Petals from the Basket

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Watching the Air Space

The Captain’s Corner

Throughout my career with the airlines, I had many radio communications with the men and women of the air traffic control service. Each day these passionate professionals control thousands of flights with one goal: keeping two airplanes from being in the same air space at the same time! While the airline crew plans the flight’s route, altitude, and air speed, the air traffic controller accepts the flight plan into the big picture on his or her radar scope, which includes all the other flights operating within that air space. The air traffic controller has the authority to change the plane’s route, altitude, and air speed in order to separate the traffic of the multiple airplanes within that space.

Just as each person is a unique individual, each flight is assigned a four-digit code, which is entered into the on-board electronic equipment and that sends a unique symbol next to that plane on the radar scope. This gives the controller continuous, positive identification of the plane, including its altitude, speed, and destination. The air traffic controller is always watching his or her assigned flight(s).

In a similar way, our wonderful God is always watching over us and is aware of our situation. Even before our birth, God knew all about us:

“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You,
when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written,
the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:13–16, NKJV).

God also knows the way (or direction) that our lives take:

“But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10, NKJV).

“You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways” (Psalm 139:3, NKJV).

Additionally, God guides us today, just as He guided Isaiah in the Old Testament:

“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right hand
or whenever you turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21, NKJV).

Therefore, just as we and our entire flight crew trusted the air traffic controllers for a safe and clear air space, so also we as believers can trust a more infinitely wonderful God to watch over us and to guide our lives and our destiny.

“For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death” (Psalm 48:14, KJV).

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By Petals from the Basket | February 2, 2018 | Bible Reading, God-and-I-Time, Life Changes, The Captain's Corner |

The Traveling Picnic Basket

My parents taught me many fun ways to entertain—not just through their teaching on the subject, but by their example. My husband and I recently began to put one of these ideas into our entertaining “do-often” plans. It was such fun, that I had to share it here on the blog.

During the years that I lived with my parents to assist with my father’s care, I realized firsthand just how lonely it can be when you can’t get out of the house. I’m not just talking about being “stuck at home” for a few days. I’m talking about having trouble knowing what day it is, because every day is the same as the one that just ended. I’m referring to the feeling of knowing that the memories from the pictures on the walls will be your only “outside contact” that day. I’m recalling days on end, seeing my father know that even if he had the gumption to go somewhere, he would not physically be able to do so.

Those experiences made me more aware not only of my parents’ needs but of those currently around me who are what churches and others often call “shut-ins.” Well, I have determined that even though they are shut in their houses, that won’t shut me out of them! That’s where this fun “entertaining” idea comes in! [Thank you, Mom, for teaching by your joyful example!]

Recently, a friend of ours fell from the ladder leading into her attic, and she sustained a back injury. (Miraculously, she was not killed, as the doctors told her should have happened.) Through our church, Joe and I signed up to take our friend and her husband a meal, since cooking was tricky—at best!—for her. As we began to think about what to take, we also realized that setting the table, heating up the food, and washing the dishes were going to be no easier than if she had to prepare the meal from scratch.

Enter: the traveling picnic basket!

The day before the “event,” we called the meal recipients with three instructions/questions:

  1. Would it be okay if, when we dropped off the meal, we stayed and ate with them?
  2. They were NOT to set the table.
  3. They were NOT to do any extra cleaning or preparation. Everything was coming with us, and we would be in casual clothes.

The day of the event, we packed the following into our traveling picnic basket (and in a small, square laundry basket):

  1. Five of our glass dinner plates, bowls, glasses, cloth napkins, place mats, forks, knives, and spoons, as well as five dessert plates and dessert forks. (We had also asked permission the day before to bring along a guest—a mutual friend whose wife was recovering in the hospital following a stroke; therefore, there would be five of us.)
  2. We also packed a centerpiece (a small plant that would first sit on the center of the table and would remain behind after we left), the necessary serving dishes and utensils, crackers, soup, dinner rolls, butter, jelly, and a pumpkin pie!

When we arrived, Joe went into the living area to talk with the couple and our mutual friend. Meanwhile, I quickly set the table and put the food into the serving dishes. Joe helped fill water glasses (yes, we simply had water to drink) just before time to eat.

After a sweet time of fellowship around the table, I asked them to head into the living area for some after-dinner chat, and Joe helped me to quickly gather the dirty dishes, place mats, napkins, etc. and pack them back into the towel-lined picnic basket and laundry basket. In literally ten minutes, we were headed home, dirty dishes safely packed away in the trunk.

Before we left, we had prayer with our friends, and they each remarked as they passed the kitchen, “Wow, it looks just like it did when you came!”

For the record, in less than thirty minutes after we got home, everything was clean and put away!

So grab a laundry basket, picnic basket, or old box, pack up some dishes (they can be styrofoam if you want!), cook up a simple meal (or stop by a local restaurant for take-out…okay, fine…I confess…that’s what we did in the case I just told you about!), and don’t let the fact that someone is currently a shut-in shut you out of a wonderful visit and a unique opportunity to be a blessing!

“So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people,

and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”

Galatians 6:10, NASB

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By Petals from the Basket | January 25, 2018 | Ask Grandma, Entertaining, Family, Friends, Ideas, Life Changes |

Stay on Course

The Captain’s Corner

The last five years during my career as an airline pilot, I flew back and forth from Philadelphia to seven cities in Europe. International flying across the north Atlantic brought a different set of procedures and practices that were required to operate the plane safely and efficiently. It was critical that both the assigned navigation route and the course were maintained. This was accomplished through on-board computerized guidance systems. However, these systems were cross-checked every thirty to forty-five minutes by the cockpit crew to make sure that the plane was where it should be!

Similarly, God has not left us without His help. Look at Psalm 119:105 (NKJV): “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” We need guidance for everyday living as well as future guidance for the path ahead. God has promised to instruct us in the way we should go (see Psalm 32:8).

Just as the crew in the cockpit continuously cross-checks the plane’s location in order to stay on course, you can go daily to God’s Word for His guidance as you seek His will for your life.

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By Petals from the Basket | January 19, 2018 | Bible Reading, Family, God-and-I-Time, Life Changes, The Captain's Corner |

Of Jewelry Boxes and Birthdays

Joe and I are continuing our focus on accumulating less and appreciating more. The very act of decluttering has become an element of not only the things in our home but also the mind-set that affects every area of our lives. When our minds are not scattered in every possible direction, we think more clearly. When we are not trying to accomplish eight different tasks because we think we have to say yes to everything, we do with a joyful sense of accomplishment the three things we’ve chosen to do. When we create of our home a haven in which our spirits are refreshed, we are prepared to serve, help, and encourage others. Experiences, not items, are the gifts that we want to have fill our home.

If you’re reading Petals of Promises (the 365-day devotional Joe and I co-authored), you may have seen that my birthday was this past Monday (since that day’s entry made mention of that fact). My dear husband is both generous and thoughtful, so I lovingly reminded him early on that in our “experiences, not items” gifting to each other, I did not want a birthday present this year.

Imagine my surprise when my husband walked in with a signature gift box from our favorite jeweler!

However, I must pause here to make a confession that most women will find unbelievable. I may even lose credibility with some of you…but I was honestly a little miffed that he had bought me jewelry. I don’t need jewelry; I’m a minimalist in my wearing of jewelry (after years of wearing lots of jewelry…and big jewelry, at that); and we are supposed to be focusing on experiences, not items. So in that “nth” of a second when I pulled open the satin bow, I mentally prepared myself to have a right reaction and also to come up with a gracious way to tell him to please return whatever it was I was opening. Yes, I’m serious.

However, as the process of unwrapping the outer cardboard box and opening the inner jewelry box continued, I lifted the final lid and literally squealed with delight, declaring, “Best gift EVER!” when I realized that the inner jewelry box was empty!

You see, we keep an empty jewelry box on the main floor so that when we take off our rings for any reason, we always know right where they are and don’t have to worry about losing them or accidentally washing them down the drain. Last month, the box broke, and it was one of those little, insignificant things that didn’t really matter in the big picture, so I let it go and determined that yes, I could walk upstairs to use the other box we keep handy up there, or I could even still use the broken box if needed.

But Joe knew it mattered to me. He listened. He cared. And he gifted me with the perfect birthday non-gift: an empty jewelry box!

There are so many spiritual illustrations that we can draw from this that I’m not sure which one to settle on. But I do know this: sometimes nothing is the greatest gift that God can give to us. He listens to our heart’s cry. He hears our innermost longings. He knows our sincere needs. And then God, Who loves us with an everlasting love, gives us what is best for us. Trust Him. Wait for Him. Learn to squeal with delight when the box is empty.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6, NKJV).

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By Petals from the Basket | January 11, 2018 | Bible Reading, Events, Family, Friends, God-and-I-Time, Ideas, Life Changes |

This Is Your Captain Speaking….

The Captain’s Corner

Public address announcements (“PA”s) from the cockpit to the passenger cabin are both frequent and required in airline flying. As Brenda often says, “Informed people are happy people.” This is especially true when flights are delayed, diverted, or out of the normal routine. As a pilot, my practice was to make PAs true, simple, and clear. If the flight was delayed, I would apologize and would stress what we were doing to get back on schedule. Naturally, I expressed gratitude to the passengers for choosing to fly with us.

Think about God’s special announcements, as recorded in the Bible. For example: God told Adam the new conditions under which he must live, because he had sinned against God; His promise to Noah at the ark; God’s plan for Moses as revealed at the burning bush; His commission of Joshua to lead His people. In the New Testament, God made special announcements to Joseph and Mary; to the shepherds, regarding Christ’s birth; and to John, regarding Christ’s return.

Do we have any “announcements” from God today? Yes! It is His complete love letter to us via His Word, the Bible. Second Peter 1:3–4 (NKJV) states:

“As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

Proverbs 22:20 (KJV) further reminds us that He has: “written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge.”

Therefore, we can ask God to open our eyes, “so that [we] may behold wondrous things out of [His] law” (Psalm 119:18, KJV).

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By Petals from the Basket | January 4, 2018 | Bible Reading, God-and-I-Time, The Captain's Corner |