Going to school

Good morning friends. I pray you had a peaceful morning, many of us sent our children off to school today for another school year. It is always so amazing watching them walk to the bus, remembering the little child that once was, to the mortified tweeb who begs you not to take too many embarrassing pictures now. And while we wave and put them on the bus, i can't help but remember our Father who had to send His Son down, He didn't put His Son on the bus, He sent His Son to save us all. That sort of put everything in perspective. I pray for our kids, that they have a fun first day, they like their teachers and make new friends and have one really good belly laugh. I pray for you, that when they come home, they have fun stories to tell, and come home with a hug and a happy smile. I pray for our teachers, that they get through today without migraines, and without nasty phone calls. I pray for our Principals, who need all the prayers they can get. I love you.

Praying for you.

Good morning friends. Today, i found myself praying for friends who are missing someone dear. They may have passed on, or are simply far away and out of hugging distance. Facebook and cellphones make it easier to call and text and send messages and photos, but sometimes, you miss someone so much it is like a physical ache inside. A friend, or a family member, or someone who is as close as a sibling or parent. You just want to be sitting next to them on a couch and talking to them. I am praying for you. I am praying you find time to talk to them today, on the phone, on skype, or in your prayers. If that person has passed on, i pray you get some minutes to yourself to go to a quiet place just to have a conversation with them, talk to them, and then feel their presence. I pray you have a call or a card that lets you know someone special is thinking about you today.
I love you.

do what???

God has a plan....and i know there are days you wake up and think "LORD, what do You WANT FROM ME?" You are so tired, so worn out, so down and out. You justwant Him to reveal it NOW, so you can see that yes, you are going to get to the other side of this horrific dark, bleak, miserable tunnel you are in now. What have you done that HE thinks you can handle this? The only reason He knows you can handle this - is because you are sitting in the palm of His had, and He cradling you. You are not alone, not only is HE there, but He has sent us, your friends, to be with you. He wants you to ask for HELP, not only from HIM, but also from the people around you. Don't be ashamed, don't hesitate. Not only will Your Heavenly Father carry you through the dark times, but so will your friends. I love you.

Not the plan....

Yes, you made plans, and yes, you planned everything around those plans and now you are furious, because your plans aren't happening. You want to scream and yell and force everyone and everything to fit into your plans. Stop, it isn't happening. There is something else you need to be doing.....or not doing. Maybe you are supposed to be somewhere else and pass your smile along to someone who desperately needs to see it. Maybe there is someone who is going to call you and need your help, and had you done your plans, you wouldn't be there for them. Maybe it is time to just stop and rest. God knows you are pushing yourself too hard and if you keep going the way you are, you are going to physically or mentally harm yourself. Did you ever think it might be GOD changing your agenda, that HE is the one that rearranged your plans, because HE wants you to do something else? Ranting and raving won't change anything, so stop, pray, and accept. God loves you. I love you.

Blameless

How long are you going to blame yourself, or question what you should have done or why did you do that? How long are you going to let the wound fester? If one of your children does something wrong, you forgive them. If a friend hurts you, you hug them, you eventually laugh and it blows over. But when you do something wrong, how long do you think about it, and stress over it, and wonder what you could have done differently and should you do something about it now?
If someone comes to you, asking for your forgiveness for something they did against you, and you smile, and tell them of course you forgive them, that smile of pure relief on their face, that lightening in their heart, you see the weight come off their shoulders. You need to do that for yourself. Look in the mirror, look into your own eyes and tell yourself "I forgive me, " and mean it. Lift that load off your shoulders, remove the vises from around your heart, throw away the lead in your stomach. You are allowed to forgive yourself, you are allowed to feel good about yourself. God loves you. I love you.

A letter, a lost art

There used to be a reason to go to the mailbox...it was called personal mail. 

I used to love going to open the metal box and see hand written envelopes, letters from best friends, cards from family, sweet letter messages with day to day messages.

Now, i dread going to the box, because it is always bills, bills, more bills and oh yeah, a few more political ads.

Facebook, email, and texting have taken the place of the handwritten note.  I am guilty, i admit it, i often post a small note, or send a message on facebook to let someone know i am thinking of them...but something is missing.
 

I used to sit down and write out birthday and anniversary cards at the beginning of each month...somewhere down the line, that hobby has gotten swept away by chores, jobs, raising kids, working too many hours, and so many other things.

I used to make dozens and dozens of cards, stamping hours away, loving every minute of it.  When i used to have a rare day off, i would spread my stamps out and have a ball.   Friends would come over, we would share our stuff and we would just laugh, drink tea and stamp all day.  Then i would happily send the cards out to friends and family, little notes of love, smack a stamp on it and dump letters upon letters in the post box.

I just finished writing a letter to an uncle in Holland.  He is a lovely man, always remembers to send cards to my kids with 5 euro inside, and i remember him as a man who used to stare at his wife, my Tante Diny, with an expression of "How did i get so lucky to marry this beautiful woman?"   I admit, my dutch is rusty, but i did my best to write him a few paragraphs about how my family is spending the summer, and i know he will appreciate i took time to write him.

Before that, i wrote a friend who doesn't have email or text...only letters work.

And it felt nice.  It was a good feeling knowing that when those two gentlemen went in their post box, there would be a nice colored envelope, handwritten, a Harry Potter Stamp in the corner, my little Promise Walk name label on the left. 

My son is required to write Thank You notes today, to thank friends and family who remembered his 14th birthday.  He knows he is required to write the cards, not email messages and used to ask me why.....and i told him those people took the time to think of you, can't you take the time to thank them?

When my mother died, several people gave me letters she had written to them.  My mothers impossible to read handwritten notes about what was going on in her life...sadly i lost them all in the fire, but those letters meant a lot to me. 

Now a days, would i have gotten printed out letters from email?   Or forwarded texts she had sent?

It's sad really...letters can lift the spirits of those who are down.   They can lift spirits when someone feels alone, bring happiness for a birthday, a small moment of peace in a sympathy card, a smile in a get well card, and heart jump in a congratulations card.

I just pulled out my box of cards, and will go to the post office this afternoon to get more stamps, and am vowing to myself to get back to the art of writing letters.  I can't promise everyone who reads this will get one anytime soon, but it is time to get back to letting people know i am thinking of them by taking the time to sit and write a letter instead of taking the easy way and shooting off a text.

Oh, i will still text, i enjoy my little chats with friends - but i will also take the time to share a few memories with friends using pretty paper with flowers and Harry Potter Stamps.

I love you. 

I am going to try my best to be a candle

I have "refrained" from comments about the latest Supreme Court ruling, but last night, i read the post by someone saying "i bet this is breaking God's heart," "i hope they go to hell" and "this is the beginning of the end of the world."

I am blown away by the hate.

I am not jumping on that band wagon.  I am not going start protesting and screaming and judging.

It's not my job.  

My job is to do the Lord's work, by being a candle.

Matthew 5:16 - "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 


Who really thinks that protesting, yelling, screaming, punishing, fighting and yelling some more really works?   Have you raised a teenager?  You yell, fight and scream, and they are going to do it anyway.

I am not going to tell them they are sinners and are going to hell - because i would have to tell everyone i know the same thing.  Every friend i have is a sinner.  Every person i have ever hugged is a sinner.  Every person ever to enter my house is a sinner.  So, do i tell all of them they are also going to hell?

Do i think this one ruling is going to be the end of the world?   The same was said when Roe vs Wade was passed.  And when prayer was stopped in schools.   And When the Ten Commandments were taken out of the public eye.  And the separation of church and state....and....and....and.....And the world keeps spinning.


Matthew 7:1-5
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Every time i look in a mirror, i see a sinner.   Every time i think i do something good, i know i have done 5 things not so good.

He asks us to "Love One Another: just as I have love you, you also are to love one another" John 13:34  No where did i read 'love them if they follow all my commandments, never sin and never do anything you don't think is right"  If that was the case, i would have to end my marriage, because he sins.  I would have to get rid of my children, because they sin.  I would have to stop going to church, because that whole building is full of sinners. 

Where does it all end?

I don't want people to see me, a proud Christian, as someone who judges and hates.   I want them to see someone who loves and accepts, who tolerates others as they tolerate me.  I am going to love my friends, i am going to try to love my enemies.

It says in Romans 12:10 to Love one another with brotherly affection.  Outdo one another in showing honor.

And that is what i plan to do.

I love you,