Beverly Varnado's Blog, page 10
December 5, 2023
When we just don't see it
AsI read Psalm 106 recently, I was struck by the words of the Psalmist as he confessedthe sins of his ancestors in prayer to God because they “gave no thought to your (God’s) miracles” and they failed to “remember your(God’s) many kindnesses.”
I’vebeen reflecting on how I sometimes do these very same things.
Wecan easily highlight a few of God’s obvious kindnesses to us but we might betempted to say that we don’t often see miracles.
And yet we do. All the time. At least we have the opportunity to seethem.
C.S.Lewis once wrote, “Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very samestory that is written across the whole world in letters too large for some ofus to see.”
Inother words, we live in a miracle—a huge miracle of creation. And into that creation God sent himself asa miraculous tiny baby. It ‘s a huge story that we celebrate this time of year,but we forget the wonder of it. This God in human flesh is a tale so giganticthat we stop seeing it. We reduce it to something rendered in plastic that wehang on a tree or hear as song lyrics piped into our lives like elevator musicthat we simply tune out.
Wouldn’t it be great if we asked God to open our eyes once more thatwe could really see this miracle he’s done? Maybe see it as we never havebefore.
I have a tee shirt that I wear this time of year that has a silhouetteof the nativity figures on the front and above the image are two simple words—“TrueStory.”
This miraculous true story should be something to which we give muchthought.
Let’s do it together.
var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24260977-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();Beverly Varnado's most recent book is In Search of the Painted Bunting, a middle grade historical from Elk Lake Publishing, #1 in new releases in its category. She is also the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.comTo sign up for her newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/dHNdsX Beverly Varnado copyright 2023
November 28, 2023
When you really need to take a moment
Acouple of days after Thanksgiving, I slid my belongings into a bag and thoughtthrough my list of what I still needed to do before we took our long returntrip home. I wondered if I had enough time to take a final bike ride along theshore before the rest of the house stirred.
Bikeriding is at the top of my list of favorite things to do in this world. I imagineit’s for the same reasons that people ride motorcycles, but I like the windagainst my helmet at a more moderate speed, say, five miles an hour. I’ve had spillsand near misses over the years, but I still go for it even when the weather isa little iffy.
Thepractical side of me weighed in and answered my question, “No, you still havemore work to do.” So, I kept zipping along. As I worked, I’d occasionally glanceoutside where the sun rose on the horizon. As it sometimes does, my watch bingedand I checked it to see if I had a text message, but instead these words appeared,“Take a moment.”
Iguess my activity level had signaled my watch to deliver a reminder to slowdown a bit. But for me, it was just the encouragement I needed to tip the scalein favor of the bike ride.
Istrapped on my helmet, grabbed a jacket, and took off. I’m so glad I did. Iwould have hated to face hours riding in the car knowing I gave up thosemoments of joy. The ride held bird song, lapping waves, glinting sun, and awhole host of egrets camping out in the marsh. It was a marvel to be in allthat God has created.
Hereat this juncture between Thanksgiving and Christmas, maybe we need to take a momentto reassess and decide how we’re going to spend our time. We need to factor inthe moments to just be, to really enjoy the lives we have instead of as I am proneto do—allowing our liststo rule us.
A wise man once wrote, “We should make the most of what God gives,both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given anddelighting in the work. It’s God’s gift” (Ecclesiastes 5:19 The Message).
Let's remember to offer Him thanksfor His amazing gifts.
Enjoy your moment.
var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24260977-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();Beverly Varnado's most recent book is In Search of the Painted Bunting, a middle grade historical from Elk Lake Publishing, #1 in new releases in its category. She is also the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.comTo sign up for her newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/dHNdsX Beverly Varnado copyright 2023
November 21, 2023
The Things that Never Happened
Something Jerry said in his sermon this past Sunday about being thankful for what never happened reminded me of this post from a few years back. I'm praying for each of you that your Thanksgiving will be blessed in the midst of whatever circumstances you may find yourself.
I’m at a friend’s house after returning from a doctor’s appointment with her. She had a major surgery a few weeks back and complications set in. According to information given her by the doctor earlier, we anticipated what might be a very difficult appointment. Perhaps even a return to the operating room.
But it didn’t happen.
Her status was better than expected.
I’m sitting on her screened porch as the sun sets and glints off a maple. So thankful. So very, very thankful for God’s grace in the things that never happened.
Perhaps this is a different take on Thanksgiving this year―being thankful not only for what we have but for what we don’t have, all that God has kept from us. Like the sickness we never had, the accident that never happened, the financial problem that failed to develop, the car that didn't quit, or the friend that never left. The list goes on.
The sunbeams hit my hand as I type and leaves shower down around the porch. Up the street, a father plays basketball with his sun, their laughter scattering in the air. In the beauty of this afternoon, I’m taking time to remember God’s gracious goodness demonstrated in so many ways.
The Psalmist might have been experiencing something similar when he wrote Psalm 145:6-9. Here taken from The Message, “Your marvelous doings are headline news; I could write a book full of the details of your greatness . . . God is all mercy and grace―not quick to anger, is rich in love. God is good to one and all; everything he does is suffused with grace.”
As we enter this season of thanksgiving, friends, I pray we are more aware than ever of the all the ways God has “suffused” our lives with grace, especially for the things that never happened.
Please check out my social pages big deal info on my small town romance series, The Key to Everything, A Plan for Everything, and A Season for Everything. Beverly Varnado's most recent book is In Search of the Painted Bunting, a middle grade historical from Elk Lake Publishing, #1 in new releases in its category. She is also the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.comTo sign up for her newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/dHNdsX Beverly Varnado copyright 2023
November 14, 2023
What is the greatest?
I leaveearly from Sunday School because I’m involved in providing music for the churchservice, but as I tiptoed away from class this past Sunday, the teacher’s words etchedinto my brain as she explained this verse in I Corinthians 13. “And now thesethree remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Paraphrasinghere but, in heaven we won’t need faith because we will “know fully even as I amfully known” (I Corinthians 13:12). And in that place, all that we have hopedfor will be fulfilled. It is only love that will continue eternal.
Alreadyon my heart was a story that I had the privilege to be a part. Jerry for manyyears prior to covid time was a volunteer chaplain at a local hospital. He rotatedwith other pastors who took calls at night and on weekends to give the regularhospital chaplains a break. One Sunday he received a call that a woman in hospicecare wanted to be baptized. Since the patient was a female, for propriety’s sake, I went with him.
Thatafternoon, we arrived at a modest dwelling. When the door opened to the smallspace, the furnishings were also humble.
Butwhat was in no way modest was the sense of the Lord’s presence and the amazinglove poured out in that place through the family members and the woman herself.It was almost palpable.
Aswe sat with this bedridden sweet soul, near the end of her earthly journey,Jerry spoke with her about her relationship with the Lord, and we saw her faithand how before she passed, she wanted to do what she had meant to do before. Ashe poured the water on her head, we were all in tears as we witnessed thisbeautiful thing. It seemed to me that tiny bedroom became the gate of heaven.
Theexperience gave me a greater understanding of how love is the greatest. There’sa cliché that goes “You can’t live on love.” But I’m thinking that maybe we can.The love that filled that home amid such suffering was sustaining and beautiful.Love is the most important thing to our earthly existence, and love will bewith us in heaven, wrapping and filling us with God who is love. (I John 4:16).
MissionaryHeidi Baker writes, “The love of God manifested through you is what peoplereally need.” It's what the world is crying out for and it's up to us as believers to live it out.
The apostle John also wrote, "Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." It's a high calling, and sometimes challenging when the love is not returned, but God's love is unconditional and so should ours be.
So the greatest?
It's love. Now and always.
var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24260977-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();Beverly Varnado's most recent book is In Search of the Painted Bunting, a middle grade historical from Elk Lake Publishing, #1 in new releases in its category. She is also the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.comTo sign up for her newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/dHNdsX Beverly Varnado copyright 2023November 7, 2023
Looking for the sparkle
This post from a few years ago recently came to mind, and I thought I'd share it again. Still continually searching for that sparkle.
Standing in the church parking lot I glanced across the road to the tree line along a pasture. The setting sun illuminated a fringe of branch tips in a remarkable way. I tried to capture the moment with my cell phone, but it was one of those situations where a photo doesn’t do it justice. I wondered how I could depict the sparkling scene on a canvas.
Since I’ve had a brush in my hand more often, I spend time watching the way light moves across the grass in the early morning and how it glints off the side of the pine trees. I get lost in the clouds studying how lights and darks interact with each other. It doesn’t have to be a dramatic scene. Just one cloud in the sky will distract me with its own unique signature of puffy white and billowing dark.
As I’ve followed more landscape artists on social media, what I’ve noticed is most don’t select well known scenes to depict. They make a career out of really seeing and painting the commonplace.
It almost always has to do with the light. So, in the past few months, I’ve been often searching for the brilliance of it and how it’s moving—hoping, hoping to somehow capture it in a bottle.
I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go.
Spiritually speaking, I’m also trying to keep the mindset of looking for light—to hunt for it in the everyday happenings we all encounter. Despite annoying and sometimes tedious situations, if we have the mindset to seek the light, we’ll often see the flash and shimmer of our mighty God at work right where we are.
Of all the verses about light I could choose, one strongly comes to mind. “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). There have been times I clung to this verse with everything in me— like when I had cancer twenty-one years ago. In times of crisis, we are intent on consistently seeking God’s light, but as a crisis abates, our will to do so may ebb.
Let’s renew our determination to be on the lookout for a glimmer of God no matter where we find ourselves. We may not capture it with a brush and paint, but we can for sure be encouraged as we hold the glow in our hearts.
var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24260977-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();Beverly Varnado's most recent book is In Search of the Painted Bunting, a middle grade historical from Elk Lake Publishing, #1 in new releases in its category. She is also the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.comTo sign up for her newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/dHNdsX Beverly Varnado copyright 2023October 31, 2023
The Mystery of this One Butterfly
The 2023 visitation occurred on October 23. These visits are within days of each other every year for many years. Here's the rest of the story from a couple of years ago:
One day last week in the late afternoon, October 19, to be exact, a monarch butterfly fluttered into the backyard to pay a visit to a giant lantana. I edged up on it trying to get a photograph, but he was a little too wary of me, so I had to back off. It was the only monarch I’d seen this year. As I studied his movements, it occurred to me that it was about this time last year when I saw a monarch. I scrolled through my pictures and found where I’d captured a shot—on the exact day, October 19.
Could it be the same butterfly?
No, it couldn’t.
There have been four generations of butterflies between the one I saw last year and the one this year. They only live about six weeks.
I looked back further in my phone and also found a photo of one on October 14 in 2018.
The last generation of monarchs in the year lives longer and do not reach maturity until the next spring. That generation makes a 2000-mile migration from here to Mexico weighing less than a gram. Sometimes, they will take up residence in the exact same tree every year. No one knows how or why because none of the butterflies have ever been there before.
The butterflies I see are likely migrating from points north. Maybe it’s the earth’s gravitational pull, the huge lantanas and butterfly bushes in my yard, or a factor we don’t even know about, but one butterfly shows up here the exact same week every year.
Seeing a monarch is a very special thing to me and a privilege I do not take lightly. Their populations have diminished more than eighty percent since the 1990’s due in large part to the spraying of herbicides. We don’t use herbicides in our yard, and we will never win a yard of the month award because of it, but we are rewarded in other ways like the opportunity to be visited by this rare butterfly.
The mystery of the one butterfly that shows up every year in my yard could remain unsolved. But this yearly visitation is highly valued reminding me of the greatness of God and His loving care. God knows I love these creatures and somehow, I happen to be in the right place at the right time to see them and pray for their survival when they make their calls.
It brings home what Jesus said about the sparrows, “Not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care” (Matthew 10:29). He’s not talking about a million sparrows or a hundred sparrows but one sparrow. One solitary, run of the mill, sparrow. That brings me great comfort when my internal worry machine starts cranking about seemingly irresolvable problems, especially these days with world events being what they are. I see the one butterfly and I’m reminded of a God so great he can guide them back again and again to a place where they have never been to bring amazement and wonder.
So, take comfort from my one butterfly and through him, let God bring you encouragement, too, in whatever difficulty you may find yourself. God cares about the tiniest things—even those that weigh less than a gram. Nothing and no one escapes his tender care.
If you are in the area, I'm having a book signing for In Search of the Painted Bunting on November 2 from 6-8 hosted by Mackay Dental Consultants. I'll have giveaways, too. Hope to see you there. Blessings. Beverly Varnado's most recent book is In Search of the Painted Bunting, a middle grade historical from Elk Lake Publishing, #1 in new releases in its category. She is also the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.comTo sign up for her newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/dHNdsX Beverly Varnado copyright 2023
October 24, 2023
It's Time. Please Do This.
Every year, I write a post likethis asking you to make a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child, a ministry ofSamaritan’s Purse. It seems each year the need is greater, but this year especially.This is not a sponsored post and I receive no remuneration for doing this, butI do it because I believe in this cause.
In the years since OperationChristmas Child began, Samaritan’s Purse has given 209 million children shoeboxesin over 170 countries. Each shoebox carries the message of God’s love.
Children are also invited toattend a study called The Greatest Journey sponsored by Samaritan’s Pursepartners as a follow up to receiving their boxes.
I mentioned a few years back thata woman attending my collegiate alma mater had been adopted as a child from anorphanage in another country. In that orphanage, the only gift she received eachyear was the shoebox through Operation Christmas Child. Her favorite thing inthe box was not the toy but the toothbrush, because in her facility manychildren lined up to share one toothbrush every evening. She was delighted tohave her own for the first time ever.
These boxes are important andhave lasting effects. The woman above in gratitude for Operation ChristmasChild organized her own drive for boxes in her college community.
This year collection week is November13-20 and those drop off locations are listed on the Samaritan’s Purse sitewhich I will link to at the end of this post.
This year, my sister and I againpacked twenty-five boxes. I tell you not to brag about us, because that numberis small compared to a friend of mine who has packed as many as 160 a year. Itell you because I shop all year for deals on school supplies, toys, and hygieneitems so that I can make more boxes. Consider doing that as well and increaseyour boxes each year.
I’m including pictures below of aboy box and a girl box as examples of items you can include in your box. Weinclude a soccer ball (air deflated from it) and pump in the bigger boy boxes, because that gift can windup being one for a whole village. And I heard from someone who had traveled withSamaritan’s purse to deliver these boxes, that you must include a metal car forthe boys. That’s one of their favorites.
When you pack the box, pray forthe child who will receive it, and imagine the joy on their faces when theyremove that lid.
If you’re stretched for time, youcan donate, and Operation Christmas Child will pack the box for you. But take amoment right now and make the choice to click on over to the OperationChristmas Child site and investigate the opportunities. You’ll be very glad youdid.
“Whenever you did one of thesethings to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did itto me” (Matthew 25:40 Message).
I have a story in anotherChristmas Anthology, Celebrating Christmas, from Grace Publishing. No authorreceives royalties, but they are donated to Samaritan’s Purse. So, here’sanother way to support this cause. Many thanks.OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD HERE.
October 17, 2023
When the world shifts
We are grateful things are finally settling down hereafter Jerry’s serious health scare, but we are aware that the world has shiftedin the time he’s been sick.
It’s shifted on a personal level because his illness seemed tohappen so quickly, and we are even more thankful for every day we aregiven.
But circumstances have moved in a huge way on the internationalscene with the attack on Israel. Because of Jerry’s illness, we were not asaware of world events as we normally would have been (television can sometimesbe annoying to those who are ill), and our screen time has been limited. Butwhat we have been doing is praying for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).
What I did catch early on was a video from Mozambique missionaryDr. Heidi Baker who “happened” (more like divine appointment) to be in Jerusalem holding a missions’conference the weekend of the attacks. I’m going to paraphrase here what she saidfrom a balcony in Israel as smoke was seen in the distance behind her. Shelifted Habakkuk 2:14, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of theglory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” She spoke about how asbelievers, we should be running into the darkness wherever we are. Like firstresponders, we should carry God’s “love, his mercy, and his compassion” tothose who are hurting.
So, in these troubled times, what we can do is that, as bestwe can with the Lord’s help wherever we find ourselves. And yes, we can pray,pray, pray, and give financially as we are able to aid ministries.
And wherever we are means even in hospital rooms, where wehad opportunity to share about the Lord with others.
Friends, continuing to pray with you in these days.
Beverly Varnado's most recent book is In Search of the Painted Bunting, a middle grade historical from Elk Lake Publishing, #1 in new releases in its category. She is also the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.comTo sign up for her newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/dHNdsX Beverly Varnado copyright 2023
October 10, 2023
God is in this story
I went out Sunday morning for a short time. “God is inthis story” by Big Daddy Weave and Katy Nicole played on the car radio. It hitme in such a powerful way and has continued to be something of a mantra that I whisperunder my breath.
At that point Jerry had been strugglingwith some sort of infection for almost a week which had involved an urgent carevisit and many conversations with health care providers. The circumstancesescalated later Sunday making an emergency room trip necessary. And from there,test results and symptoms necessitated hospital admittance. That is where westill are, and I write this post fromhis hospital room.
Hopefully test results will come in soongiving us more insight into how to better treat this infection and turn thisthing around.
I’m still whispering. God isin this story. I don’t understand all the how’s of that, and I stopped asking whymany years ago when we encounter things like this. I’ve quoted C.S. Lewis often,“We, in our agony, struggle to pull God down to wherewe are and force Him to explain that which cannot be explained. Can a mortalask questions which God finds unanswerable? . . . All nonsense questions areunanswerable. How many hours are there in a mile? Is yellow square or round?Probably half the questions we ask―half our theological and metaphysicalproblems―are like that.”
Why is adead-end street.
But what I do know about our situation isthat God planted us high in this hospital with a bank of windows that overlook aportion of our city and a wide vista of sky. It’s like we are floating in theair. He has given us caring health care providers that seem at the top of theirprofession. He has blessed us with friends and family that send messages ofsupport and love and pray continually.
Oh, yes. God is in this story.
And God is in your story, too.
No matter how hard, or how long, or how devastatingit seems to be.
When interviewed about this song, Big DaddyWeave talked about the recent loss of his brother. He hoped this would be asong of hope for others and remind that God is with us in “all the seasons ofour lives.”
Katy Nicole has shared her story ofserious health challenges, and the resulting depression and anxiety. She said, “I’veseen how God has brought glory to His name and how He’s brought good from someof these really, really bad things.”
Paul seemed to echo these thoughts in hisletters to the Corinthians and the Romans. Here from the Message: “My grace isenough. It’s all you need” (2 Corinthians 12:9 ). “That’s why we can be so surethat every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good”(Romans 8:28).
So here we are, in the middle of a processfor which there are not many answers at the present time. But since God is inthis story, we are trusting that He is at work in ways we cannot comprehend. Andthat makes all the difference.
October 3, 2023
Oh, Happy Day
Formy Toccoa friends, I will be at the Currahee Military Museum this Friday, Oct.6 from 1-5. I’ll have all my books, especially my new middle grade book, InSearch of the Painted Bunting, (Vietnam era) as well as art prints andnotecards. I look forward to seeing you!!!
Jerryofficiated at a wedding recently which turned out to be one of the most joyousoccasions we’ve had the privilege to be part of in recent years.
Heldoutside at a botanical garden, butterflies floated above our heads and at onepoint before the ceremony, a pipe vine swallowtail lit in the exact spot wherethe bride and groom would stand. It flapped its wings, rose, and swirled aloftas the string quartet played Bach making it feel like a foretaste of heaven.
Thissweet wedding made me think of other weddings through the years—some of them with funny stories.
At Jerry’s first wedding just after he graduated from seminary, he wasnervous as anyone would be. It was in a big church with many attendees. When itcame time to ask who gave the bride in marriage, he mixed up the words a bitand said, “Who gives this man to be married to this woman?”
Without missing a beat, the bride’s father said, “His mother and I.”
Then there was the one when a groomsmen must have done what we alwayswarn against—he locked his knees. Out he went right in the middle of theservice. Realizing what happened, two groomsmen next to him picked him up,carried him out, and then returned. The ceremony continued.
And my all-time favorite funny story which wasn’t so funny at the time,at least at first. I was on a field trip to Lookout Mountain, Tennessee with myson’s Boy Scout Troup when Jerry’s number lit up on my phone. I thought itstrange as it was about time for a wedding he was officiating. When I answered,his voice sounded panicked. “Pray,” he said. “The bride is missing.” Of course,the movie Runaway Bride flitted through my mind, and I wondered if she hadgotten cold feet and hopped on a FedEx truck or something. A search party wasdispersed to find her.
They found her all right—asleep. She’d stayed up late inthe night working on favors for the reception, forgotten to set an alarm, andfell asleep. Happily, Jerry Varnado was at the helm, and he provided funnyanecdotes for the wedding guests until the bride could arrive and get dressedfor the ceremony.
But my very favorite wedding story is one that has not happened yet.It is not a funny story, but it will be joyous. “'Hallelujah! For our Lord GodAlmighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the weddingof the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready’” (Revelation 196-7).
One day, one amazing, wonderful day, those who love the Lord will beinvited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And I wonder if on that day, wewill sing a song that the daughter of friends of ours chose to exit her weddingceremony on (another ceremony which strongly reminded me of heaven), “Oh happy day, oh happy day, when Jesus washed, oh whenhe washed my sins away. Oh, happy day.”
We are grateful the experience of this recent wedding once again keeps us lookingforward to a time when there will be no more tears, no more death, no more pain,everything will be made new, and we will dwell with the Lord forever.
And to that we say, “Oh happy day!!!”
Related: A Wedding and A Little Bit of Heaven
var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24260977-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();Beverly Varnado's most recent book is In Search of the Painted Bunting, a middle grade historical from Elk Lake Publishing, #1 in new releases in its category. She is also the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.comTo sign up for her newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/dHNdsX Beverly Varnado copyright 2023
