Category: General

Life Under Construction – Aroma

When I was a little girl, our step-father took all us kids to a Christmas Party sponsored by the American Legion. At some point in the program, the host called all the children at the party up to the stage to sing “Frosty the Snowman.” Once up there, everyone developed stage fright and the only person who actually sang was me. I remember standing there while a photographer took my picture for the next day’s paper and thinking how neat that was.

Other than that instance as a child, I would say I have sung in public maybe a total of two or three times. You see, I have this problem—I cannot sing. At least, I don’t sing well. My range is very limited and rather low, so the soprano notes tend to come out of my mouth in a squeak or a broken line. Not pretty.

So while singing in public isn’t something I choose to do, when I am alone I sing. And I sing loudly, because one morning on my way to work, as I despaired about my lousy voice, my loving, encouraging Daddy guided my thoughts to promises learned from His Word about worship.  I was reminded that when I sing or do anything from my heart for Him, I am worshiping Him. He doesn\’t need perfection; He needs devotion.

I wish I could share a clear, lovely voice with the world, but I can\’t; so I will just sing to an audience of One. I’ll worship God with the other gifts He has given me, because I love Him, and I cannot be silent. There are many forms of worship, after all, and they rise as a beautiful aroma to our Father.

Hurry Home

So.  You had made good decisions for your life and your eternity.

And then you went away to college.

You went away to college, and all of a sudden you are smarter than your parents, your siblings, and all the folks who had a part in your life.

You let people WHO DON\’T KNOW OR CARE ABOUT YOU ridicule and challenge your beliefs, and you caved. In the name of higher learning, you became \”too intelligent\” for such absurdity as God and Christ. The people you once admired, you now snicker at them or cluck your lips at them. \”How foolish they are,\” you sigh patronizingly.
 
Time will tell.
 
In the meantime, we continue to pray for your \”educated\” selves, we continue to love you, we continue to share the real truth–because that\’s where your freedom lies. Not in your higher learning, not in your \”maturity,\” but in the simple teachings that lead to eternal life. Yes, there is an eternal life; yes, there is a heaven and there is a hell. You once believed that. Somewhere, deep inside of you, you still believe that.

The Bible is still true today; God hasn\’t changed His mind. I\’m praying you change your mind so that you don\’t meet the Living God someday and experience shame and regret. Never forget, the folks who loved you as you grew into a young woman and a young man STILL LOVE YOU. Where are your professors today? Where are the young people who helped you throw aside all you were taught by the parents, the siblings, the church family who love you?

Ah, but that family–the family who loves you–is still here. We aren\’t going anywhere; we\’ll never back down. Because you are worth the effort.

 And we aren\’t going to stop praying for you. Hurry home.

Something Else That Scares Our Dog

We celebrated Dave\’s birthday with our daughter and grandsons. It was a nice time, and good visit, and a fine celebration. After everyone left the house, Dave and I took our usual Sunday nap. The house was quiet, and Dave and I just lounged around and enjoyed the afternoon.

I did notice, however, that our dog, Gracie, was acting strange. She kept pacing and jumping in the chair with Dave (not her usual behavior). She would go into the front den and lie down (not her usual sleeping place). Something was definitely amiss.

Pacing, pacing, pacing–she was about to make me nuts! What was going on with her? Dave got up and took her outside for a bit. She stuck to his leg like she was tied there (again, not usual behavior). When they came back  in the house, Gracie lay down in the living room; and then all of a sudden she jumped up and began barking wildly in the direction of our kitchen.

\”Did you lock the back door?\” I inquired.

\”Yes,\” Dave told me. \”Maybe there\’s a mouse in the kitchen, and she saw it or something.\”

Meanwhile, Gracie is barking wildly, the hair standing up on her back. Oh, good heavens!

I went to the kitchen and looked around, prepared to scream and run if I saw anything closely resembling vermin in my house. I grabbed my bottle of peppermint spray and proceeded to spray down all the drawers, the corners, the pantry–anywhere I thought a wild beast might be lurking.

Still, Gracie, growled and paced. And then she lay in the front room, as if hiding.

Bedtime came. I made my way from the living room, through the dining room and towards the kitchen. Something caught my attention as I passed through the dining room. There was movement to my left! I whirled and looked, and then I saw them–BALLOONS! Helium balloons. They moved and swayed as we walked past.

And Gracie is afraid of them.

Gracie is fine now, since Dave hid the balloons where she can\’t see them. She\’s fine, of course, until we run the vacuum cleaner, open a garbage bag, pop bubbles in bubble wrap, laugh or talk really loud, etc.

This life we live.

P.S. I tried to take a picture of Gracie. Guess what else she\’s afraid of?

*sigh*

 

Unfulfilled Resolutions

Many years ago, I quit making New Year’s Resolutions. I never kept them, and all I did was end up angry at myself. For the year 2014, again I didn’t make any resolutions: except this one thing I was going to do—I was going to go to my mama’s house and spend as long as she needed to help her get her paperwork in order.

I had been watching my husband working to get his mother’s papers in order, and her information was pretty much straight. Reba has already planned her funeral, written her obituary, picked out her funeral clothes, has her headstone ready to go; yet it still took several days for Dave to get all that paper in some sort of system so that he could grab it quickly if needed.  Continue reading “Unfulfilled Resolutions”

\”Meaching Our Riddle Age\”

Reading in 1Kings, I came across the council of officials in the court of King Solomon. There were the usual—priests, secretaries, military leaders, head housekeeper, etc. And then, this jumped out at me: “and Zabud…was the king’s friend” (4:5).

A friend. King Solomon had a friend on his council—an individual whom he could trust; someone who would tell Solomon what he needed to hear and not just stroke his ego. This friend was likely a person with whom Solomon discussed business. Maybe they stood on the high wall of Solomon\’s palace, overlooking the kingdom, and shared quiet camaraderie. Perhaps on occasion, one would raise his eyebrow in acknowledgement of an inside joke only shared by the two. Whatever they did, Solomon thought it important to have this friend on his council, to keep him close. He needed his friend.

Best friends are important. Continue reading “\”Meaching Our Riddle Age\””