THANKFUL.....AM I?

November is almost over. This is the month we Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. Seems like we ought to be the most thankful people in the world,  yet I'm not really sure we are. I am making a general judgement call on others but I'm making it on myself also.

I'm in a study with two other women. Right now we're studying  Jerry Bridges's book called Respectable Sins, Confronting the Sins We Tolerate.  The book is convicting as the author looks at sin .....subtle sins in the lives of the believer.  Not only are we shown areas of our lives we might not realize are sinful, the author gives us hope in how to recognize and confront the sin.  

One of the sins he talks about is unthankfulness.  The author tells of the ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19) Jesus heals and only one comes back to Him to give praise and thanks.  He goes on to ask how could those other nine who were healed be so ungrateful?  And yet are we not guilty of being ungrateful for what God has done for us, spiritually and physically?   Can we not acknowledge that everything we have and are is from God?  As spirit filled children of God, Paul reminds us in Ephesians 5;20....to always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Note the 'always' and 'everything'.

I'm quoting from the book now "Giving thanks to God for both His temporal and spiritual blessings in our lives is not just a nice thing to do--it is the moral will of God.  Failure to give Him the thanks due Him is sin.  It may seem like a benign sin to us because it doesn't hurt anyone else.  But it is an affront and insult to the One who created us and sustains us every second of our lives.  And if, as Jesus so clearly stated loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind is the great and first commandment, then failure to give thanks to God as a habit of life is a violation of the greatest commandment."

I'm trying to make thankfulness to God a habit.  I want thankfulness to become second nature.   Let me share some of what I'm thankful for right now:  

My husband John, for his faith and love for me, for my faith also.  Thankful for the journey we've traveled together.

My family, children and grandchildren, for their lives, vocations, love for one another, thankful for Ian's successful knee surgery, thankful he wasn't injured when he a a deer collided recently.  Thankful for health, shelter, friends, freedoms not known in so many parts of the world.  Thankful the washing machine conked out on the last load this week and not the first.   Oh so much more!  

Trusting that any who might read this blog will take a new look of how thankfulness impacts your life.  And may we all give God the glory!

Sympathy and Prayers

My sympathy and prayers go to our PCUSA Moderator, Bruce Reyes-Chow and his wife Robin on the death, Friday, of Brian Pugh, Robin's brother. According to news reports he and two others were shot and killed while in their work place.

Loss of a loved one is difficult at any time but lives taken by murder for those left behind seem harder to accept. We also need to remember the other two individuals and families who lost loved ones as well as the perpetrator and his family.

May God surround and comfort these families in the midst of this tragedy. Lord give those ministering to them directly love that comes from you, sustain them Father through these difficult times and the days ahead.
Lord I would pray for the spirit of forgiveness for these families.  May they know and experience your forgiveness in the days ahead.  May your powerful love engulf them.
May you grant peace and understanding.  

In Jesus name I pray, 

Amen

Family....making a difference...a choice

We received a call from a cousin of my husband the other day.  She and her husband were in town and wanted to come by and see us.  As we chatted (I've only seen her a couple of times in 45 years) I asked if she'd seen John's other bothers and wives etc.  She hadn't so I said I'll give them a call and have you all over for dinner.  She appreciated the opportunity to see everyone. As an aside John's sister moved from the hometown a year ago. She is the glue in the family even from a distance. We miss her on a day to day basis. Part of Anne's reasoning for their trip was to retrace family history, cemeteries, homesteads etc.  Since this side of the family doesn't have "much documented history" the conversation led to a lot of questions and rememberances and some speculation.  Since I'm the last one to enter the family (in this generation) and that was 45 years ago I  listened and was somewhat saddened.  Families are broken and spoken of lightly, grandchildren living with someone, having babies and no talk of marriage,  not remembering greatgrandchildren's names.  Commenting we can't have any influence on them....they just do what they want!  That's just the way life is now.  The families are professing Christians.  What has our culture done to us or should I say to our thinking?  What is wrong with this picture?.....seems like life is spiriling out of control.

As I've thought of the evening and my own immediate family, I am oh so thankful for how God has worked and is working in and through us.  Not that we don't, haven't or won't have our difficulties.  Circumstances may not turn out the way we would like them to but because of our relationship with the Lord, knowing He is soverign and wants only His best for us we can be confidant in His love and care.

Here is a website a friend has published,  http://www.fromgrandpawithlove.com I think anyone who is serious about how God works in our lives and how we can influence subsequent generations will find it beneficial.

FAMILY....all in the same decade!

Well today marks my little brother's 60th birthday. Kevin is the 'tall one' in the photo on the left. My other brother is Philip, he's 18 months older than than Kevin. Others in the photo are Phil's family except for the bearded one and he belongs to me. My sister in law is Christine. Their children are Justin (r) and his wife Lori and daughter Madison and their daughter Katie (l) and her husband, Ryan, and baby Jackson. Sadie has joined Madison since the picture was taken. You are looking at the end of the Ganzer family name at least from this line. Kevin has 2 daughters and Justin has 2 daughters. This picture was taken 2 years ago. As I was looking for a picture of Kevin I realized we're kind of like "the shoemakers kids who go shoeless." We have lots of pictures but not many of family. Guess we'll have to make some changes! Anyway I'm always glad when 'the boys' hit my decade. Not that it makes any difference but it does make me feel better. I try and think age is a state of mind and only occasionally a feeling in the body.
I welcome both my brothers to this decade and trust we all make it to the next!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Kevin.

ART....the eye of the beholder!

Would he approve of the candidate these people are wanting you to support?

 I don't think so!










Several weeks ago we headed north to see the 5th largest art fair in the United States. It is held annually on the County Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri. For a long weekend every September the streets on the Plaza are cordoned off to accommodate rows of tents, sound stages and restaurant kiosks. Art in all mediums is displayed.  It is great fun to stroll the streets looking at the wears and all the people.  Enjoy a little of what we saw!

Please forgive the lack of artistic display....i'm still trying to figure out how to do this! I give all the photography credit to my husband, John. Thanks, Honey,

The Plaza.... via...The Shack!

As you might remember from my last post I put the audio of The Shack on our Ipod and was trying to convince John into taking a road trip to Kansas City for the weekend. With several incentives we took off Friday afternoon, listening all the way. Arriving in Kansas City only a little over 2 hours into the book (it reads 8+ hours) we stopped the Ipod and John said "yes it draws you in and is interesting"....we hadn't gotten to the part yet that I wanted to see his reaction.

We enjoyed the evening with our daughter, Debby, who drove over from Lawrence to join us for dinner. Saturday morning saw us running several errands and visiting Dean & DeLuca, checking out what we in Wichita have to look forward to....so we're hearing.

It was a beautiful weekend, weather wise. The Flinthills are verdant green pastures laced with yellows and browns in wildflowers and various grasses. A favorite destination for us in Kansas City is the County Club Plaza. I have many fond childhood memories of Kansas City as that is where I was born and where both my parents were from. Fortunately John enjoys the area also, so it's a fun getaway.

This past weekend was the yearly Plaza Art Fair.

Artists from all over the US come and display their mediums. There is music, food and lots of interesting looking people. I heard an estimate that 300,000 people attend the 3 day event. We spent the afternoon wondering through the displays, enjoying a lovely fall day. Dinner Saturday night was at The Bristol Seafood Grill.

A relaxing dinner started with steamed mussels, Caesar salad, grilled swordfish on a bed of orzo with Asian vegetables accompanied by a crisp, buttery chardonnay.

Sunday found us heading south and listening to the ipod. The drive was leisurely and lasted over 4 hours as we avoided the 4 lanes and took the scenic route home. We were able to get through quite a bit of the book. Enough at least to get the general idea and flavor of the story. Initially John's reaction was...."oh I don't know about this..." but as he continued to listen his thoughts changed. We turned off the Ipod and talked the last 30 minutes home, discussing some of the aspects of the book. At first hearing John said he couldn't see anything wrong with the theology, it mentioned some things he hadn't thought about before and it definitely takes God out of "our box." I want him to finish the book and see how Mack was redeemed!

Knock your socks off.........great!!

We have been away for several months and not in the general stream of information, so when a friend said "you have to read The Shack, it's very controversial." I said "ok" and wrote the name down on a napkin along with some other information we talked about. Several weeks later another friend said she had read The Shack and did I want to borrow her copy?

I had no idea what the book was about until I read a little from the cover. I must admit "controversial" peaked my interest. Now I'm wondering how controversial can it be after reading Eugene Peterson's comment on the cover of the book? I finished the book last night and while reading it I experienced all kinds of thoughts and emotions....tears, sadness, laughter, the WOW factor, what would John think? never thought of that......and a lot more. When ever I put the book down John asked what it was about. I told him, "you have to read it." And I said please don't read any reviews etc. I want to know what you think.
I was with a pastor friend the other day and asked if he had read the book. He got this big grin on his face and said 'Oh yes...it was great'. He said he was the first in his family to read it and when he passed it on to his wife....she would read and stop and then huff and puff (my terms) and he would say...'just read it please' As we talked I ventured out and said I really couldn't see anything blatently wrong about the theology....did he? His comment was not really but as you're reading remember it's fiction. He indicated he needed to reread it more carefully in regard to theology but at first read he thought it was fine. He also said what courage and imagination the author exibited in how he portrayed the characters. It was eye opening.
Well....I'm not going to 'spill the beans' and tell you anymore. I hope if you haven't read it you will and if you have read it I'd love to hear your comments. I've downloaded it from ITunes for about $6.00.....Now if I can talk John into a little getaway this weekend/road trip to Kansas City....-) I will be able to see his reaction first hand and we can have some lively conversation.

A short post script...after downloading I did read some of the comments. A majority were positive but to be fair there were negatives also...someone thought it was a psycological thriller that was misrepresented, particurlarly for those like him who were agnostics, glad he didn't spend any more money on it. Others said heresy and teaches false doctrine, terrible fiction, whiny and self indulgant....I hope you'll read it and judge for your self .