Monday, October 27, 2014

. . . blown away - grateful

At the beginning of this year, I was visiting friends in Mobile, when I suddenly became very ill. I was taken in for emergency surgery to repair an intestinal blockage ... then, I began the slow process of healing. During my 49 day hospital stay, my friends, Rose Marie and Linda, graciously provided hospitality to my children, coming in to town. They housed them, often fed them and provided some sanity for those awful 'touch-n-go' moments when my life was literally on the line.

My dear friend, 'Bobba', Barbara King Zumwalt, made a gorgeous quilt for me and sent it, along with one of her Mom's lovely afghans.




Since my "incarceration" in this institute-of-getting-better, known as Singing River Rehabilitation and Nursing Center - MANY of you have asked me:


 "WHAT CAN I DO?"...
"IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN GET FOR YOU?"

and, not in a general way, which is easily dismissed, either. That is how the "wish list" came into being: a central place where items that I need are organized, with my sizes, colors and shipping information, all together. Eight months of wearing only hospital gowns became the reason for the list's title:


Lorna's "GET RID of HOSPITAL GOWNS" wish list

I am blown away by the generosity shown to me through this protracted illness and sometimes slow recovery.  Friends from Flint, Michigan, with whom i also worked in Southern California, Barbara and Dr. Paul Elbert, selected and sent a beautiful velour tunic top in TEAL.

High School buddies, Callie Fisher (Callie Cat) and Cara Terry have each sent packages ... a knee length cable knit sweater in BOYSENBERRY from Callie and a green sweatpant suit and gorgeous CRANBERRY velour tunic and BLACK velour slacks came in from Cara.

A dear friend with whom i worked, in ministry in Los Angeles, Sandy Rector, and her sweet lady friend, Darla Purdy, sent a surprise package (not on the list, but inspired by it) a velour pantsuit in scrumptious MISTY VIOLET.  All of these fit loosely and are elastic waist, by necessity - but a far cry from the hospital gowns I've been wearing, and a huge boost in self-confidence for me.  Office workers here, commenting on the packages coming in, have said:




"That's proof it's not a cold, cruel world out there, 
like people say !"

On the topic of my self-confidence, so many of you have liked and commented on the selfies I've been posting with big toothy grins. It was the same, Rose Marie and Linda, from Mobile, who not only PAID for custom dentures to be made for me, but carried me back and forth to my fittings in Gulfport, until they got them just right.

I must, in this GRATITUDE post, also mention my three wonderful children! When i posted the new 'Warriors in Pink'  scarf to my Facebook timeline, my daughter Dawn and hubby, Brandon, had ordered it within five minutes! These are the same two guilty culprits who co-created the three gorgeous granddaughters you see on my FB timeline, too! She is so good to keep me involved in those babies' lives, everything from posting pics and videos, to juggling phone conversations, to picking out and ordering the exact item that will make their jaw drop, at what an awesome Nana I am - but, it's all Dawn!

My daughter, Marie, was just down here for a visit. I wanted some clip-on earrings, and we shopped everywhere! Finally in Walmart, she pointed to one kiosk and said: "what about this?"  So, at age 62, I got my ears pierced! She and her husband, Aaron also provide me with the latest in smart-phones and service, and she took me in to get my phone fixed while she was here. (Dawn and Brandon carried me on their Sprint service for several years prior.)

I used to tell my son, Bryton, that he's my   "only begotten son, in whom i am well-pleased". Now, he's turning it around, saying: Mom,   "I go to prepare a place for you, when it's ready, I'll come and take you there, that where i am, you may be also"  . . .  check earlier posts on my FB timeline of the apartment he's fixing up for me  and  the view i have from my balcony there !



GRATITUDE -  i have so much to be thankful for!  So, if you think this post is too long, you really don't get it !  Not many come through what I've been through this year and live to tell about it ...

Not everyone survives cancer twice !  After coming here,  to recover from abdominal surgery, we noticed my left nipple was real red, so they sent me out to the hospital to have it checked.  Dr's found two potato-sized tumors, and removed the entire breast and lymph nodes (a modified radical mastectomy). All of this WHILE i was recovering from major abdominal surgery !

So, it's never too much when your heart is as full as mine, 
and "THANK  YOU " seems so inadequate !
_____________________________

Yet, i say, to each of you, for your love, support and your prayers -
 a humble 'Thank You'  ... and to my sweet Lord, Jesus Christ, to the Father of Lights and Precious Holy Spirit, many, many thanks !

Sunday, October 5, 2014

i know you say you love me, but ....

the other day, i was speaking with a staff member at the nursing home,
 where i've been staying the past seven months, and the topic of my
 "girlfriend" came up.  it was as though i had never mentioned her before
i saw the worker's face comprehend that i was NOT using the term as in
 "friend-girl", but was referring to my sweetheart, instead.

i think this is more common than i would like to imagine, that straight
people mistake our terminology (which is clear) for their own terminology,
which in comparison, is rather muddy !  i meant  "girlfriend" every time i
said it, but, up until now, she thought i meant "friend-girl".





WHY ???

i was always taught to say what i mean and mean what i say !!!

sadly, when the young lady realized what i was really saying, she
looked at me wide-eyed, visibly shuddered, and excused herself.
she has not so much as looked in my direction since that day !

so much for tolerance !

i know you say you love me, but ....


Lorna

TTFN
 (ta ta for now)


Tuesday, January 7, 2014

The Ethiopian Eunuch - Acts 8:26-39

Peter meets the Ethiopian    Acts 8:26-39


26" Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”
30So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.32The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
33In His humiliation His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.”
34So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”  37Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”  And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39Now when they came up out of the water,the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. "

NKJV
***************************************************


So, let us look more closely at the identity of the Ethiopian eunuch. At the time of the writing of Acts, the term Ethiopian was used to describe people from Nubia, south of Egypt. So, we know from this description that he was probably a black African. But that still leaves us with the question, “What is a eunuch?”


The Greek word used in Acts is 'eunouchos', which means literally “guardian or keeper of the couch.” The term refers to those who were placed in positions of highest trust in royal palaces and wealthy households. Eunuchs served and guarded the women in these households. Because of their intimate access to the royal courts, eunuchs often rose to senior government positions. In this story, the Ethiopian eunuch was Treasurer to the Queen of Ethiopia. (8:27)

Not just anyone was permitted to serve as a eunuch. Given their intimate access to the women of the household, they had to be men who could be trusted not to have affairs with (or force themselves upon) the women — because to do so would cloud the line of succession to the throne and confuse inheritance rights. 

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the ideal candidate for the position of eunuch would be someone known for his disinterest in women. Although the ancients did not have the same clear concept of heterosexual and homosexual that we do today, people were put together in the same way then as now. There were men then (as now) who had a reputation for being disinterested in women as objects of sexual attraction. They would make the ideal eunuch.

Philip heading a great evangelistic campaign in Samaria. The story tells us that along with “proclaiming the Messiah,” (8:4) Philip was healing people and casting out demons. His efforts were going so well, and so many were coming to faith, “there was great joy in that city.” (8:8) However, in the midst of this great revival, the Holy Spirit told Philip to “get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (8:26) This road was in the wilderness.

This seems like a strange command: Leave the great revival among the Samaritans, and go out into the wilderness. But Philip did what God asked. Then the story gets even stranger. Out in the wilderness, Philip finds a lone Ethiopian eunuch traveling south from Jerusalem. The author tells us the man was sitting in his chariot, reading from Isaiah. Having just been to Jerusalem to worship, he was now headed home.

When the Ethiopian introduced himself to Philip as a eunuch, Philip would have immediately known  he was dealing with a man who was part of a class commonly associated with homosexual desire.

Acts 8:32-33 tells us the Ethiopian eunuch was reading from Isaiah 53:7-8. This passage was seen by early Christians as a prophecy about Jesus. The whole chapter tells about the suffering of God’s anointed one. Verse 3 says, “He was despised and rejected by others.” Verse 7 says, “He was oppressed and he was afflicted.” It seems like a strange passage for someone to read just after worshipping in Jerusalem, the holy city. But it makes sense when we understand that the Ethiopian eunuch had probably found  himself  despised and rejected by the religious leaders in Jerusalem.

It was at this point Philip, guided by the Holy Spirit, Philip finds himself transported right next to a carriage carrying an Ethiopian eunuch, traveling south from Jerusalem. He asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The Ethiopian eunuch, still seeking a religious authority figure, answered “How can I unless someone guides me?” (8:31) 

So, Philip started with this Scripture and “proclaimed to him the good news of Jesus.” (8:35) Then they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is some water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” 

Philip responded, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”



Philip did not say, “Let’s talk about Deuteronomy 23:1.” He also did not say, “I realize since you’re a eunuch that you may desire men; can you promise me you’ll never have a sexual relationship with a man?” 

Philip’s answer should be astonishing to anyone who still holds a prejudice against gay, lesbian, and bisexual believers. Instead, operating under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” We have no way of knowing whether the Ethiopian eunuch was in fact gay. But we do know he was part of a class of people commonly associated with homosexuality and that this fact was completely irrelevant to whether he could become a Christian.


from the blog : 

*******************************************************

* I am a Christian, a minister of the Gospel, who long held the belief that homosexualtiy was a cursed lifestyle.  
In today's society, especially in light of recent controversy - this belief is being spouted by many.  I have come to learn  that:  just as my heart was always unsettled about excluding a part of the population from God's grace ... there is, indeed, plenty of Biblical evidence to cease from judgement and embrace all people.


thompsonlorna52@gmail.com

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

CHRISTMAS ...


       Those who lived in darkness, 
                       have seen a great light !

___________________________________


Some Christmas quotes for you:









Washington Irving


“In Christmas, God reveals Himself 

not as one who stands above and 

who dominates the universe, 

but as He who lowers himself.” 


  Pope Francis


And, my favorite: 





MERRY CHRISTMAS, ALL !!!


Lorna

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CHRISTMAS is a SAD time 
for many, many people ... 
one of my best friends lost her son to cancer today, 
on Christmas Eve. 

Please DON'T ASSUME that everyone is filled with Christmas joy ... 

be kind and sensitive to others ... 

For those of you who are hurting right now, 
i offer this encouragement:


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



"HIS LOVE WILL NEVER FAIL YOU ...  
HE WILL CARRY YOU 
THROUGH THE HARD TIMES !
JESUS LOVES YOU !!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JESUS, who became man, 
was born, lived and died, all for YOU !!! 

Call on Him , and He will answer you !

( In 1969, I called out to Him 
in the middle of the night - 


"GOD, If You're up there 
... help me !!!" 

He answered by filing my room with LIGHT, 
saving me and filling me with His Holy Spirit !) 

... He will HEAR you when you call !!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

... If you need someone to talk to
and pray with you throughout this holiday,
please send a private message to
Lorna Smith Thompson on Facebook,
and  we can chat -
and i will take time with you !


He will HEAR you when you call !


Thursday, December 5, 2013

10 THINGS YOU CAN'T DO WHILE FOLLOWING JESUS -



1) Hate.
The one possible exception might be “hate” itself but even then hate breeds hate -- so best to avoid it.

2) Use the church to hurt people.
For the most part, Jesus practiced Dudeism. That man could abide. However, there were a few times when he seemed to get more than a bit worked up (most notably with the money changers in the temple grounds). What could take this chill, peace-loving, Jewish hippie from 0 to 60 in the flip of a switch? Using an institution whose primary goal is meant to be love to hurt people. (It's important to note that while you might describe Jesus as aggressive in the temple grounds with the money changers even then he was not physically violent toward people).

3) Be physically aggressive or violent.
Okay, okay. “Jesus in in the temple grounds with the money changers.” I'll give you that one but, other than that, Jesus both gave the example of and taught his followers to avoid violent behavior. “Put your sword away, (insert your name here).” So, what about the money changers? See #2.

4) Judge others.
“That 'speck of sawdust in your brother's eye' and 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone' stuff? Meant it,” Jesus.


5) Make money more important than God (and the children of God).
The love of money really is the root of all sorts of evil. We make choices about what we will do with our money every day. Our choices speak louder than our words. Willingly or not, our choices frequently hurt the least of these and others rather than help them. Sometimes, we even hurt ourselves. Our money is so important to us, we are willing to shop at stores because their prices are cheaper even though we know the products they sell recklessly endanger the lives of those who make them. We buy food which is mass produced with disregard for their health implications because the farmer down the road is more expensive. We'd rather keep more of our money than pay the taxes it takes to provide for those in need. We have a money problem.

6) Let people go hungry.
When Jesus said, “feed my sheep,” it was about more than just a spiritual feeding. As a matter of fact, if Gandhi was right (and I suspect he was), you can't have one without the other: “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” There is not a food shortage in the world -- there is enough for everyone. There is not a problem with having a distribution system capable of handling it; I can eat lobster from Maine while looking over the Pacific ocean. The problem is that we aren't very good at sharing.

7) Exclude people.
Last time. Promise. Jesus was constantly including people. It's a little concept called love. He was pretty big on it.

8) Withhold healthcare from people.
Did you ever play the game “Follow the Leader"? If you don't do what the leader does, you are out. Following means you should imitate as closely as possible. When people who were sick needed care, Jesus gave it to them. If we are following Jesus, we will imitate him as closely as possible. No, we can't repeat the miracles he did but I've seen modern medicine do things that are about as close to a miracle as I expect to get.

9) Exclude people for what they look like, how they were born or things beyond their control.
I may have mentioned this already but Jesus was constantly including people. Jesus had this rebel streak in him that actually sought out folks who didn't “fit in.” People who were different, people who were marginalized, people who were made to feel unwanted in one way or another held a special place in the heart, life and actions of Jesus. I suspect he did it because he understood they weren't actually different at all. Touch the lepers (the “untouchables”). Do it.

10) Exclude people because they practice another religion.
Jesus was constantly including people and he did it with a radical disregard for their religion. We do not have a single recorded incident of Jesus asking for a person's religious affiliation before being willing to speak with them or break bread with them. We do have several records of Jesus seeking out those who happen to practice faith differently from him. There was even this one time when he used a hated Samaritan as an example of how we are supposed to take care of each other.

by Mark SANDLIN

http://www.thegodarticle.com/7/post/2013/06/10-things-you-cant-do-while-following-jesus.html














Sunday, September 8, 2013

Deep Worship

Shortly after I was healed from a life-threatening disease and baptized in the Holy Spirit, I was asked to minister in a church where I was introduced to a dimension of worship that I had never experienced before...


Sitting on the platform, observing the worship service that was so different from that to which I was accustomed - I was fascinated by all that was going on around me. Though their worship expression seemed almost irreverent.  I could tell these people deeply loved the Lord and were expressing their love to Him.  I looked down from my seat on the platform and saw a  woman standing with her hands raised and her eyes closed worshiping God. She was perhaps 35 years old. Her face glowed as if it reflected a thousand-watt light bulb. Tears were flowing down her cheeks, and I heard her say, "I love You, Jesus."


As I watched her, it seemed to me that her face got brighter and brighter. I couldn't hear everything she was saying from where I was, and I was curious. So I walked down off the platform and stood in front of her. She ignored me.  I leaned over and said, "You and the Lord are having a good time, aren't you, honey?" 


Still she didn't pay attention to me. I was insulted. I thought, Doesn't she know I am the guest evangelist?  I heard her say, "You are the lily of the valley. I love You. You are the bright and morning star." I recognized that she was quoting love phrases from the Song of Solomon. She continued, "Thank You for being my husband, my friend." Somewhat awed, I went back to the platform.

But I could not take my eyes off her. I knew she was experiencing the presence of God in a way that I never had. I watched her awhile, then walked back down to stand by her.  She did not know I was there. So I returned to the platform a second time. Still watching her, I thought, Maybe she doesn't hear well.  I walked down a third time and stood behind her so I could speak into her ear. Again I said, "You and the Lord are having a good time together, aren't you?"  


What I really wanted to say was, "What is going on? I don't understand what it is you are enjoying." I thought she could explain it to me, but still she did not acknowledge my presence. This time when I returned to the platform, I felt as if someone punched me. I recognized that it was the Lord trying to get my attention. He spoke to me so sweetly: "you can have that if you want it."

I didn't even know what "that" was, but I assumed He was referring to my fascination with the young worshiper.  I went to my room after the service and got on my knees. I said to the Lord, "All right, what is it? You said I could have the thing that made that girl so 'lost' she didn't know I was there. What is that?"


The Lord answered, "I seek a people who worship Me in spirit and truth."  I asked,   "Is that worship? Then what have I been doing all these years?"


"Prior to this revelation of worship," He replied gently, "you have simply been doing what you knew to do" Then, the Lord asked me three simple questions:


"What would you do if you had just heard the gates of heaven click behind your heels, and you knew you were through with the devil forever?" 


 I responded, "I would shout, 'Glory!'" He said, "Shout it." And I did. 


 I told Him that I would cry, "Hallelujah!"  He said, "Do it." And I did.


Then He asked me what I would do if I looked up and saw Jesus for the first time. 


I said that I would bow at His feet, kiss His nail-scarred hands and wash His feet with my tears.  He said, "Do it."


I experienced a fresh glimpse of the Lamb of God. I began to bow before the Lamb who was slain, but He asked me to look up into His face. "When you see Me face to face," He asked, "what will you tell Me?"  When I heard those words, it was as if a dam within my soul broke, allowing torrents of praise to flood my lips. I told Him how wonderful He was. I recited the attributes of God I had learned in Bible college.


When I finished, He asked me if these were the only adjectives I had for Him.  With a sense of awe I responded simply, "You are wonderful."  I saw the face of Jesus before me. As I looked into His face, I told Him how much I loved Him. I had never done that in my life. I told Him how precious He was to me. I went on and on, trying to express my love for Him with my limited vocabulary.  When it seemed as if just a few moments had passed, it had actually been an hour and a half since I first knelt there. 



For the first time in my life I had been in the presence of God in such a way that I had lost all consciousness of time. I had begun to experience true worship, my heart responding to the love of God and expressing adoration and love to Him. All my years of Bible training, study and ministry had not evoked the response of worship from my heart that a few moments of divine revelation in His presence had.  



My renewed study of the Scriptures concerning worship has helped me understand the divine destiny each of us has to become worshipers.  My Teacher, the blessed Holy Spirit, opened my spiritual eyes to the purpose of God for our personal fulfill- ment, to become worshipers of God in spirit and in truth. Scripture passages came to life in my heart in a new way. Since that experience in my room, I have enjoyed God's manifest presence in praise and worship many times. I have also experienced the glory of His presence while studying His precious Word, and with other believers.


WORSHIP, from Webster's Dictionary:
showing honor or reverence to a divine being or supernatural power;to regard with great, even extravagant respect, honor or devotion; to take part in an act of worship 



"Worship is not an arrogant demand of God toward His creatures; it is rather a natural response from our hearts."



adapted from: "Worship Him"   by the late Fuchsia Pickett