Dear Reader:

Isn’t our entire life built around a power struggle with our Creator? We acknowledge Him as God but then we deliberately diminish His status by trying to role-play His place in our own lives .

My doubts and falterings stem from not knowing where that invisible line is separating our place and responsibility towards cleaning up our own messes versus turning everything over to God. I feel guilty when I turn a problem over to Him and then do nothing. Instead of feeling good about my faith, I feel guilty for not doing my share of the worrying and solving of the problem.

Life is full of mysteries isn’t it and filled with lots of invisible lines.

This thought pattern is certainly not unique…we are all quite aware of this dilemma. I think Quinn Caldwell, in this devotional, did a good job of adding some more perspective to this universal problem.

“The Moment I’m In” – Quinn Caldwell

“For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy;
I dwell in the high and holy place,
And also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite.“ – Isaiah 57:15

I know this: there are things that only God can achieve.  That doesn’t stop me from trying to achieve them on my own anyway.  Secure my own future.  Save the world.  Judge the lady next door.  Save the lady next door.  Protect my heart from breaking.

Inhabit eternity.  I’m not sure I get what this even means, but I’m pretty sure I try to do it.  I think it means something like living in all times at once, experiencing past, present, and future as if all were an eternal now.

I seem to spend half my time dwelling on past mistakes and poking at old wounds to see if they still hurt.  The other half I spend either plotting for desirable futures or worrying about undesirable ones.  And since I’m not God, the time I spend in the past and future is time I’m not spending here and now.  God can mastermind the future while noting the fall of every sparrow, but the time I spend focused on the past is time I’m not noticing my kids, or my family, or the beat of my own heart.  And I bet I’m missing a lot of good stuff.

So today, I’m committing to not be God.  I’m committing to not even try.  I’m committing to being present in the now, at least for a while.  For half an hour today, I’m going to do nothing but notice where I am now, to look for the gifts of God in the moment I’m inhabiting instead of the ones I’m not.  I will breathe, I will inhabit, I will be human, and I will be grateful.

So until tomorrow: Let’s let God be God and give Him more working space without us in it all the time like a worrisome mosquito…When God says “He’s Got It”…then let us give it to Him.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Ever since I retired and got off the tread mill of meetings and deadlines…I have grown quite comfortable in a leisurely-paced day. In fact I have probably grown too comfortable.

I keep reassuring myself I deserve a slower-paced life after the hectic life I lived while the children were growing up. A time when I was teaching week-days, moonlighting weekends, and going back to school to get my graduate degree. When I look back now I honestly don’t know how I did it. (Yes I do…God did it.)

An epiphany that has come from this relatively new stage in my life is that change happens…even if we don’t. All we have to do is look in the mirror for that confirmation. I always thought if I had more time to rest and a slower pace in life…I would be healthier and have more time to ‘perk’ myself up into looking better.

Wish that were true…but my mirror doesn’t lie…aging is taking place and some days, I must admit, not very gracefully at all.

I have also come to the conclusion that there is a thin line between comfortable and stagnant.  If I want to continue giving back then I must leave comfortable behind and re-enter the world of change.

Don’t we always feel better when we get back ‘in the groove?’ Anne was telling me a few weeks ago that she does better when she has a schedule for the week and pretty much sticks with it. Too much “free” time can leave all of us feeling isolated from society and just kind of “out of it.”

In my “free” time, lately, I have been searching for signs of life in my garden and and I don’t have to look far or long. I have done absolutely nothing in the garden the past couple of months except pick up pine cones and sticks…yet the changes are happening anyway…initially hidden from sight…until suddenly bursting through the ground.

Lillian Daniel wrote a daily devotional called “Comfortable in my Seat” which extends this discussion on comfortable vs. change.

When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor…” – Luke 14:8

At a recent Interfaith Worker Justice board meeting, a story was shared about a scene the presenter witnessed on an airplane. A mother was traveling with three small children but for some reason, none of them were seated together. So the mother asked other passengers if they would move so she could stay close to her little ones.

Everyone agreed to move, except for one woman who seemed able to move, but was just unwilling. By way of explanation she added her reason: “You see, I’m comfortable in my seat.”

The story caused all of us to stop and imagine that awkward scene in silence. To me, the point was painfully clear. Sometimes we don’t do the right thing for the most mundane of reasons. We’re comfortable in our seats.

That woman who was so comfortable in her seat may not have been as comfortable later on in the flight. I imagine her seated next to a toddler, crying for his mother, loudly, interrupting her movie. Or maybe the kid was rejoicing in his new found freedom, far from parental supervision, giddily tipping his soda into the woman’s lap. How comfortable was her seat then?

We don’t want to move because we don’t feel the pain. Why give up a comfy seat for one that could possibly be worse? Why change things? Why shake things up?

But here’s the thing. Change happens anyway. God seems to like it that way.

…………………………….

Isn’t that last statement so true? No matter how hard we try to keep the status quo God has other plans for us and they definitely involve change. Life is change and nothing is going to change that…so we can either get on board or become stagnant in our surroundings and life.

God wants us “out there” doing His work…emulating His message and doing it with a smile on our faces.

So until tomorrow: *Jesus, thank you for giving up your comfortable seat in heaven to join us here on earth, and for revealing God’s ever-flexible seating arrangements. Amen. 

*Lillian Daniel

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

I admit that I am a chronic responder to the question “How are you feeling?” with the reply: “I am just fine.”  (And 99.9% of the time I am telling the truth…as in “I am just fine” meaning I am not dead and still breathing in oxygen and letting out nitrogen.)

“How are you feeling?” is probably one of the most subjective questions we are asked, practically on a daily basis. The answer depends on our ability to re-frame the question as a comparison to something else going on in our lives. We think of situations that could be better…but also situations that could be worse…and, then, decide after weighing the two options…”We are just fine.”

Once again Quinn Caldwell weighs in on all our “fine-ness” in this daily devotional.

“Lord, listen to me and answer me.  I am poor and helpless….You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.” – Psalm 86

Psalm 86 is the kind of prayer usually reserved for when things go really bad.  A prayer for when it has all fallen apart and you’re at the end of your rope.  If that’s where you are today, then pray it, hard.

But it’s also the perfect prayer to pray when things are going just fine, a prayer for those who have enough money, health, and power to get them through the day.  Praying it when you’re feeling broke down and no ‘count is a no-brainer.  Prayed when you’re flush and feeling good, it takes on a different cast.  Then, it becomes something like a call to humility, a reminder that all you have is nothing without God.

Only the dead are invulnerable.  When all is well in your world, Psalm 86 becomes a proclamation of this fact, an acknowledgement that all life is precarious.  It is an affirmation that, ultimately, all your hope lies in God.

So, to you who are in a good place, who are having a pretty good day: praise God and congratulations.  The world could use a few more of those.  Enjoy it.  Enjoy it, and pray this prayer to remind yourself that even if things weren’t going so well, still you would have the only thing that will finally matter: the love of the God who made you.  It’s a belief worth cultivating.

…………………………….

Psalm 86

A prayer of David.

Dear Reader:

Aren’t good-byes one of the hardest things we have to deal with in life? From the time we are infants until adulthood…saying good-bye to friends and family is a ritual most of us would rather avoid.

So as children and then parents of children…didn’t we try to lighten the mood with silly sayings like the ones in the title photo. “See ya later alligator, After awhile crocodile, Out the door, dinosaur, See you soon raccoon, Hit the road happy toad, and Give a hug, ladybug.”

I remember when mother was dying…there was a part of me, the child in me, that wanted to run away and avoid the last good-bye. My brother, Ben, actually did leave to get a change of clothes, and had not gotten much past the parking lot when I called him back.

Mandy was with me and the atmosphere was charged with the imminent departure of mother. When the nurse told me her heart had stopped…but she could still hear…a sense of peace came over me and I had that conversation I had thought about for so long when this moment came and it was a memorable good-bye.

Quinn Caldwell-United Church of Christ, one of my favorite devotional authors, wrote this devotional a couple of years ago, which I read earlier in the week and marked for a re-reading. It is all about the right way to say “good-bye.”

“And now I commend you to God…”  When he had finished speaking, he knelt down with them all and prayed.  There was much weeping among them all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, grieving especially because of what he had said, that they would not see him again.  Then they brought him to the ship. – Acts 20:17-38  

Nobody likes goodbyes, and we go to many lengths to soften or avoid them.  A colleague leaves or a friend moves, and we say it’s not goodbye because we promise to have lunch, or to write, or to Facebook.  Sometimes we avoid the moment altogether: even though I barely knew her, I once hid in the bathroom for half an hour at a coworker’s goodbye party to avoid the moment when she actually left.

When Paul says goodbye to the Ephesians, he gets it right.  He remembers what they did together, he tells them what they mean to him, he commends them to God.  The word “goodbye” is a contraction of “God be with ye.”  Saying it is a reminder that even when we’re apart, God is with us both.  It’s an act of faith that if God is with you and with me, then somehow we’re still together, and that in the end we’ll join each other at a reunion in God’s heart.  It’s a promise that even when I can’t be with you, God will be, and that that will be sufficient.

Sometime soon you’ll have to say goodbye to somebody.  It’s worth doing well, for it’s all about faith.

………………………….

It was hard to say good-bye yesterday to neighbors and family…John, Mandy, and the children had just gotten home Tuesday evening and there I was leaving Wednesday until Sunday. After Christmas it sometimes seems a little lonely when everyone else returns to their routines and I find myself missing all the pre-Christmas and Christmas itself get-togethers with the family.

So until tomorrow: “God be with ye.”

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

Happy Birthday to Marcia Temple and Lee Barbour…my friend-in-law and nephew. May this day be very special for both of you….a new beginning for Lee as a first-time daddy on his birthday today and for Marcia it is a birthday confirmation that life just gets better as it rolls along!

*Lee, I am sorry you ended up with the creepy birthday clown…but he had your name and the balloons didn’t….Remember no creepy clowns for Rhodes!

(I’m at Pawleys so if the birthday cards are a little late…you know why…but they are coming!!!!)

• Sis Kinney got her word into me just before I closed down the computer…
• Hi Becky,
  I guess I’m “a day late and a dollar short” here, but I wanted to tell you my word for the year and to wish you a blessed and relaxing time at Pawley’s. My word will have to be “listen.” I’ve come across several Bible verses in my daily readings the past couple of days and it seems “listen” comes up. Like today: “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (Matthew 13: 43b)
• I also want to add “prayer.” I need to be more faithful to my prayer list; I must admit (with great shame) that sometimes I don’t pray for the ones I’m committed to (through my affiliation with the Order of the Daughters of the King). So listen and prayer for me.
  Glad the weather has warmed up a bit for you and that y’all will be able to truly enjoy your retreat time in Pawley’s. One of these days I will have to return to SC b/c I really, truly miss beach time! Enjoy the fellowship, relaxation and warmth! Looking forward to hearing all about it!
  Much love,
  Sis

Dear Reader:

“What goes around does come around.” Last week, Wednesday, January 11, I wrote the story of how the Clemson victory came about as a “direct” result of three little orange balls that were really clown noses….honking us on to victory. (That’s my version of the story and I am sticking to it!)

You might remember my concern was that Donna and I had put on red (Alabama) ball noses the year before and come up just a little short for the victory. So I figured if we wore orange (Clemson) ball noses and added Sam to the equation/photo (instead of taking the picture) it would take us over the top. And guess what?

2016                                                 2017

I left the two orange nose balls with Sam and Donna at half-time and told them to honk away the second half and then save them for next year!

Donna and I texted back and forth the whole second half until the delirious last second of the game…I feel sure I could hear the screams of delight from my house to theirs and back. Then came all the phone calls and the orange balls just became a memento from the past, a relic from our personal Clemson history.

Until last Friday…I had two of my orange balls in the plastic envelope they came in and when I glanced at it…it said 5 orange clown noses. Five? I thought there were only four. Ummmmm? There had to be another one around the house. I looked under the sofa cushions where I had made my tent for the second half…then under the sofa itself…I swept the den…nothing showed up.

I remembered squeezing the dickens out of my orange ball those last two minutes of the game….I would squeeze, then cover one of my eyes with the ball and peek out with the other as Watson methodically began his pass throws to glory. Where could it be?

Then when I woke up Saturday morning…I felt like something was stuck to my face. I sat up in bed and felt something foamy stuck to my cheek…I turned on the lights and looked in the mirror. There was the foam orange ball squished beyond recognition since I had been sleeping on that side all night.

I wouldn’t even have dreamed of trying to take a picture…I care about all of you readers too much…it was terrifyingly ugly…me first thing in the morning with no make-up and a red splotch where the ball had stuck to the side of my face while I was sleeping.

Apparently I had accidentally pushed it back under the other pillow sham and then reached for the other pillow sometime Friday night and slept right on top of it. I must have slept hard and never turned over for it to still be stuck to my face.

You can’t really tell from the lighting and angle I took this photo…but the top two (right) balls are perfectly round and larger while the bottom left ball is about half the size and flattened out from my face lying on it all night.

And so it is over….It would be nice to ‘keep the ball rolling’ (or honking) but I doubt my heart could last through another game this season. There truly is a time for everything and it is time to say good-bye to a magical night that fairy tales and pixie dust are made about…when Clemson sent one stone flying at the giant named Alabama and brought it down with a resounding boom!

I will tell this story so often that I am sure one day the grandchildren will be able to tell it on their own…and it will always begin like this: “It  started with a little orange ball.”

And I am off today! It is our mid-winter Pawleys Island retreat for the Ya’s and for once it is not freezing like the last two years with record-breaking low’s. We think this is a good sign! We can stay out on the porch and solve all the world’s problems in five days. (I am sure everyone feels better now…just knowing this!)

This popular bait shop (preserved for historic reasons) is right across the street from Carolina Corner, the beach house we use each winter for our retreat…thanks to Linda, Libby’s sister! We love you Linda!

I will be back Sunday afternoon with Tales of Pawleys and the adventures that ensued.

So until tomorrow…’Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.’ (Helen Keller)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Here are some more “perfect” words for 2017 sent in by our wonderful readers!

Patty Knight:  Loved Trog’s story! You are so right about listening!!!! I need to do a better job myself. My word for this year is grateful. At this point in life, I can look back and be ever so grateful for all that God Has done in my life

Carolyn Sweat: Listening better is on my 2017 Intentions List. The others are Family, Self, Release Fear. I know God will help me!! Thanks again!!!!

Linda Carson: I’m going to pick the word smile. Not very original but I want to try to give more of those this year. I ran into two patients from a long time ago at different times last week. Both of them said they weren’t sure they knew me until I smiled. I was always bashful in my younger days but not as much now. My smile may not be beautiful but it’s meant to convey warmth friendliness compassion and joy of life. So if I can help one person by smiling I will keep smiling! Have a wonderful day. Keep being you cause you are wonderful! 🙂 Linda

Anne Peterson: Mine might have to be ‘reboot’ b/c you have to shut down/unplug in order to reboot, don’t you? Hopefully, by ‘rebooting’ or stopping and taking frequent pauses throughout my days, I’ll see more and make more of the opportunities that arise.

*Gin-g Edwards sent me this message this morning after reading this blog and since it is still early I am adding it….because it fits here and I had not heard or read about this…a Dabo God Wink!

Too funny about the orange ball. Hope you have a wonderful time at Pawleys. ..sounds absolutely wonderful. I am sure you saw where Dabo said it was no accident that #4 threw to #13…then he referenced Proverbs 4:13…I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…Love you.

Dear Reader:

For all the thirty plus years I taught in the classroom and made presentations I was always aware of the number of participants not really listening…even when they pretended to hear. For teachers, everywhere, it is an on-going problem and cause for much frustration.

But then, when we remove ourselves from the classroom…do we do any better…listening to others in our daily lives?

President Franklin Roosevelt was known for his ready grin and his boisterous personality…but even he, a President, discovered that people aren’t really listening in long reception lines to shake his hand. So he decided to play a little trick on his guests one evening.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt got tired of smiling that big smile and saying all the usual things at those White House receptions. So, one evening he decided to find out whether anybody was paying attention to what he was saying. As each person came up to him with extended hand, he flashed his big smile and said, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.”

People would automatically respond with comments such as “How lovely.” or “Continue on with your great work.” Nobody listened to what he was saying, except for one foreign diplomat. When the president said, “I murdered my grandmother this morning,” the diplomat responded softly, “I’m sure she had it coming to her.

“It’s a funny story, but how often do we do the same? It seems that we have lot’s to say but we are not very good at listening. Think about it — how many language, speech and speaking courses can you find in your college course book? But can you find even one class on listening??

There is such a lack of good listening skills in this day and age that we have to pay someone a lot of money just to listen to us! More importantly, God has many things He desires to reveal to us — but we’re always talking, talking, talking!

Let’s strive to do less talking and more listening today. Let’s give the Lord and others a chance to be heard.

So guess what readers? God must have found this theme just for me to write on because my word for 2017 is LISTEN! REALLY LISTEN!

Ambika…at first I was thinking about the word TRUST too…and that is an area I could use improvement on this year. But I think listening takes priority over it.

I do listen and I think I am taking in most of what is being said….but I also realize, upon retrospect, that I am searching for an appropriate response more than listening to the speaker’s intent.

If I am doing that with my fellow man, friends and family, then what about God? This can’t be good…I am telling him about my problems, goals, hopes, and dreams…but then not staying quiet enough to hear what God’s response is to me.

In my one feeble defense, however, it is just not listening for an appropriate response that sometimes deters me from listening as deeply as I should…I am a “connection” nerd. My mind looks for connections everywhere…so if I hear another speaker mention anything or anybody…my mind is already trying to connect it to a little story I know or a joke, a quote, or line from a movie, or passage from a book…it is just the way my brain works.

There is another problem that we humans face, however, and that is knowing who and what to listen to as wise commentary and who not to listen to …because of the broken dreams these ‘advisers’ can impart upon us.

This is where we need God’s intervention to guide us to the right ‘sages’ we come across in our journey…

So until tomorrow…God give us the wisdom to know which advice is the right one…the one sent by You directly or by a messenger sent by You. Show us the way.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Janet Bender: My word for 2017 is “renewal.” It’s not as beautiful as last year’s “treasure,”but I’m not arguing with the One who spoke it into my heart.

One of our newest blog readers, Lynn from British Columbia, sent in her word with an acronym! Thanks for sharing Lynn!

Loved this blog today. My word for this year would be HOPE. As I think about this I’m also filled with thanks for the H — Heritage God has given O–opportunities that come every day to bless others; P–problems that come along every day to refine us E– expectation of an abundant life today and always when we “walk with the Lord in the light of His Word”. Blessings, Lynn from Aldergrove, British Columbia, Canada

Michele Robertson made a word from Jeff’s sermon Sunday (Dorchester Presbyterian Church) her “perfect word” for this year.

*Becky, I,  too have been searching for my word of the year. Yesterday in Jeff’s sermon he told a story about visiting at MUSC last weekend.( I apologize if you were there and I am repeating this). He met a man in the elevator and had a conversation with him outside in the beauty of God’s glory.)

Dear Reader:

Putting a generation between you and your grandchildren produces miraculous changes in one’s perception of the precious moments of childhood… lost on parents living in the “Hurry Up, We have to go” stage of life.

When I think back on my own parenting skills (or lack of) it is all a blur today. I remember feeling like I was playing a dot-to-dot game on a daily, constant routine.I felt sure that if I missed one connection everything would untangle and blow up in my face. Life became a “check-off” list of daily survival things to do.

I still have some Mother’s Day cards and other mementos made at school by the children that help me remember that there were moments when I knew that these were the best of times, at the time it was happening, but, unfortunately, life, like a river, swept us all along…faster than I ever dreamed. “Row, Row, Row your boat…Life is but a dream.”

The one thing I am most proud of and see in all my grandchildren is their love of imagination. They would all rather dress up and play “pretend” than anything else in their world. Eva Cate writes whole scripts in her mind…playing several different roles and changing her voice to accompany each invisible character in her “pretend” games. Rutledge goes right into character depending on what outfit he has on….Spiderman, Captain America, or police chief. He always wants to be the hero no matter which character.

Jake and Lachlan are studies in imitations of their older siblings…whatever they are doing, they want to do it too. Thank goodness Eva Cate and Rutledge mentor imaginary worlds to perfection for their little brothers.

Yesterday you might remember I shared one of Debbie Macomber’s daily devotions with you and there is one more sample given from the book (that I ordered) that I would like to share.

“Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning” (Lamentations 3:23) 

My husband Wayne and I were blessed with four children in a five-year span. By the time Dale, our youngest, was born, I hadn’t slept through the night in three long years. The house was in constant chaos, and in those pre–disposable diaper days, the washing machine was going day and night. My hands were more than full with the demands of our growing family.

Thankfully, I was blessed with wonderful parents who visited us often. Soon after Dale’s arrival, my mother came to help. Early one morning, when our newborn woke for his feeding, his older sisters and brother came looking for attention. Jody sat on one knee and Jenny on the other, and Ted shared space with his infant brother on my lap. All too soon, the older three started squabbling and whining.

My mother woke up and joined us in the living room. “Oh, Debbie,” she said with a smile, “these are the happiest days of your life.” Aghast, I looked at her and said, “Mom, you mean it gets worse?” Now, in retrospect, I can see how very blessed I was. Mom had the perspective to see it then; thank God, I can see it now.”

…………………………

So until tomorrow: Lord, give all parents the patience, the prayer and the sense of humor they need to raise their children in Your grace. 

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Gin-g shared her word with us for this upcoming new year (2017)…FAITH. If any of you know Gin-g…you know she lives this word every single day…but like she mentioned in her comment…she wants her faith to expand even larger to welcome new understandings of God’s love for all His children. Thanks for sharing Gin-g!

*Cindy Ashley said her perfect word for 2017 is EAGERNESS….to set new goals, explore new possibilities, travel, and simply be ready, be eager to continue a lifetime of learning.

*Ambika said her perfect word is TRUST….simply putting her trust in God. And that you do Ambika!

*Sue Anne Strickland also chose FAITH…she said she would be lost without it. (Again another strong woman of faith herself)

*Guess what? I found my perfect word or God found it for me and it is part of tomorrow’s blog…so I will reveal it then.

Dear Reader:

Yesterday Jo Dufford referenced the book One Perfect Word by popular author, Debbie Macomber. The idea behind this theme was to choose one word that would be your lantern, your mantra, to guide you for the year. (* Jo chose the number “one” itself for her word.)

Macomber used the example of when her father’s health was rapidly failing and he had to be moved to a special care facility leaving her mother, who was not in good health either, alone.

She was worried about both parents and saddened at the idea of losing her devoted daddy who loved her unconditionally. She finally realized her word for the New Year must be “Surrender.” This whole sad situation was beyond her control and she had to surrender it to God.

I have thought about this idea of choosing one word each year as my guiding compass and I am still trying to decide on my word for 2017. Think about it and if you have a word you want to follow this year please send it to me with your name or if you are more comfortable… anonymously. I would love to share your “one perfect word” for 2017. ( I will share mine when I settle on the “perfect word” for me and my situation.)

Inside another book by Debbie Macomber – Patterns of Grace (Daily Devotions) an anecdote in the author’s book made me pause for reflection.

Debbie Macomber said that she grew up suffering from dyslexia. As a child, adolescent, and young adult she was always getting turned around and lost in more situations than she could count. Here is her personal account of an epiphany that happened to her … turning her writing career into reality.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

I grew up in Yakima, Washington, with a large extended family. We cousins were as close as brothers and sisters; we lived in the same neighborhood, attended the same church and school, and often vacationed together.

After I married Wayne and moved to Kent, just a few miles south of Seattle, my cousin David, who was closest to me in age, developed leukemia. His doctors sent him to Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Although I didn’t often venture into the big city, I was determined to visit David.

Somehow I ended up at Swedish Hospital, which is connected to Fred Hutchinson by a sky bridge. Lost and confused, I wandered down a number of corridors without finding the bridge. Finally, I stopped a doctor and asked if he could give me directions.

“It’s simple,” he assured me. “All you need to do is walk down this hallway, take the first right and walk through the door marked ABSOLUTELY NO ADMITTANCE.” Those directions did more than show me the way to my cousin.

Somehow, that experience has given me the courage to walk through other doors: my dyslexia that I feared would keep me from working; my terror of speaking in front of people. God has met me at the door marked ABSOLUTELY NO ADMITTANCE and held it open for me.

………………………….

Lassie shared the next anecdote with me, from her sister-in-law Carolyn, and I just had to ‘pay it forward‘ to you readers so you could enjoy it… if you haven’t read it before or even if you have…share the chuckle again.

“The Deacon and the Biscuit”

One Sunday morning at a small Southern church, the new pastor called on one of his deacons to lead in the opening prayer. The deacon stood up, bowed his head and said, “Lord I hate buttermilk.”

The pastor opened one eye and wondered where this was going. The deacon continued, “Lord I hate lard.” Now the pastor was totally perplexed. The deacon continued, “Lord, I ain’t too crazy about plain flour. But after you mix ‘em all together and bake ‘em in a hot oven, I love biscuits.”

Lord, help us to realize when life gets hard, when things come up that we don’t like, whenever we don’t understand what you are doing, that we need to wait to see what you are making. After you get through the mixing and the baking, it’ll probably be better than biscuits.

……………………

Isn’t that the perfect anecdote for this very troubled time in our country? Many Americans are confused and terrified at the mixed messages and metaphors playing out before us on a daily basis.

So until tomorrow…It is time for us to call on God to open doors of understanding and wisdom once marked “Absolutely No Admittance” and then look and wait for God’s signals and plans to help reunite all citizens out of an apathetic state into a stronger united front to keep America a leader in building a better world for all God’s children.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Tommy and Kaitlyn came over yesterday…and we finally got to have Tommy’s birthday lunch – we went to Continental Corner and shared different helpings…all of it yummy! We then walked around town square and checked out some of the new shops/restaurants around town.

We ended up at our new brewery in town next to Marigolds to check out our home-brewed brew! We tried different types and flavors…it was all good with some beers personally tasting a little big “gooder” …according to our individual tastes.

We checked out a few more shops and then rode through some of the newer subdivisions in town….so glad Kaitlyn and Tommy stop by at intervals… so I can discover what is going on in my own town.

*Since Tommy and Kaitlyn both work for Brooks Styles Tommy wanted to show Kaitlyn where the Styles family lived (*God bless you Brooks!) we pulled into their neighborhood entrance and before we could circle around….Tommy and Kaitlyn spotted Brooks in the front yard with the grandchildren…so we stopped to speak and were generously invited to crash the party.

It was so much fun to see Ginny and Lindsay (Brooks and Ellen’s grown children again)….they were both students that went through Alston Middle School and we all went to the same church while our children were growing up.

All the grandchildren are so adorable and funny. The youngest, Mayes, is Pollyanna incarnate, I do believe. She is so filled with happiness and joy that she can’t contain it all…it just overflows onto anyone near her and as the afternoon went on…we got closer and nearer all the time. Too precious!

Thanks Styles family for your exceptionally warm hospitality for some unexpected ‘drop-ins’ on a drop-dead gorgeous January Saturday afternoon. We had a ball!!!!

Dear Reader:

I came across another Steve Hartman true story that hit home with me…not the plot of the story necessarily…but simply the essence of it. A wedding gift that made one couple re-think their priority in opening it.

Have you ever been given something and told not to use it until there is no other alternative? I remember getting some peppermint sticks from Grandmother Wilson one Christmas in a bag and I was told to save each piece for a time when I was really sad or going through a tough time…but to remember there were only 12 pieces to last until next Christmas.

Even with my limited arithmetic skills, I could figure out that meant one peppermint per month for the worst time in that month. I soon caught on to the underlying problem in this situation. If a troubled time came along early in the month and I ate a peppermint stick to soothe me…what was to say that a worst problem might not develop at the end of the month leaving me in another dilemma…using two sticks in one month making me short for another entire month.

By the next Christmas I showed Grandmother my bag and it had six pieces still left in it. She smiled, patted me on the head, and gave me six more pieces for the next year. “You’ve had a pretty good year, I figure, an equal balance of up’s and down’s,” she said softly. I nodded proudly and perhaps even a little more wisely.

In our story today…a great-aunt gives her niece an unusual wedding gift with a note  that said it is not to be opened until she and her husband are fighting and need some advice.

CBS Reporter: Steve Hartman:

Couple learns true value of mysterious wedding present

Brandon and Kathy Gunn of Northville, Michigan, have been married for nine years — and yet they just recently opened their last wedding gift.

“It was by far the greatest gift because it taught us so many lessons about how to be married,” Kathy said.

The present was from Kathy’s great aunt Alison and it came with a card that read “Do not open until first disagreement.”

“Break in case of emergency, I hope this works,” Brandon said.

They say they needed it many times, but never opened it.

“You kind of wonder, is it time to turn to the box? Should we open the box? Do we need it right now? But, what if the next spat is worse and we didn’t have the box, then what?” Kathy said.

So it sat on the top shelf of the kitchen pantry, through all the arguments about dishes left undone, through stress and slamming doors, even when they thought it wasn’t worth it anymore, Brandon and Kathy refused to surrender to that last wedding present.

They finally opened the gift just recently. Not because they were fighting, but because they weren’t. And hadn’t for quite some time.

After nine years of successfully resolving their differences, Brandon and Kathy were confident they would never really need the contents.

What they found was remarkably unremarkable. Some money for flowers and wine, some bath salts, nothing that could really stop a fight at all.

And that’s when it hit them, that the real gift wasn’t anything in the box. That the real gift, the priceless gift, had been staring at them all along.

“Everything we needed, we had between us. We just had to figure it out on our own,” Kathy said.

By not turning to the box, Brandon and Kathy say they were forced to learn tolerance, compromise and patience, something we could all use more of these days.

Because there is nothing magical about wedding gifts or ballot boxes; The keys to harmony are in us. All we have to do is dig deep and find them.

……………………………

I loved President Obama’s farewell message and found this line one of the most poignant, besides exactly pointing out the same lesson learned by the young married couple:

My fellow Americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve you.  I won’t stop. In fact, I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days. But for now, whether you are young or whether you’re young at heart, I do have one final request of you as your President — the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago. I’m asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change — but in yours.

Truer words were never spoken….like the peppermint sticks, the great-aunt’s wedding gift…the secret to harmony and peace lies within each of us….like Mother Theresa said:

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. 

We are all grown-ups and as such should by now recognize truth from falsehoods, common sense hope and faith towards our fellow man and a sense of unity in the responsibility given us by the Constitution: “We are the People…We are the government.” 

With that comes our greatest responsibility:

Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty

So until tomorrow…God give us the inner vision we need to see justice, equality, love and hope be given to each American fairly… based on the love of our fellow man as promised back to Christ in His last commandment.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Get outside and enjoy this spring weather in the winter….it seems like everything these days are a roller coaster ride doesn’t it?

• Jo Dufford had this comment to make about yesterday’s blog “One” and what one human being can do to promote another, who in turn, promotes another….she gave some great examples:
• Debbie Macomber wrote a book about choosing one word each year as her word of the year. I decided to do that for a program I had to do, and as Debbie said, “I let God lead me to my word.” Suddenly everywhere I looked there was the word, ONE, so I chose that word for the program and the month (notice I didn’t try a year.)
• I remember using the quote Helen Keller used so much, “I am but one, I can’t do everything, but I can do something. Because I can’t do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”(Maybe not exact, but close enough.) Obviously, your blog really inspired me today as it always does. I enjoyed every example you gave of the importance of ONE, and it also made me remember the many ways I saw that when ONE was my chosen word.
• *The Turners have definitely found harmony within themselves when they arrived at Disney World and were told their room had been upgraded, at no extra expense.
• This is a photo taken from their room on the 8th floor of the Contemporary Hotel…it looks out over Space Mountain and Cinderella Castle. Eva Cate has always wanted to live in a two-story house so she could pretend she is sleeping upstairs at the top “turret” in her “castle.” So I can only imagine how she feels looking out at this scene from her balcony.
• 

Dear Reader:

When you think about it…we each have one story, one life, that is subject to change, in not only a moment’s notice, but in one second of time on earth. One is a number that signifies the opportunity of helping one other person by changing another life forever.

In an article that popped up (without a clear written source but I think it was an honorable mention paper in an essay contest in 2007/ V Poirer) when I typed in the importance of  ‘One’ …several observations were made that I think is important to share.

Here are some excerpts from this wonderful essay titled: “The Importance of One Human”

Every individual human contributes something to the world, whether great or small. If I were given the choice to either make a small difference in the world at large, or a big difference in one person’s life, I would choose the latter. I believe that it would be a greater accomplishment to make a significant change in the life of one person than to slightly improve the world. One human can change the course of the world.

…When Mary said yes to God, she altered the future for every single person that lived and would live. Even though Mary was one person, she changed the world.

As a teacher, haven’t we all hoped that somewhere along the journey of our vocation, we touched one student who went on to touch and change other lives because of one thought or incident in a classroom.

Every Christmas we see this concept played out in the classic: “It’s a Wonderful Life.” 

… “If the main character had not lived, then his brother might have died. If the brother had died, then he would not have enlisted in the military and hundreds of soldiers could have died. Because the main character made a big difference in the life of one man, the positive effect of this decision was felt by many.” 

I used to read the children Civil War classic story “Pink and Say” to my students to set the feeling tone for the terrible war we were about to study. Some of the students had heard the story in their fifth grade class and were excited about hearing the story again.

Here is a quick synopsis of it:

Two fifteen-year-old Union soldiers form a bond of friendship on the battlefield. Sheldon Curtis, a white soldier also known as Say, lies badly wounded when Pinkus, an African American soldier also known as Pink, rescues him. Pink carries Say to his home where Say is cared for by Pink’s mother, Moe Moe Bay. While Say is recovering, Pink reads aloud to him and Moe Moe Bay from the Bible. Say confesses that he can’t read, but he is proud that he once touched the hand of Abraham Lincoln.

In a very sad section of the book, marauders kill Moe Moe Bay, and Pink and Say return to their units. Shortly after, the Confederate Army captures them, and they hang Pink. Before he is hung, Pink says, “Let me touch the hand that touched Mr. Lincoln, Say, just one last time.” Touching the hand of Lincoln is symbolic for hope for a better future and a country without slavery.

“One last time”….let me touch the hand that touched Mr. Lincoln.” The power of one handshake, one friendship,  one symbol of freedom…one last time.

Some of you old enough, like me, might remember Three Dog Night’s popular hit “One is the Loneliest Number”…with the initial lyrics reading: “Cause one is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do
One is the loneliest number, whoa-oh, worse than two.”

I remember singing along with the song, quite badly but loudly, when it would come on the radio…but today I tend to disagree with the theme behind it. Yes, perhaps if we find ourselves all alone on a desert island…that song might fit…but I see “one” differently these days. All it takes is one person with one smile making a difference in another one’s life. One is pretty self-sustaining by itself and can change the world with one action.

The importance of every human to the world is just like the shoe nail-to-kingdom analogy:

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the rider was lost. For want of a rider, the battle was lost. For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail. -Benjamin Franklin*

(Source* *Alchin, L.K. “For Want of a Nail” -by Benjamin Franklin).”

What started me thinking along these linear lines of the importance of one human life and the importance of each second on earth’s clock…began with my reflections on the rocky road to the National Championship that Clemson just accomplished. There were so many opportunities for the quest to go spiraling downward and crash… taking every Clemson coach, player, fan, and supporter’s dreams with it.

With North Carolina State…it was a slow motion, agonizing moment as we all watched (helplessly) as a potentially winning field goal just barely missed the ‘up-rights’ … thus saving Clemson from defeat. Then came the terrible Pitt game where we all had to watch the last second tick away losing to Pitt by one point- 43-42.

I remember thinking that it was all over with that loss. We had squeaked by too many times and our number had come up. But then, to my surprise and shock, other front-line contenders ended up losing too that same Saturday and Clemson managed to stay in the top four…still eligible for that coveted national title.

…Then comes the National Championship game… Clemson wins it with one second left on the game clock. One second. We ended up being number one in college football after feeling the power of that number (“ONE”) both positively and negatively throughout the entire season.

So until tomorrow…. “One” second can change a game completely around or a life because one human can change the world…one person at a time.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*One second after the winning touchdown the orange and purple confetti started coming down. Tommy and Walsh said it was an unbelievable spectacle. For some of the Clemson players, who had felt the visual disappointment of the opponent’s red confetti falling around them last year, they were now elevated to a fairy tale ending…”Happily Ever After” amid a scene of confetti that appeared to swallow the whole stadium.

*I keep looking for Clemson posters, wall hangings, shirts, etc. that say something along the line of “It Only Takes a Second to be a Champion“….to date I haven’t found anything…if anyone does…do let me know where you found it.

Update: John and Mandy had originally planned to get a head-start on the long weekend and leave last night to split the trip to Disney but the wrecks on Highway 17 closing down both lanes caused a halt to those plans. Mandy emailed early this morning and said they got off at 6:00…no traffic and smooth sailing. Jake is spry and ready to go.