Tuesday 4~ December Smiles

 December Smiles

Welcome, welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where we sometimes like to be very silly. December is a fun month filled with expectation and hope. We should be light hearted and thankful as the month progresses. What do you think?

Let's be light hearted today and ask some not so serious questions shall we?

1. What is the dumbest rule you've ever had to follow?
You have to drink all your milk before you can go out to the playground. I never liked milk, and especially way back then it came in little tiny glass bottles (yes, I'm THAT OLD!) and it would get warm quickly. There was another 4th grade teacher on lunchroom duty that day (not my favorite 4th grade teacher), and she said I could not leave the lunch table until I drank every drop of that warm souring milk. I cried, I gagged, I begged and pleaded not to have to drink that milk. I was humiliated and horrified in front of everyone else in the lunchroom. But she was adamant, and I was literally sick to my stomach. I'm not sure how I ever got to leave the lunchroom that day, but when I got back to my classroom with my own favorite 4th grade teacher, that dear lady called me up to her desk and told me very kindly that she had heard what happened to me in the lunchroom, and she said to me, "That will never happen to you again, I promise." Oh, how I loved that dear teacher! Sadly she moved away mid-semester, but thankfully God provided a new teacher in her place who was just as kind and who actually liked me and gave me special assignments, like drawing the horses on our class mural we were doing about the pioneers moving westward.  She saw that I had a special talent for drawing horses (oh, where has that gone? I don't know!), and she restored my sense of self-esteem. I will always have a warm place in my heart for her and the former teacher, but NEVER for that other teacher in the lunchroom, who thankfully was never my teacher!!!! (I suppose I should forgive her. She never had children of her own, and she really didn't understand freckled faced red headed little girls who disliked milk so much. Okay, Lord, I forgive her, but I'll never forget that day!)

2. What is the weirdest or funniest thing a guest ever did/said in your home?

I will have to think about that one for a while and come back to this...we've had a lot of funny,weird guests in our lifetime. Being in the ministry, we used to do a LOT of entertaining, and we played a lot of silly games with our guests at our annual Christmas parties. Things could get pretty funny and we would all be splitting our sides with laughter, but I honestly can't think of any one particular thing that any one person said or did. But they all loved the parties and couldn't wait for the next year. 

3. If you had a warning label what would it say?

Watch out! I was born a redhead, and under this faded mop I am STILL a redhead, so beware!!What they say about redheads having a temper just might be true...and you don't wan't to poke the bear to find out! LOL.

4. What is the first thing you must do in case of a Snoopy/Charlie Brown Apocalypse? Who is the first person you call for advice when that happens? (Imagine that The characters of Charlie Brown series take over the world! What do you do as your first move? Who would you call for advice on how to live in that world?)

Well, I'd call Lucy, of course.  Wasn't she the one alway giving out advice?  But maybe Snoopy would be the best choice. He seems to have the best life in the series. LOL.

This was fun. Thank you, Annie, for bringing us together each week.  Click HERE to join in the fun

On a different note, I am home sort of in quarantine, but not really. I don't have Covid, but I do have Walking Pneumonia!  I went to the Dr. yesterday because I was experiencing a deep pain in my chest/lungs when I'd cough, which wasn't really often, but often enough to know something was wrong, plus the fact that I was so exhausted and had been sick over the weekend with some chills and general worn out from last week's festivities (or so I thought).  Anyway, this is the 2nd time I've had walking pneumonia in the past 4 months.  He put me on some strong antibiotics, a steroid, and cough medicine and told me to stay home and rest and stay away from people for a while because it is contagious! So here I am, thankfully you can't get my germs through the computer!  Frankly, I'm thankful to be told to stay home and rest...but then again, I've got so much to do getting ready for Christmas...but one day at a time. God knows what I need, and I will try to listen this time.

I did buy one special Christmas gift...for Blackie! What you see here is a pet warming mat, that warms itself as the cat's body heat reflects back to him. No electricity...just insulation... My niece Debbie told me about this when she was here on Thanksgiving, so I ordered one on Amazon, and it arrived already. I put it in Blackie's favorite chair on the porch and waited to see what would happen...

It has become his favorite place to sit and sleep!  Hooray!! This was in the daytime...

and this was at night (hence the reflections on the glass door)

After our sad loss of Sunshine last week, Blackie has been lonely and rather clingy, and well, frankly, so have I.  So I was happy to find something special for him that he seems to be very pleased with!!! And it really works! I sat this mat on my lap for a few minutes, and it was very warm indeed! What a great idea!

However yesterday morning he was busily watching the action out on Still Waters Pond.  There were two dogs over on the shore to the left, looking for water. They live in the neighborhood and keep breaking loose from their fenced pen, and they love to come to the pond and play in the mud over there, because there really isn't much water (however we are supposed to get some rain today and later this week, praise God!)   Anyway, the Sand Hill Cranes were out there, and they did not like those dogs in their territory!  So I watched the drama as they marched across the pond to shoo the dogs away...

Blackie also was watching, but he soon took off for parts unknown, because he was afraid those dogs were going to come around here and come up on the porch. He disappeared for the better part of the day until supper time.

Meanwhile, the Cranes started flappping their wings and hollering in their loud raucus calls at those dogs...

And soon the dogs took off and apparently headed back home...

But the Cranes kept up their tirade and dance until they were sure they were good and gone. I wish you could've heard them...

Here's a brief little video of them jumping, but you can't really hear them because I was inside and the tv is going on in the background. But it's still fun to see them jumping about. I think they are also starting their annual mating rituals, and hopefully they will still build a nest on Still Waters (dry) pond as usual.

 

Okay, I have to go. Thank you for being here friends... Oh, and here's the words of wisdom from God's Word for today...I guess I needed to be reminded of this today...

Colossians 3:12-13 NKJV

12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

Amen!

Out With the Old, In With the New

I can't believe it is New Year's Eve already...and here we sit, like most "old folks", sitting quietly at home watching football, reading, and/or writing, thinking about the past year and all of its blessings, looking forward to the New Year, and praying for what is yet to be.

In our devotions this morning we read from Colossians 3.  There were so many good pearls of wisdom there for the New Year that I thought I would share a few with you.

2.  "Set your mind on things above,

not on things on the earth."

12.  "Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved,

put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;

13.  bearing with one another,

and forgiving one another, 

if anyone has a complaint against another; 

even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

14.  But above all these things put on love,

which is the bond of perfection.

15.  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, 

to which also you were called in one body;

and be thankful.

16.  Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,

teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns

and spiritual songs,

singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

17.  And whatever you do in word or deed,

do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

These words really struck me hard as I read them this morning.  I've been struggling with some of these...verse 12, 13, 14...you know those words about being kind, humble, meek and "longsuffering"? And then bearing with one another...forgiving (I think I do okay on that, but then I realize that I probably don't do as well as I think sometimes...) and then verse 14..."put on love,... the bond of perfection"...this is another area where much improvement is needed.

I need verse 15: "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts...and be thankful."  Yes, I struggle with that one too. Peace...and being thankful...in all things? Yes, in all things!  (I Thessalonians 5:18)

So, as we stand on the threshold of 2018, I'm searching my heart to see if I can live up to these admonitions for Christian living as found in Colossians chapter 3.  I will need a lot of help from the Lord to meet His standards.   

Verse 17 tells me that "whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

The past several days I have been searching for my new "One Word" for 2018.  Last year's word was REST, and it was a beneficial word for me in many ways...both spiritually and physically.  Here is a list of all the previous "One Word" selections (and links to them) since the beginning of this in 2012:

One Word 2012: Hope

One Word 2013: Presence

One Word 2014: Strengthen

One Word 2015: Focus

One Word 2016: Grace

One Word 2017: Rest

With such an auspicious list as that, you'd think I would have my act together by now...but alas! I don't.   There is still so much to learn and do.  Actually, as an "old Christian", I think what is really needed here is  to "RENEW" my faith and hope and spiritual vitality.  Yes, that's the word!! Renew, Renewal, Renewing...yes...and here is a key verse to start me off right:

"And do not be conformed to this world, 

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, 

that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Romans 12:2

Okay, Lord! Renew is the word for 2018.  I have a feeling there are going to be some changes being made in the way I do things in the New Year.  I pray it will bring about positive and lasting improvement in my walk with the Lord...and with my fellow "man".  Amen.

Happy New Year everyone!

What About Forgiveness?

I almost threw away this little free magazine that came in the mail this past week.  It is entitled "Healthy Living Made Simple", and is published by SamsClub,  the May/June 2013 issue, if you'd like to check it out for yourself.

Before I dropped it into the recycling bin, I decided to skim through the pages to see what it was all about.  There is a picture of Colin Powell smiling at us from the front of the magazine, and he has an article about how he won the battle against prostate cancer. Interesting, but not what excited me today.

Then there were some good diet tips, and an article on how to "walk your way to stress relief".  Good stuff, but still not what got me.

Then I turned the page and saw Oprah Winfrey smiling out at me."What Oprah knows about forgiveness."   That got my attention.  Now, I am not a big Oprah fan, but before you walk away, let me say that I appreciate much of the good she has done through her program and influence...however, she kind of veered off the trail a few times and took a few people with her I fear, in the spiritual sense.  But putting that aside, this particular article is one of the good things she shared, and I found it extremely factual and even biblical. It's so good, in fact, I'd like to share the highlights of it with you:

 The title of the article was,

Quoting Oprah from this article:

"I always love Aha! moments," Oprah says.  "When somebody says something that made us look at life in a completely new way.  When I first heard that, I literally got goose bumps.  The message that came through so clearly and stayed with me is this: 'Forgive, so you can truly live.' Forgiveness is letting go, so the past does not hold you prisoner, does not hold you hostage." 

The article goes on to say:

"Forgiveness doesn't mean you condone the behavior or, in any way, make a wrong into a right.  It simply means that you give yourself permission to release from your past.  It's accepting that it has happened to you--not accepting that it was okay--but that it has happened.  It's not holding on, hoping, wishing that it could have been any other way." 

"If you haven't been able to forgive, then you're holding on to something.  The person who hurt you has moved on in their life, but you are stuck in the anger--you're stuck in the negativity.  It takes a lot of energy to hold a grudge and be angy at somebody.  The truth is if you're holding a grudge, that grudge is really holding you."

Oprah says, "We think unforgiveness protects us, but in fact it really doesn't--it poisons us.  It has everything to do with you and nothing to do with the other person.  Unforgiveness blocks you from taking the risk of love."  "One of my favorite quotes is 'Unforgivenss unchecked becomes a cancer of the soul.'  What I know is that forgiveness is like medicine--medicine that can heal your pain.  It can bring you peace.  Forgiveness is something that you do for yourself.  Forgiveness means that what someone did no longer is going to affect how you live in the present moment.  When I got that, it took me to the next level of being a better person."

 What does the Bible teach us about forgiveness?


"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do NOT forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."  Matthew 6:14-15

"And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:32

"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do."  Colossians 3:12-13

"Then Peter came to Him and said, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?'  Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.'"
Matthew 18:21-22

This is just a random sampling of the many passages in scripture regarding the subject of forgiveness. Actually, the whole Bible is a story of forgiveness...if you think about it...

So why is it such a difficult thing for us to do?  Why do we hang on to our bitterness, hatred, anger, and unforgiving spirit, when we have been forgiven of so much ourselves?  Good question. I know from personal experience that when I harbored unforgiveness in my heart toward someone, it kept me bound in fear, anger and huge resentment.  I could not love, I could not care, I could not grow.  My spiritual growth was stunted, and I was evolving into someone ugly and mean spirited.  When I allowed myself to forgive and move on with my life, when I was actually able to tell the other person that I forgave them, I was set free.  Whether or not they accepted my forgiveness was not my problem.  That was theirs to grapple with.  Of course, we always like to have the happy endings, where everyone forgives and forgets and loves like nothing ever happened.  That seldom happens...but if we can forgive and let go of the bitterness and resentment, we can love again...only much wiser and stronger. And who knows but that our act of forgiveness might even open the door for the other person to grow and change too? It just might...but even if it doesn't, forgive anyway and move on to brighter days.

Some good things to think about today, don't you think? Do you have someone in your life that you need to forgive? What do you have to lose? You may actually gain a new perspective on living...and a brighter, healthier life, both physically, spiritually and mentally.  Sounds like a good plan to me.
The Song "Forgiveness" by Matthew West  -- check out this link for a great song about what we've been talking about.   Great story behind this song too.

For More discussion on this topic, hop over to the next post, entitled: Forgiveness, Part II.  That should pretty well cover the subject I hope! If not, please forgive me! :)