The Bicycle

As I sit here in the garage leaning on my kickstand, I wait for my owner to come and get me for a ride. I anticipate the joy I will feel as together we ride down the path through the woods. My wheels will be spinning as the air whips through my spokes and over my handlebars. I will enjoy the view as we pass by the lake, the flowers and trees, and the birds flying and squirrels scampering. Maybe my owner will stop and pick some of the flowers and put them in my basket. Perhaps I will get to hear my owner sing her favorite hymns as we ride back to the house. When we arrive at the garage and I again am resting on my kickstand, I will be happy to have been used for my intended purpose. May everyone find joy in their purpose!

This is quite a different post than I normally do but I just felt like being creative today. I watched a show this morning where a woman was taking a writing class and had an assignment to write a story from an inanimate object's point of view. I instantly thought about writing from the point of view of a bicycle. As I have said before, this blog is often a release and outlet for me as well as wanting to make others think. I challenge you to try writing a story. Write from an object's point of view or creatively tell a story about how an animal came to be. An example would be "how the skunk got his stripe" or "how the zebra got his stripes" or "how the leopard got his spots" or the frog or whatever. Just try. You'll be surprised at the creativity that will come out. 

Easter Changes For 2020

Easter is fast approaching and I have been contemplating how different it will be this year because of Covid-19. This crazy virus has the whole world on lock down making it impossible to meet and celebrate at the church building. This is especially hard on me. For years Bob and I have been away from our own kids, grandkids and extended family on Easter because ministry life just doesn't allow for us to get together with them on Easter since they are in other states. Easter is after all our most important holiday in the Christian world and it is important for the pastor and pastor's wife to be present at the church. Because of this, my church family has become very important to me as a surrogate family. The kiddos at church fill in for my grandchildren to bring some joy watching them hunt eggs and show me their new outfits. Bob and I are usually okay doing an Easter dinner alone but the celebration at church has always been important. I feel a bit lost this week. I would normally be preparing to do a lesson in our KJ class (Kids for Jesus children's church program). We would have been taking donations over the past month from church members of filled plastic eggs to have an egg hunt for the young kids. Everything just feels so off. Even though our church family meets together online on Sundays right now, my normal routine is messed up. I am not preparing bulletins for the service. I am not decorating the church building with special flowers. 

Yes I know that we can celebrate the resurrection of Jesus anywhere and I can guarantee that we will. It's just that the Easter service at church is such a special time and I am disappointed that it will not happen this year. 

I will wake up (Lord willing) on Easter Sunday and thank Him for His willingness to go to the cross, suffer, die and raise from the dead to conquer death for me. I will sing songs of praise in the car on my way to the church to support my husband as he preaches to the live stream camera praying to reach someone who needs encouragement and the saving knowledge of Christ. Yes, this year will be a different Easter. Perhaps because of Covid-19, Christians will never again take for granted and be nonchalant in their church assembly. Perhaps Christians will realize that the assembly of the saints is important and means more than they thought. There's something profound and uplifting to be together in church singing hymns, learning from God's Word, and sharing one another's burdens in prayer as a unit of believers who knows that the world of nonbelievers is missing out. 

Just wanted to share my heart today.

  

Life During Shelter in Place

It is a scary time for many. It is an uncertain time for all of us. Who do I know that will contract the virus? Will I get it? How bad will it be? Will I recover if I do get it? Wondering what our country and the world will look like when the Covid-19 outbreak is over is on everyone's mind. Will the economy recover? Will our rights as citizens change? Will the government seize this time to implement government control of more areas of our lives? These are the type of questions many are allowing to run through their minds and be expressed on social media. It is fueled by fear and the uncertainty of the moment as the spread continues across the country and around the world. It is fueled also by false information and the constant barrage of media reports that never cease. The fear is also fueled by the unknown of the virus that seems to have changing information almost daily. 

Times like this bring out the best in some people but the worst in others. Some are volunteering to help bring supplies to those who are vulnerable and can't get out. Some are considered essential workers and braving going to work everyday never sure if they will be exposed to the possibly deadly virus or spread it to someone else if they are exposed. Some CEOs are shutting down their productions and deciding to make ventilators, medical masks and hand sanitizer. Still there are those who are hoarding essentials so that those who truly need them can't get them. Some of those hoarders are turning around and selling those products at an inflated price for selfish greed. There are people yelling and complaining that store shelves are empty and blaming store workers and managers. There are those not practicing social distancing putting people at risk. There are people purposely coughing on produce and items at the store or directly on people thinking it's funny. Yep, it's the best of times and the worst of times as far as how people are responding. 

For me, shelter in place orders brings more loneliness than I'd like. My husband is an essential worker. The past three months he has worked out of town and even out of state during the week, coming home on weekends. My kids are grown with families of their own in other states. I can't go visit church members right now. This leaves me with a bunch of time on my hands. Alone time. It has some perks, don't get me wrong. I have time to read and study my bible. I have time to read the two books I have started. However, my mind is racing at times trying to plan a mother/daughter banquet in May but struggle if I should even bother because who knows if we will be allowed to have gatherings by then? April begins tomorrow. It's a tough month for me. I practice being thankful and grateful every single day because if I don't I will get too down. I spend a lot of time in prayer. As I type this I am suddenly aware that while I am alone during the week, there are many who are alone all the time because of having lost a spouse. Under normal circumstances we can be out and about and carefree visiting stores or friends and other family members. But right now, with the potential spread of a virus that can possibly kill you, life gets lonely staying home. 

If you are struggling too, use your phone, social media, computer, etc to stay connected to people. This was just a release for me. A way to keep boredom at bay. 

The Impact of Firsts

The firsts in our lives have so much impact. Sometimes we don't even realize it until later just how much. Some firsts cause chills, thrills, excitement, fear, anxiety and overwhelming joy. You know the firsts I'm talking about. They include things like a first day of school, a first dance, a first date, a first kiss or the birth of your first child or the first time you hold any of your children. They can also include things like your first time driving or the first time you rode a roller coaster. As a child it may have been your first time riding a bike without training wheels or the first time you had a sleep over with a friend. It could be the first day you spent as a married person and the first meal you prepared for your husband. I remember being plenty nervous! Life is made up of firsts. When we recall these type of memories they bring back some of the same emotions and often a smile to our face. 

With every first comes a teachable moment and change. First experiences teach us about our likes or dislikes and what we want to be different and or how to go about making it different. With every first comes change to our lives. These changes can be good or bad but either way life will be different from now on. There may be a new normal due to the type of firsts that cause pain, sadness, and hurt. Some of these firsts include the first day after a death of someone we love, the first time someone makes fun of you, the first time you and your spouse have a fight, the first day of a cancer diagnosis, the first time your child stops calling you mommy and prefers mom or the first day a child goes off to school and you no longer have the main influence during the day. 

There is no doubt that life's firsts impact us beyond what we even imagine. These firsts get embedded in our brains and influence our emotions, actions and reactions. They have a profound influence on who we are and why we do the things we do or respond in the way we do to others. 

Memories of any of our firsts can bring smiles or tears even years later. They can stir up emotions of joy, fear and even anger. The fact that years after a first, the memory can still produce such emotions is proof that firsts impact our lives more than we realize at the time.

Just wanted to share some thoughts on this topic. I suppose that there's really not much life application to this post but I hope that as you read some of your firsts were triggered in your mind and stirred some emotions you had forgotten. Maybe the point is today go out and have a FIRST experience that can bring a joyful memory in the future! 

Giving Grace

Lately I have been thinking a lot about grace and how important it is to extend it to others. Let's talk about grace. What is it? How do we give grace?

The definition of grace is unmerited favor. Getting something that you do not deserve. That's grace. In Ephesians 2:8 we read "For by grace ye are saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" So God extends grace to all who will accept the gift not because we deserve it but because He loves us and wants to have a relationship with us. He also expects us to extend grace to others. Let's look at some ways we can give grace.

First, with our words. Be kind and gentle when we speak to people.
Proverbs 25:11 - A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Meaning a timely spoken word is both precious and beautiful. 
Proverbs 16:24 - Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. When people hear kind and encouraging words they feel good in the core of their being and good feelings brings better health.
Ephesians 4:29 - Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Make sure when we talk to people, we are helping and not destroying. 

Secondly, in our actions. Doing kind and helpful things for others is commanded by God. 
Galations 6:10 - As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. When an opportunity presents itself, we are to do good to others and especially to other Christians.
Romans 12:10 - Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 
Showing kindness and affection and honor to the other person.
Ephesians 4:32 - And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Kindness and forgiveness involves action on our part. The other person can't feel the grace we are extending by being kind and forgiving without us expressing and showing it. 

Thirdly, by forgiving. We have been forgiven by God when we accept his free gift of grace. Therefore, we are also commanded to forgive others when they seek forgiveness.
Luke 17:4 - And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. I like that we are not commanded to forgive someone who is not repentive or sorry. I do think for our own sakes that we should forgive whether they seek forgiveness or not so that we don't become bitter, but clearly that's not commanded.
Matthew 6:14 - For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:  God forgives when we forgive. I believe the above verse still applies in this situation. 
Colossians 3:13 - Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Forbearing means to put up with. In other words accepting flaws and all. 

All of the above mentioned are ways to give grace to others. We may not feel they deserve any of them but that's the point! Grace means getting what you don't deserve. We do not deserve the grace of God yet he offers it to us. It is out of love that His grace is extended to us. If we are  extended such grace then we should also give it. 

Lastly, by witnessing or telling others about Saving Grace. This is also commanded with promises! 
Mark 16:15 - And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. This is Jesus speaking. He told his first disciples to go and preach the gospel. He left us here on this earth to share the good news of his Salvation.
Proverbs 11:30 - The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life: and he that winneth souls is wise. I am pretty sure this is self-explanatory! 
Daniel 12:3 - And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. There's your promise. We will shine brightly like the stars when we turn others to Christ. 
2 Corinthians 5:18 - And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given unto us the ministry of reconciliation;  We have been reconciled to God by Jesus and are now expected to spread to others how to be reconciled to God. It's pretty simple. 

We all want grace given to us so let's make sure we are giving it out to others also. Cut people some slack. Be kind. Be helpful. Forgive. Most importantly tell them of what Jesus did. 

Bible Study Dos and Don'ts

This is not a post intending to get in anyone's business or tell them how to run their lives. It's just some thoughts intended to help. I've had people express to me that they read their bible daily but do not know how to study it. This post is to give some tips in that area. 

First, have a bible with a concordance and glossary in the back. Also, keep a dictionary close by. I also recommend having a bible app program on your phone or computer so that you can look up the meaning of a word in one of the original languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek). Sometimes this is helpful because the English meanings may be different from what Bible writers intended. Also, it is helpful at times to have bible maps to understand where places were. 

Always have a notebook to jot down things you want to remember or look up in the future. This may be good when you do not want to veer or get sidetracked from what you are currently studying but you know you would like to understand better. This way you will not forget to eventually go back and study that subject, too. 

Do not be afraid to underline or circle words and jot down meanings in the margins so you do not have to constantly look that word up when you read the passage. You will not always remember meanings when you come back to a passage in later months. I know that some people do not like to write in their bibles feeling it is sacrilege to do so. I once felt that way when I first was saved and got into going to church. My pastor told me that it wasn't and that I should personalize my bible. It's God's gift to me. My bible is full of underlines, highlighted verses, notes in the margins and sermon titles in the margins from preachers I have heard. The empty pages in the front and back are full of notes to reference when I need to go back and refresh my understanding. 

If you have opportunity or access to commentary books either in book form or via the internet, I recommend you use those also. Be sure it's from a reliable source and one you trust. There are many different doctrines out there and a commentary should line up with yours. Be advised that not every commentary will get every thought or doctrine correct, even the ones you trust. Do not be afraid to check more than one commentary. They are after all, only men who may be wise and intelligent, but are still fallible at times. 

One of the most important things is to understand who is being spoken to, what is being spoken about and how it applies to us when we study. Believe it or not, some things are spoken directly to and are for specific people in the bible and does not always apply directly to us today. While all scripture is given for an example it doesn't necessarily apply dogmatically to every Christian today. 

This girl here is a KJV only girl. Not because I believe all the thee and thou, and eth words are necessary but because I believe it was translated from the correct texts or manuscripts. I believe the bible writers were inspired by God but I do NOT believe the interpreters of the KJV were inspired. I think they were intelligent, scholarly men who were godly men seeking right and praying about it. With that being said, I think we should be very careful about getting caught up in how the order of the books were placed in our bible. They are not in chronological order. Therefore, we must not see "transitions" from one place to another simply by what order the books show up in the bible. For instance, the writings of Paul are placed in the bible according to their length and not according to WHEN he wrote them. Do not make the mistake of thinking Paul said one thing to the Corinthians and then later he moved to say something else to the Galatians and therefore there was a transition in Paul's thinking and sayings. This cannot be so since the book of Galatians was written before the books to the Corinthians. The only way to allow this skewed thinking is if you have decided that the KJV interpreters were inspired and therefore they placed the books in that order to show a progression and transition in Paul's thinking. Do you understand what I am driving at? We can allow our bible study and understanding to be skewed by focusing on what we believe was intended simply because of where a particular book of the bible was placed. This is just one example of getting off in our thinking simply due to where a book is placed in our bibles. 

Do not be afraid to ask someone such as your pastor, pastor's wife, Sunday school teacher, etc. when you have a question. That is really their main jobs! They are to train and instruct you in your knowledge of the bible to help you in your walk with the Lord. 

Above all, do not let the fact that you do not understand a verse or passage in the bible detour you from studying it. There will be those verses and passages. It's ok to set that area aside and decide that you'll understand someday and then move onto another passage. There may be some things that you do not understand this side of heaven but giving up and not trying is not the answer. If you give up, you will not learn and grow at all. If you decided in the first grade that reading was too hard and gave up and refused to try anymore, you'd never have learned to read and understand. It's as simple as that! I firmly believe study is much more important than reading through the bible in a year. I know many people who have read through their bibles year after year but still do not understand most passages because they refuse to study and try to understand. 

I hope these dos and don'ts will help somebody out there. 

What Happened to Etiquette?

As I watch the world around me, I can't help but wonder what happened to plain old etiquette? There are so many things lacking and that haven't been passed on from the previous generations. I'm not talking just about manners. I'm talking about a whole slew of things. From taking turns, how to dress, to  hospitality. What happened? Each generation has let more slip away by not passing right things on to the young.

Now let me say right off that I am not always perfect at the things I will mention but I am going to work on doing better. I struggle to always do what I know I should. Some of it I wasn't taught myself when I was young so I have had to learn as an adult from other wise people.

The above statement is very true. Even if you don't practice some things at home, you should know how to behave in public and important situations. 

Our church has had a funeral every month for the past six months. What I am about to say hasn't just been noticed the past six months. I noticed a few years ago. People no longer dress for a funeral in the manner I was taught growing up. I have more experience going to funerals than the average Joe because I have gone to them on a regular basis since I was 4. I am 53 now. Also add in ministry life and there has been many funerals due to that. I was taught that you dress up for funerals in conservative dark clothing such as black, brown, gray or navy. Possibly hunter green was acceptable. It's a time of mourning. I was also told not to wear makeup or fancy jewelry. It's a time to be humble, to show grief and remember that it is about showing respect to the dead. Now days, people show up in shorts and flip flops or jeans and a t-shirt or even look like they are going out clubbing. Now I get times have changed and that instead of funerals we call it celebrations of life. However, they still look like funerals and there is a lot of crying and heavy grieving happening so why dress in everyday clothes like it doesn't matter?
Why not dress to show respect and honor for the dearly departed and for the grieving family and friends?

Now when you look up etiquette online, there are all sorts of rules and protocol to adhere to for many different areas of life. They stem from table manners, to office/work conduct, to social media.

Since I already opened up dress let's continue there. Pajamas are not for public use such as Walmart! They are for home, for sleeping or lounging around the house and undergarments are not meant to be used as layering or accessories in an outfit! There used to be a certain style dress called professional/business dress in an office type setting or an interview setting. Now it seems that is completely out the window. I have seen people show up for interviews in jogging pants or ratty jeans (and that was women!). The news anchors all dress in tight dresses as though they were going out for the evening on a date rather than in professional looking business style clothing. They used to wear skirts, blouses and jackets. You were able to focus on what they were saying instead of how much cleavage was showing or how many curves exposed. We once went to a school event where the principal got up and gave a speech. This was a lady addressing the students and parents and she was dressed in red leather pants and a skin tight red top with a plunging neckline. She also had on a piece of jewelry that brought your eyes right to her cleavage. I suppose that she was being hip and figured that people would be more easily reached if she was on their level. Call me crazy but a place of authority should be more concerned with displaying professionalism that would demand respect for their position so that all concerned would feel secure in their leadership. I personally wouldn't want to see the president of the USA give their state of the union address in a pair of shorts and Hawaiian shirt. 

There used to be a time when children were taught to SIT and eat, at home and in restaurants. Now, kids are all over the place in their seats (or not!) as they eat. They are on their knees wiggling and turning around and getting off the chair, etc. This goes on in restaurants, too. I see them climbing on the back of booths or getting under the tables or flat out running around. They are also not taught to use inside voices. Teach your child to sit and eat. They will make less messes if taught to be still for the duration of the meal. They will be more prone to eat rather than be distracted. 

Moving on to handwritten thank you or encouraging notes. This is one I struggle to keep up with. My sister always sends handwritten notes of thanks and has taught her children to do so (whether they want to or not!). Handwritten notes are special. They can be kept by the receiver as a keepsake that they can go back to again and again. I still have notes from years ago that I will look at once in awhile. 

Next, hospitality. What happened to inviting people over for dinner or lunch or just a cup of coffee or tea? Our lives have gotten so busy that we do not take time to get to know people on a personal level. I confess that this is one I struggle with often. Ministry keeps me jumping and zaps my energy and quite frankly I am pouring so much of myself into things about church that I just want to come home and veg out and have peace and quiet. That is selfish I know and I want to be more hospitable so I am going to work on that. 

I have been wanting to post about this for some time and I realize that this was more a rant than anything but I do still wonder what happened to etiquette.