ask me now what the phrase was! Si?). For the nine days that we were in Spain we couldn’t talk to the people we met; couldn’t share our testimony or give a Bible verse in their language. I remember wishing I could talk in their language and tell them the reason we were in there.

I’ll never forget while on our trip home we were riding a bus in the airport in Frankfurt, Germany from the terminal to our airplane. I was sitting beside a woman who turned and greeted me in English! I was so pleased! As I talked with her I was able to share a tract with her, and I asked her to please read it so she could learn how to go to heaven. When we arrived in Charlotte the Lord gave other opportunities to give tracts and talk to people who spoke my language. I felt as though I’d been given back something I’d lost – the ability to speak and share the Gospel in English.

After returning home the fervor to continue to use the gift of speech to share Christ with a lost world was very real. However, as time has passed, my obedience in this area has dwindled, much to my shame. Yesterday afternoon the Lord reminded me of what I had learned while in Spain, and when I was at the grocery store check-out He prompted me to give a tract to the cashier with whom I’d been talking. Sadly, she didn’t receive the tract with a ready heart; she appeared disgusted with me and shoved the tract in her drawer and quickly moved on to the next customer.

As I walked away, I prayed for her and thanked the Lord for helping me to take advantage of the opportunity He’d given to use my words to share the Gospel message. I don’t want to forget how special it is to have that privilege.

I’m sure a year from now I won’t still be sitting at my computer in a printing frenzy, but I pray my heart will still be in the mode of a “telling frenzy.”

Who needs you to speak up and tell them about Christ?

I mentioned last week that I was going to get away for a few days of refreshment. What a blessing to go with my twin sister to Fairhaven Ministries. It’s on Roan Mountain where the temperatures are a bit cooler, the pace much slower, and the opportunities to refresh yourself are everywhere.

The Lord answered many prayers about the weekend. The first one was that Dianne and I would both be able to attend. Another prayer He answered was concerning the weather. We’ve had a good amount of rain as of late, and the forecast was for SHOWERS all weekend. It rained Friday morning while we were having a session, then after lunch we had the afternoon free until 6 pm. It was amazing to see the Lord move the clouds back and bring the sun out! My sister and I enjoyed an invigorating hike in the woods by Roaring Creek. We enjoyed views like these –
Isn’t it amazing how the Lord speaks to us in nature? The path we were on took us right beside the creek. I was amazed to see a tree whose roots were on a rock stretching out to the creek. If you look at the picture below you can see the roots on the left side.