Quick Change Artist (Rerun)

(This is a "rerun", originally "aired" on 9/20/13, but nothing much has changed...I'm still that same "quick change artist"...and these thoughts are still right-on for me and my situation...and maybe yours as well! Read on...and if you didn't comment the last time, feel free to do so this time!)

Been kicking some thoughts around in my head this week, and never got around to putting them on paper, so now I will try to remember what they were.  Usually when I think I've got something really good to say, by the time I get around to saying it it no longer seems quite so special.  Perhaps things have happened to change my viewpoint, or to draw my attention to other topics even more significant. (In my mind, that is)

Earlier this week I was thinking about how I sometimes feel like the female version of Superman, not in the powerful superhero sense, but in the quick change of clothes in the phone booth from Clark Kent, Newspaper Reporter, to Superman.  But my quick change is just the opposite...like when I come home from my job as a church business administrator everyday, dressed semi-professionally, (dress pants, shoes, top/jacket depending on the season, etc.), the minute I walk in the door of my house at the end of the day, off come the shoes, the jewelry (why is it I feel naked when I go out the door if I don't have on my watch, rings, earrings, bracelet, necklace, but the minute I walk in the door of my house I suddenly feel like I am being strangled by too many "chains" around my body?)...and then I peel off my slacks, top, and grab the most comfy, loose fitting, somewhat stained and grungy t-shirt and capris, and slide my feet into the softest, lighter than air shoes (my new Skechers Go Walk shoes)
and then I breathe such a sigh of relief...I am home.
I am the real me again.  Not that I don't feel I am
the real me at my job, but that's the other me.  The
professional me who has to think, make decisions,
figure out problems, deal with weighty issues, sometimes financial, sometimes supervisory, sometimes unpleasant situations that fall on my shoulders because "that's your job".

Of course, I often have similar issues to deal with when I get home...make decisions, figure out problems, deal with weighty issues, OFTENTIMES financial, sometimes "supervisory"...and even deal with unpleasant situations because that's my job as a mother, wife, homemaker, cook, bill payer, etc....but when I'm home I'm on safe ground...I know I am beloved, treasured, and secure. I am not in danger of losing my position because I didn't handle something right, or forgot some very important deadline, or called in sick too often.  When I am home, I am free to be me. I can breathe...I can laugh, I can cry, I can get angry and be forgiven...I am loved unconditionally.

Now please don't get the wrong idea here, especially if you happen to know me at my place of employment and wonder if something has triggered all this...No, nothing has happened. I am just making general observations here...probably most people who are employed can relate to this no matter where they work.

I don't have any astounding revelations here or answers to these questions...just thinking out loud. One thing I do know for certain...even if I wasn't exactly beloved, treasured and secure in my home, I am beloved, treasured, and secure with my Lord.

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!"       I John 3:1

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  I John 4:10

"But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, 

Christ died for us."

Romans 5:8

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear..." I John 4:18a

Therefore, I do not fear that I will not be loved or accepted by my Heavenly Father...He loved me before I was even born...I am highly treasured by God...no matter what position I am in, what clothes I wear, or what I do to try to make myself appear righteous and noble...He loves me...just the way I am. My righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6)...without God, I am nothing. But in Christ, I am precious in His sight.  And so are you, dear friend, if you belong to Jesus.  And if you are not certain about that...ask Him to show you how much He loves you. You may be surprised at what you will discover.

This is the real me, taking a walk in the woods and loving that feeling of freedom
from pressure and deadlines...
On the journey of life...precious and beloved...as are you, my friend.

UPDATED PICTURE 6/18/15...This is the real me today, except I still have on my jewelry...but I can't
wait to get home and sit in my rocker on my front porch and "RELAX", like it says in the sign above my head! 

Who Am I?

Do you sometimes struggle with your own identity? Do you wonder if people really know the real you...and if they did, would they still love you? like you? care about you? Or would they be disappointed, sad, angry, or just surprised?

I know that I have often struggled with my identity. I was reminded of this struggle yesterday when I attended a viewing prior to the funeral for a woman I have known and admired since I was a teenager.  She was my Pastor's wife during my last few years at home before marriage, and actually it was her husband, the Pastor, who married us. She was also the mother of one of my high school girlfriends. I know that she had four children, all of whom are accomplished musicians with trained voices that could lift you to the heavenlies when they sing...seriously!  She and her husband the preacher were also interesting musicians, who often delighted us with performances singing to the accompaniment of a bucket bass, a singing saw, guitar, harmonica, and spoons. I believe this came out of their rich heritage of being raised in the mountains of West Virginia.

I also know that when their family moved into the parsonage that our church provided for them, they brought very little with them in the way of furnishings.  At that time I belonged to the Methodist church, and it was the practice of that denomination to move their pastors about every four years. Most churches provided furnished homes for their pastors, so the families didn't have to worry about moving a lot of "stuff" so often. Our youth group was on hand on moving day to help them move into the parsonage, and I remember thinking to myself, "Wow! I can't imagine having so few personal belongings for a home!"  I was hoping that they wouldn't mind the old worn out furniture that was in the parsonage, and was wishing there was some way we could spruce things up for them and make it really nice.  It was an older home that had not had much updating over the years, except for an added on family room that was fairly new.  The former pastor had been a bachelor, so not much had been done to beautify the place during his tenure.

Pastor and Mrs. Parsons

But I remember Mrs. "Parsons"...yes, that was her real name...and her husband was "Pastor Parsons"...so you can tell they were cut out for that profession...I remember her being so gracious and appreciative of everything in that home, and she especially was so kind and thankful for our help in bringing in their things and placing them wherever she directed.  She had a ready smile and a sweet spirit that I found warm and welcoming.  She wasn't loud or bossy or overly outspoken.  She was real...a lady in every respect who appeared to know her place as a pastor's wife...a helpmate, wife, mother, and one in whom you could place your confidence.  She was a woman who knew her identity and seemed to be very happy and content within.

What struck me yesterday as we entered the room at the church where Mrs. Parsons' body was placed, I realized that the Agnes Parsons that her family and friends and parishioners had known and loved and cherished, was really not there. It was her body, the familiar face and hair and hands that had once loved and smiled and laughed and cried...but her person, innermost being, spirit was not there. All that made her who she was was no longer present.  Oh yes, her loving, heartbroken husband was there. Her children and grandchildren and loved ones and friends and many former parishioners were there. But she was not. Her identity was now a true reality in heaven. The REAL Agnes Parsons was being embraced by her Savior, Jesus Christ, whom she knew and loved.  The Real Agnes Parsons was possibly dancing on the streets of gold, and singing with the heavenly choir with a voice even purer and clearer than ever before.  She was no longer being addressed as Mrs. Parsons, the preacher's wife.  She is now, Agnes, totally beloved of the Father in Heaven, precious child of God and a member of the Bride of Christ.

I started out saying that I have often struggled with my identity. See, I too, became a "Parson's Wife"...no not  to my Pastor Parsons...but a "preacher's wife"....and for many years that was my identity..."The Preacher's Wife."  Once my husband was no longer serving in that capacity, even though many still think of me in that role, I have struggled to figure out just who I really am.  I no longer have that place or position in life, and it is sometimes difficult to realize that I have a new identity.  But, like Mrs. Parsons, I do have a clear identity, even though I am still here in the flesh on this earth, my identity is also in heaven...where I am known and will someday live as Pam, totally beloved of the Father in Heaven, a precious child of God and member of the Bride of Christ.

So, who are YOU?  Is your identity tied up with your mate's position or as the wife, mother, daughter or sister (or husband, father, son, brother) of your family members? Or is it your position in life as a preacher, teacher, bookkeeper, lawyer, doctor, nurse, waitress, singer, writer, secretary, sports figure...whatever it is...is that what defines who you are?

"Who Am I" by Casting Crowns   is a song that I have loved and appreciated since the first time I heard it.      

"Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth

Would care to know my name

Would care to feel my hurt

Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star

Would choose to light the way

For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am

But because of what You've done

Not because of what I've done

But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading

Here today and gone tomorrow

A wave tossed in the ocean

Vapor in the wind

Still You hear me when I'm calling

Lord, You catch me when I'm falling

And You've told me who I am

I am Yours, I am Yours

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin

Would look on me with love and watch me rise again

Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea

Would call out through the rain

And calm the storm in me

Not because of who I am

But because of what You've done

Not because of what I've done

But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading

Here today and gone tomorrow

A wave tossed in the ocean

Vapor in the wind

Still You hear me when I'm calling

Lord, You catch me when I'm falling

And You've told me who I am

I am Yours

Not because of who I am

But because of what You've done

Not because of what I've done

But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading

Here today and gone tomorrow

A wave tossed in the ocean

Vapor in the wind

Still You hear me when I'm calling

Lord, You catch me when I'm falling

And You've told me who I am

I am Yours

I am Yours

Whom shall I fear

Whom shall I fear

'Cause I am Yours

I am Yours"

If you are not sure of your identity today...if you don't know for certain that you have a place waiting for you in heaven...if you don't know that you belong to the God of heaven and earth...then perhaps now is the time to seek His face...to discover His amazing love and grace;

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!"  I John 3:1

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

John 1:12-13

This amazing Lord of all the earth loves you and cares about your every need and hurt and cry.  He wants to welcome you into His family...and give you a name that is an everlasting name...and a place at His banquet table. There can be no greater identity than that. The invitation has already been issued, with an R.S.V.P. attached.  I hope you'll respond in the affirmative.  Then someday we'll be dancing on those streets of gold together, and singing in that heavenly choir with Mrs. Parsons and all the rest of the saints! 

 Praise God!

Perseverance Anyone? Need Hope? How About Character? (Updated this morning after sleeping on it)

These are some thoughts running through my mind tonight and I wanted to share them with you. Maybe you will see yourself in these verses...

• "Therefore, having been justfied by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
• Through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
• And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;
• And perseverance, character;
• And character, hope.
• Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
• For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
• For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
• But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

       Romans 5: 1-8

My Interpretation: 



Anyone here wanting to learn perseverance?  Expect tribulations. - You will run into obstacles in life...stub your toe, see dead-ends and unexpected detours...but God is in the pathway...He's guiding each step and leading you to persevere during the tough times.
    Want character?  Learn perseverance from your tribulations and you will develop character.  "When the going gets tough...the tough get going" (who said that?)  Old houses are said to have character because they have interesting knicks and scrapes...unusual architecture weathered by many storms...bannisters and floors scuffed by many years of hands and feet running to and fro, up and down, perhaps even having had children sliding down the bannisters...revealing a beautiful patina to the wood and smoother surfaces...
         Need hope?  Develop character once you've learned perseverance through the experience of tribulations.  Life's experiences give us hope for the future as we remember how God provided in the past.
            Once you have hope...you will not be disappointed..."because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
                And remember this:  Before you were made strong by your tribulations and perseverance and character development...before the Holy Spirit was given to you...Christ died for you...while you were yet a sinner, without a hope in the world...Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, God in the flesh, showed His magnificent and immense love for us by dying in our place...taking our sin upon His own body...the pure and holy sacrificed for the stained and unholy. 

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!"  I John 3:1

"When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of Glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it Lord, that I should boast,

Save in the death of Christ my God;

All the vain things that charm me most,

I sacrifice them to His blood.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down--

Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were a present far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all."

Amen.

Isaac Watts, 1674-1748

I John 3:1

Jesus Christ, The same, Yesterday, Today and Forever...reaching out in love to you and me each day.

Now that brings great hope!!