His Eye is on the Sparrow

Early this morning my house guests from Texas and Northern California and I watched from my deck as one by one a dozen beautiful hot air balloons rose into the morning sky in celebration of America's Independence Day.  For thirty-one years I have delighted in the sight, but seeing it through the eyes of first-time observers always causes me to experience fresh wonder.  Every time someone new comes to my home on this mountain and draws in a breath of  fresh, clean air, blinks in awe at a sunrise or sunset, looks up like a child at unfiltered blue sky, walks through my house and looks out a window at a different view from every room,  my mind goes back to the miracle sent by the Lord that allowed us to buy this family and ministry home.  Life can snatch away the awe of past miracles and we must not forget.  We must not.

The tree house our sons built for the grandchildren still rests in the branches of the giant oak below the deck. Sometimes I think I hear the laughter of the five L's and one M.  as they swing in a giant ark below the tree house. On the walls of that high-in-the-sky little house are written with felt pen the names of all of them.  In the evenings the tears sometimes stream down my face as I think I hear their screams of excitement as they race from the top floor of this three and a half story house all the way to the floor below, playing "Ghosts in the Graveyard". ...a game we adults never could figure out. ...and then there was the time two of the "L's" came screeching down the hill: "We saw a mountain lion.  We know it was a mountain lion!" ...and maybe it was.

Right now I am thinking about the time a visiting couple from Hawaii came downstairs in the morning saying, "We really enjoyed sleeping in your sleigh". Ted and I hurried up the stairs to discover the queen-size bed was squashed to the floor in the middle. a dead give away that six pairs of kid-feet had bungee-jumped from the balcony in that room and landed on the bed below.  Every slat was broken. Fun! ...and then there was the time that oldest grandson and a buddy couldn't resist poking out the skylight above that balcony. Dad Doug was on it in a heartbeat and that grandson had to install that skylight himself. This ol' house holds many memories for those grand kids, their parents and their grandmother.

Yesterday my two guests and I climbed to the Family Oak above the house where the weddings of both sons took place and five of the six grandchildren were dedicated to Jesus by their Grandfather. The view is spectacular! Ted and I often sat in the double swing that hung from that ancient oak and prayed for this valley.  Now there is a strong witness for Jesus:  the result of the prayers and sacrifice of many saints.

My guest from Austin, Texas, Harriet is the prayer coordinator for BRIDGES,  the branch of CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ) whose mission is to reach and disciple for our Lord Jesus Christ the million foreign students who continue to pour into our American universities. The goal: ten million new disciples for Christ by the year 2020. Will you join in prayer?

Newest personal challenge: attempting to be smart enough to figure out my new smart phone. My flip top died when I dropped it. Tomorrow night I won't be playing with my beloved Tehachapi Symphony Orchestra at the football field but a friend, whose husband is in Afghanistan and I will be sitting on the grass with many others,  thrilling to their glorious patriotic music and watching the spectacular fireworks that break out as the sun goes down.  How many more such celebrations will there be?  We do not know, but God does.

                              I KNOW WHO HOLDS TOMORROW

I don't know about tomorrow; I just live from day to day.
I don't borrow from its sunshine, for its skies may turn to grey.
I don't worry o'er the future  (That's not entirely true.)
For I know what Jesus said, and today I'll walk beside Him
For He knows what lies ahead.

I don't know about tomorrow; it may bring me poverty.
But the One Who feeds the sparrows is the One Who stands by me.
And the path that is my portion may be through the flame or flood
But His Presence goes before me and I'm covered by His blood.

MANY THINGS ABOUT TOMORROW I DON'T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND
BUT I KNOW WHO HOLDS TOMORROW
AND I KNOW WHO HOLDS MY HAND.


Love,  Jo