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HE DOES MORE THAN SIT ON A THRONE

November 28, 2016 By Mikki Jo 1 Comment

Life can change in the blink of an eye. People leave, hearts break, but time goes on. And we learn. We learn from life altering circumstances that change who we are. Circumstances that not only rearrange our lives, but also our hearts and the way we view life as a whole.

We see things from a different perspective. I now live where my Grandparents lived, and my parents after them. A place I played and washed my toy dishes and picked dandelions and daisies. It’s where I picked apples and strawberries and ran from bumble bees. It’s where I learned to tie a string on a June bug’s leg and let it fly as I guided him. It’s where I learned to ride a horse and fill my bucket with water from the well box, and wash clothes with a scrub board. We went barefoot, and ate salted watermelon on the front porch. This old farm was heaven to me, or what heaven would be like one day.

I first learned about Jesus right here one lazy summer afternoon as I sat eating strawberries and cream on the steps of the old wash-house. Grandma sang “The Old Rugged Cross”, while her hands kept near perfect rhythm as she washed clothes on a wooden scrub board. I asked her about the old rugged cross and who the man was she spoke of. She shared with me her Jesus and that day He became mine too as she taught me how to ask Him into my heart. She taught me to pray and we would sing old hymns at the end of the day under the shade of an old oak tree. The old wash-house is weathered and worn, but it holds precious memories for me.

Back in those days, I saw this old farm through the eyes of an innocent child, beautiful with never ending days, forever carefree. Now, I see it through the eyes of my Grandparent’s. It’s still beautiful, there’s never enough time in the never-ending days. Did I say forever carefree, well these days I cast my cares on Jesus.

This has been a hard year for my family. But I have learned a lot.

I’ve learned what the “peace that passes all understanding” means in the Bible. One of my favorite scriptures.

I’ve learned by watching the sinking sun, that it casts light completely opposite of itself, on the darkest part of the sky, coloring the clouds with it’s hue. Jesus does this for us too. In our darkest hour, His light is guiding us, encouraging us. Giving us hope for the days to come.

I’ve learned that prayer is the most important part of my day, and to rise while it is yet night as Proverbs teaches me to. I’m far from the Proverbs 31 woman, but she has some amazing qualities.

I’ve learned to love deeply and accept loss, because it’s all a part of living.

We don’t have to go through any of it alone, because Jesus is always with us. Is He always on the throne? Yes. But He don’t just sit there. He was the one who walked through the raging waters with us, how do you think we made it to the other side? It was Jesus after all, the whole time, It was Jesus.

Isaiah 43:2 (NIV) When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

P.S. I’m still learning a lot here on this old farm.

A LOVE SONG

November 10, 2015 By Mikki Jo 10 Comments

I’ve heard my loved ones speak of how they are homesick for heaven. When I was younger I never understood that, I thought they had simply lost their minds. But as pieces of my heart have gone home over the years, I look forward more and more to meet them in heaven. I understand, yes, now I understand.

Holding close to my heart

the warmth of by gone days

Only letting go awhile

to glimpse Heaven’s Gates.

Taking in the fragrant breeze

that dances with the oak

Sun upon my face so warm

I wander down the road.

Home is where my heart is

I long no more to roam

Only life’s breath holds me

‘Til God shall call me home.

Songbirds sing to me

a love song sweet

Telling me to rise

“Rise, to your feet!”.

“Eternity awaits you friend”

the melody sang loud

“Come home my child,

I’m waiting for you now.”

IN THE LORD’S BOSOM

September 25, 2015 By Mikki Jo 12 Comments

The road was winding and dusty, my heart was beating faster. I was about to drive down the narrow road that my Daddy used to walk down when he was a child living at the end of the “holler”, up a little creek, in the shelter of an Eastern Kentucky mountain.

My eyes couldn’t take it all in fast enough. I felt the tears stinging my eyes as I blinked them back, I didn’t want to miss a single moment. I felt I had finally come full circle. I was finally here, where my heart had desired to be since I was a child. The place where I’d heard my Daddy and Grandparents speak of all my life, their old Kentucky home. I never understood my longing for this place, until my feet stood in the lush green clover on the bank of Frozen Creek in Knott County.

My heart was content. I was home. I knew that this is where I was supposed to be. God had indeed marked this date in time for me to be standing exactly where I stood. I looked at the mountains surrounding me, I felt a security that I’d never experienced before. I explained to my Dad how I felt and he said, “Yes honey, I know that feeling. Like you’re cradled in the Lord’s bosom.” And yes, that’s exactly how I felt.

I’d never been here before, but yet I felt like I had left something here, and I had this day came back to reclaim it. These emotions came from the deep bond I have with my Dad, and my family roots that remain deep in the heart of these mountains.

Many years ago, my Grandparents took the great Ship Mary and Ann from England to the Jamestown River to escape religious persecution. Years later a young man was born. A brave warrior, a man of honor who helped to attain my freedom during the Revolutionary War. He met a young dark haired woman, kind and patient and strong. They fell in love, had their own children, and eventually made their home in these beloved mountains.

The more I have learned of my family and their past, the more I have learned about myself and who I am. And I am thankful for the sacrifices made. I can never repay the debt that I owe to those that went before me. But I have walked in the shadow of their precious footsteps, down a dusty winding road, that lovingly led me back home. Truly, home is where the heart is.