ISAIAH - Chapter 9

These pictures were taken February 22, 2006 in Capernaum on my first Tour to Israel. Capernaum was Jesus' home base for his three years of ministry. The pictures are of the remnants of the actual synagogue He taught in.

My reading for yesterday was Isaiah Chapter 9. It is an incredibly exciting chapter - and I intended to write a bit about it yesterday, but it was Martin Luther King Jr Day, so I diverted from my intended plan. I don't mind backtracking to fulfill that good intention this morning. Isaiah 9 deserves attention!

What a chapter! Isaiah wrote this over 700 years before Jesus was born - but it clearly defines the method of God's salvation:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this." Isaiah 9:6-7

The Hallelujah Chorus is resounding in my ears! The root of Jesse, the descendant of David, the one both David and Mary called LORD, came and will come again. The prophecy in Isaiah has not been completely fulfilled. The 'end' times began with Jesus' (Yeshua's) birth - and will culminate with His return, and setting up His Kingdom on earth. It is our blessed hope - but it is not a wishful thinking hope. It is anticipation hope - a secure promise.

He will establish the New Jerusalem defined in the book of Revelation. I don't have to understand all of it or the minutia of His timeline to know it is true. I have absolute faith in Him - and if I knew precisely how He will accomplish everything He says will come, no faith would be required. But - we know a lot more than those who lived before us knew. We see the prophetic pages of the Bible coming true before our eyes.

The rest of this chapter will be fulfilled! It is not linear. That final 'breaking of the oppressor' has not taken place. But the promised Messiah-child came - and will come again to take His rightful place as King of Kings and Lord of Lords - and in just a couple of weeks I will stand in the country that is at the center of G-D's heart. I can hardly wait!

I HAVE A DREAM

Today is Martin Luther King Junior Day.

Out of his excellent speech that August day in 1963, one line stands out in memory above all the others: 'I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will be judged, not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.'

I am told it was an aside not written in his notes, but it certainly was an expression of his heart. His speech during The March on Washington is a speech everyone should hear. It was definitely a pivotal speech on a pivotal day in our nation's history.

I had just graduated from High School that Spring. I didn't understand the full significance of what he alluded to at the time. In fact, it was not until I attended Evergreen State College and spent a quarter studying Black History that I truly began to understand. I was horrified by the talent that had been wasted - and kept hidden. Black authors had not been part of my educational curriculum in my younger years. Black History was ignored. I felt that loss keenly once I learned what I had been deprived of.

I feel the same way about the absence of being taught the true history of our nation.

I have a dream. It is the American dream. The original American dream. I want the truth of 'who we were founded to be' taught in our schools, and to all who enter our borders. We were founded as a nation based on the notion that all men are created equal - and that preposterous notion came straight from the Bible. We were founded on Christian principles. But we have strayed so far from that, that it was never included in the education I received in our public schools, or even in my college education. I didn't know that 103 of the first 106 colleges/universities in America were founded as Christian schools - to train missionaries to the Indians, and preachers to carry the gospel to the masses.

I never did have a history teacher who made history interesting or pertinent, it's true. Memorizing a bunch of dates is not nearly so important as understanding the why of the various times.... But it was far more than the style of teaching - it was the content that was equally lacking. Writers of the history books I was taught from re-wrote our history to sanitize it of all that was 'religious' and in so doing, they deprived us of learning the truth of our roots.

I cannot go back and un-do the past but I want children - and adults - to know the truth about who we were founded to be! I don't ever want Americans to be coerced to be one denomination - or even one religion. I am not threatened by accepting others' choice not to believe as I do - but I certainly want them to have the opportunity to hear Truth. And - I believe we are under threat of becoming a nation that has lost its bearings. When that happens - when God is no longer honored - we will cease to exist. Our only hope is in His protection.

I have a dream. It is a dream that affirms all of the good things Martin Luther King expressed in his stated dreams for our country - and includes a dream for America to be re-established as a Christian nation. I can dream! And I can pray for revival!

Some people in 1963 didn't believe that the changes that needed to take place would. It would be easy now to be skeptical about the right kind of change taking place in the United States of America. God is our only hope. Dare to dream!

PATIENCE AND PERSEVERANCE 1

(These photos are 2 of the many I took this fall in Colorado. They represent a very minor example of patience and perseverance. I had to walk very slowly to get into position to take pictures, so I wouldn't spook them. When we first saw the mountain sheep - we were a long way off and completely behind them.)

It's actually a little amusing that just in writing a title I know this topic is going to be revisited - so I named today's entry appropriately before even beginning to write.

At the beginning of January I started reading Genesis. It's been awhile since I read Genesis from beginning to end, and I thought that was a good way to start this year. I love Genesis - "In the beginning GOD...." That succinctly spells out what matters most to me. I don't care how long it took, just that God did it.

After reading for several days in Genesis, I changed course. In preparation for my impending trip to Israel I decided to re-read Isaiah. It hasn't been too long since I read through Isaiah - but I'm reading it more deeply this time - and with purpose because of the journey I will soon be on.

I read Isaiah 7 yesterday - - and went back to it again today to do some cross-referencing and to dig deeper. Isaiah is exciting to read - and I am very excited by what I am paying attention to today!

Ahaz was a direct descendant of David. David had been promised that his kingdom would never end - because the promised Messiah would come through his lineage. Yet, here we have one of his descendants trying to manipulate leaders for his purposes - and then shaking in his boots with fear when two other armies determined to come against him, destroy him and place someone else on the throne (who wasn't from David's line.)

Through Isaiah, God tells Ahaz not to fear - that their schemes will not come to pass - and that within 65 years, those who are threatening Ahaz won't even be a people any longer. Wow!

And then, out of this confrontation between Isaiah and Ahaz, God defines HIS plan:

"...the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14). Isaiah goes on to tell of disaster that will plague his chosen people...which all came true.

But, what grips me is that this specific prophecy of the virgin bearing a son was made about 735 years before it came true. That's a long time to wait.

What I need to pay close personal attention to here involves patience, perseverance, faithfulness - and faith. God will do what He says He will do. I don't have to know how He will accomplish it. I just have to place complete trust in Him - and trust His timing. My role is to partner with Him as He leads, not attempt to give Him advice about how and when He should accomplish His work!

He is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He will accomplish His purpose - in His time. Lord, Your will be done.

ALL THOSE ONES!

This picture is one I took October 25, 2010 in Kansas. I have been working through our trip and adding pictures to my Facebook page sequentially - and I am finally nearing the end of that project.... We left September 21 and returned home November 3 - so the trip-preserved-in-memory goal is winding down.

It hadn't occurred to me prior to 1/1/11 how fun it was going to be to pay attention to the ones this year. Today is one of those days. I fully intended to do something specific at 11:11 on 1/11/11 just so I could remember what I was doing at that moment.... As it was, I was off shopping for shoes in preparation for a trip to Israel that is coming up soon!

I've been so immersed in present projects that I haven't prepped as early as I normally would for a trip of that nature - but the most important thing is shoes - - and today was about finding comfortable shoes that will double for looking nice in case we get to do something special like visit the Knesset.

I finally got envelopes made today (with Kami's help) so I could stuff them and get my final Christmas letters sent. I'd love to be able to do it all by e-mail, but there are still lots of people who either don't have an e-mail account - or I don't have their address....

I love completing a project. I'm in the throes of the huge one - - the musical I started writing in 1997....which is nearing completion finally after many delays and lots of discouragement. Now that it is nearing being ready to share it brings JOY even though it is WORK! I can almost see the finish line! I've learned a lot about God's timing and His purpose.

I'm so glad God gives us PURPOSE. It is one of our needs - even though we may not realize it. We need the basic necessities. We need to love and be loved. And we need purpose.

Thank you, Lord, for giving us purpose!

POSTSCRIPT TO THE CAIN 2010 CHRISTMAS LETTER

Postscript from Lola:

My dear husband does not share my faith – so out of respect for him, I did not include the following in our official Christmas letter from the two of us but I offer it here for those who want to read it.

There was so much good in 2010 – and so much blessing. I should have gone through the calendar sooner! I had a hard time getting into the ‘Christmas spirit’ this year. I was overwhelmed for people who had suffered horrible losses this past year – one in particular. There were some huge challenges. But what I see in reading through the calendar reminds me of the positives. And the most positive of all at this season is God's gift to us.

God is good. In His goodness He didn’t just ‘send’ his Son. His Son was His only birthed ‘offspring’ but was also literally God Himself incarnate – in the flesh. God created us, then came Himself to be the sacrifice for us. It is perpetual Good News!!!!! He came as the Prince of Peace.

He didn’t come to bring the kind of peace people often visualize. He is Peace – and He came to bring peace between God and man. The peace that was shattered with the first Adam’s sin was redeemed with the second Adam’s sacrifice. Jesus, Messiah, the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament, came as Redeemer to usher in a New Covenant in His blood. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords died for me. It is an overwhelming reality. When we accept the Prince of Peace as Savior, we gain an inner peace that is beyond the world’s comprehension. We know our eternal destiny – and our eternity begins the day we place our belief and trust in Jesus.

I am a stickler for accuracy, so I have to offer one minor disclaimer: I readily acknowledge Jesus wasn’t born in the winter – even though it is when we celebrate His birth. The point of His birth is all about what He came to achieve – to demonstrate God’s LOVE by dying for our collective sin. What amazing love! What an incredible gift of Himself. His gift to us brings salvation, reconciliation and eternal life. We have to accept the gift. He didn’t come to create a religion. He came to have a relationship – with His created. He loves all people. He created all of us. The Bible says that one day everyone will kneel before Him and acknowledge who He really is. ‘Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD.’ Why wait? We can begin now!

I have a lot of people in my life who do not share my Biblical worldview. I love them dearly, and do not want to offend them – nor do I want to stand before God someday and have them say, “You never told me.” In the tug between offending some of the people I love dearly vs. offending God if I do not stand for Truth, I have to choose God.

I know that if you want to know TRUTH, you have to go to the One who is Truth for the answers. God reveals Himself most clearly through His Word, the Bible. Finding a relationship with our Creator is the greatest thing we will ever do, and the Bible clearly teaches that the only way to God is through belief in His Son – accepting the gift of salvation Jesus (AKA Yeshua, Isa, and many other translated names) purchased for us by His death. His gift of life was insured by His resurrection from the dead. He lives! He will come again!

His coming was the greatest gift ever given. When we give gifts in that spirit of love, we reflect His love. He is the true Spirit of Christmas. A belated Merry Christmas – and may the blessing of knowing Him more fully be yours in 2011.

Shalom!

CAIN CHRISTMAS LETTER 2010

written 1-7-2011

2010. It was full to the brim. Looking back at my calendar to review what I might share is a bit of a shock – seeing how busy it actually was…. Lots of good; some very difficult. It’s preferable not to expand on the latter! Let’s just say – that even though we ended the year well, it’s a year I’m glad to have ‘over’. It made a fresh start in 2011 very appealing!!!!!

I love the beginning of a year so fraught with conspicuous ‘new.’ On 1-1-11 at 11:11 a m I gave Kenzi, Bryn and Alli an ice cream treat (Nutty Buddy) to celebrate all the ones. Nothing says new beginning like 1 – and we had a plethora of ones all lined up in sequence! They were most impressed that they got ice cream right before lunch!

The wonderful aspects of the year related most saliently to the people in our lives and more incidentally to our trips. Sometimes both were combined, and those are precious treasures. Thank you to all who are part of those memories. They are pure joy!

We went to a Midvale, Idaho all-school reunion over Memorial Day weekend. I attended school at Midvale for my 5th, 6th and 7th grade years. All 3 of my brothers attended at least part of the reunion – and my former classmates let me sit in with them for their memory photo – even though I didn’t graduate with them. Midvale brings back a flood of memories – and it was really good to see people from that era. I treasure the memory of those friendships, and the opportunity to renew them.

On our way back from Midvale, we turned off on a random road in Oregon ‘just for the fun of it’ and it just happened to take us through one of my ‘bucket list’ destinations – Bridgeport, Oregon. My birth mother was born in Bridgeport and I have always wanted to see it. There wasn’t much to see – but I was thrilled to get to be there…to walk along a road she would have walked on…to read the history posted on a sign honoring the town’s location…to feel I was seeing what she saw.

We went on to Glass Butte to dig some obsidian. One of Al’s new hobbies is flint knapping. I would guesstimate that he has made a couple hundred arrowheads so far….and about 20 larger ones that he has mounted on handles made of antler, sagebrush, or a miscellany of other woods….

Speaking of Al’s hobbies, he has completed about 170 oil paintings in the two years he has been painting. He recently finished a very large Tuscan scene for Lynley for her office at school. We made a gallery in the basement to display some of his paintings. He is definitely good at being an impressionist. Many of his favorite paintings are ‘copies’ of old masters: Van Gogh, Renoir, Manet, Monet…. Another favorite is his painting of a picture he took (on our Summer 2009 Wonderland Trail hike) of Indian Henry’s hunting ground, with Mt. Rainier in the background. My favorites are a collection of Tuscan scenes – and a painting of a reflection of a house, which was from a photo he took in Ketchikan in 2005.

He still carves ducks, makes a lot of wooden spatulas (which I call spurtles), turns wooden bowls, does honey and daughter projects, cuts down a few trees, picks up sticks and hunts. He truly amazes me. He doesn’t let any moss grow under his feet. And – retirement is full! Whatever he does he certainly does 100%.

In late July we attended the 1960’s era reunion for Northwest College (now University). I love seeing old friends. And I love that reconnecting with that group is representative of healing in many lives, including mine. It represents love, forgiveness, acceptance, second chances. It is a connection with friends who share roots – sharing old memories while building new ones. I need that reminder. Day-to-day life is often isolated – so it’s good to have those special touchstones.

In August we had our Meyer grandkids for 15 consecutive days and had a ball with them while they were here, including fulfilling another ‘bucket list’ dream for me. We took the 3 girls and went to the Kite Festival at Long Beach with Tom & Lynley and their family. Kami joined us for part of the trip as well. We got great pictures. While we were there we celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary. 2010 was a year of milestones. Lola: 65; Al: 72; 40th Anniversary! Where did the time go?

Our big trip for the year was a cross-country road trip. The ultimate goal of our trip was to be in the New England states for the fall colors. We left September 21. We returned November 3. We traveled well over 10,000 miles. Our route took us across Washington, through Northern Idaho and into Montana to Flathead Lake before we headed north along Glacier National Park to get into Canada. We drove across Canada to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, then south as far as Pennsylvania and back across the United States. I have been putting pics in Facebook albums sequentially – as I have time. If you aren’t already a Facebook friend, invite me to be one and you can see the pictures if you are interested. Lola Cain (Rice) is my identification on FB. It was an amazing trip. I have over 5,000 pictures. I kept a journal, as I do on all our trips…. Something to read later on when we can no longer travel. We love the times shared with friends and family on the journey!

One of the biggest things of my year was working very intently and intentionally on the children’s musical, A Letter From G. O. D. That is carrying over into 2011, but it is progressing. I’ll be so excited when it is finished and ready to publish! Next year I should be able to report that it is done!

I was going to just skip writing and send a picture – because a picture is worth a thousand words – but you get both. I came home from church on December 19, and asked Al to go out and pose for a picture of us – him in his normal attire, and me dressed up. We agree it reflects each of us at our best.

Pa, as the grandkids call him, grew a great beard this year – during the trip and hunting season – and played Santa for Bryn’s preschool. I figured since he had done it for her class for a couple of years – and this was the last year of preschool – he should have his own suit. He definitely got his money’s worth out of it. One day, when a friend called to say he wanted to drop by, Al ran in and put on his Santa suit, and went out front and sat in the antique wagon in our front yard. He played Santa for our grandkids at Christmas and dressed up in it one last time for three international students – young women who visited over the holidays.

Kids and grandkids are the most conspicuous priority of our lives. We love participating in their lives – and love that we have that opportunity. We are very blessed. I thank God! Al thanks Mother Nature!

PEACE AND JOY IN THE NEW YEAR!

Al & Lola

JANUARY - ALREADY IN USE!

I didn't write even once in December - and now January is already marching on with gusto!

So - to the approximately 3 people who actually read these missives - - HAPPY NEW YEAR! I LOVE new beginnings - - at least the beginning of a new year. Beginning over on a sewing project or something of that nature, not so much....

And what a fun year for ones! 2011! On 1-1-11 at 11:11 I gave my 3 granddaughters who were here an ice cream treat (yes, before lunch) to celebrate all the 1's - - 1 represents a new beginning better than anything else - - and we had a whole line of ones to celebrate!

I didn't write during the Christmas Season because I was up to my gills without writing. There were lots of good things - - but even so, in the weeks leading up to Christmas my heart was heavy for those who had lost loved ones who were far too young this last year - - especially one man who lost the love of his life.... My spirits lifted the day after Christmas - and I am so grateful for the reprieve.

I still haven't written our Christmas letter - - but will get to that soon! I am busy, busy, busy working on a different writing project - - I hope to be able to share more about that soon!