I am reading a book, "Between A Rock And A Grace Place" by Carol Kent.This is how it begins:

"If you picked up this participants's guide, it no doubt means you are someone who is living in the middle of circumstances you wish were more favorable."  Then, it goes on to say:

"One day when I was struggling, my sister emailed me a verse from the Bible.  Romans 9:33. (Eugene Peterson's rendering from The Message)

"Careful! I've put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion, A stone you can't get around;
But the stone is me! If you're looking for me, you'll find me on the way, not in the way."

Furthermore, Carol writes:

"It has now been more than a decade ago, right in the middle of my life, that I ran into a huge boulder, the likes of which I had never encountered on my lifelong walk with God. It could have been my stopping place, the point at which I lost not only some of my most cherished dreams but also my faith and passion to go on.

Instead, I found out that the rock in my path represented not an obstacle but an opportunity to encounter the living God in surprising, sometimes astonishing ways. As I have learned to "press into" the Rock in the middle of my hard places I have learned that I am actually in a position of safety, refuge, and grace ..."

"If you too feel caught in one of those tight spots that seem unusually difficult, if not unbearable, I pray that you will come to realize that the pain of being in this place need not cause you to lose hope. If you press into the Rock instead of trying to get around it, you will discover a surprise far better than a birthday or a Christmas gift.

On the road that is your life right now, you can find a new way of thinking about your circumstances, as well as an astonishing experience of grace, tailor-made for you. As you encounter God, on the way, not in the way....you may come to know Him as you never have before."

Thank you Carol for that teaching and thank you Most Gracious God for helping Carol to turn her time of great distress into a precious, teaching moment.

1 Timothy 2:2. Pray for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness
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We pray for our president and his administration not because we like them or agree with them, but because God commands us to pray for the one in office.. Obedience is that sacrifice we make but it pays great dividends.

Wow. That truth just blind-sided me. I failed God, Obama, our country and myself by not obeying this command. There were many of us Christians and only one of him. Our prayers could have made a very great difference. Obedience to God's Word could have spared us all a lot of distress.

We think it is all up to the Man in the Oval Office to make us healthy, wealthy and wise. It's not. It's up to God, our obedience to pray and him. Scripture says that God literally changes the heart of kings. Do you suppose He could change the personal and collective hearts of His Body, The Body of Christ?

God help me to trust You and be obedient, even when my mind and will call me off into another place.

Even a royal palace would not have been good enough for Him.  He brought royalty to a new level, in the barn … 

Praying for our President, Mr. Trump.

Some things, we will never agree on. That's the hard part and that is why the need for a multiple party system will continue. Each party has it's own ideas and with those ideas, comes representation.

Some administrations fail by omission, they don't do enough. Some fail by doing too much. There is danger in both. If one doesn't go far enough and the following administration reaps the consequences, that's life in our American Political System. If one Administration goes too far and the successor is left to deal with the pruning process .... that's political life in America.

I think in today's world, the press can be one of the most dangerous political parties around.  We are manipulated to follow their concerns and ideology rather than to pray,  research the facts and make up our own minds.  And when we do research, we tend to favor and seek after what we want to hear.  We are literally brainwashed and don't care. Some folks will never hear the original message, only what each individual network wants us to hear.  We form their opinions, not our own.  No need to dig any deeper for answers.  We are comfortable on this level.  Then of course we vote.
  
 Both sides battle each other with propaganda and lies, weakening our spiritual and physical infrastructure.  What begins as a crack in the foundation turns into a dangerous fault which threatens to destabilize our national security..

This is a real gift to our enemies.  While we fight among ourselves, in this weakened state, we embolden and enable real evil to strike.  Evil, often is smarter than we are.  Evil knows that a unified front is hard to penetrate or destroy.  So, it waits and conserves its energy while we do battle and wear our own selves out, for its sake.

A manger scene without a cross gives an incomplete message. A manger scene and cross together without an open tomb are .... well, like Santa without a sleigh and reindeer.


The Manger says, "Keep it simple. The Cross simply says, "I know you well but I love you anyway." The empty tomb says, "To be continued ...."


I know the end of the book now, even though sometimes I feel lost in the middle. So please forgive me if, at times I may act like I don't. I struggle with my faith far too often.  That is why I like Christmas. It reminds me of things I tend to forget as the year wears on.

"God so loved the world He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world but that through Him, the world might be saved." John 3:16 and 17


That is why, in my opinion, a manger scene without a cross and empty tomb .... well, would not be worth celebrating.

Think about this:

Fear itself does not respect fear, the same way that cowards do not respect cowards.

This is because fear is a coward at it's core.

It's a bully and it often causes those who are afraid to become bullies, simply just to protect their inner, fearful core.

Fear is competitive and does not like to be challenged or called out.

It is easily threatened.

Fear reacts, because once identified, it looses its power.

A little wren sat shivering on my doorstep yesterday evening. It was so cold that it let me pick it up, put it in a box and bring it inside. After thawing out, it perched on it's box and began to fly.


Yesterday, when I woke up, the first thought on my mind was, God, what do you want for me and for this new day? My plans are less important than yours. Show me what you want.


My book, "Miss Dixie Wren and The Institute of Higher Fun and Learning" has been edited and is now ready for the illustration stage. It's pretty much ready to fly.

This may just be a coincidence, but it brings me sweet inspiration never the less. I realize that this little bird is wild and it probably needs to migrate. I will set it free today and trust God to protect it. I think I will name it Dixie.


"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" Matthew 6:26

God help us. The American people, I mean. We are like the little boy who reached into the cookie jar and grabbed so many cookies that he couldn't get his hand back out. We can get mad and curse the cookie jar, saying it's too small. Of course that is an option. Or, we can understand that maybe we don't need all of those cookies after all and take only what we need.

Our appetites are in control of us. We are slaves to the things we want, and we know it. We are loosing the things we need, trading them off for what we want. We can't have it both ways. On Monday, the results of our vote will speak more of the character of the American people than the man they elect.

There is no perfect candidate and even if there was, he would have a heck of a time doing his job, because he has to answer to us ..... the American people. The real reason there are no cookies in our mouths is because they are all stuck in our hands, which are still stuck in the cookie jar. So, we need someone who is willing to hand feed us ... more cookies. 

People today confuse strength with weakness. Which is harder to do ... walk away and forgive or stay around and fight? What is accomplished by a fight other than folks feel satisfied because they vented their anger onto others?  Walking away is the hard thing to do.

Pray for those who offend you.  You will need God's help.  Roll that conflict and those involved over onto Him.  Dump them quickly before you talk yourself into taking them on permanently. Leave them at the foot of the cross. Receive the power to walk on.

We have to make that little journey from the cross to the grave frequently. We leave all painful drama at the foot of the cross, forgive and then visit the empty tomb where we remember that the stone has been rolled away, the power of forgiveness has won and we can walk free.

I think at the true root of flag disrespecting is the reality that many do not know what Old Glory really stands for, neither do they know the story behind the writing of The Star Spangled Banner.  American History has been shunned and rewritten in the present/past years and our kids have little understanding of what the flag stands for. They think it is a symbol of America which they are not happy with right now. They do not know that the flag stands for much, much more ... our soldiers lost and wounded, who can no longer stand on their own ... as well as those who are still putting their own lives on the line, for the sake of the rest of us here at home.

You don't become a celebrity football player by slacking off. There is much training and some sacrifice involved. These players deserve some respect. But, for them there is also fame and fortune. They enjoy the material rewards of stardom. Our soldiers just do their jobs, praying for peace, fighting for their country and saluting both the flag covering their lost comrades and the life given. If you can't stand for the flag itself, stand for the men and women who have died so that we would have the opportunity to protest and become better.

The American Colonies were established by folks who left England to settle in a new land. Today, we will not board a boat and sail off into the sunset in search of a new land. Common Ground is that New Land which we must seek to settle, right here in America. But that doesn't make it any easier.

Remember, America may be the center of our universe but it is also located on the bull's eye of some real enemies. In their eyes, American life does not matter .... period. As we spend our energy fighting each other and resisting reconciliation, they watch and wait for our vulnerabilities. What good would it do for us to solve all of our civil problems just to learn that we have been taken out by a real enemy.

Bring new glory to Old Glory. Don't burn it. Respect it. Drape it over the caskets of ordinary American citizens lost, black, white, brown, red and people of every color, to show that each of us has value and importance. Fight for what it means even when others won't. Protest, yes. But set your targets wisely.

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The Glory of our flag is that it never changes and that is a good thing. We will always change but Old Glory will stay the same.

Many are quoting scripture about the end time signs.

Things do seem a little suspect but who really knows? If this is a nudge from God admonishing us to get back on track, so be it. What I do know is, if we are feeling pinched for time - not ready to turn our lives over yet and somewhat irritated that God would ask it ... that just might be our necessary signal, right there.

With or without the signs, He is coming and only He knows the time. If we are not ready, nothing, including the Salvation Army or Red Cross can save us. So, don't ask yourself if you can beat this one and keep on doing what you're doing. Ask yourself if it really matters.  If the answer is "Yes," understand that now is the acceptable time to do something about it.

The Eclipse Of Love

Object lesson from nature. When the moon passes between the sun and earth, darkness prevails. As Christians, when we position ourselves between God and man, in a way that they see us but not Him, that is interrupting and not serving His purpose.

God is holy and even Moses could not look upon His face and live. Moses had to turn his back, as he listened to God speak. No special eclipse glasses for him. Just respect for and an awareness of God's awesome and all consuming presence.

There was also a time when God could not bear to look upon the sins of mankind. It would have been much like us looking upon the Holy Face of God. We, just like Moses could not have withstood it. And God hated the sight of sin, above all else. Holy God couldn't look upon man's sin. Sinful Man could not look upon God. What could be done, to bring us back together again?


A couple thousand years ago, a man named Jesus was born. His purpose was to break the power of sin and darkness over mankind and most importantly, to allow the light of life to shine into and through our troubled souls. This required a sacrifice. His life for ours.


At the cross of Jesus, Most Holy God meets with awkward sinners and says, "It's ok. You can look Me in the face now. My Son Jesus has made a way."


A once dark grave burst forth with light, not because the stone was rolled away and the light of day came through. Far greater yet, it was because the Light of Life filled that dark cavity and the stone could no longer stay in place. That day, the Roman Soldiers who were guarding the grave of Jesus ran from the light. They didn't have special eclipse glasses to protect them from the light and such glasses wouldn't have helped anyway.


Now, we meet with God, face to face. But His Holy Nature causes us to feel uncomfortable, guilty. So we put on our religious glasses. He reaches out and says, "Here, let me take those glasses and give you something better. If you know my Son Jesus Christ, you can know Me also. Don't be afraid to seek my face."


That one dark day, when Jesus hung on the cross between heaven and earth, God, The Father couldn't bear to look upon His own Son because of the sin of mankind that He was bearing. But Love intervened, passing between sinful man and Holy God.


It's a new day folks. If God can love you, you can love others. Period. Stop the excuses. God made a way when there was no way and He did it for us, not Him.

I just had pizza --- cheese filled crust in fact! 

My Son is such a bad influence on me!

Now, I just feel like finding a mud puddle to roll in ... ... ... 

Can anyone spell oink? 

You know .....

When I first moved to a small town I was told by several people to watch out because people were "clickish" and love to gossip. I can see it happening with friends now and it hurts to see them feeling the hurt.

Got me thinking, how many of us would support "bullying" in our schools, among our children? Yet, isn't talking and spreading malicious information about people you may not even know, making them look bad in front of someone else, just because you can't keep quiet, bullying with our tongues?

People are devastated. Lives are destroyed by folks ADDICTED to talking. Just because it feels good. So, if you are one of these people who likes to gossip, (and I can be as guilty as the next) let's go a little easier on the alcoholic, drug addict or school bully ---  because we are no better.

I'm speaking to fellow Christians because this goes on in churches where it shouldn't. This challenge is for us all. Stop gossiping. Stop the bullying. Don't try to rationalize it, just stop it!  If we set the right example for our kids, maybe they will follow.

How to Sort and Fold Clean Laundry ......

Fold towels neatly and place into basket.  You may choose to roll them as this works well too.  Shake out and hang up shirts to avoid as many wrinkles as possible.

Place large jeans at bottom of stack as they are heavier and tend to crawl out of the basket and walk off on their own. If this should happen, do not be alarmed. There may be a small child inside.  If this does happen, you may find that the perpetrator of this act is looking for attention and may not want to give up the pants anytime soon. So, you grab your phone and take a picture, several poses in fact, hoping this will do the trick. 

When the big socks walk across the room and the jogging shorts follow, just relax.  There is no need to fight it!  Supper will likely be late, but what a great "studio photo shoot" opportunity you will have to show for it! (O:

Want to try something fun with the kids this 4th? Fill a small pot with potting soil and give them 3 jelly beans .... red one, white one and blue one. Tell them, "these are freedom beans!" Talk with them about the word freedom and what it means to us. Share the history behind the celebration. Have them plant their freedom beans in the soil, in the pot 2-3 days before the 4th. Tell them to check them again on the 4th. Early, before they get to the pots, stick a small American flag in each one. Talk about our American Flag ..... who designed it and other interesting facts. Don't forget to talk about what it means and give some rules for showing respect and caring for the American flag too. (O:

Here's a little gem many of

us ladies may have missed!

Habakkuk 3:19

"The Lord God is my strength; 

He will make my feet like deer's feet,

He will make me walk on my high heels ... "

Ok, I am fibbing about that one. 

He actually makes us walk on

"high hills".  On climbing days, 

we best leave our heels at home!

(O:

The idol makers encourage one another,

saying to each other, “Be strong!”

The carver encourages the goldsmith,

and the molder helps at the anvil.

“Good,” they say. “It’s coming along fine.”

Carefully they join the parts together,

then fasten the thing in place

so it won’t fall over.  Isaiah 41:7

What if God's people worked this well together, encouraging

one another and carrying out His Great Commission?   

Just read something today that made me think.

Speaking of Jesus:  "He died that I might live."

One small addition came to mind.

"He died that I might live, for Him."  

How easy it is to forget .....

Proverbs 31 Woman

"A woman of noble character, who can find?  She is worth far more than rubies...."  Proverbs 31:10

There was a time I thought for sure that God had "posted" the Proverbs 31 woman message just to torture me.  Of course I also knew that would be out of character for Him but I wanted so badly to do the things she did and be "her", or just like her at least.  It didn't seem to be happening and I had become discouraged.

About that same time, a  friend invited me to come hear a woman speaker at her church.  The message was on a woman in the Bible who was badly crippled, stooped over and in need of healing.  From this poor woman's stooped position, her whole outlook was different.  With eyes wide open, all she could see was the ground in front of her and maybe a little bit to the side.  In the natural, things didn't look real good!

 When we depend on what we can see with our physical eyes it is easy to loose hope!  At the time I felt like I had as much of a chance of becoming the Proverbs 31 woman as that woman thought she had of standing straight and tall.  I just couldn't see it....neither could she, actually!  But she could hear.  She heard someone say that Jesus was close by and that He had the power to heal.  She made a decision based on what she had heard, to go see Jesus.

 The journey was difficult in her condition, but then she heard His voice. She even saw His feet!  What else could she see from her stooped position?  Straining, she looked up and He looked back.  Her stiff and twisted bones suddenly became straight as He spoke.  Her perspective changed that day.  No more need to look down!  She looked into the eyes of Jesus and walked home with her head held high!

 Like that woman, I was dwelling on only what I could see through my natural eyes.  From my perspective things didn't look promising at all.  But, I wasn't ready to give up!  That night God spoke.  This is what He said, "You are the Proverbs 31 Woman".  I tried to explain to Him all of the differences between her and me....but He wasn't listening.

I entered the church that nite spiritually "bent over" under the weight of my own expectations and failures.  I walked out amazed and touched by what He had said.  "You are the Proverbs 31 Woman, because I say so".  You know, I really don't want to argue with God any more over this issue. So, I think I will just agree with Him because it is Him I need to please...not me.  Letting go of pride, I humbly realize that I can't do it on my own, but He sees me through the eyes of grace and for that, I am so very grateful!    

Here Is A Fun Gift To Make!

Find a round stone about the size of a big strawberry.  Clean it well and glue "google eyes" on.  Paint on a friendly smile!  Copy the poem below and give it to a secret sister or friend just for fun!

***************************************

Just a little rock I am

But I can help you, yes I can!

 

Are there problems in your way?  

 Do you take the time to pray?

 

Each morning when you make your bed

 Set me where you lay your head.

 

Go about your work, please do

 I will wait right here for you.

Once again you’ll come to bed

     And when you do you’ll lay your head

 On me, ooooooh!

 

Who has kept you through this day?

 Don’t you have some prayers to say?

 

Then in your slipper I will go

 Till daylight comes and then you’ll know….

Once again, God is waiting!

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Have A Blessed Day!

Sigh.

My blog page

is not cooperating!

It likes to decide for itself

what will be a paragraph and what

won't!


I think it is a little too much like me in that respect. 
It wants to work independently of it's creator!  I wonder
 if my life looks like this to God.  All clumped together when
it's not supposed to be and all spread out when it is supposed to


be clumped together.......


Sorry God. Help me to cooperate better with your format!  

Good news ...... I conquered my elephant today!  (O:

You know how sometimes, things we go through in life become such attention grabbers that they   steal our focus and keep us distracted? We try to forget about them and let go, but there they are waiting for us around the next turn!  It's like, as the familiar old saying goes, "having an elephant in the room"!

How awkward is it, trying to navigate a small room which you are sharing with an elephant? You become very familiar with and tired of looking at ….. elephant parts! Imagine my surprise when I realized that my elephant was not within the room. It was within me! Woah!

God in His grace was trying to show me something and I was not yet quite ready to understand. Certain things in my life were "butting up" against reality. My stubbornness was bringing me grief and yes I was tired of it, but had never claimed responsibility. As I saw it, the elephant was trespassing and needed to get out!

Moral to this story is, I like my elephant now ..... we have become good friends. When things begin to get tight, I remember that it is probably me and not the elephant, after all. (O: 

My dog Frank drives me nuts when he gives himself a bath! That sound! I try to ignore it, but find it impossible. When I pick up my Bible to read or start my morning prayers, he's always there with his big, slurpy tongue licking and cleaning himself.

So, I pray harder, thinking, “This is ridiculous”! Poor Frankie is getting so much satisfaction out of this bath and I am being selfish by not over looking it. I'm having this battle right in the middle of prayer, no less!

Finally, in desperation, I cry out, "FRANK, STOP LICKING" and he does. One day, I half expect to hear an answer....."MY NAME'S NOT FRANK AND I AM NOT LICKING!" Yep, maybe there's a good object lesson here......(O:

Amazing how life and understanding come to us like pieces of a puzzle.

Several months back when my friend Patti posted a message saying, "We need to  "need people less, and love them more,"  I knew it was good; but even then my understanding was incomplete.  Today as I was reading in Philippians, the first chapter, it became much clearer.

" And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight..."

Always before, I highlighted, "that your love may abound more and more".  Somehow I neglected to include, "in knowledge and depth of insight".  That's quite an oversight! 

Real love can be held accountable!  But we need to get ourselves out of the way first!  Love without knowledge and depth of insight is just shallow! 

God help us to get past our love and into Yours.  Then it will be truly real!

Much of the media has taken sick. Someone should call the doctor but no one has enough insurance to take them on! 

I saw a snake in the grass today. 

I can't begin to spell what I said. 

It wasn't cuss words .....

I just can't spell it! 

LOL

Motherhood

When you have babies, you are up all night feeding them.

When they become a little older you are up all night quelling nightmares or taking temperatures.

When they turn 13, you lay awake at night wondering what happened to your once cooperative, fun loving child. 

When they turn 16 you are up late praying that they return safely and that you still have a car to drive in the morning.

After high school you loose sleep thinking about college loans.

When they leave home, you have more time to sleep, but you often don't. By that time your mind has been sleep deprived for so long a time it is stuck in that mode! 

So, you lay awake at night, just missing your babies. LOL

Choose your relationships carefully.  Have you ever realized that, when another person wrongs you, a new kind of a relationship is born?

A debt is created and you EXPECT full payment from that other person who did you wrong They OWE you an apology, or more! Right?! These “Creditor/Debtor” relationships are binding and when someone DEFAULTS by refusing to accept responsibility or even express regret, this opens the door to bitterness and resentment.

Maybe not though. Maybe you choose to just shut that door and walk away, limping maybe …. but free of an even more dangerous and harmful relationship. Bitterness and Resentment have mob ties. They answer to the God Father of them all, Fear, and they exact a severe toll for their services. Once you join up, they don’t let you go without a fight!

Tetelestai was a word used many years ago to describe a business transaction, or relationship that was completely PAID IN FULL. Jesus spoke that word on the cross when he said, “It Is Finished.” Jesus died, not only to pay your debt in full but everyone else out there who wouldn’t or couldn’t. Actually, we talk about that payment being free. It wasn’t and it still isn’t today. It comes with a cost.

Humility. That is all he asks. When we are real enough to realize that we could never do enough or be good enough to deserve the forgiveness He died to give us, then maybe we can also understand why His grace does cost us (Not what it cost Him) but it does cost us. Humility. Dying to ourselves and that part of us that wants to hate and get even.

So, He gave us that example. He died for people he had never met, who would never care or ask Him to do it. He died for others who really cared but made bad choices occasionally and needed to be reassured that they were still loved. He died for you and me and because of His death and resurrection, we are commanded and empowered to give that same forgiveness to others, that we have been given.

Why? Because bitterness alters our immune systems and makes them unable to fight for us. Bitterness takes over our thought lives and controls our focus so that we see ourselves as victims. Bitter thoughts “yank our chains”, and we, whether consciously or not, dance. Bitter thoughts seperate us from God. They replace trust with independence. We say, “Sorry God. I need to handle this my way.”

What about the Mob ties? What about Resentment, Bitterness and the God Father of them all, Fear? Where does Fear come in? The reason we refuse to give up the fight and turn it over to God is that we FEAR that the person who hurt us will get away without consequence. That fear gets a hold on us (it’s US it wants) not the person who we are demanding payment from.

Do yourself a favor. Humble yourself before God. Be willing to let offences, go. The damage you can do to yourself by choosing bitterness over forgiveness is far greater than the damage you can afflict on them.

Are you still carrying around that unpaid bill from many memories ago in your pocket or purse, still demanding payment today?  How is that working for you? How much has it cost YOU so far in peace of mind, doctor bills, etc …

Remember the words of One who knows the pain of unresolved debt and agreed to pay it for us:

For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son, that who so ever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

For God sent His Son into the world, not to condemn the world but that through Him, we might be saved.

You, me …. and the folks who don’t even deserve His great devotion. Oh, wait a minute. That means us all!

Once upon a time, in a very large forest surrounded by blue lakes, rich soil and skies that spread out wide in all directions, stood a very large tree with a great root system. Around it stood many more trees, some big and some small but the very large tree gave them all support from above and below.

Birds lodged in it’s massive branches, squirrels leaped from one bough to the next.  Down below, a quick red fox scurried on it’s way! A sleepy turtle crawled into it’s shell to take an afternoon nap.

Forest life was predictable, yet ever changing.  Rabbits burrowed into the mossy green forest carpet, chipmunks gathered berries to fill their hungry tummies and a lazy brown bear ambled by, smacking his lips, in search of honey.   Far above them all sat a mother eagle on her nest …. protecting her young. Her eye was sharp.

It was not always a busy place. In winter it was cold and blustery, driving the bears into hibernation. Chipmunks and squirrels gathered food ahead of time so they would not have to come out when the snow was deep. Many birds flew south for warmer climates. Even the fox preferred staying in his den during this time of year when everything was cold and white. It was easy to tell who was coming and going, by the paw prints in the snow.

The great tree stood fast though, sustaining winter months as all others. Droughts came and went. Hail shattered it’s top leaves. A fire even tried to destroy the forest around it. Deep inside it’s sheltering boughs, all were safe. 

One day, grateful forest animals decided to throw a party celebrating their Friend, The Tree. Birds and chipmunks gathered berries for the feast. Squirrels provided nuts and acorns from their stash. Bears brought honey. Rabbits brought a fresh green salad and the foxes brought apples to share. Little turtle brought mushrooms and the mother eagle brought a snake but it was not a willing participant! 

As the animals gathered, they suddenly realized, there was a serious problem. Foxes not only like berries, but they have a hankering for little mice and rabbits too. Bears can do just fine on acorns, berries and leaves but they get hungry for smaller animals sometimes. The snake was not an “invited” dinner guest. He was dinner! 

Just to be safe, the birds congregated up high in the tree. The squirrels sat out on a sunny limb munching on their nuts. The turtle took his food inside, as he didn’t trust the bald eagle and little rabbits and chipmunks dined under a rock. The bears ate only what was on the menu; foxes did the same. In the spirit of celebration, little snake was turned loose and slithered on home. Bald eaglets peered over the nest at the party down below, munching on leftovers from the day before. 

  

Yes, this was a wild bunch and they were not at all tame. Their natural instincts were strong and urged them to compete. But the great and Good Old Tree brought them together in a way none other could.

Maybe we could learn a thing or two from the animals. They are predictable, but ever changing. They respect what they cannot control, have forgiveness for the inevitable and live one day at a time. Wouldn’t we all be a little better off if we did the same?

Copyright, Sharon Jones, May 31, 2017

Happy Wednesday Everyone! The word today is "Encourage". I have a friend who, each spring while preparing and planting her flower garden, begins with, "little encouragers".

What are little encouragers? They are little silk flowers that look real, but they are not. As the real flowers grow up and surround the encouragers, you really can't tell which is which. But she always has a beautiful, early garden that way.

I think that God puts us sometimes in strategic places to be "Encouragers". In a place where the winter season has been long and spring has been a long time coming .... an encourager is needed. He doesn't put us there to attract attention to ourselves, rather to bring hope to others. An encourager bestows value on others while they are still growing to reach their full potential.

Unlike the little silk flowers, God's encouragers are very real. They feel the heat and wither mostly on the inside where others don't suspect. But they do their job, with grace. God's grace. And He restores them day after day, year after year.

Are you an encourager? Don't seek to outshine those around you. Pride comes before a fall. Seek to bring out the best in others. Even if they don't notice, God will. Seek His favor first. His favor is what really matters. (O:

My Political Thoughts .....

Let's just hire special investigators for them all while we're at it. That way, The ones who are sitting back, holding secrets and yucking it up simply because they haven't yet been caught can drop their arrogant, judgmental fronts. Better yet, let them investigate and prosecute each other. No better way to drain the swamp. It takes one to know one, or two, or three ....

I'm just tired of the selection process. The politics. If the same rules applied to some, worked for all .... either everyone would get off free or feel the sting of shame. Come to think of it, they would probably all be a more humble, honest group. The swamp would be drained and then we could just deal with the problem of homeless frogs...which is much easier. LOL

Winter Watch

A sturdy white wall of clouds
  just passed by my window
like a train on its way to,
  who knows where?
I sat watching and thinking ....

 Where are they going?

Now and then a patch
 of sunny, blue sky appeared.
It was there alright,
  sure enough,
watching the show, same as me....

And the clouds just kept on rolling by.

Snowy branches swayed and waved.
  Wind beneath my eaves,
howled and whistled.
  Who knows how many others
were watching this parade?

And then, it was all over!

The sunny blue sky stayed.
  I am sorry to say though,
The ornery north wind blew mercilessly,
  Causing my snow covered eaves to weep.
I saw it all .....

From my comfy seat beside the kitchen window.

So, leaks supposedly hampered Hillary's chances for becoming our next President. Leaks at that time were BAD. Now, leaks are immobilizing the Trump Administration from moving forward. These leaks are GOOD.

Are leaks, themselves .... GOOD or BAD? Leaks are like fire and water. They are neither good or bad, but possibly both! They only reveal things about a person's character that are already there.  If a person has outstanding character and nothing to hide than a leak would rather be called confirmation or support.  If not, watch out, but don't blame the leak!

Now there's a third aspect here that needs to be acknowledged. The character and motives of each person or persons, behind the leaks.  The "Leakers" need another set of "Leakers" to keep them honest!

Tell me, is this how we drain the Washington Swamp?

Fear. Fear masquerades itself in many ways.

Fear is a coward itself. It hides behind anger. It hides behind False Confidence. It hides behind hypocrisy. It doesn't want to be exposed.

The anger, false confidence and hypocrisy we see. The fear we don't.   But, it's there for all who will admit it!

We all see things very differently. I don't know why that is. What is completely clear to one is like mud to another . Both sides fight for what they believe.   And both sides are guilty of fighting poorly.

  We fear different things. We both have very legitimate reasons for being afraid. I think our greatest weakness is in so easily dismissing the other side. We have to find problem solving skills that will acknowledge everybody's fears. This is our greatest challenge. Acknowledging another person's fears and respecting that person's conviction is not the easiest thing to do.   If it was, we would all be doing it.  Right?

We have come a long way from when the Baby Boomers first made their appearance.  At that time, parents knew that hard work was the only way to achieve wealth and set out to work incredibly long hours so that their kids could go to college and hopefully .... have it easier.

  Most of these parents did not have a chance to go to college but they had an incredible work ethic.  That work ethic made up for their lack of academic training.  Their parenting skills may have been a little flawed, but their hearts were in the right place.

Most early boomers worked hard and lived modest lives.   They wanted more than the generation before them and passed this discontentment on to their own children.  Less and less emphasis was being placed on work ethic, yet more and more emphasis on entitlement.  The American Dream was translated into materialism.  Materialism has taken over and today, many act as though they do not know the difference between a want and a need. Many don't care where things come from as long as they get them.

Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.  If we sought after God the way we seek after other things, we would be a mighty nation, now.  No one could stand before us.  But, read the book!  From the beginning of time, whenever a nation entered into a time of peace and rest from outside forces, the fighting began within and against themselves.  Nothing like some pressure from the outside threatening our national security to pull us back together again.

Except, even that isn't working now days.  God says that without a vision the people perish.  He also says that His people are destroyed by a lack of knowledge.  A long time ago, the people demanded a king, over God.  They felt they could get more out of a King then they could from God.  In a way they were right.  It's just that, again, as in the Garden of Eden, what they wanted and what they needed were two different things.  God doesn't withhold things to be mean.  He gives us what we need.  His love for us is preventative.  If only we could accept that.

 An old commercial once said:  "You've come a long ways Baby ...." 

The commercial shows a beautiful woman puffing away on a long, slender cigarette called Virginia Slims.  If we women are going to get lung cancer, we might as well get it from a womanly approved source.  Right?

Someone has to ask themselves though, considering the cost, has it all been worth it?  To gain the whole world and forfeit our souls?   At what point do we accept the fact that as we continue to reject God's Influence over our nation, He will remove His Presence.  Our enemies will still be there, they will just have a much stronger hold.  Then, who will we pray to and where will we go in our time of need?  Our idols .... er, material junk will not do us a bit of good at that point.   

Life on the streets is not safe whether you are a gang member or a police officer.

Rioting and defacing monuments to those who have gone before us, especially those sacrificing their lives in the line of service while trying to keep us safe .... that's sick. It's like standing back and watching someone deface your Grandma's memorial because someone else's grandma was abusive. Tell me how that would work?

Talking with a friend from Colorado the other day.  She relayed the story of rioters who were allowed to pour red paint all over a monument erected to honor fallen officers.  The police were told to stand back and let it happen. 

First, define violence and the actual perpetrators. Pin the responsibility squarely where it belongs, don't enable it. If charging into an angry mob with riot gear presents a risk, I have a creative alternative. Pull the fire hoses out and administer some safely monitored water pressure to those who think it is ok to disrespect our fallen officers. Clean up the mess, put out the fires ... before they get started! Arrest them, putting them all in a holding cell.   Give them paint brushes and paint. Let them paint the walls and each other. Call it the graffiti project.

I don't know .... just understand that there are more good officers out there than bad and discouraging them is not the answer. I still wonder what a couple of weeks without police officers would be like. If our officers took a two week moratorium, I think they would have much greater respect when they came back to work.  If they still wanted to, I mean. 

Yes, there are some wearing the badge that are no better than the common criminal on the street. The majority though are good, brave and decent people who have a lot in common with the people protesting them. A small minority are giving the others a bad name. A lot are paying for the sins of a few .... both sides considered. We need new solutions.

FOR SUCH A TIME LIKE THIS

Father God, let your wisdom prevail. Many nations think they are sovereign, but there is only one Sovereign,  and that is You.

America has been blessed as she elected to remain under You. You have said that if we would humble ourselves and pray that you would hear from heaven and save us. Father, we must humble ourselves before you or others will humble us.

We are not our own. We have been bought with a price. Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Break the teeth of the enemy over our hearts and over our nation. It is not us that they must fear, but rather You.  And we, as them ....

If we turn you away,  we are no better.

So, this is my political expression for the day:

President Trump seems to have a pretty balanced opinion poll base.

One fourth of the voters would never acknowledge or admit it, even if he did something exceptionally wonderful. They have no desire to accept or work with him whatsoever. They hate him.

One fourth of voters would never admit they were disappointed in him, even if he did miss the mark and get it wrong. He is their designated Savior and beyond reproach. They love him.

One fourth of voters understand that voting for a president, any president, means taking a risk. There will be good and bad with all. One man's gain is another man's loss. One man's freedom will cancel out another's. One man's solution is another man's demise. One man's ideal administration is yet another one's curse.

Is it any wonder that we fight so passionately for what we believe in? Both sides are prone to tunnel vision. We all fail. We definitely need each other. We will either humble ourselves and admit this, or we will certainly be humbled by those true enemies who delight in our time of division because as we become more splintered and fragmented .... they take on a great advantage.

The final fourth of voters understand that every four years we have a new election and even though it is hard to ride out four long years with someone you don't like .... someone else did just exactly that, (four to eight) years, previously.

I find myself in all four categories. Number one describes me, unfortunately, with Mr. Obama. Number two, I have to be careful NOT to fall into this trap because Donald Trump cannot save himself, let alone our nation. Number three is where I want to be. Trusting God with my choice as well as somebody else's. Number four is simply the truth. I want to remain open to the truth because if I deny someone else's freedom to choose a president, I deny my own.

I still choose democracy, which means sharing the power to govern, over the other choices of socialism and communism. It's not perfect but there's a reason why so many want to come to our country. There's a reason why so many want to take it out, as well. That's the reason we all should agree to put aside our differences and find enough common ground to begin working things out, together. The price of working together for understanding among ourselves is much less expensive than the price of loosing it all.

It's a fight, but it's a fight worth winning. Working on some changes that are coming hard. Wishing to say at the end of the day, "Wow God, it sure feels good to get er done!"

Instead, I hang my head and my heart, and say, "I still don't have a good report for you Father." He lifts me up by saying. "It's ok, I am perfect enough for both of us. Just continue thanking me, trusting in my grace and perfection. We will get there."

Just want to encourage all of you winners out there who continue to run the race but haven't seen the ribbons. You win because you run and the greatest runner of all times, runs beside you. Have a blessed day! (O:

Learned something about myself today.  I, as many other women tend to think that we are called to be the Director of the Universe.

I listened to a speaker at a women's meeting today.  She was talking about stress, depression, anxiety and where it all comes from.

Hmm ..... Well, I thought about it and I am willing to step down.  I just need to know that the rest of you are there to cover and take over in my absence ....  LOL

Then I heard every creature in Heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them saying:  to Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever ....

Revelation 5:13

Smile Big And Your Wrinkles Won't Show!

Two Things That Are Hard To Understand:

      The inability of the strong to accept that they are weak.
      The inability of the weak to accept that they are strong.

      For the strong to admit weakness, proves their strength.
      For the weak to admit strength fortifies the power they

      already have within.

      Humility. One little word, thought to be outdated,
      But the very foundation of our lives depend upon it.

JUST A RANDOM THOUGHT:

Why do we give people so much power over our lives? People will take that power and try to change us .... making us into somebody we were not meant to be. We want so much to please.

Every life is like a jigsaw puzzle. Each puzzle is only complete with it's own pieces. In the wrong puzzle, a piece feels awkward. In it's right place, each piece shines! A 500 piece puzzle is incomplete and of no use, if only 499 are in place. Isn't that crazy? 499 pieces in place and the puzzle is a no go without that one last piece.

Are you that one last piece? Maybe you don't know how valuable you are ..... or you are listening to the wrong voices.

I hear the sound of great elephants trumpeting

 each time I open the door of my dishwasher;

The sound of distant drums beating .....

coming from the pipes underneath my sink.

A Cat cries out. My chirping smoke detector answers.

Running water is somehow peaceful as long as it stays in the sink. 

I trip slightly over a sleeping animal in the underbrush.

No, this is not the Serengeti. It is simply my kitchen,

 although, sometimes it makes me wonder ..... LOL

Reading up on how to get children to eat  the food their bodies need.  Many opinions, but here's mine:

 Prepare a good healthy dinner.

 Announce that this is it,

 nothing else til breakfast.

  Don't cave in!

   When our children learn to eat and be grateful for 

the things we place before them, they also are learning respect for the one who serves them and necessary discipline.  We can not always expect to get our own way.

  If a certain food does not agree with their taste buds, they do not need to feel obligated to eat all of it, but should not expect that food to be replaced with something else; and no extra snacking privileges to make up for it!  Don't kid yourself.  They will NOT starve.  They will just be good and hungry for the next meal and, this time, less picky.

  When you see a willingness to cooperate, try new foods.  Reward their good habits by letting them help you plan the menu.  Share with them how you have learned to overcome food obstacles in your own life so that you can get the right foods into your body. This way, they can learn how good choices are made and even, one day, treat you to a good home prepared meal.  It's not all about ourselves, after all. It's about caring for and taking care of each other too.

 

Laugh often, pray without ceasing 

and set your goals wisely.

Laughter will help you get through the hard times.

 Praying will keep you focused on what is important.

 Well set goals will give you more control

 over your schedule,  thus, your life.

Ah, those sleepless moments .....

First when our children are newborns ,

Then, later on in their teen age years,

when they go out with their friends.

Trying to explain to a teenager,

why you can't sleep until they get home,

Is pretty much as useless as trying to explain

to a newborn why you need your rest!

Laugh out loud while you can!  (O:

Too often we draw lines ....

Expecting others not to cross.

Don't draw that line and expect others not to cross it.

They will and you will be disappointed every time.

Draw that line for you and decide what that line means.

We are better off drawing lines in our own lives and

making sure WE don't cross them.

Then, when others let us down, we can be prepared.

It's not that we expect them to fail, it's just that,

They are no longer calling the shots and that's good to know. 

It's time we stop giving people so much power over us;

 Power that "yanks our chains," and manipulates.

 Your reaction to them is, every bit as important,

as their reaction to you!

Learn this and enjoy your newly found freedom!