Henriet's Blog

Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28, NKJV

Saying goodbye

I love New Year's! Celebrating the start of a new year continues to rank as one of my favorite times of the year. The fresh start feels great. However, this time the importance of remembering the "old year" occurred to me. 

God is the God of every day: Past, present and future. He reminded me to remember what He accomplished, allowed and provided in 2016. Often, in my eagerness to start the New Year, I forget to celebrate the previous one. 

2016 a year to remember

Romans 8:28 is one of the key verses God used to sustain me over the years, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." I definitely love him so I KNOW he works in all things—the good, the bad and the in between—for my good. (The good, bad and in between is from my point of view of course because all things are ultimately for my good even if they don't feel good!)

God made every day of 2016—just like he creates every day of every year. So I celebrate what God has done:

• Our family traveled to Europe for a trip of a lifetime in honor of my mom's significant birthday. We briefly visited Holland and hung out with good friends from England. The time flew by and we committed to go back to spend time with all the people we couldn't visit this time. Sorry if that's you! This was my first time back in 10 years and it was far too short. After the brief time in Holland, we flew to Venice to start our 12 day Mediterranean cruise. Spoiled! Awesome time. Great sights. (I know, no wonder I think God works in all things for good…)
• Living in the Northwest. I love this place. Mild summer, lots of rain, beautiful scenery. I'm grateful for every day here.
• Provision. God provides. Though it looked at times like bills may remain unpaid, God always provided clients and work just at the right time. He gave us each day our daily bread.
• Witnessing healings and enjoying receiving spiritual direction from wise counselors.

I choose gratitude for God's work even in the hard stuff:

• Continuing to support our son through his chronic pain journey. How very tough to see a young person suffer with high levels of pain daily. An interesting part of our life with lots of lessons on God's goodness and mercy as well as the process of learning patience and waiting for prayers to be answered.
• 7 root canals and 7 crowns for 2 people in addition to removal of 4 impacted wisdom teeth. Ouch! 
• A dear friend diagnosed with breast cancer. Sad but praying daily for total healing!
• Restarting "Hope Community: Support for Families of Drug Addicts." We launched this community in 2013 and met monthly for a year. We had a very meaningful time together but also faced much warfare. We were hesitant to restart this community yet felt compelled because of so many who experienced the same challenges we had. So we relaunched in April. What an incredible group of people who travel together through such tough times. We meet twice a month, celebrate, pray together, hope together, fast together, watch God work miracles in our lives and support each other as we learn to trust God every day.
  
  

Looking forward to 2017

Champagne and fireworks!

Our New Year's celebration was quiet but fun and filled with laughter. We gathered as a small family, played games, ate snacks—including the Dutch 'oliebollen' en 'bitterballen.' Yum. And of course champagne at midnight while watching the fireworks at the Space Needle (on television this year…hopefully we'll see it live again soon).

The first day of the year fell on Sunday. How appropriate. The first day of the week on the first day of the new year. We attended a worship service where the pastor challenged us to start the new year with the assurance of knowing who we are. It was a good thing to think about at the start of a brand new year. I will strive to remember daily who I am:

• I am a child of God, a believer in Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit.
• I live on earth for now, but Heaven is my true home.
• I know I'm loved and that God will work in every day and all things for my good in 2017 because I love him and I'm called according to his purpose. 
  
  

Happy New Year!

May 2017 be filled with God's Presence and love. May you have assurance of your salvation and identity. May you choose to love God and believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior so that you too can have God work in every day of your life for your good because you love him and are called according to his purpose.

 

Christmas 2016: The King, He's coming!

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.'” Mark 1:3, NKJV

It’s almost Christmas…

Christmas. Some love it, others dread it. Some started early and completed their Christmas preparations and shopping weeks or months ago. Others live for the last-minute rush. Some love the minimalist approach while others deck the halls and everything to the utmost. However, no matter your preference, approach or attitude, preparing for Christmas involves time, energy and focus…usually leading to stress!

When I look around, the evidence of Christmas rapidly approaching appears everywhere. People scurry around getting ready for the special day. Church signs and mailers pop up at increasing frequency. The roads tell their own story—lots of distracted drivers and the accompanying accidents. People seem to feel stressed, overwhelmed and far from the Peace and Joy this season proclaims to be about.

Prepare for the King

How can we prepare for the King that’s coming? John the Baptist prepared the way for the Lord by crying out in the wilderness, letting people know that they needed to get ready. (Mark 1:3) Not their homes, yards and cars but themselves. He beckoned them to prepare their hearts for the coming King.

When Esther prepared for seeing the King, she prepared herself for 12 months! (Esther 2:8-17) The coming of a king is a serious event and preparing for his coming a serious endeavor.

Preparing for Christ or preparing for Christmas?

Christmas day we celebrate that the King, the Lord Jesus, came as a babe in the manger. If you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, your King has already come into your life. If you haven't yet accepted his Lordship and Salvation, know that the King is coming.

As I get ready for December 25, I try to focus on preparing for Christ the King. After all, it's not a celebration of tinsel, lights and wrapped gifts. It's about Jesus. How Do I try to prepare for Christ instead of Christmas? Some thoughts:

• Focus on Jesus. Christmas exists because He came. Jesus Christ came to save us from evil and give us a new life. He is the gift. (Trying to keep my focus on him is not easy any day but extra hard during this busy season!)
• Relax in Jesus. It’s about Him, the coming King. He tells us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. (Matthew 11:30) Ideally, preparing for Christmas will be infused by Jesus’ presence and peace. If something stresses me and draws me away from Jesus for too long I try to evaluate if it's really important or just tradition. (This year there are still no ornaments on the tree and Christmas cards won't be going out.)
• Give myself to do less. He wants me and time with me, not the trappings. (Easier said than done of course. I always feel a little guilty when I don't get cards out or leave other "expected" things undone, but I want to enjoy Christmas!)
  
  

What is your focus as you prepare the way for the Lord? Is it internal or external? The King He is coming. Are you ready?

Oh, come let us adore him. The King, he’s coming! Merry Christmas

Giving Jesus My Jealousy this Christmas

A passionate canine encounter

Belle the Boxer lathered our guest with love. She attempts to kiss those she likes. It's adorable and annoying. Max the Mastiff mix always tries to jump in, with an emphasis on jump. Max's participation and presence triggers Belle's jealousy. She worms herself in between Max and our guest(s). She gets swept up by jealousy and loses her natural joy. 

This happened again today. Our guest, a dog lover, embraced the canine attention with gusto. I appreciate people who can handle Belle and Max, our assertive people lovers! Although I was glad about the positive response to the doting dogs by our guest, Belle's jealousy bothered me. It always does. Jealousy looks ugly and unattractive.

"Oh no! Does God feel that way too?"

I abhor her jealousy. Suddenly a painful realization intruded my thoughts. "Oh no! God feels that way about my jealousy!" Of course we know God commands us not to envy (Exodus 20:17). I believe there's a reason: It's ugly and destructive. It also hurts God who loves us and it hurts God's people whom he loves. Jealousy is not good.

To be honest, I still struggle with jealousy and envy at times. I don't like feeling this way. Most of the time I choose to celebrate and am genuinely happy for someone's blessings but sometimes a pesky thought still occurs, "But what about me?" God's probably sad when I feel jealous of someone else's success, happiness or blessing. When I have those negative thoughts I've often asked myself, "Why do I feel this way? Or why can't I just be happy for them?" 

Enter Belle the Boxer. Seeing her jealousy helped me realize, in a new way, what jealousy looks like and how to combat it. In my opinion, her jealousy comes from a scarcity mentality. She lacked kindness and love in her previous life. Since we adopted her from Northwest Boxer Rescue, we've showered her with love and attention. Yet she still lives in this orphan or scarcity mentality. She always seems to fear she'll be left out or miss out. I always tell her, "There's enough love for everyone." 

There's enough love for everyone!

Exactly. This is God's word to me. He has enough love for everyone. How do we know? He sent His Son to die for our sins. He so loved the world that He gave…He gave himself (John 3:16). The Triune God is more than enough. His loves conquers all—it never fails. God showers His people with good gifts. Jesus is God's best gift to us all. And we're mere days from celebrating Jesus' birth. It's time for genuine generosity.

One of my gifts to Jesus this Christmas is accepting his love and spirit of generosity. I surrender my jealousy. His love is enough…more than enough.

Good Friday: Good because Jesus bore our sins

And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”). They offered him wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused it. Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. They divided his clothes and threw dice to decide who would get each piece. It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. A sign announced the charge against him. It read, “The King of the Jews.” 

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”  Mark 15:22-26; 33-34

^{Happy Good Friday to you!}

It's always interesting to think of the word "good" in light of this day where Jesus was crucified. It was horrible for him. He endured incredible suffering. Just imagine the brutal beating leading up to it. After a sleepless night, humiliation, and a crown of thorns, he was forced to carry a heavy cross beam up to the place of his execution. That was just the warm up. This was followed by Roman soldiers nailing him to a cross before hoisting him in the air for all to see. The time on the cross lasted six hours, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. The last three hours were in darkness... He was abandoned by God in total separation because he took our sins on his shoulders. 

It is finished!

The Gospel of John records that at the end of his suffering Jesus loudly exclaimed that his mission was done!

Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.  John 19:28-30

In her "15 Minute to Focus Call" this morning, Pastor Tamara Buchan encouraged us to focus on the words "It is finished!" Jesus completed his mission. Eternal life with God is available to all who accept it and embrace a relationship with him. How amazing. We do not have to live in fear, bondage, shame, pain, or any other condition that keeps us from experiencing joy, peace and the fullness of life. It is finished! In every circumstance you face you can know that Jesus has won! He completed the mission his Father sent him on. He is our Savior, friend, High Priest and our conquering King.

Enjoy this Good Friday!

It is good. Jesus came, suffered and died. It is finished! Are you living in that truth and enjoying the freedom he purchased with his blood? If not, why not accept his free gift of life and freedom this Easter! Want to talk about it? Contact me.

Enjoy Fat Tuesday aka Mardi Gras!

Today is Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday in French. This celebration came to the United states in 1699 with the French explorer Iberville.  Check out my blog post on Mardi Gras.

For some people it's a day to eat, drink and be merry. Why? Because Lent starts tomorrow. Traditionally, Lent is a time of abstinence and repentance as we get ready for celebrating Easter. 

Do you celebrate Mardi Gras?

The Best of 2011

This year it seems important to remember the best of 2011. Many of you know that the past few years have been difficult for us in various ways. I believe it is even more appropriate to give thanks to God and remember his goodnes in the hard times. Being grateful comes easy when life is good and easy. In recent times God has stretched and challenged us to always give thanks—even when things are difficult.

My best of 2011 list:

• My mother Dina celebrated eight decades of life in March! She still travels—this year that included the Netherlands, Budapest, the Caribbean on her first cruise, Vancouver and Victoria. I love my mom! She is awesome. I hope I have half her energy if I get to that age. You go, Mom! 

• Fred and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary in March. (I know you all think that I married in elementary school, ha ha.) Fred is a great man! I would marry him all over again. "Thanks honey for your love and support. I love you." Fred is the president and owner of CFO Plus. He is an amazing CFO, a certified fraud investigator and a certified valuation analyst. I am very proud of him.
• The changes and growth in my son's life. He is growing up to be a wonderful young man. He is finding his way back to God. I am so happy God gave him to us. 
• Hardship. Yes, the tough times! Why are they on my best list? Because they helped me to grow, love God more deeply, depend on him more fully, learn about prayer, and clarify my priorities. 
• The Caribbean—especially Aruba and Curacao. My mom took my sister Suzanne, me, and our families, on a cruise to the Caribbean to celebrate her milestone birthday. We went late June/early July. It was amazing! We had a great time. The sun, the deep blue of the Caribbean sea, the beaches, the Dutch food!, the culture, Old San Juan PR—It was spectacular. I want to go back to Aruba and Curacao!

• My book. I finished my manuscript for "The Story Lives." It's been a labor of love and a 10 year (!) process. I attended my first Christian writer's conference at Mt. Hermon in 2001. David Kopp encouraged me during a meeting about some work I submitted. At a later conference, I attended one of his classes. Over the years I have started and stopped several books until I "found" this one. Now it's written—all 200 pages. I am working to get it published. Stay tuned. I am also setting up "The Story Lives" website. I will let you know when it goes live.
• Semper Vita Institute. I relaunched my training business. I am a certified StrengthsFinder and Myers-Briggs coach and do Strengths and MBTI training. I love it.
• Go Group. Cindy Patterson and I were part of a great and unusual small group this past year (actually the past 18 months). We had the privilege of journeying with nine other women. God worked deeply in all of us. Cindy nor I had ever seen anything like it.

That is my list. There were many other note worthy things and great people along the journey. How about you? What was your best in 2011? How have you grown? What were your adventures? I'd love to hear from you!

An original poem: Merry Christmas to all!

 

The tree is trimmed,
the stockings hung,
some Christmas cards are sent but many are left undone.
Packages have been mailed and presents are under the tree.
The outside lights are still in the box ... until next year at least.

 

The best gifts do not involve lights, trees or wrapping.
This season is so filled with all things that keep us hopping.
It's a shame that in the hubbub we often forget
that good friends and dear family -- the people we love
-- are what makes Christmas best.

 

It is the babe in the manger 
who came to be the gift of life to all on earth
who ended his life on a tree
but rose to give to all true gifts of worth
to all who receive him as Savior and Lord,
He is the gift at Christmas so often ignored.

 

So here's to my family, my friends, clients and social media pals:
I am sending you love and well wishes
for a Merry Christmas and peace to all!

 

May God bless you and keep you.
May you invite Jesus in this year.
I am so glad to know you 
and wish you God's goodness throughout the New Year!