Thoughts from a home-sick Nona

What am I homesick for?  My children and grandchildren.  My friends.  The life I am accustom to?  I had a very emotional encounter with a woman yesterday who is consumed with loving the Lord Jesus Christ, she just kept saying to me over and over again " I just love HIM, I just love HIM!" and then she would ask "do you understand?".   I did understand but was also ashamed of myself after listening to her story.  Everything and everyone she has ever held dear have been taken away from her, she was evicted from her home and stripped of all her finances and yet she sat across from me and kept saying "My God is so good, so great and awesome in HIS power, I just love HIM, I just love HIM!"  After a few hours of contemplation I realized I should be homesick for the presence of Almighty GOD!  I should miss the consuming desire to be pleasing in HIS sight above all else.  I have spent the last twelve hours greatly convicted of my petty desires.  I really do want the testimony of my life to point to Jesus Christ and HIM alone.  May you find HIM in the center of your thoughts, your desires, your time and in fact your entire life.  As always a contemplative Nona.

Nona's thoughts about living in Extreme HEAT!

Extreme HEAT has convinced me of one absolute for sure....I don't plan to go to hell.  There are days when I think I have found that eternal lake of fire.  The heat is so intense it takes my breath away.  The beauty of Sri Lanka is fading as I view it through sun scorched eyeballs.  They tell me before I loose sight of the beautiful isle it will cool off and my love of the place will be restored.  So, with that knowledge in mind I am gearing up for one more month of heat in hopes that knowledge of the fleeting hot season will sustain me through April.  The saddest news is that many could escape the eternal lake of fire we refer to as hell, but they choose instead to go their own way, do their own thing, and plan their own days here on earth.  How sad to be so caught up in the moment that they loose sight of eternity?  With age comes a realization that life is so short, the bible describes it as a mist that is fleeting; a vapor that was but is no longer.  I hope my days here on earth are spent storing up treasure in Heaven where moth and rust do not corrupt.  I am excited to know Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Master.  I have learned so much about the Master living here in Sri Lanka the last few months.  My prayer is that my life will remain always fully subject to the Master's Will.  In HIM and HIM alone we find peace that does not end.  I close this blog with only this thought why go to Hell when Heaven is an option?  As ever, A NONA who does not like extreme HEAT!

Crazy Nona Thoughts

Well, it should be interesting keeping this blog tied to the title.  Am I really crazy or do I just think that would be the easy way out?  Does sleep deprivation contribute to my crazy thoughts?  Is anyone really sane?  There are days when I know I know I am crazy....my thoughts spin around in my head and I can't seem to make sense of life.  Just when I think I have it (life) figured out it changes.  Sleep is a wonderful thing; on the other hand the lack of sleep can be a terrible thing!  I know first hand; as a teen-ager sleeping was my hobby and I loved it; now, as an adult lack of sleep can turn me into a raging maniac.  Right now I am not feeling so bad, because, as I look around I am having trouble identifying even one sane person!  I have been going through the school of difficult learning this past couple of years trying to own for myself the knowledge that my perspective becomes my reality....so having said that I better sign off as any sane person would do and find another topic to write about.

NONA

True to Form Nona

Almost one month has passed since I composed my last post.  I cannot believe how quickly time is passing.  Popa and I were able to extend our tourist visa here in Sri Lanka until June 15th.  We can relax and focus on the passion of our hearts.  The people here are very engaging; we attended the 25th Wedding Anniversary of some friends here this past week.  It was very moving and we so enjoyed the festive celebration.  Popa has gone this morning to a cricket match, the heat is extreme so I am hoping he survives the bright sunshine.  I have been busy re-arranging our bedroom which is totally out of character for me.  I cannot help but wonder how many times God would like to rearrange our lives but we say 'sorry that is totally our of character for me'.  We may not say it with our words but our actions really convey the message that we are in control of our lives and that God is truly not the master.  I am seeing a level of surrender in the Christians here that is convicting and inspiring.  Daily I meet people who have truly suffered persecution for the sake of Christ and I am must examine my own dedication to the One I call LORD!  For our own sakes it would be in all our best interest to find total surrender to the will of Heaven!  If we truly want the provisions of Heaven to become the manifestations of earth we will have to find ourselves in sync with the precious Holy Spirit.  I find myself thinking of my adorable grandchildren this morning, knowing they are all together in one house back in Oregon is emotionally compelling to me.   I love them dearly and am so grateful for their addition to my life.  I often think about how God feels when people are added to HIS family, the word of God says  'all of heaven rejoices'.  May each of us find a new-found passion for the thing that concerns God the most.  Love to all, the faraway Nona.

Dragging Nona

I am tired and feeling a bit run down.  I think the hectic schedule of the last two weeks finally caught up with me.  Popa and I attended two church services this morning before heading to our flat for a bite of lunch and a much needed nap.  I am ever amazed at God's arrangement of our lives, HE is at work providing opportunity after opportunity for us to demonstrate HIS nature to a lost and dying world.  So often we fail to recognize HIS divine intervention into our daily routine.  We often miss the opportunity to share HIS love with others.  Life is made of up of sixty seconds in every minute and sixty minutes in every hour arranged in twenty-four segments we call a day.  Today is the only day we have, tomorrow may never come and yesterday is gone.  I ask myself "What am I doing for Christ in 'my today'?"  Am I serving others as HE served, am I loving others as HE loved, am I dying to self as HE died to self?  The answer is painfully obvious to me, sometimes I am serving, sometimes I am loving and sometimes I am dying to self.  There is still so much to surrender to God that I am overwhelmed at HIS long suffering with me.  Someone said this week, that we are always growing in grace and I say a hearty "amen"!  May I encourage you to submit to the examination of the Holy  Spirit and may you find yourself readily engaging in all the needed changes in your life.  Abundant life in Christ is the goal.  Press on to finish the race and complete the course in victory; our God is faithful to the end.  I missed Mr. Gaige's 6th birthday, can he really be that big already?  He did inform me on the phone that yesterday he was 5 and today he is six and HE IS BIG!  Happy Birthday Gaige, Nona and Popa love you much!  You are BIG!  Where is time going and how quickly must it pass?  Only what we do for Christ will last. The not feeling up to par Nona.

My first public thoughts in 2009!

I seem to have the uncanny ability to realize that it has been about a month since I blogged.  Popa and I are in Seattle trying to update our about to expire passports.  We arrived amidst a snow shower that left me anxious and nervous.  We discussed yesterday that movement is not the same as progress and I can attest to that.  Sometimes movement is retreating or falling back into old habits and old ways.  As the new year begins it is customary to hope for a better outlook on life and a better opinion of self, but as this new year begins I find myself more concerned than ever that the creator of all would find me pleasing in HIS sight.  Sometimes, we let the opinion of people marr our progress with God; it is my hope this year that my life be pleasing to God.  I find myself challenged by the passing of many saints in the last few years to make my life about investing in something with eternal rewards.  We will be returning to Sri Lanka in nine days and know with a certainty this is God's purpose for us in this season.  The weather during our time in the Northwest has been cold and snowy, not my favorite for sure.  No matter what is happening around us it is really about our attitude.  Like the Apostle Paul it is so important to learn to be content in whatever state we find ourselves in.  I wish for each of you a happy and glorious New Year.  Be Blessed, NONA

Nona's thoughts re:Oregon bound

We are leaving Sri Lanka in 5 more days to head for Oregon to spend Christmas with our children and grandchildren.  Our time on this beautiful island has been rich and full and we are forever grateful for the wonderful experiences we have had.  There is a new awareness in Popa and I about the real meaning of life here on earth.  It is truly just a mist, a vapor; but the other side is for all eternity.  I am trying to get my earthly baggage ready for the long trip home through Singapore but am really trying to sort through the baggage of my life and get of rid of anything that is unnecessary.  I use to hate it when I was younger and people talked about the wisdom that comes with age; yet it is at this junction of age that I realize how truly wise that particular statement was.  I am a rambler in thought and word, so now you realize why this blog is called Nona's Thoughts and you are likely to encounter all sorts of random sequenced thoughts.  I might also add that one of my college professor also expressed to me on several occasions how much I love run-on sentences.   More than anything else I am profoundly aware of how much the creator of Heaven and Earth loves me and is committed to my well-being from his perspective.  My next blog will post from my home office in Eugene, Oregon....until then may the joy of Christ be your portion and may your cup of peace overflow.  The anxious Nona of Elijah, Amelia, Gaige, Rachel, Dalton, Collin, and Colton.