HOPE – THE AARDVARK SPEAKS https://rosek.net Sat, 26 Oct 2024 20:53:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 https://rosek.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cropped-WhatsApp-Image-2024-05-04-at-7.37.29-PM-32x32.jpeg HOPE – THE AARDVARK SPEAKS https://rosek.net 32 32 LIFT YOUR FEET https://rosek.net/2024/09/21/lift-your-feet/ Sat, 21 Sep 2024 18:12:17 +0000 https://rosek.net/?p=4523 Read more]]> On this day of pervasive rain, my memory bank gifts me with a dazzling blue summer day in North Vancouver, at the top Grouse Mountain. Here we go, edging up the mountainside in a swinging gondola, squeezed in with a crowd of other tourists. Everyone exits toward the chair lift, and here is where the adventure begins. We slip into our seats, our legs dangling helplessly as we give ourselves to this unnerving ride to what must be the top of the world. All illusion of control vanishes now as we swing upward, hardly daring to glance down at the rugged wilderness far below, pointed evergreens threatening to impale us should we tumble. The North Cascades stretch out endlessly before us, layer upon layer of deepest azure, their snowy peaks shining in the sun. We relax as best we can and enjoy the ride, feet high above the ground, out of control. 

And I remember a scripture from Jeremiah the Prophet.  

“I know, O Lord, that the way of Man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.” (Jer. 10:23).  

Why do we keep trying, we who have the Holy Spirit living in our hearts to guide and direct us moment by moment? We lift our hands in praise, we lift our voices in worship. Why not lift our feet in surrender to the One who loves us more than we love ourselves?  

Another verse, this one from Psalm 73:24. “You guide me with your counsel, and afterward You will take me into Glory.” That seems like a pretty good plan to me. My best days are the ones in which I lay aside the illusion of control, lift my feet, and lean back into His Mercy, as vast as those North Cascades. He carries me.  

]]> FIRE IN THE FIRE https://rosek.net/2024/09/21/fire-in-the-fire/ Sat, 21 Sep 2024 18:07:50 +0000 https://rosek.net/?p=4516 Read more]]> We’ve all felt them. The Apostle Peter warned us about them a long time ago. Fiery trials. Paul describes them as the fiery darts of the wicked. Their sting can completely unnerve and overwhelm us, sending our trust up in flames.  

But Peter says, “Don’t think those trials to be strange. Rejoice! Glory is coming!!” And Paul says, “You can quench those fiery darts with the shield of faith.”  

How does that work? The Holy Spirit comes on the believer with Fire! Holy, overwhelming fire. And He fills us with Himself, speaking into our lives, equipping us with His faith. He gives us a “secret weapon”, praying through us in a new language, one that satan cannot understand or intercept. Just as the fire of God burned on the altar in the tabernacle day and night, the fire of the Holy Spirit burns in our hearts. Perpetually. He is here within us, ready to pray through us when those fiery darts come at us. And they will come, you can count on it. He’s ready to fight fire with His Fire.  

It’s so sweet to know that at the first sting, you can relax into the Holy Spirit’s power and let Him pray through you. Paul tells us that we don’t even know what to pray for, but the Spirit does. He always prays according to God’s will. And those prayers will be answered. Peace will come. You will be given Wisdom, the knowledge of what to do next. Yes, you will know what to do. Things will work together for good. You will look back and say, “Look what the Lord has done!” 

(I Peter 4:12-13, Ephesians 6:16, Romans 8:26-28) 

]]> DUST SHALL SING https://rosek.net/2024/09/21/dust-shall-sing/ Sat, 21 Sep 2024 18:06:15 +0000 https://rosek.net/?p=4514 Read more]]> What is it about music that moves us? Why is it that a song has the power to call forth our emotions, to elicit such joy and sorrow, such pleasure? After all, we are just talking about sound waves here. Why the magic? The unbeliever makes a weak stab at this question, but the mystery remains. So we go all the way back to the book of Job, one of the most ancient of the Old Testament writings. Here is God’s question for Job: 

NIV Job 38:4-7 Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? 
    Tell me, if you understand. 
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! 
    Who stretched a measuring line across it? 
6 On what were its footings set, 
    or who laid its cornerstone— 
7 while the morning stars sang together 
    and all the angels shouted for joy? 

There it is – the morning stars sang together before time began.  God gave the song. Mystery solved. And even better, the song that Christ puts in our hearts, the song of the redeemed, goes on and on. It defies even death, this never ending song. Isaiah picks it up here:  

NIV  Is. 26:19 But your dead will live, Lord; 
    their bodies will rise— 
let those who dwell in the dust 
    wake up and shout for joy— 
your dew is like the dew of the morning; 
    the earth will give birth to her dead. 

Yes, dust shall sing. We were made from the dust of the ground. We are always in the process of dying, even from birth. And then comes the Good News, the Song. God himself became flesh, made like us in every way, yet without sin. Obedient all the way to the Cross, that we who are dust might be born again into the Kingdom of God. Nothingness filled with eternity; death that teems with life; dust that will rise in resurrection power to sing eternally in His Presence.  

We can start singing right now. Has God given you a song? He’d love to hear it today, no matter how you are feeling. Think of this – the sea roars with His pleasure. All of His trees clap their hands in worship. The mountains ring with His praises. They were created for Him and have no choice. But we are the only voice in His Creation that chooses to sing to Him. When He hears His children singing praises, He stops and listens with great joy!   

]]> SHAKING OFF SNAKES https://rosek.net/2024/04/30/shaking-off-snakes/ Tue, 30 Apr 2024 05:21:53 +0000 http://localhost/avery/?p=3481 Read more]]> You might say it had been a “bad hair” fortnight. Two weeks on the open sea with 274 Roman sailors, their ship driven helplessly by a Northeaster, neither sun nor stars appearing for many days. Everyone gave up hope except for Paul. God sent an angel to remind him that he would stand before Caesar, and that not one life would be lost. Paul’s faith was contagious, and sure enough the ship ran aground on the island of Malta, and every single man made it to shore.
As Paul pitched in to build a bonfire against the cold winter rain, a poisonous viper latched onto his hand. The islanders watched for him to die, but our apostle just shook it off and kept on working. Next thing we know, Paul was placing that same hand on the governor’s father and healing him.
There is a lesson here for us. We all have “bad hair” days that can drive us to distraction. We all go through storms, sometimes several in one week’s time. Shouldn’t God have given Paul a break for helping with the fire? Hadn’t he been through enough? But it was the storm, the shipwreck, and the snakebite that led to the healing.
In Chapter 1 of the book of Romans, Paul prayed for a “prosperous journey” to Rome. Was his journey prosperous? He was not booked in a stateroom on a luxury liner. There was no posh hotel room waiting for him on the island. But I’m learning to love this definition of prosperity – having everything you need to do the Will of God. So the next time the snake bites, and he will, let’s just shake him off and see what God does next.  

]]> UGLY GIRL? https://rosek.net/2024/04/30/ugly-girl/ Tue, 30 Apr 2024 05:20:12 +0000 http://localhost/avery/?p=3475 Read more]]> A study in chaos. She catches me by surprise in Macdonald’s as I wait for my ice cream on this hot July day. Wild unruly brown curls. Faded orange shirt, stained and rumpled.  Arms and legs frantically jerking, moving in patternless disarray. Eyes roaming out of control, looking for some point of reference in her universe, finding none.
I look away, repulsed. A tiny wizened caregiver, half her size, tries valiantly to keep her under control. Auntie? Grandma? The only person left to care for her? Mumbled words. “No, you can’t have another toy. You have too many already.” Moan of despair.
Oh, no. The Holy Spirit, that “comforter”, is invading my personal space. Here He comes again, chipping away at my sugar candy coating of religiosity. “So you love people?” He queries. Ouch. Jesus died for her? Well, He died for me.
Okay. Test failed. Lord, I need Your eyes, Your ears, Your heart. .

]]> TAKE A SABBATH https://rosek.net/2024/04/30/take-a-sabbath/ Tue, 30 Apr 2024 05:19:18 +0000 http://localhost/avery/?p=3471 Read more]]> Driving by our Blue Seal store today, I noticed a sign announcing “Starting July 4 closed Sundays.” I wanted to run inside and thank them. What if every store in town did the same thing? “Wendy’s closed on Sundays – come back for chili on Monday.” ” Benson’s closed on Sundays – that washer repair can wait one day”. “Dunkin’ closed on Sundays – take a caffeine break!” What a concept. Our merry-go-round culture could use a weekly break. What if we just all stopped running in circles and did nothing but breathe for a day, just one day a week? Would the world end?
Jesus noted that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. It was God’s idea in the first place, flowing from His father’s heart, and even God Himself took a Sabbath. Are we smarter than God? Has anyone out there developed a more effective plan for living in this crazy world?
The writer of the book of Hebrews reminds us, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from His own work, just as God did from His.” (Hebrews 4:9,10). Stop! Rest! Lean back in the arms of Jesus! Let the Holy Spirit guide, inform and empower you. As the old song lyrics go, “There’s nothing more that I can do, for Jesus paid it all”.

]]> A MORNING AFTER RAIN https://rosek.net/2024/04/30/a-morning-after-rain/ Tue, 30 Apr 2024 05:13:58 +0000 http://localhost/avery/?p=3455 Read more]]> Once again, a night of rain. And I’m remembering the lyrics from “Camelot” – “no rain may ever fall till after sundown…” and I’m giving thanks for the redolent fragrance of the summer morning, the bright sunshine that streams through the trees, the sound of last night’s raindrops falling onto the ground as a gentle wind ruffles the leaves. A clear sky, a new beginning.
And I remember a piece of poetry from King David’s dying words.
“The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me;
his word was on my tongue.
The God of Israel spoke,
the Rock of Israel said to me:
‘When one rules over people in righteousness,
when he rules
he is like the light of morning at sunrise
on a cloudless morning,
like the brightness after rain
that brings grass from the earth.’ (2 Sam. 23:2-4)
The whole world lies in wickedness in this present evil age. “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” the psalmist queries. Our apostle Paul gives us the answer in his letter to Timothy.
I exhort therefore, that FIRST OF ALL, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; FOR KINGS; AND FOR ALL THAT ARE IN AUTHORITY, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth(2 Tim. 2:1-4)
Could it be, Church, that we get what we pray for?

]]> A WAKEUP PRAYER https://rosek.net/2024/04/30/a-wakeup-prayer/ Tue, 30 Apr 2024 05:13:32 +0000 http://localhost/avery/?p=3453 Read more]]> Here’s one way to start the morning. These lyrics from this little chorus, written long ago by Rosalie Yoder, are taken from Psalm 143, a messianic psalm that gives us a look into the heart of Jesus as He endured the Cross for us.
“Cause me to hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning, for in Thee do I trust.
Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto Thee.
Deliver me, O Lord, teach me to do Thy will.
Quicken me, O Lord, I stretch forth my hands unto Thee.”
It works well for me.
“Father, I have no idea what will happen today, and no control over any of it. But You know, from the beginning to the end. And I know this one thing – You are Good – no matter how loud the cacophony of evil swells around me. For I’ve known Your love and it never runs out. So I give You this day and trust You with my life.”

]]> Parkway Chateau https://rosek.net/2024/04/30/parkway-chateau/ Tue, 30 Apr 2024 05:00:34 +0000 http://localhost/avery/?p=3447 Read more]]> It’s lovely.


Stuffed animals with fixed grins
Dance around a crepe paper Maypole


Sunlight filters down through skylights
Glows warm on rosy walls
Sparkles on crystal chandeliers.


Lilies of the valley weave their spell
Lilacs and hyacinth soothe the eyes
With lavender softness.


Dinner is served.
“Cranberry juice or buttermilk?”
“Would you like the chicken a la king or the roast beef?”
“Vanilla pudding, or a chocolate chip cookie?”


Tomorrow the Norwegian singers are coming.
Saturday we go to the museum at La Connor.


And Sunday, the pastor will give us a 15 minute sermon.
Next Monday is the candlelight dinner
And Thursday, the May birthday party.


This is as good as it gets.

Bent bodies, struggling to stay upright
Faces creased with a lifetime of emotion
Eyes full of tears and laughter
Looking in astonishment at the mirror
“Can this be me?”

It’s a deathwatch.
“Judy hasn’t been down to eat in a week.”
“They had to take her to the hospital- pneumonia”
“Oh, George? He died last week. The maid found him in his room.”
“Irma had to be moved to the nursing home.”

How sad! Not me. No, never me.
It can’t happen.
I’m still the same inside.


The smell of urine
The pervasive reminder of the enemy


I believe in the resurrection of the body…

]]> TOMORROW https://rosek.net/2024/03/02/tomorrow/ Sat, 02 Mar 2024 18:21:35 +0000 https://rosek.net/?p=4542 Read more]]> At the beginning of the day, most of us have a general idea of the day’s plan. But Prov. 27:1 pulls us short. None of us knows what a day will bring to us. We make plans and assume things will go a certain way, but truth be told, the future is out of our hands. Where will our next breath come from? We just don’t know. We are locked in Time. 

Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow. Period. He said “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”. Mt. 6:34  Tomorrow would take care of itself. Let’s think about that. Do you think that each day has enough evil in it, without throwing tomorrow into the picture? Jesus thought so. 

 There is not one thing we can do about the future, but we tend to uselessly obsess about it. Worry is a waste of energy! We are stuck in today. Someone has said that God’s name is “I AM”, not “I WAS” or “I WILL BE”. When we go backward into the past, He is not there. When we go forward and live in the future, He is not there. He is only with us in the “Now”, for that is where we live, and that is where He meets us.       

My worst days are the ones in which I live in the illusion that I have everything under control. It never goes well! My most joyful days are the ones in which I let go and let God take over. “The Message” translation puts it this way: “Hour by hour I place my days in Your hand”. Just think of it! A loving Father, in control of every hour of our lives. Safety.  Peace. Joy Unspeakable and full of Glory!  

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