Lessons

Lazy summer days are good for reflecting, so here goes!

- Each day is a gift from God; I will not waste a single one.
- Every person is unique and wonderfully made, for a purpose; I will respect each one.
- Everything that happens to us prepares us for the next step in life; I will learn from each.
- God resides in the praises of His children; I will praise Him!
- God,  in His creation, is a Master artist; I appreciate each beautiful masterpiece.
- Little children learn what they live; I will be careful of each word and attitude they hear and see in me.
- Learning to be content in whatever circumstance I find myself is key; I will strive for contentment.
- Not every other person has been fortunate enough to have a good upbringing; I will try to remember this when my tendency to judge rises up.
- Gratitude is an attitude I love; I will not succumb to anything less.
- Sharing with others is something I learned in kindergarten; I will continue in this as long as I live.
- Pity-parties are self-defeating; I will not throw one.
- Listening beats talking any day of the week; I will listen more and talk less.
- Reacting is not fruitful, unless I do it with restraint and forethought; I will think first and act second.
- Being frugal reaps great rewards; I will not spend thoughtlessly or as retail therapy.
- Understanding others takes patience and understanding; God grant me these, please!
- Raising up a child in the way he shall grow:  a very hard job but so worth it.
- Life's challenges build spiritual muscles; I will be stronger, with God's help.
- Starting the day off with God, in His word, talking with Him, listening, and learning...recipe for a better day!
- Exercising your passions, your gifts, your talents:  very rewarding.
- Keeping the faith, through trials and hard times, keeps us keeping on.

Yes, an early summer morning, full of possibilities, is an open book, a blank slate.  Let's see what we can accomplish today.  It may not be earthshaking or award-winning, but it can be a day full of goodness and satisfaction; a day where we can say "thank you, God" and feel peace and contentment.  That's worth millions to me.  How about you?

Kindergarten

A good friend of ours has a little girl who has just finished kindergarten.  She is snaggled toothed, smiley, a reader, and cute as a button.  This has been a momentous year for her, as she embraced school and all its challenges and "firsts" and adventures on her own.  And she's done great!  A win/win for her and her parents.

I remember my kindergarten years.  At age 4, I and my friends went to "morning group."  At age 5, we did "afternoon group."  This was in the days of no public kindergarten, so it was of the private variety.  I absolutely loved every minute of it!  I can still see our "room."  It was in the original Norris Community Building, a multi-purpose building of the 1930s era (I think.)  It had hardwood floors, and we had a whole fleet of tricycles inside where we could race around with no fear of hitting walls or pedestrians or anything that was dangerous or valuable.  I can envision our tables and chairs and the outdoor playgound...I can even "smell" the place...a combination of paste, clay, and tempera paint!

In 1953 and 1954, our curriculum was certainly not like today's kindergartener's.  We didn't learn to read or add and subtract.  But it was good for us socially and emotionally.  We learned to be independent, to listen, to share, to be creative.  And we learned manners, right from wrong, and appropriate behavior.

I'm sure you've read, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum.  I highly recommend the book; even a re-read if it's been a while.  It should be required reading, in my opinion, for we could use an extra dose of civility in the world in which we live.  Too often, folks are unkind, rude, too outspoken, selfish, unwilling to compromise, to see the other's person's view, to consider the other guy might just be right.  If we could learn and live this credo, its wisdom might just be about all that's necessary to live a meaningful life.

So, here goes: 

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.  Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup:  The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die.  So do we.
And then remember the Dick and Jane books and the first word you learned --the biggest word of all--LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere.  The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation.  Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Here's to some good reading; 197 pages of wisdom, pure and simple.  May God convict each of us with its lessons and teach us anew to be good to one another.  Life is short, and we need to live each day to its fullest, without regret.  Carpe diem, my friends!  Long live kindergarten and its wonderful, necessary life-lessons!

Goodness

It's May, the month of goodness.  I think we all want to be good, to do good, to share goodness with others.  Sometimes that's hard.  Especially when we're hurt or distressed or in the middle of adversity.  That's when we tend to be our "real" selves.  It's been said that you can tell a lot about a person when they're under pressure or in the middle of great adversity.  I don't much like that, but it's often true.  Put a person in a pressure cooker and watch how they act.  Many times it's not a very graceful...or grace-filled...sight.  That's when the anger and short temper and selfishness often appear.  Sad but true.

So how do we be "good"  when the pressure is on?

How can we look beyond ourselves and focus on goodness?

We can be good.  We can speak goodness instead of ugly, hurtful words. We can have good attitudes instead of spiteful ones.  We can think of others instead of ourselves.  We can have our priorities straight and look out for the best interests of others.  We can speak truth in love.  We don't have to sacrifice our principles in order to keep the peace.

How?  With God's help.  Through His Spirit, we can be fruitful.  We can walk in His footsteps and be more like Him.  We can be good.

On the last page of scripture, in Revelation 22, God says, "On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month..."  I was amazed at this scripture as it explains my 2013 list of "fruit,"  one for each month, as my resolutions or goals.  I had forgotten this scripture in January when I came up with my list.  Isn't God just like that, to lead us?  I'm grateful and feel confirmed in this. 

So...we now have peace, love, joy, faithfulness and hope, and are working on having goodness in our basket.  Can't wait to see what this basket (my life) will look like at the end of the year.  I'm a work in progress for sure.  Hopefully by 2014, I will be a little more like Him.

Little Ones

I have little ones on my mind this morning...several little people who need our prayers and who are the objects of our praise.  Here they are:  would you join me in celebrating these young lives?

Harper:  two years old today!  She started out life with an emergency delivery at 23-24 weeks gestation.  So tiny...so sick...so fragile.  She is an overcomer for sure and today celebrates her birthday.  Perfectly beautiful...walking...learning...right on target, having overcome so many obstacles and hurdles.  Happy Birthday, sweet girl.

Saxon:  13 years old, battling cancer, fighting hard.  He's such a sweet kid and has had such a hard time with chemo and all that goes with that.  His family is so faithful and is working so hard to give him what he needs in terms of treatment and support and encouragement.  They have great faith and much hope.  He's very fortunate to be in the family that is his.  And the larger family of faith, as well.  Be strong in His love, Saxon.  Many join you in your journey.

Tripp:  I don't know this child but found his story compelling.  While at daycare, a large limb fell from a tree, crushing his skull.  He is now 2 1/2, six months out from the accident.  He is now home, in therapy to help him recover from severe brain damage.  He has a long way to go but has many folks helping him and pulling for him.  A very sad story but one with hope.  Precious little boy...

Drew:  He is 5 months old, at Vanderbilt in the NICU since birth.  Tomorrow is a big day in his life as he undergoes open heart surgery.  He has other health issues, including pulmonary hypertension, which complicate matters greatly.  He is in good hands, with his family, drs and nurses, and with His Heavenly Father in control.  Would you pray for him, please?  His mother, whom we've known since her childhood, is so faithful; reading her blogs is like being in church.  Bless them, one and all.

There are others, but I'll concentrate on those above.  Each child is precious, special, and well-loved.  May God hold them in the palm of His hand and grant to each just exactly what they need.  We trust you, Father, with their care.  And we pray for miracles.  And thank you for your loving care of these dear little ones.

Faithfulness and Hope

Well, we are almost half-way through April and need to touch on our fruit basket for 2013.  We started in January with peace, followed by love in February, and joy in March.  The words for April are "faithfulness" and "hope." 

When making resolutions for this year, I felt led to focus on Fruit of the Spirit.  My thinking was this:  if I can focus on His Spirit and what He leads me to do in my life, I'll certainly have a pretty good year.  Not necessarily in things going like I want them to...or in realizing my dreams...or in winning the lottery, etc.  But in how I cope with things...and how my outlook on things can influence my thoughts, words, and deeds.

So far, so good!  We have certainly had challenges this year.  And I'm still above water!  I have to think that leaning hard on God, being in touch with Him through His spirit, and thanking Him daily for our many blessings has contributed to that fact.  Not that I haven't had my "moments."  I certainly have, when I lose my focus, have a pity party, or fall into worry and negative thinking.  But for the most part, I have felt close to God and in His keeping.

This month, I hope to remain faithful and to have hope for our future.  The two certainly go hand in hand, don't they.  He will be faithful to us!  He will never leave us nor forsake us.  In Him is our hope.  Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.  He is the hope of our world and our hope as we follow Him.   

So, here's to a month of celebrating faithfulness:  His and mine.  Here's to hope for today and for tomorrow.  Though dark clouds may hover, though we get thunder and lightning in our lives, though we have fire to walk through and very high tides and deep rivers to ford, we can nonetheless depend on our heavenly father to strengthen us, to sustain us, to keep us under the protection of His mighty wings.

If He is fully faithful and full of  hope, then we can be, as well.

So, April, here we are.  Peace, love, joy, faithfulness and hope.  Quite a lot of treasured fruit, ours for the partaking.  You are the Creator and Provider.  Thank you for sharing this fruit.  It's just exactly what we need, and we thank you.

Good Reading

I like to read - It's relaxing to me and transports me to different places and times and introduces me to new people in new situations.  Lately, my taste has been in the lines of Christian novels.  Most of them have been set in times long ago.  Francine Rivers has been my author of choice for about the last five books I've read.  She is very talented and her research into settings and history and situations is remarkable.  Each has its dark side, too; a little daunting at times but pretty realistic, as well, I'm sure.

The Mark of the Lion Collection is a trilogy set in Bible times, right after the death of Christ.  The apostle John, who was probably a teenager when Christ was in his early 30s, is still alive.  It is the era of catacombs, gladiators, chariots...when Christians were highly persecuted, imprisoned, thrown into the arena with lions, fed to wild dogs.  I had a hard time getting into the first book because it has numerous characters, all with Latin names, and I had to really concentrate to learn who was who.  But as the story unfolded, I found myself spellbound.  All three books are excellent, captivating, disturbing, set-you-to-thinking jewels.  I'm so glad to have read them.

In a nutshell, each has characters who worship other gods and who, one by one, are converted to Christianity.  Fascinating reading.  It made me realize anew how fortunate we are.  We are free to worship as we choose, be open about our convictions, pretty much free from much persecution.  We take it so for granted, don't we.  They, on the other hand, took their lives in their hands when they professed to be followers of Christ.  Their own families disowned them; they were literally in danger every second of the day.  Can you imagine risking your life, facing roaring lions or mad dogs, by not worshiping idols or mythological gods and goddesses?

The next time I'm tempted to complain about anything, I will remember how horrible it used to be for Christians...and how dangerous it can still be for our missionaries and other Christians living around the world in less-than-friendly environments.  They are in my prayers for sure.  Never will a day go by that I won't thank God for life in America where I'm free to be who I am in Christ.

Another thing I love about the Lion trilogy is the scripture used.  The gospel is shared frequently and well in the conversions.  In Book 3, the entire story of Christianity is shared, in a nutshell.  These would be excellent books to share with someone struggling or searching or lost.  The author does a wonderful job in applying scripture to life situations. Love is the theme...as are hope, patience, honesty, integrity. 

So, if you're in the market for some good reading, head to the bookstore, Amazon, or the Kindle Store and check out The Mark of the Lion Collection by Francine Rivers.  You won't be sorry!

I Know the Answer, But...

It's so frustrating when you have a problem, know the answer to the problem, but you just can't seem to get there.  Case in point:  I'm having a little trouble with anger.  I'm not a very angry person, by nature.  It's takes quite a lot to rile me up!  But when I AM angry, I don't know quite how to handle it.

Growing up, anger wasn't allowed at our house.  It was highly discouraged if not forbidden.  My parents were very uncomfortable with anger, so it was just not allowed.  I accepted that.  But human nature being as it is, anger is going to happen.  So if you're not allowed to have that emotion, what do you do with what's happening?

I don't blame my folks for this.  They had good reason not to like it.  Who does?  They were both rather sensitive by nature and had some experiences in their own upbringing with unpleasant anger experiences in their families...so, the way they handled it was just to not let it happen.

As a result, I pretty much just swallowed it as a child...I know better as an adult.  You HAVE to acknowledge it.  Say, "That makes me angry."  But you DO NOT swallow it.  It eats you alive if you do.

 I know the answer to my current problem:

You get angry but you do not sin.
You do not act inappropriately.
You do not yell at anyone or call them out or curse them.
You do not gossip about them or judge them or wish evil upon them.

You LOVE them.  You are slow to speak.  You forgive.  You pray for them who despitefully use you...or persecute you.

Sounds so easy.  But it's VERY hard, at least for me.  Knowing what to do and doing what you know to do are two different things.

Today, in three different instances, as I struggled with my problem, I was given the exact same answers as listed above!  Talk about more than coincidental.  Since I am very tired of trying hard...and very tired of having ugly thoughts...and very tired of being mad at myself for being so unChristlike...I am giving this over to God and asking Him humbly to just take it.  He is sovereign.  He is all-seeing and all-knowing.  He is powerful and good and loving.  He can do it.  He can help me do it.

So there it is.  I already feel better.  Free and clean and good.