Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Tempted To Ignore Problems?

"A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich." --- Proverbs 10:4

"Inactivity breeds more inactivity." ---copied

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So a couple black birds pushed a soffit square aside then made a nest up in our eaves. I spied 3, actually, perched on the roof edge above, laughing at me and we'd awake late dark nights and hear creepy metal sounds outside our bathroom window.

(Insert Twilight Zone theme music here.)

Of course, we could've just pretended this wasn't happening. Ignored the noise, the dead weeds hanging from the eaves and weekend bird parties and the whole thing becoming a sagging bird apartment complex.

But does ignoring actual problems ever end well? Uh, no. Small issues, over time, grow huge, destructive, and ruin everything.

Tom called for an estimate from a professional--$175 - $200! Then he texted Naomi. She volunteered to climb our ladder and help around 3:00 Sunday afternoon.

Later while waiting for Naomi, Tom felt like moving the car and sweeping out the garage. Then the oddest thing happened. Neighbor Mike's temporary house guest, Mike (let's call him Other Mike) stepped into the garage and said, "Here, let me sweep for you." Tom said, "Thanks! But you don't have to," to which Other Mike replied, "What are neighbors for?"

So they chatted while he swept and afterward he asked, "Anything else I can do?" Tom replied, "Well, my wife has needed the leaves swept from the patio here beside the garage."

(Usually it takes me 3 days to clear those leaf piles, yet this year? After 3 weeks I'd only half-finished. This aging stuff. Sigh.)

Long story short, Other Mike and Neighbor Mike got rid of the black bird problem. Cleared away the nest, replaced the soffit properly and even riveted it shut. And they refused any monetary reward.

Wow. It all felt like the favor of God which, gulp, I too often forget to believe for.

Today's lessons?

Fix the problems you can, while you still can.

Remain proactive. View self-pity like a poison.

Don't ignore anything which has disaster potential.

Sometimes God asks that we pray for help. Sometimes that we believe trials will vanish. Other times? He says, "Do something. Move on this now. Humble yourself and ask for help."

Listening and recognizing the difference can change (and sweeten) the remainder of the way our life proceeds.

"You have not because you ask not." ... James 4:2

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." --- 1 Corinthians 10:13 (Self-pity. One of those temptations.)

If you're feeling a loss of control over your life--do something.

Get up and walk. Grow something on your windowsill. Learn a new skill. Place seeds in a pot of soil. Clean out a closet. Visit a neighbor. Change a bad habit. Read, study. Prepare for the future. Create something with your hands.

Never give-in to loss, defeat, but again, do something to gain back control.

Jesus is up to any challenge and is waiting to show Himself strong within us.

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Three Antique Style Farm House Tours.

Five Easy Pasta Salads

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Do it now before it's too late, before you no longer can.

Aim to enter Heaven with no regrets.

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Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be.

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"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

Thursday, May 26, 2022

Heaven. It's Much Closer Than We Believe.

"Thy kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven." --Matthew 6:10

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So last week Neighbor Sally had another birthday.

Around 1:00, she sat upon her tiny open-air front deck, so I carried over a birthday card for her. Beneath bright sunlight she appeared contented upon her plastic loveseat with turquoise cushions and word game books all upon a white and pink rug.

I sat in the chair across from her while she happily opened my card, the breeze gently blowing her wavy grey hair.

And oh that lilac bush at the rail beside us! The scent made me giddy and I exclaimed (a bit tipsy), "Wow, Sally! You've got a corner of Heaven right here. You're so blessed!"

She smiled, chuckled, as if she'd not quite considered that before.

After our visit, I stepped back across our quiet street and thought, "A corner of Heaven upon Earth! During these turbulent days of 2022, I need more heavenly corners throughout my own home."

But then something came to me. With Jesus living inside our hearts? We also have Heaven, for Jesus brings Heaven along. He can't help it. They cannot be separated.

Heaven in our hearts overflowing into our homes!

Grace

Gratitude

Peace

Courage

Calm

Wisdom

Comfort

Love

Joy in the doing of whatever God asks

--and Enough. We have Jesus and Heaven and enough. Now. This day.

And when we someday in actuality step into Heaven? May the atmosphere not feel foreign, but recognized(!) A continuance of air and light already familiar, for they helped carry us through this earthly life in joy.

Light cannot help but overcome all darkness and we have (and now shine) that light. Indeed.

"You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden." --- Matthew 5:14

"Heaven on Earth is a choice we must make not a place we must find." --- Wayne Dyer

Wouldn't it be wonderful if our behavior gave people a glimpse of how folks in Heaven behave?

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Oh, and here's a wonderful, inspiring story. When a man during the great depression was laid off, he refused to sit around and mope. Instead, he created (and created) something in his own backyard which people still travel to see all these 90 years later! (I queued it up for you.) ツ

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This is my retelling of a story from the book, It's Incredible:

Ann Kiemel went to interview a 72-year-old woman, an artist, and found her doing some landscaping in her backyard. Lifting big rocks, to be exact. The woman told her that she loved to garden and when Ann asked her what was her favorite thing in Life, the woman replied, "Manure. Because everything grows so well in it."

And then Ann asked the woman what kinds of things she disliked, as in chores such as washing dishes or vacuuming or making beds.

The elderly woman frowned. "Dislike? Whatever there is to be done--I like it!"

For many years this woman has been my hero. Her words still replay in my head and remind me, "How can I have heaven upon earth if my heart complains about the daily things I must do? Hmm?"

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart..." ---Ecclesiastes 3:11

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Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be.

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Thursday, May 19, 2022

Fixing Things

"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." ---Colossians 3:23

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So the kitchen sink was (still is) draining so slowly that I shouldn't run the dishwasher and that large bald patch of lawn (over the repaired pipes) out front did not like the seed I planted, my rhododendron bush died and there's more, but it's complicated.

Gee, I complained a lot last week. "I'm too old for all this," I said too many times.

Life felt grey inside my head, like I'd opened a door to 'everything 'round here in 2022 is breaking' and couldn't shut it. I hate that feeling. Then eventually the Holy Spirit asked, "Had enough?" to which I replied, "Yes! I can barely stand to be in the same room with myself." ツ

So He pulled me off the red couch (where I'd melted like a slug) then--

asked me to write a long gratitude list

reminded me to pray that 'restore unto me the joy of _____" prayer

and had me dust off my Weekly To Do List (long forgotten thing).

My oh my, things improved immediately. How life-altering is proactivity! I began fixing things (or trying) and rewarding myself with extra reading time and snacks (hey. One must do what she must do). And again I can say it's a wonderful life.

No surprise all the forces which come against us regarding

proactivity. Apathy will ruin what was meant to be a marvelous, creative life.

Life feels sweet and to be treasured again even if some things 'round here still are messed up.

Note to self: apathy is not from God, but these are--

passion

determination

creativity

zeal

enthusiasm

--and an overcoming spirit. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (or find help for the areas where we're weak). With Jesus living inside us gone are the excuses for living all defeated like those who've not yet met Him.

(When we've truly come to know/experience how incredibly much God loves us, this becomes far easier.)

“He who is slothful in his work is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.” (Yikes!!!) ---Proverbs 18:9

"I would challenge everyone to ask for abundant grace every morning and see if it does not change the way you walk through Life. It will bring victory!"

---Kat Kerr

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Along these lines, here's an inspiring video, below.

(You can do a fast-forward viewing like I did, but be sure to check out the final two minutes. Wow! The kind of tough, no nonsense talk we don't hear enough of these days.) --

The student got the worst placement in the dorm, but she turned it into a dream room!

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(Had to laugh at the perfect timing of this one!)

It's important to know what can be fixed and what cannot--and then work through the necessary acceptances and adjustments inside our mind.

Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be.

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Wednesday, May 11, 2022

How's Your Personal Race Going?

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it." --- 1 Corinthians 9:24

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If you believe horse races are barbaric, Honey, move on to the next blog. シ This race did my heart much good, so here's my post.

Wow. The 2022 Kentucky Derby, right?

You've not yet seen it? Before reading this post, you may want to watch the last stretch, just a few seconds, here, first.

Rich Strike, the horse. Wow.

Rich Strike ran most of the race without being taken seriously. Who even watches last-minute-replacement-horses in the back except for their owners/trainers?

But even though ignored, in the center of relative slowpokes kicking mud up on him, Rich Strike ran steady. His rider moved him to the right places at the perfect times, then urged Rich Strike to use his reserved energy at the end.

Speaking of which, did you notice (in the non-aerial view) how Rich Strike turned his face toward the two expected-to-win horses? Exactly as if--with his eyes--he told them, "That's all you've got? Really? Watch this!"

Then Rich Strike stretched out his neck, his body, his pace, and took the lead, shocking the announcer, then the world with his win.

The tired fighters of 2022's world were thrilled, uplifted, encouraged.

Folks who are soured by conspiracy theories, voiced those (can we really blame them?).

But Rich Strike? He was used to longer races and bit at those trying to slow his pace after the race. His great heart longed to keep running, even without an audience, even though, according to others, he was done.

I like what Jennifer Keyte wrote:

"Rich Strike, you just gave hope to every single person feeling hemmed-in against the rail in any part of life! Take the opening and Go For It!"

Today? Today if you've had all sorts of mud slung upon you and you feel you're running unnoticed, well, Jesus notices all details. Every tear floats inside a bottle and each effort to run steady in all faithfulness to Him will be rewarded. Some prizes come now; most are awarded in Heaven.

But you've got to stay in it to win it.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..." --- Hebrews 12:1

Since 2020 while I've watched lots of Christians drop out of this latest race I've wondered, "What did they think future hard times would look like? They spent decades reading about them, but why were they blown away when they arrived?"

There are no prizes for those who quit early.

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Oh, and if you didn't already know, this was the second biggest upset in the Kentucky Derby's 148 year history!

People declare it can never happen again, but I'm holding out that it will. I love when impossibilities happen!

Here's the race in its entirety.

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Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be.

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Tuesday, May 03, 2022

Where She Says, "Don't Care! I'm Moving Forward."

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it." ---1 Corinthians 9:24

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Since 2020, the first 'covid year'? Probably 80 times I've said aloud (yes, to myself, all Scarlett O'Hara-like sometimes, er hem), "Don't care! I'm moving forward."

Each instance came after something. Like, after longtime friends unfriended me at Facebook (one lecturing me on how horrible I'd become).