My long blog drought is nearing an end. My computer fell victim to the technical virtual version of swine flu and was hospitalized till fully recovered. This was a traumatic time for us both! Computer was being probed and poked in every nook and cranny. I was suffering sever withdrawal symptoms! Finally able to bring it home, just in time for my Honey to go on vacation.
A trip we had planned and waited for was canceled due to health conditions. Mine, not the computer's. We were so disappointed. The silver lining, however, was that allowed us to spend time with my favorite Auntie and attend her 75th birthday party! She looked beautiful and happy. Seeing her like that made it all worth while. Also got to see a sprinkling of cousins and put faces to names we hear about.
My Honey is still home, living the life of luxury.....if you call pulling the radiator out of his work truck luxury. Old Red has been a blessing to us for many years. She's old, beat up from a 2002 hail storm, has more miles than she should. Guess we should rename her Timex. She takes a licking and keeps on ticking! She's a 1990 Chevy S-10 we bought used from my brother in 2001. The A/C rarely works, the radio doesn't work anymore at all. We've put a seat cover on the tattered bench seat. Rather like putting lipstick on a pig. However, while she's down for the radiator extraction and replacement, we are treating her to a new thermostat, too! Happy days! One day, I hope to be able to take my hard working man down to a truck dealer and tell him to take his pick of the bright shiny new trucks all lined up. He works hard to support me and the grandkids we had living here. Old Red has her share of duct tape and bailing wire holding her together but we are hoping her new radiator brings some new life into her. Heck of a vacation we have going on here!
Tonight is Date Night. That simply means we will go out for dinner & a movie. My friend, Helen Honey, is treating us to the dinner; we're using the gift card to Olive Garden she gave us on our anniversary. Thanks, again, Helen Honey! You're a sweetie! Date night is about as socially active as we get these days. It's usually all about home, work, church and back again. I have vague memories of a social life......maybe I was dreaming, who knows?
Anyway, I try to make my time and attention available only to my Honey when he is home; thus the prolonged blog drought. I can't write when he's in and out, asking questions and needing things; so I focus on him while he's home. This is the system that works best for us. He has assured me he will return to work on Monday.......I wait with baited breath. Europeans take month long 'holidays', I do not know how they stand that! We are just taking a week and I'm ready for things to return to normal. Heck, I'm ready for school to start and we do not even have kids living here any more! Why does it seem normal life revolves around the school calendar and trash pickup days? What a sad commentary that is! 'Normal' is relative and I'm ready for my Honey (husband type relative) to get back to work, the writer in me is screaming to get out!
Till we meet again next week........be a blessing to those around you!
Lynn
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Walk in the Garden
Yesterday's morning's tour of the garden brought conviction on me and I have no one to blame but myself. My herb garden is in a canoe we found abandoned by the side of the road a few years ago. It brings a great deal of joy to me; green and lush, overflowing with herbs of every sort and color. This year it has taken a back seat to the veggie garden and I have not taken the time or replaced plants lost to a rare freeze on the herb garden. It shows!
I also could see that my lack of attention in not pulling weeds had made a difference. Typically, I diligently pull them out as I make the coffee tour. This maintenance habit only takes a moment or two because I did it everyday. However, this year I got lazy, distracted by other things and didn't take the time. I still made my rounds to review all the green soldiers lined up for inspection, to marvel at how sweet basil smells when you simply rub it gently between your fingers, to water and feed them but not the daily maintenance work. Morning sun brought the reality of my lack of attention in full view as I walked with two of my grandbabies, giving them the garden tour. After the light of morning blossomed in her full glory, I could also see damage done by pesky grasshoppers. My precious herb garden looks ragged and just plain ugly.
As usual, God took the opportunity to tap me on the shoulder to make a point. Our relationship with God is alive and growing, just like our plants. It is not something we can ignore until it's convenient and then be stumped about why we have weeds popping up in our lives. Weeds are more than just ugly, some weeds are, in fact, very pretty; much like sin can appear to be. However, they compete with the plants for life giving water and nutrients. They can literally choke out good plants, thus reducing or completely destroying the harvest you anticipated.
This is why we daily need time with God, time reading scripture and in prayer. This is maintaining that relationship; this is weed control. Weeds aside, there is the issue of the nasty grasshopper. Even if you're daily spending time preventing weeds from taking over, sometimes grasshoppers come along to chew up your world. They can come in the form of illness, tragedy, financial difficulties or relationship issues with those you love. Grasshoppers happen!!
In the time of plague in your life, isn't it comforting to know the Master Gardener, Himself, is watching out for you?!! Imagine the plight our poor herb garden would have to endure if they didn't have me there to protect them from the demon grasshoppers. Imagine the plight our lives would have to endure without God there for us!! God will always do His part when we do our part.
Nurturing our relationship with God, walking on the paths He would have us walk, pulling the weeds (sins) out of our lives daily by acknowledging, confessing and repenting, all these things are our part to do. He is the Living Water that produces growth, He is the Light that gives life, He is the Master Gardener that protects, heals and provides for us. Grasshoppers come but He is always there!
I also could see that my lack of attention in not pulling weeds had made a difference. Typically, I diligently pull them out as I make the coffee tour. This maintenance habit only takes a moment or two because I did it everyday. However, this year I got lazy, distracted by other things and didn't take the time. I still made my rounds to review all the green soldiers lined up for inspection, to marvel at how sweet basil smells when you simply rub it gently between your fingers, to water and feed them but not the daily maintenance work. Morning sun brought the reality of my lack of attention in full view as I walked with two of my grandbabies, giving them the garden tour. After the light of morning blossomed in her full glory, I could also see damage done by pesky grasshoppers. My precious herb garden looks ragged and just plain ugly.
As usual, God took the opportunity to tap me on the shoulder to make a point. Our relationship with God is alive and growing, just like our plants. It is not something we can ignore until it's convenient and then be stumped about why we have weeds popping up in our lives. Weeds are more than just ugly, some weeds are, in fact, very pretty; much like sin can appear to be. However, they compete with the plants for life giving water and nutrients. They can literally choke out good plants, thus reducing or completely destroying the harvest you anticipated.
This is why we daily need time with God, time reading scripture and in prayer. This is maintaining that relationship; this is weed control. Weeds aside, there is the issue of the nasty grasshopper. Even if you're daily spending time preventing weeds from taking over, sometimes grasshoppers come along to chew up your world. They can come in the form of illness, tragedy, financial difficulties or relationship issues with those you love. Grasshoppers happen!!
In the time of plague in your life, isn't it comforting to know the Master Gardener, Himself, is watching out for you?!! Imagine the plight our poor herb garden would have to endure if they didn't have me there to protect them from the demon grasshoppers. Imagine the plight our lives would have to endure without God there for us!! God will always do His part when we do our part.
Nurturing our relationship with God, walking on the paths He would have us walk, pulling the weeds (sins) out of our lives daily by acknowledging, confessing and repenting, all these things are our part to do. He is the Living Water that produces growth, He is the Light that gives life, He is the Master Gardener that protects, heals and provides for us. Grasshoppers come but He is always there!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Manners Matter
We now live in a world where your life can be made miserable, sometimes even threatened, if you are not considered 'politically correct'. You may offend one race, religion, ethnic group, political group, short people, tall people, fat people, skinny people, carnivores, vegetarians, vegans, beer drinkers, wine sippers, tea-totallers, people living in the north, people living in the south, east coasters, west coasters, mountain dwellers, farmers, motorcyclists, SUV drivers, red scarves, blue scarves, cyclist, runners, joggers, gym goers, yoga enthusiast, rock climbers, chess players, those in gated communities, those in mobile homes, those that pray, those that don't want you top be able to pray, etc, etc, etc........this is but a small list of potential offenses.
My goodness, it is enough to boggle the mind! Who, pray tell, sits around and makes the decisions on what is or isn't politically correct? Do they get paid for this or is it a labor of love? At one time I thought there needed be a book with all the Do's and Don'ts listed but then I realized that could not be possible; who would decide what color the book, the materials the cover would be made of, the language it was written in? Again, the list goes on.
If you want a micro-view of the state of personal interaction in the world, just observe a group of children for a while. I had the opportunity to do so this past weekend and it is not always a pretty sight. The old adage that children learn what they live rings loud and true today! In any restaurant you will find someone among the diners that is oblivious to those around them or simply may not care regardless. So they behave in such a manner that it is obvious they have no consideration for anyone else. This is played out in every school cafateria across the country.
Perhaps I am showing my age but I believe that manners absolutely DO matter. If people simply used common courtesy and basic good manners, this world would be a better place. Therein lies the problem; what constitutes 'common courtesies and good manners'? Cultural dictations being as diverse as they are make this a mine field of opportunities to misstep. But in our own country, there should be a standard accepted as the norm without fear of being politically incorrect.
When training people for the mission field we are careful to research and teach cultural differences so as to not offend our host countries people. This makes sense. What possible good could we do if we walked around offending people all the time?!
Shouldn't we do as much for our children? I believe, as a nation, we have gone too far in the direction of protecting people's rights to be obnoxious and rude. It becomes dangerous when we protect rights to be demanding and self-serving but do not protects the rights to common curtesey. It will never be import on a national level unless it is taught and expected in every home. I'm not talking about insisting that each child be taught which fork to use in a formal setting, I'm talking about teaching and requiring our children to thoughtful, considerate, caompassionate people; requiring more of themselves and passing a heritage of good manners and civilities on to their own children, generation after generation. As it stands now, we are rearing generations of educated savages. If you think that is too strong a comment, go to a school playground at recess.
The state of our children reflects the state of our nation. We have lazy, selfish, unmotivated children with a high level of entitlement that will one day be the leaders of our country. Yes, there are exceptions to the rule but as a whole, we are in trouble. When children are allowed to be rude and ugly to one another, as well as with adults, we are perpetuating a mentality that eats away at the core of moral values. Manners and good behavior starts at home. Etiquette starts there but should continue on throughout a lifetime. When people start treating each other as one person of value and worth to another, then and only then will we have a chance to build the kind of world worthy of passing on.
Manners matter! Pass them on.
My goodness, it is enough to boggle the mind! Who, pray tell, sits around and makes the decisions on what is or isn't politically correct? Do they get paid for this or is it a labor of love? At one time I thought there needed be a book with all the Do's and Don'ts listed but then I realized that could not be possible; who would decide what color the book, the materials the cover would be made of, the language it was written in? Again, the list goes on.
If you want a micro-view of the state of personal interaction in the world, just observe a group of children for a while. I had the opportunity to do so this past weekend and it is not always a pretty sight. The old adage that children learn what they live rings loud and true today! In any restaurant you will find someone among the diners that is oblivious to those around them or simply may not care regardless. So they behave in such a manner that it is obvious they have no consideration for anyone else. This is played out in every school cafateria across the country.
Perhaps I am showing my age but I believe that manners absolutely DO matter. If people simply used common courtesy and basic good manners, this world would be a better place. Therein lies the problem; what constitutes 'common courtesies and good manners'? Cultural dictations being as diverse as they are make this a mine field of opportunities to misstep. But in our own country, there should be a standard accepted as the norm without fear of being politically incorrect.
When training people for the mission field we are careful to research and teach cultural differences so as to not offend our host countries people. This makes sense. What possible good could we do if we walked around offending people all the time?!
Shouldn't we do as much for our children? I believe, as a nation, we have gone too far in the direction of protecting people's rights to be obnoxious and rude. It becomes dangerous when we protect rights to be demanding and self-serving but do not protects the rights to common curtesey. It will never be import on a national level unless it is taught and expected in every home. I'm not talking about insisting that each child be taught which fork to use in a formal setting, I'm talking about teaching and requiring our children to thoughtful, considerate, caompassionate people; requiring more of themselves and passing a heritage of good manners and civilities on to their own children, generation after generation. As it stands now, we are rearing generations of educated savages. If you think that is too strong a comment, go to a school playground at recess.
The state of our children reflects the state of our nation. We have lazy, selfish, unmotivated children with a high level of entitlement that will one day be the leaders of our country. Yes, there are exceptions to the rule but as a whole, we are in trouble. When children are allowed to be rude and ugly to one another, as well as with adults, we are perpetuating a mentality that eats away at the core of moral values. Manners and good behavior starts at home. Etiquette starts there but should continue on throughout a lifetime. When people start treating each other as one person of value and worth to another, then and only then will we have a chance to build the kind of world worthy of passing on.
Manners matter! Pass them on.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Show Me Where it Hurts
I’ve mentioned before that I ask God what He would have me write about. This morning I asked as usual. Sometimes the divine inspiration comes quickly and other times, God simply waits for me to catch on. This was one such morning.
Though I won’t go in depth about it, my body struggles with physical issues. This morning is a painful morning but the sun rose regardless of my issues. Life does go on and so must I. So, I sat at my computer with open mind and anxious fingers toying with the keys. My right foot, ankle and lower calf are particularly bothersome today and refuse to stay quiet as I work. I felt the Lord telling me to use that pain to make a point. Silly, silly me, I raised the argument that no one cared to read about my pain. (Ever argued with God? Sure you have!) It was pointless to argue but I did it anyway.
Can you hear the chorus of ‘She’ll be comin’ ‘round the mountain when she comes’?
So, while I was waiting for God to come up with something else, I headed to the kitchen to refill my coffee cup. First step away from the computer, foot and ankle screamed at me. Not to be daunted, I continued on to appease my coffee addiction. By step four, my knee buckled and the pain radiated in throbbing waves. Not so sure the coffee is worth it at this point but I’m a hardheaded lass and pushed forward. Finally at the coffee maker, I rebuked myself and that know-it-all mentality. Pain it is, Lord. I’ll write about pain. Don’t know where it will go but You are in charge and I’ll just hit the keys!
So, here we are. Let’s see where God takes this.
Pain serves many purposes. First, it alerts us to a potential problem. We’ve all heard a doctor tell us to show him where it hurts. Pain pin-points the area of concern so it can be dealt with accordingly. In fact, it could be dangerous if we are not feeling pain but have an injury.
Making the all important spiritual analogy, pain is also important in alerting us to sin in our lives and the area of concern so it can be dealt with accordingly. When we are walking outside of God’s will for us, we do indeed invite pain into our lives. Just as the pain in my ankle extended to my knee, when we do not eradicate what we may consider a small sin, it grows and branches out into other areas of sin and disobedience. Left unattended and ignored, sin grows and multiplies in our lives.
Let’s use a simple splinter in our foot as an example. For our purpose today, the splinter represents sin in our lives. As tiny as most splinters are, they do cause pain. If we ignore it, the effected area around the splinter gets red and tender. Before we know it, we can’t put weight on that part of our foot and we’re limping around; struggling to go about our daily life. Infection can set in; we are constantly aware of that pain. We run the risk of infection spreading to other areas; like our bloodstream…..the bloodstream that flows through our entire body. This bloodstream flows into our heart and our brain. Now, that tiny splinter has spread its nasty infection into the very core of all that gives us life.
Had we listened to the pain of the splinter and removed it from our foot, we could have avoided all the pain we brought on ourselves by choosing to ignore it.
Where there is pain in your life, whatever kind of pain, pay attention. Ask God to show you where the sin splinter in your life is hidden and make every effort to remove it quickly. The anxiety of actually removing it may be difficult but that pain is short lived. Letting it stay does much more damage.
Though I won’t go in depth about it, my body struggles with physical issues. This morning is a painful morning but the sun rose regardless of my issues. Life does go on and so must I. So, I sat at my computer with open mind and anxious fingers toying with the keys. My right foot, ankle and lower calf are particularly bothersome today and refuse to stay quiet as I work. I felt the Lord telling me to use that pain to make a point. Silly, silly me, I raised the argument that no one cared to read about my pain. (Ever argued with God? Sure you have!) It was pointless to argue but I did it anyway.
Can you hear the chorus of ‘She’ll be comin’ ‘round the mountain when she comes’?
So, while I was waiting for God to come up with something else, I headed to the kitchen to refill my coffee cup. First step away from the computer, foot and ankle screamed at me. Not to be daunted, I continued on to appease my coffee addiction. By step four, my knee buckled and the pain radiated in throbbing waves. Not so sure the coffee is worth it at this point but I’m a hardheaded lass and pushed forward. Finally at the coffee maker, I rebuked myself and that know-it-all mentality. Pain it is, Lord. I’ll write about pain. Don’t know where it will go but You are in charge and I’ll just hit the keys!
So, here we are. Let’s see where God takes this.
Pain serves many purposes. First, it alerts us to a potential problem. We’ve all heard a doctor tell us to show him where it hurts. Pain pin-points the area of concern so it can be dealt with accordingly. In fact, it could be dangerous if we are not feeling pain but have an injury.
Making the all important spiritual analogy, pain is also important in alerting us to sin in our lives and the area of concern so it can be dealt with accordingly. When we are walking outside of God’s will for us, we do indeed invite pain into our lives. Just as the pain in my ankle extended to my knee, when we do not eradicate what we may consider a small sin, it grows and branches out into other areas of sin and disobedience. Left unattended and ignored, sin grows and multiplies in our lives.
Let’s use a simple splinter in our foot as an example. For our purpose today, the splinter represents sin in our lives. As tiny as most splinters are, they do cause pain. If we ignore it, the effected area around the splinter gets red and tender. Before we know it, we can’t put weight on that part of our foot and we’re limping around; struggling to go about our daily life. Infection can set in; we are constantly aware of that pain. We run the risk of infection spreading to other areas; like our bloodstream…..the bloodstream that flows through our entire body. This bloodstream flows into our heart and our brain. Now, that tiny splinter has spread its nasty infection into the very core of all that gives us life.
Had we listened to the pain of the splinter and removed it from our foot, we could have avoided all the pain we brought on ourselves by choosing to ignore it.
Where there is pain in your life, whatever kind of pain, pay attention. Ask God to show you where the sin splinter in your life is hidden and make every effort to remove it quickly. The anxiety of actually removing it may be difficult but that pain is short lived. Letting it stay does much more damage.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
To Forgive or Not Forgive
We Christians place a higher standard on one another than God Himself does on us. I’m talking about forgiveness & repentance. We sit in judgment of others and base our forgiving them on our determination of the level of (or lack of) repentance we see in them.
Thank God, we are not held to the same scrutiny before we received forgiveness from God!
Read this slowly and prayerfully: Repentance, while expected of believers, is not a requirement for forgiveness from God. But apparently it often is from one human to another.
If we are to understand forgiveness, we must realize that God's motivation for pardoning sins is found only in Himself and His love. Like the prodigal son in Luke 15, we can do nothing to earn it.
The wayward son "came to his senses" (v. 17); that is to say, he began to think the truth about himself and the situation he had created. We do the same thing when we repent-we have a change of mind.
In the parable, however, the father ran toward his son when he saw him from a distance. He threw his arms around him and kissed him – all gestures of forgiveness. All this was done BEFORE the son had expressed his repentance.
Too often people require a great deal of groveling, humbling, confession and promises of better behavior before forgiving another. What we ask for is more than God requires of us!
Our forgiveness was fully taken care of at the cross, and it was applied to each of us personally when we received Christ as Savior.
Our repentance is a change of mind about our actions that allows us to experience God's forgiveness without guilt.
So then, it stands to reason that we should not be holding someone else up to the light to see how repentant WE think they are before we forgive them. Ask God to reveal any area of un-forgiveness you may have toward someone you feel hasn't shown the 'proper' amount of repentance to suit you. We're all guilty of this.....WE need to repent!
Thank God, we are not held to the same scrutiny before we received forgiveness from God!
Read this slowly and prayerfully: Repentance, while expected of believers, is not a requirement for forgiveness from God. But apparently it often is from one human to another.
If we are to understand forgiveness, we must realize that God's motivation for pardoning sins is found only in Himself and His love. Like the prodigal son in Luke 15, we can do nothing to earn it.
The wayward son "came to his senses" (v. 17); that is to say, he began to think the truth about himself and the situation he had created. We do the same thing when we repent-we have a change of mind.
In the parable, however, the father ran toward his son when he saw him from a distance. He threw his arms around him and kissed him – all gestures of forgiveness. All this was done BEFORE the son had expressed his repentance.
Too often people require a great deal of groveling, humbling, confession and promises of better behavior before forgiving another. What we ask for is more than God requires of us!
Our forgiveness was fully taken care of at the cross, and it was applied to each of us personally when we received Christ as Savior.
Our repentance is a change of mind about our actions that allows us to experience God's forgiveness without guilt.
So then, it stands to reason that we should not be holding someone else up to the light to see how repentant WE think they are before we forgive them. Ask God to reveal any area of un-forgiveness you may have toward someone you feel hasn't shown the 'proper' amount of repentance to suit you. We're all guilty of this.....WE need to repent!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Mining for Diamonds
A diamond is a thing of beauty. The more it sparkles, the more appeal it holds. The source of this desired sparkle is two fold; the many facets cut into its surface and light bouncing off those facets. This very basic and simple concept determine the value.
In the four declarative sentences above I stated a few facts about diamonds. This does not tell the whole story but is accurate information. Were I to repeat those sentences again, your attention may wane because you've already read it. You might skim over words rather than delve into them. You may say to yourself that you already know this information and do not need to read it again. It's official, you are bored with the diamond stuff and want to move on.
Had you kept an open mind, you may have seen tidbits of information in that short paragraph as an open door to research diamonds. There is a wealth of information, most of which was completely new news to me. For instance the multitude of color variations. In order of rarity, colorless diamond, by far the most common; followed by yellow and brown, the most common colors, then by blue, green, black, translucent white, pink, violet, orange, purple, and the rarest, red. I was not aware of orange or purple diamonds, were you? This is just the tip of the diamond information iceberg. All of which I would have cheated myself out of had I simply decided not to look deeper.
All too often, we react the same way when reading scripture, hear a sermon or attend a class. We decide we already know what it says, and just gloss over the surface, not looking for new nuggets of truth. This is having an unteachable mind and spirit. We shut the door on looking at anything from a different perspective because we are convinced we already know all we need to know.
In life, we can get by without knowing the mineral details of how diamonds are made, where they are mined, color and clarity unless we are in the diamond business. But in our spiritual lives, we are treading on dangerous territory when we decide we are wise and knowledgeable enough; scripture becomes so familiar that we no longer delve into it, searching out more of what God had to say. Stories from the Bible do not hold our attention because we've heard them before. We decide we do not need to attend a class because we've covered this subject before. This is a slippery slope, my friend.
Sadly, the people most likely to take that destructive course of action are the people that have little knowledge and those that think they have a lot of knowledge. The little knowledge people are ignorant; they do not know just how much they do not know. But they think they know; sadly, making life altering decisions based on their limited knowledge base.
The other end of the spectrum is held by those that think they've read or heard it all. Rather like that 'been there, done that' mentality. With time and education, you may learn all there is to know about diamonds but we will never learn all there is to glean from Bible study. God can use the simplest concept to teach us; Jesus used parables to reach people because it was in a context the people related to and could comprehend.
Diamonds have many facets cut on their surface which enables them to refract light better; the sparkle! Scripture is also multi-faceted, what you see in it one time may be completely different than what God shows you the next time you look at the same passage. Never assume you have gotten all you can get from a scripture or lesson. God will shine a new light on it and the real gems will come shining through brighter than any diamond ever could. IF, and that is with all capital letters, IF you have a seeking mind and teachable spirit. Never be complacent or happy with status quo when it comes to knowledge of God.
Stay teachable, Friends!
In the four declarative sentences above I stated a few facts about diamonds. This does not tell the whole story but is accurate information. Were I to repeat those sentences again, your attention may wane because you've already read it. You might skim over words rather than delve into them. You may say to yourself that you already know this information and do not need to read it again. It's official, you are bored with the diamond stuff and want to move on.
Had you kept an open mind, you may have seen tidbits of information in that short paragraph as an open door to research diamonds. There is a wealth of information, most of which was completely new news to me. For instance the multitude of color variations. In order of rarity, colorless diamond, by far the most common; followed by yellow and brown, the most common colors, then by blue, green, black, translucent white, pink, violet, orange, purple, and the rarest, red. I was not aware of orange or purple diamonds, were you? This is just the tip of the diamond information iceberg. All of which I would have cheated myself out of had I simply decided not to look deeper.
All too often, we react the same way when reading scripture, hear a sermon or attend a class. We decide we already know what it says, and just gloss over the surface, not looking for new nuggets of truth. This is having an unteachable mind and spirit. We shut the door on looking at anything from a different perspective because we are convinced we already know all we need to know.
In life, we can get by without knowing the mineral details of how diamonds are made, where they are mined, color and clarity unless we are in the diamond business. But in our spiritual lives, we are treading on dangerous territory when we decide we are wise and knowledgeable enough; scripture becomes so familiar that we no longer delve into it, searching out more of what God had to say. Stories from the Bible do not hold our attention because we've heard them before. We decide we do not need to attend a class because we've covered this subject before. This is a slippery slope, my friend.
Sadly, the people most likely to take that destructive course of action are the people that have little knowledge and those that think they have a lot of knowledge. The little knowledge people are ignorant; they do not know just how much they do not know. But they think they know; sadly, making life altering decisions based on their limited knowledge base.
The other end of the spectrum is held by those that think they've read or heard it all. Rather like that 'been there, done that' mentality. With time and education, you may learn all there is to know about diamonds but we will never learn all there is to glean from Bible study. God can use the simplest concept to teach us; Jesus used parables to reach people because it was in a context the people related to and could comprehend.
Diamonds have many facets cut on their surface which enables them to refract light better; the sparkle! Scripture is also multi-faceted, what you see in it one time may be completely different than what God shows you the next time you look at the same passage. Never assume you have gotten all you can get from a scripture or lesson. God will shine a new light on it and the real gems will come shining through brighter than any diamond ever could. IF, and that is with all capital letters, IF you have a seeking mind and teachable spirit. Never be complacent or happy with status quo when it comes to knowledge of God.
Stay teachable, Friends!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Red, White and True Blue
This is our American Independence Day, July 4th. One of the joys of living in small town Texas is that this holiday is celebrated in a big way. The day's festivities are kicked off with a parade that winds through town. The usual participants are there; high school band, floats, horse and mules, antique cars, people on bicycles, fire trucks....the usual. The streets will be lined with old and young alike. Some will occupy lawn chairs with a handy ice chest nearby to hold water and soft drinks. The kids will wait in anticipation for each new float to come by in hopes there will be candy thrown. They will scamper into the streets to fetch the treats. No fear of accidents, the parade moves so slowly, no child will be injured in pursuit of said candy.
Once the parade winds to an end in the town square, town folk and parade riders alike will be able to partake of hot dogs, sausage on a stick, watermelon, Popsicles and drinks handed out in various booths. These treats are your for the having, you just have to stand in line to receive.
Our church has a float pulled by a tractor and manned by the kids and any hardy adults willing to brave the heat and noise. This year, my Honey is a clown on the float. Yes, he acts like a clown a lot of the time but today, he has donned a patriotic clown suit he commissioned from one of the church ladies, Janie, and makes his clown debut in the parade. Honey is known as Papa John by one and all. He draws kids to him, rather like the Pied Piper. His energy is never higher than when he has a gaggle of kids around him. He's the Children's Pastor and they love him! He's even had a two year old moppet write him love notes. No words, just squiggles love in a rainbow of colors on a carefully folded note. Her grandfather held her hand as she walked up to deliver the note to Papa John one Sunday. Her shy smile could not hide her twinkling eyes. It was precious!
I can not be at the parade this year but I can see it in my head. I've asked for pictures to be taken my Honey the Clown. I helped him don his new suit of red, white and blue in honor of the day, carefully placing the matching cap on his curly head.
Nothing says love like a man willing to step outside of himself for the sake of others. This Independence Day is in honor of those that did just that many years ago for the sake of our fledgling country. My Honey serves his country and God in a clown suit today.
I could not be more proud of him. Wishing you a happy and safe 4th.......
Once the parade winds to an end in the town square, town folk and parade riders alike will be able to partake of hot dogs, sausage on a stick, watermelon, Popsicles and drinks handed out in various booths. These treats are your for the having, you just have to stand in line to receive.
Our church has a float pulled by a tractor and manned by the kids and any hardy adults willing to brave the heat and noise. This year, my Honey is a clown on the float. Yes, he acts like a clown a lot of the time but today, he has donned a patriotic clown suit he commissioned from one of the church ladies, Janie, and makes his clown debut in the parade. Honey is known as Papa John by one and all. He draws kids to him, rather like the Pied Piper. His energy is never higher than when he has a gaggle of kids around him. He's the Children's Pastor and they love him! He's even had a two year old moppet write him love notes. No words, just squiggles love in a rainbow of colors on a carefully folded note. Her grandfather held her hand as she walked up to deliver the note to Papa John one Sunday. Her shy smile could not hide her twinkling eyes. It was precious!
I can not be at the parade this year but I can see it in my head. I've asked for pictures to be taken my Honey the Clown. I helped him don his new suit of red, white and blue in honor of the day, carefully placing the matching cap on his curly head.
Nothing says love like a man willing to step outside of himself for the sake of others. This Independence Day is in honor of those that did just that many years ago for the sake of our fledgling country. My Honey serves his country and God in a clown suit today.
I could not be more proud of him. Wishing you a happy and safe 4th.......
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