DAY 35 – COUNTING TO ASCENSION – for May 20

MORE INFO ABOUT MY POTATO MASHER PARABLES

Over the years, in addition to those I’ve located, my collection has grown due to contributions from others. Those that were gifts remind me of the person and the gift of their friendship and love – and also of the Gift of love God gave us in His Son when Jesus came to earth to bring us salvation. They also remind me that WE are God’s Gift to Jesus – His inheritance. The cost he paid so dearly on the cross was for us, and we are his prize – his inheritance. 

Those that are from friends remind me of the gift of lessons I’ve learned from my friends. One example is “The 5 year plan.” At one juncture when I was deliberating between two seemingly important events, my friend Cathie advised me to determine which I would do based on which one would still matter in 5 years. Too often, our lives are dictated by the urgent instead of the important, and that little lesson has helped me make the better choice a number of times. 


In early December one year when I had to choose between going to choir practice or to my son-in-law’s 30th birthday party, I chose family. 5 years hence no one will remember if I was at choir that night or not – even though it was when we were practicing for our Christmas cantata, which definitely was important. But – my son-in-law will most likely remember – and my daughter certainly will – that I made the choice to prioritize him that December 2. And if they don’t, I do. On the other hand, I don’t have a clue what the songs were for that particular Christmas.

DAY 34 – COUNTING TO ASCENSION – for May 19

POPPING BACK TO POTATO MASHER PARABLES….

During the first 29 years of collecting I never imagined potato mashers being something God could use, but that just proves his resourcefulness. I’ve learned that God uses everything that’s ever happened to us for his good if we are willing to let him. He even redeems the bad things that happen and uses it to allow us to help others for His glory. 

God uses visuals to teach. Remember what God said to Moses, “What is that in your hand?” And then God used what Moses had – which was his walking stick – as an object lesson. 

Jesus also used the mundane to teach. One of my favorites is in Matthew 11:28-30, where his invitation to his hearers was, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

His hearers would have understood immediately what he was offering, because they knew what a yoke was and the way it was used. They saw it as a visual before them in their everyday life. They knew that a stronger, older ox was always yoked with a younger, inexperienced one so the stronger one could bear the greater strain of the burden they pulled, and be a teacher to the inexperienced younger one. Isn’t it wonderful to know that once you have accepted Him as Savior, Jesus is right there in the yoke with you - bearing the greater part of the burden? 


More than once someone has said to me, “God will not give you more than you can handle.” And I tell them, “He has given me more than I could handle multiple times – but He will never give me more than He can handle" – and I find peace in knowing that. Max Lucado says, “Sometimes He calms the storm. Sometimes He calms His child in the storm.” I know from experience that sometimes you just have to hold on for dear life and know He is there because His Word declares He is, though you can’t feel His presence at all. Our walk is a journey of faith, not of feeling, and that’s good, because feelings are very often unreliable. They can’t be trusted.

DAY 28 – COUNTING TO ASCENSION

WHILE WE WAIT – FEATURED MASHER FOR TODAY

Today is the birthday of a dear friend. 

Lucy and I have known each other since 1954.  I was still 8 and she was  newly 9 when we traipsed off for the first time to a week of Assembly of God summer ‘kid’s camp’ held in Ketchum, Idaho. She is the one who taught me to play the ukelele one year at camp when we were teenagers – and she has always made me laugh. We went to Northwest College together – agreed it was best to have other roommates so we’d get to know other people – but became part of a foursome of  life-long friends sometimes referred to as the “Four Musketeers”. Our lives took far different turns and we didn’t keep in touch as well as either one of us might have preferred – but now is not then – and I cherish the opportunity to say ‘Happy birthday on this special day!’ 

Lucy was just here to visit from May 6 - 9.  It was during this visit I realized that other than my 3 brothers, she has known me longer than any other person I have maintained close contact with.    Friendships are an amazing gift – and she has developed a special gift of being a cheerleader and encourager.  Thank you, Lord, for friends.  And thank you, Lucy, for being a precious friend through these many years.  

The masher I am featuring today was from a gal in Montesano named Linda. The masher is special to me for 2 reasons:  (1) because it was from the Shaeffer Logging Camp – and the Shaeffer family is a huge part of logging history in Montesano, and (2) it came as a gift from a friend.  It has an added benefit of triggering applicable messages for my Potato Masher Parables talk. 

Because it was from a friend it definitely reminds me of the treasure of friendship. As we walk through the journey of life, we share the journey with various people for various reasons – and various seasons. While we may not always stay in touch the way we’d like, our friendships help mold us. I am grateful for the many women – and a few men – along the journey who have become friends. They – and the memories of time shared and growth experienced together – are treasures. 

Because this masher was used by the cook in a logging camp, it also reminds me that God has work for all of us to do. Work as an occupation, where we rub shoulders with others and get to be his light in a dark world; and work for His Kingdom that He has entrusted us to do for Him.  Many times those two facets of ‘work’ merge.  We are called by God to be workers.  Not because he needs us – but because we need the tasks for fulfillment and growth. We need the constant awareness of being connected to the One who is the vine – and how better to feel connected, than to have the privilege of partnering with him in what he is doing in the world….


It reminds me also that a potato masher is an intentional tool – and we are called to be intentional in our Christian walk. May it be so.

DAY 26 – COUNTING TO ASCENSION

ONE OF MY POTATO MASHER PARABLES

May 11 is a special day for me. May 11, 1985 specifically. It was Mother’s Day that year and it was the day our nephew came to live with us. He was 15 and at the end of his Freshman year in High School. The circumstances of his living arrangements had become very challenging. He threw his belongings out an upstairs window – said he was ‘going out’ to visit a friend, retrieved his belongings, and called Al’s Mom from the friend’s house. He needed a safe home. She called us and asked if we could take him. We convened a quick family meeting, explained that there would be challenges – but we felt we needed to help – all of us. The girls agreed. 

Our nephew’s Dad (Al’s younger brother) was murdered the night our middle daughter was born – technically the morning after – but it was within hours of her birth. She was born April 26, 1974. He died in the wee hours of April 27, 1974. And 11 years later we became ‘parents’ to his son, our nephew. 

One of my Potato Masher Parables recounts the time almost three years later after he turned 18 and decided he was a man and didn’t have to follow our rules any longer. The potato masher that is the segue for that story is a double masher that is easy to equate to a frog...and thus ensues my ‘frog’ story. 

I was very involved in the Grays Harbor County Child Abuse Prevention Council at the time, and one particular day got to a board meeting early – which was being held at the office of the psychologist who served on the board. I was early so Keith and I had some time to chat before the other board members arrived, and during our conversation he asked me how things were going – and I told him my recently-turned-eighteen-year-old nephew was driving me crazy – and proceeded to share the circumstances that were giving me gray hair. 

Keith said, “Do you see that terrarium over there – and the frog in it?” 

“Yes,” I replied.

“Well,” he continued, “that frog is a meat-eating frog. I have to feed it a mouse every Friday. But – when the frog is hungry if I were to put my hand into the terrarium it would take off a finger or thumb just like that!” And he snapped his fingers to demonstrate how quickly. “If it did, I couldn’t get mad at the frog for being a frog,” he concluded. 

I got the message. My nephew was acting his age. He was 18, and he was trying out ‘being independent’. He was a good kid who would outgrow these behaviors and become a good citizen given time. It was a waste of my time, energy and emotions to let his behaviors dictate my emotional response. I couldn’t get mad at a frog for being a frog. 

It is a life lesson that has served me well. I can’t expect anyone to be or do or give or respond in a way I would like them to. People are who they are. While I may choose a safe distance to avert being in the direct line of fire, I cannot get mad at a frog for being a frog. It is another lesson of not being responsible for feelings, but being responsible for actions. It was a good lesson to learn – and it has served me well.

And – the nephew. He grew up to be a kind, loving, caring, very involved Dad who has an amazing wife and 3 wonderful boys…. We were the kind of parents he needed – and now he is the kind of Dad we are incredibly proud of…. 


I became his ‘other-mother’ on Mother’s Day, 1985. The subsequent years hold a myriad of memories, and May 11 will always have a special spot in my heart.

LENT 2011, Day 28

Before I leap into Mark 4, I want to step back briefly to Mark 3. I didn't pay attention yesterday to the man with the withered hand. Because Mark wrote this in retrospect, his focus is on the attitude of the Pharisees and their intent to find a way to have this miracle worker disposed of....but hiding in that story is the one Jesus was focused on at the moment. It is such an incredible reminder of His love and compassion. When we come to Him - withered - needing His touch, He is there, arms outstretched.... What a difference Jesus made in that man's life. I long to hear the stories! Can you imagine - throughout all of eternity - hearing story after story of God's mercy and grace. Eyes unveiled - seeing clearly with nothing to inhibit full understanding....

That is a perfect segue to Mark 4! Mark 4 introduces Jesus method of teaching through parables. This time, Jesus is by the Sea of Galilee - but out just a little ways in the boat. It is so easy to visualize. The Dead Sea in Israel is the lowest place on planet earth - but the Sea of Galilee is the second lowest - and there are places we saw along the northern shore, where the lay of the land is perfect for picturing Jesus sitting in a boat, with the crowds spreading up onto the hillside - a natural amphitheater - where they can clearly hear him.

He gives the crowds something to think about - and in private, He explains his parables with great care to his disciples so they are privy to understanding the point He is making. Some have ears to hear. Some don't. It is the same today. We cast our seed - His Word - and some soil is receptive to hear, and some is not. Among those who hear, some grow roots, and some wither quickly away. And among those who grow roots, some reproduce just a little, some a lot....

I love that Jesus uses parables - his model of telling stories is a wonderful model for sharing truth. He lets me do that. One of my joys is getting to give a talk I call 'Potato Masher Parables'. Like Jesus, I use objects that are familiar as object lessons for sharing insights. The potato mashers become metaphors and similes for life lessons and a bit of humor. God inspired the idea in 2004 - and I have had the opportunity to share the perspectives and potpourri inherent in Potato Masher Parables 16 times since then - and have another invitation in May on Whidbey Island.

For me, sharing the insights God has given me is an opportunity for me to share His Word - and be a lamp on a lampstand instead of hiding my light under a bushel. It is such a small thing - but it is something God gave me to do - and it is absolutely thrilling to know in those moments that I am right in the center of His divine will. He lets me partner with Him. I am just a vessel. It is the Holy Spirit who uses what God gives me to say to touch hearts. I am absolutely aware of that.

The last story in Mark 4 is the story of several boats crossing the Sea of Galilee together one evening. At that latitude, dark comes quickly, so when the story relates that it was evening, there wasn't much light left - and the story focuses on just one specific boat. Jesus was obviously tired. He laid down on a cushion at the back of the boat and fell asleep. A great windstorm arose. Storms come up quickly and fiercely there. The waves crashing against the boat, hurling it from side to side, were so high they were spilling over into the boat. The men in the boat were concerned that they were going to die. The disciples had just witnessed Jesus' great care for others - and their expression when they awakened him displays their emotional state. "Don't you care?"

Jesus rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then He asks them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?"

I come back to this story over and over in my life.

When the boat is rocking its wildest - He is with me. When I feel like I might not make it. He is with me. His assurance is: I am with you always....

Thank you, Lord.

And always a song:

When the storms of life are raging, stand by me
When the storms of life are raging, stand by me
When the world is tossing me like a ship upon the sea
Thou who rulest wind and water, stand by me.

POTATO MASHER PARABLES, ETC

April 27, 2010

I am so thankful God chose me for this little role as the POTATO MASHER PARABLE lady. Perhaps some day I’ll share some of them in my blog….

This was the 16th time I’ve given a talk titled, Potato Masher Parables, but it is different every time I do it – though some of the main stories are woven throughout all of them pretty consistently. Today, I added one that has never been presented before - related to my one masher that I say reminds me of an Amazon. When I was lying awake this morning after 5:13, thinking about the day, praying to remember all God wanted for this day, the idea was planted that when I talk about the Amazon’s I could talk about armor – the armor listed in Ephesians 6:10-18. I just love it when God reminds me of new ideas to incorporate.

The group I spoke to was a great group. The music they had as entertainment before I spoke was amazing!

I topped off the fun of the day by going to visit a dear older friend whom I had not seen for about 36 or 37 years.

God is good! His mercies endure forever! Unless we’ve experienced forgiveness, we cannot begin to fathom what that means.