But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.  Psalm 52:8

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:2-3

God has given Steve and me a visual reminder of the truth of these verses. Steve’s birthday was in April, and I wanted to get him a meaningful gift. Steve got a birthday card from his cousin Carroll in Arizona, and she told him that she had a tree planted in his honor in Sequoia National Forest in California. Steve spent two of his high school years with this cousin and her parents, and they took a trip to Sequoia National Forest while he was living with them.

Steve is a Jewish Christian (he prefers this rather than completed Jew or Messianic Jew). Normally Jewish people have a tree planted in someone’s honor in Israel, but cousin Carroll chose this location because of the good memories she and Steve have of this vacation. When we got the birthday card I thought, “What a great idea!” So I decided to have a tree planted in our front yard in Steve’s honor.

Marisa Marshall, a friend from our ABF, went with me to find a tree. I found a beautiful crepe myrtle, and Marisa graciously insisted on paying for part of it so I could get a bigger tree. On April 13 the Sweat Team showed up, planted the tree, and we dedicated it to Steve.

Then our son and daughter-in-law, Dale and Allison, in Flower Mound decided to plant a tree in Steve’s honor, and so did Steve’s daughter, Diana and cousin, Ann, both in California. Steve now has five trees planted in his honor!

We have watched the crepe myrtle grow and blossom, and we praise God that He chose us to be His children and to flourish as we trust Him and meditate on His law. Flourishing doesn’t mean having lots of material things or a position of power or prestige. It means that God continues to give us love, peace, joy, strength, and comfort through Christ our Savior. It means God gives us meaningful days with Him, each other, our family, and with our brothers and sisters in Christ even though we’ve had to pull back from “official ministry.” We have more time to pray. Our lives have slowed down so that we can enjoy those the Lord sends our way and hopefully encourage them. Our leaf is not withering even though Steve’s body is winding down. Only our God and Savior could do all that!

 

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.       Psalm 121:1-2

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.  James 1:12    
    
The joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10

Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart
    and my portion forever.                     Psalm 73:25-26

We got a call one day last spring from Mike Spencer, one of our pastors and our ABF teacher. He and Joe Adamson, a fellow class member, wanted to come for a visit. When they got here, they presented us with a journal that had been passed around class. The Lord put it on Joe’s heart to do this for us. The journal contains notes of encouragement and Scriptures penned by the class members. The above Scriptures are a sampling of those in the journal that we continue to read over and over.

Every day Steve and I read parts of four devotional books, Jerry Bridges book, Trusting God, the Bible, and the journal our class gave us. We feel loved, comforted, uplifted, and grateful as we spend time reading and praying. It keeps our focus where it should be – on God’s goodness, love, grace, and mercy in sending His Son so that we can have eternal life in heaven. We praise Him for choosing us to be His children before the foundations of the world!

Reading and meditating on the Scriptures brings peace, joy, and hope. Our hearts swell with love for our Savior and God, Jesus Christ as we think about all that is in store for us when we leave this earth. Yes, it will be sad for those of us left here when God takes Steve to heaven, but oh, how glorious for Steve to see Christ face-to-face!

Revelation 21:3-4: “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

This verse sparks fireworks in my heart! We have so much to look forward to when Christ returns for His church. Meanwhile, I pray we will walk in faith and trust God with all that He allows in our lives. God is good, no matter what!              

 

 

Mark 12:28-31

One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’  The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 

Loving God includes loving Him with our minds. I had the joy of loving God with my mind by going through Bible Training Center for Leaders, a course for women at Denton Bible Church. This intensive two year program covers Old and New Testament Survey, Bible Doctrine, Servant Leadership, and four other areas of study.  

I stopped going to my second year classes in early March in order to take care of Steve. The BTCL graduation was scheduled for May 11, and we didn’t know if Steve would live long enough to go to the graduation. That’s when we saw the second part of Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself” in action.  

On March 23, Janis Saville, Sarah Pogue, Nan Anderson, my shepherds Verna and Gayle, and the rest of the second year BTCL leaders held a graduation ceremony for me at our home so that Steve could be part of it. Our pastor, Tommy Nelson gave a message and elder Jim Roberts also participated. The BTCL leaders brought food, flowers, decorations…and my diploma. Our son and some friends were there to help celebrate. What a joyous time! Every person who came sacrificed their time to make this a special occasion, and Steve and I appreciated all the effort it took to pull this off.

BTCL is another of those “families” at Denton Bible Church. Spending two years together studying the Bible with like-minded women forges bonds of love. I will always treasure my time at BTCL and marvel at the commitment of the leaders who invest in women year in and year out. 

And guess what? Steve felt well enough to attend part of the graduation held at church on May 11. He saw me get my diploma (again J) and was able to stay for about 15 minutes of the reception. 

God filled our hearts to overflowing with the love demonstrated by Tommy, Jim and the BTCL community “loving their neighbor as themselves.” Our desire is to spread that love to all we come in contact with.

 

 

John 13:14-15; 34-35

 “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”

 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” 

Jesus spoke these words to His disciples after He had washed their feet at the Last Supper. Our DBC family lives out these commandments of our Lord; namely, to wash feet and to love. In a sense, our feet are being washed through the loving acts of kindness that so many pour out on us. This not only blesses us, but it speaks loudly to our neighbors without using words. They see people coming almost daily to help us and encourage us during this time of Steve’s illness. They see love in action. 

One example of this happened several months ago. Choir member Glenna Butler organized about 20 choir members to come over and sing hymns to Steve. One of our neighbors called while they were here, alarmed at all the cars in our driveway. She thought something had happened to Steve. I told her choir members were here singing and invited her over. She didn’t come but another neighbor came and sat on our deck and listened to the beautiful hymns the choir was singing.

The choir is another of those “families” that make up Denton Bible Church – people serving together who become closer, in many cases, than birth families. Steve’s love of classical music drew him to sing in church choirs all of his Christian life. Until he got sick, he looked forward to choir practice on Wednesdays and the church service on Sundays where he could use his love of music to worship the Lord. The DBC website says this about the worship and music:

God has designed everyone for the purpose of praising His name. It is the primary goal of the Music and Worship Ministry at Denton Bible Church to exalt the name of Jesus and encourage others to join in doing the same. The psalmist writes “Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious!” 

Steve always appreciated the emphasis that Kendall, our worship pastor, put on glorifying the Lord through the worship music at DBC. Kendall and his two assistants, Jacob and Andrew came to visit Steve after he was diagnosed with lymphoma and had to drop out of the choir. Here is another example of carrying out Christ’s command to love one another. Their visit nurtured and comforted Steve with the love of Jesus. 

Our organist, Dede Benton and hubby Bob, have also visited several times. The organ is Steve’s favorite instrument. Every Sunday before the church service Steve used to spend a few minutes talking with Dede, so we came to know and appreciate Bob and Dede. Their visits brought back fond memories of times when Dede let loose with the organ and caused Steve’s spirit to soar in worship to God.

Every day when Steve and I pray we thank God for our church family. More next time about those wonderful saints!