BUT GOD...Ephesians 2:4 begins and today my thoughts are on Sue and in spite of wishing things were different in our dear CA Ostby family and often wondering how they continue on as well as they do with the challenges each of the 5 face daily, I come back to those beginning two words..But God: Who keeps them, sustains them, upholds them, sends them prayer support, surrounds them with physical friends and bands of angels and therefore they can continue on.

Sue's physical health is still on a slow decline; yet spiritually she uplifts everyone in her presence so greatly evident is her love for and trust in Jesus.

My last trip out was to see Karis graduate from AGHS and it brought such joy to the whole family, Sue especially as she saw the fruit of her labors as a home schooler reflected that evening.

Now I leave soon to spend a month with Sue as Dana and the kids head for Indonesia first, for a close friend's wedding then for ministry with some others of their church and teams from the CA Central Coast.

It will be a stretch for Sue with them gone so long; a dear friend of ours here who loves Sue greatly is taking a week from her family to spend there with us, and my honey, too will come for a week.

Please pray that I, along with others who love Sue, will make this month fly by for her with interesting, creative, joyful activity.

I saw this poem the other day and in it I sense God and Sue.

Your Cross

The everlasting God has in His wisdom

foreseen from eternity the cross

that He now presents to you

as a gift from His inmost heart

This cross He now sends you

He has considered with His all-knowing eyes,

understood with His divine mind,

tested with His wise justice,

warmed with His loving arms

and weighed with His own hands

to see that it be not one inch too large

and not one ounce too heavy for you

He has blessed it with His holy name,

anointed it with His consolation,

taken one last glance at you

and your courage, and then sent it

to you from heaven,

a special greeting from God to you,

in alms of the all-merciful love of God.

St. Francis de Sales

Thanks for listening,

Maxine

A Dear Pastor Friend once said in a sermon, "keep doing the things that have helped you grow spiritually in the past" but sometimes I want to do something new...something different to grow me up more in the Lord. This morning I really heard Phil's voice again as I looked through an old journal and read:

"Good Morning Lord,
Thank you for a quiet time of thinking about the Womens' Retreat and something Pat Palau said: 'I think one thing Jesus will say to us when we get to heaven is 'why didn't you ask me for more...there was so much I wanted to give you'.

Spiritual blessings I would add and Lord, even though there is probably more of my life behind me than in front of me I still want to begin even now to seek more of those spiritual blessings (II Peter 1:3 His divine power has granted us everything pertaining to life and godliness.)

One that comes to mind is a Passion for Christ as in the Quiet Time Booklet. Another comes to me as I sing through the 2nd verse of Sweet Hour of Prayer.

• Sweet Hour of Prayer, Sweet Hour of Prayer, the joys I feel the bliss I share, of those whose anxious spirits burn with strong desires for Thy return. With such I hasten to the place where God my Saviour shows His face and gladly take my station there and wait for Thee Sweet Hour of Prayer.

Nothing new needed, just a walk across the room to my prayer closet.

Have a blessed day in Jesus,

Maxine

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO YOU MOMS WHO ARE READING THIS and my special wish for you is from Proverbs 31:25b "she smiles at the future."

That's unconditional: whatever our days bring or don't bring, whoever He does or doesn't bring across our path to share His love with, whether or not I think I can finish that huge 'to do list' (ooh, that's one of my tougher ones), and most importantly replacing trust with anxiety and forgetting all the "what-ifs" that can cloud our thoughts.

Our best shot at being able to smile at our tomorrows is being sure we've invested some time with Him today. In fact, a great goal would be that because of how we face our tomorrows, at least some would say of us "I CAN SEE THAT YOU LOVE JESUS FIRST, IT'S PLAIN TO SEE" .

Maxine

DADDY, I NEED HELP were the words that came from Alisha...not exactly anguished but definitely very needy. She had just discovered a forgotten homework assignment, and even more, it was the type of assignment she had never done before. Well, Dana was there and gladly walked her through the process of what was needed so she could begin.

As I watched and listened I realized this is exactly what we need to do not only in our times of extreme need, but on a daily basis. We need to cry out to God "Daddy, Abba Father, I need help. Guide me today in the way that I should go, in the decisions I make." We're promised He will in Psalm 32:8 "Iwill instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you."

Other highlights from CA...we ran the gamut of weather from 38deg the first night I was there (unusual) to 105 degrees at Pismo Beach 2 days later (also unusual).

Sue's health has not improved; there is some new treatment being considered. That is hard to see yet it is always a joy to be with them. Changes coming up for them as Karis graduates from high school and Alisha enters public school for the first time.

Coming home was an experience (don't 'hitchhike' on Mondays when the business travelers are on full steam), yet even with a few struggles and not so ideal conditions I'm reminded how good my life is and how spoiled I can become if I'm not careful.

Blessings to you all.

Maxine

DO YOU REMEMBER, IF YOU REMEMBER, WELL DEARIE YOU'RE MUCH OLDER THAN I...(actually, I'm sure I'm at least older, if not much older than those who will read this)...and so you probably don't recognize the words to this 'oldie' but it came to mind the other day as a friend and I were reminiscing over some funny shared experiences which then moved on to some memories of our moms (now both deceased) some of which were very tender and some, hysterically funny.

Flying home later in the week with lots of time on my hands I thought about that conversation and was impressed by the thoughts the word REMEMBER brought. In my head I could say:

• to my sweetie and my kids, remember in CA when after church, Sunday lunch was automatically hot dogs, and because I kept dishes to a minimum on that day, we ate them off waxed paper 'plates' and that once lunch was over we'd each roll up our piece of waxed paper and lob it across the kitchen to land in the sink yelling 'my dishes are done'
• to my friend, Donalyn in CA, remember when I knew that we'd been to the same movie on the same night even though we hadn't seen each other because your laugh was so recognizable
• to our flock ladies, remember how hard we laughed when we went to DC, sharing 'girl talk' as we walked, day and night it seemed, drawing in as much as we could in 3 short days.
• to my nieces remember, that wild ride from the Budapest airport to our hotel when we were not completely sure of our final destination?
• to our dear friends. the Palmers, Moores and Comers in Portland remember how God used our combined ministries in a CA church and tied us together in bonds of love that lasted from 15 years ago to last August when we met for lunch, and will continue on.

Of course I could go on and on, but how about you. Do you reminisce sometimes...don't go there to live, but just to hang out a while..and remember how your life has been enriched and by who. It's a worthwhile trip.

Blessings to you all

Maxine