Month: June 2024

Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He is right there with you. He won’t let you down, He won’t leave you. Deuteronomy 31:6 The Message

A few years ago when I was obligated to begin the Medicare Wellness Check assessments, I was shocked by the seemingly insignificant things I was asked to do. The protocol asks one to do things like, get up out of a chair without assistance, draw a clock and put a given time on it, and remember three words. I had no problem getting out of a chair, and because I’m a former kindergarten teacher, I was able to draw what was, in my opinion, a perfect clock! The three words are given early on in the assessment, then the nurse sneaks around and asks that they be repeated after a lengthy time. I was relieved to get that one out of the way!

Recently, however, the protocol has changed for our age group. They no longer ask us to draw a clock, (which was my personal best),now, the questions are more pointed. Questions such as: Have you fallen lately? Are you afraid of falling? Do you sometimes feel like you are going to fall? These questions really hit home because I know so many people who have fallen and sustained injuries.

These occurrences sent me on a quest to improve my balance as I have deduced that this is the root of all the falling that’s going on! Balance is defined as an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady. Balance is a must in our day to day lives.

In order to obtain some tips, I began to watch the trainers who work at our gym. While biking, I watched a trainer with an elderly gentleman. She had him stand with his feet together, put his hands behind his back, and slowly lift one leg and put it in front of the other. This isn’t as easy as it might seem, and I worried that the man would fall, but then I noticed that the trainer was taking every step behind him to catch him if he should falter. It reminded me of a quote, “Faith is about taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.” He had faith in his trainer, and she was there for him!

If you’ve ever watched a toddler walk with their parents or another adult, you will notice that they love to toddle ahead of the adults. The thing is, they don’t go far before they stop and look back because they want to be assured of the presence of the parents behind them in case they should lose their balance and fall.

This is a perfect analogy of the way we are with God and our Christian walk. We sometimes like to run on ahead of His plan for our lives, and before we know it, we have lost our balance and faltered. Jesus is like the parent who walks behind us and beside us to offer us three things we need. First, He offers us assurance. He gives us the calm assurance that no matter what happens, we can trust Him to be there.

Next, He gives us comfort. Just like the toddler, when we lose our balance, fall, and are hurt, there’s nothing like the open arms of a parent to soothe and make it all better. Jesus is that parent for all of us.

Finally, He gives us protection. Just like Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednigo in the fiery furnace and Daniel in the lion’s den, God offers us protection from all the things in life that would threaten us or throw us off balance.

This week as we work on our balance, remember that God is there to offer us assurance, comfort, and protection. Mary G. Brainard put t well when she said, I would rather walk with God in the dark than by myself in the light.

In his heart, a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9

If there’s one thing most of us living in this world today know, it’s that this world and society in which we live does not devote itself to making us happy. Our world and society also could care less about the big or little things that irritate us and make life hard for us. Whether it be politics, the economy, social injustice, certain people, or just life, much of the time things don’t turn out like we had planned

It is only when we accept the fact that irritations and inconveniences are going to happen that we we get over them and begin to move forward. On our way home from Florida last week, a car was stopped on the side of the interstate. Usually we see irritated people walking around said car ranting and raving about the inconvenience. However, in this case, the woman driver had put on the flashers, taken out her chair, a book, probably a drink, and was patiently sitting there a distance away from the car reading while waiting for help to arrive. Probably not the day she had planned, but she chose to take the irritation in stride.

Our family was mostly born and raised somewhere around the southwest Georgia town of Donalsonville. The roots grow deep for most of our relatives, and there were many things about our hometown which they all loved. One of those things was being situated close enough to Florida to be able to enjoy different kinds of seafood. My Daddy loved a lot of seafood, but he especially loved oysters. He loved them so much that many times he would greet me and my date at the garage door around 11 pm and insist that we sit at the kitchen table and have some with him. The guys politely opted out on the whole experience. Oysters were bad enough, but later he changed to sardines to entice them in. It was one of those irritating times. It is interesting; however, that Randy was the only one who would share oysters with him!

We had a great oyster bar in our small town where on any day or evening, except Sunday, you could grab a bar stool and watch Mr. Woody shuck fresh oysters and serve them to his customers. If my Daddy wasn’t eating fresh oysters on the halfshell there, he would grab a pint of them and bring them home! Although I was routinely treated to his method of eating them which was, put them on a saltine cracker, dress them up with hot sauce, and eat the whole thing, I never could get one down. I did, however, learn a lot about them watching Mr. Woody at work.

Oysters are pretty interesting creatures. They live in the ocean in oyster beds, and they have been around for approximately 15 million years according to Google. They actually have gills, breathe like fish, and they can live aa long time, some up to 50-100 years. Their shells are beautiful, but the great thing about oysters is that they produce pearls. They don’t do that on purpose, but rather as a defense mecanism against any irritant, such as a parasite, which enters their shell. When a grain of sand gets into its shell and irritates it, the oyster wraps it in layers of beauty until a pearl is formed.

This all has a moral in that, isn’t it amazing what an oyster can do with a grain of sand? These creaturs take something irritating and turn it into something of great beauty and worth. Think of all the good we could do if we learned to take all those irritating things in life and turned them into something beautiful.

Instead of focusing on all the irritants in life and why life works as it does, why not focus on how to live our best life? What good is regret, resentment, and all the irritants in life if it keeps us from enjoying the time we have? What good is more time if we’re just wasting the life we have focusing on irritant? God is at work no matter what irritant the day brings! He’s working for our good and HIs glory. Just trust HIm!

The lyrics of Bill Gaither’s song Something Beautiful says it best. Something beautiful, something good. All my confusion, He understood. All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife, But He made something beautiful of my life.

Fathers, do not frustrate your children with no win scenarios. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master. Ephesians 6:4 The Message

Father’s Day is approaching, and even though it doesn’t come with the hype of Mother’s Day, it is none the less a day set aside to celebrate our Dads. A small boy once said, “Father’s Day is just like Mother’s Day only you don’t spend as much on the gift.”

Fathers are different than Moms, but they certainly are no less valuable to the family. Our family is fortunate to have three valuable Dads. Sometimes it seems that they just don’t get as much attention, and when they do, it’s not as heartfelt. The story is told of two children who came home one day begging their Mom to let them bring home the class hamster, Davie, for the summer break. As children do, they both agreed to do everything that was needed to take care of Davie, and after much begging, the Mom agreed with the stipulation that if they didn’t uphold their promise, she would find Davie a new home.

A couple of weeks passed with Mom constantly reminding them of their duties, but to no avail. So, Mom called around and found Davie a new home. She went to the den to inform the kids of her decision but to her surprise, they didn’t seem upset. The daughter said, “Is it because he eats too much?” They could maybe find a way to help him with that. Mom explained that it wasn’t the eating so much as it was the mess and the smell. And then there was all the extra work cleaning up.

The children nodded in agreement and Mom went to get Davie and his cage. As she walked through the den, the children began shouting, “What are you doing with Davie?” The Mom explained the above conversation and their agreement. The children looked at each other and said, “No, not Davie, we thought you said Daddy!!”

The image of Dads has certainly changed since the days of Ward Cleaver, Mike Brady, and Howard Cunningham. Dads are typically the ones who fix broken stuff, solve certain logical problems, and defend their family. In our day, Daddy was also the ultimate punishment machine.

Dads are also the conduit to their children and families. Webster defines conduit as a means of transmitting or distributing. In regard to people and relationships being a conduit person is one who positively connects people or places or distributes something of value to others.

Every child needs the conduit that a father briings to a family. Fathers bring many things to the family, but one of the most important is affirmation. The words, “I love you, I am proud of you, I believe in you, and I’ll always be here for you” are so important to a child, a teen, and even an adult.

The father also brings the conduit of time and availability. Children covet time with their Dads, and it is through this time that lessons are learned, and relationships strengthened. If Dads want to be a hero to their children, then they must work at being the father their children need. If Dads are not available, children will end up picking the wrong person as their hero. Dads must be there for their children.

Finally, a Dad is a conduit of love and spirituality. Every child needs a Father’s love and every Father should speak words of love to them. A Father’s love includes a hug, holding their child’s hand, and saying the words, “I love you”. Fathers are also responsible for teaching their chldren about Jesus and His love for them. Jesus knew the importance of this. Mark says, He took the children up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them.

As we honor our Fathers let’s remember the words of Mark Twain, When I was 14 years old, my Dad was so ignorant that I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I turned 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in only 7 years! Thanks to all our Fathers for being conduits of affirmation, time and availability, and love and spirituality.

Thank you, Father, for giving us Dads! Happy Father’s Day!

I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life so that you and your children may live. Deuteronomy 30:19

There are so many “old” movies which have situations and lines that make them memorable. I have always loved Peggy Sue Got Married, not only because it reminds me of the late 50’s and early 60’s, but because it tells a story of never taking things for granted, making good choices, and listening to advice. It is marked by regret and bittersweet appreciation.

Briefly, the movie is the story of Peggy Sue Bodell, a 43 year old woman who is catapulted back to her senior year in high school. It begins with Peggy Sue getting ready to attend the 25th reunion of her high school class. We learn that she is in the process of divorcing her unfaithful husband, Charlie. Once her high school sweetheart, Charlie has failed to fulfill his dream of being a pop singer, and has become a crass television salesman known as “Crazy Charlie the Appliance King.” At the reunion, Peggy reunites with her high school friends, but after she is announced high school reunion queen, she faints and wakes up to find herself back in 1960.

Peggy has a distinct advantage when she goes back because she has retained all the knowledge and experience from her life, but she is still treated like a 18 year old by her friends. As she explores the mistakes and the feelings of those years, she is now able to see people and things in a different light. Peggy doesn’t see any way to find an alternative ending to her life, so she resolves to find a way to go back to her 43 year old life. Before she goes, she wants to pay one last visit to her grandparents. In her conversation with her grandmother, she hears some things that cause her to rethink her life. Her grandmother says, Peggy, right now you are just browsing through time (life). Choose the things that you’ll be proud of; the things that will last.

Browsing is defined as surveying goods for sale in a leisurely and casual way. I always think of it when I am in a store and an associate asks “May I help you?” or “Are you looking for anything imparticular?” I usually answer, “No thank you, I’m just browsing.” We browse in order to help us make “good choices”.

As teachers, I can’t count all the times, we used the expression, “Make good choices” when dealing with our students and parents. When we make good choices, “we choose options that will have a postive impact or a lasting impact on ourself and others, and we don’t let people convince us to make choices that are harmful or unsafe.”

In this modern era, it seems that many of us are still browsing when it comes to finding our purpose in our lives, our families, our spiritual lives, and our choices. The things that we do now can affect the way things turn out in our future. One of the greatest abilities that separates humans from the rest of God’s creation is the ability to recognize alternatives, to weigh options and their possible consequences, and then to make an informed decision. We browse, but then we need to make a choice.

It is always a good idea to browse when making a big decision, but when the choices are found, we need to move forward. When browsing to make choices, we should ask overselves; How will this choice affect my family and those who are following in my footsteps? How will it affect my influence and respect with other people? How will this choice affect my self respect and my relationship with God?

For example, many Christians tend to browse around choosing a church to help us spiritually which is absolutely the first step. Then, we browse through the list of opportunites it offers for them. We browse through what is means to commit to that church, and we browse through the opportunties for service. We ponder and contemplate, but we don’t made a choice. Too much browsing leaves us empty.

From the beginning of creation people have had to make choices, and we haven’t always made the right ones. God would have us give up the browsing for short term gratification and make the choices to achieve long term fulfillment.

The movie has a hopeful ending in that Charlie realizes his mistake and Peggy Sue seems willing to make the choice to try again,but we never know if they continue to browse or if they make a choice. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words. It is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. The choices we make our ultimately our responsibility. Stop browsing and make some good choices.