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Above all these things, put on love which binds everything together in perfect unity.  Colossians. 3:14

A few months ago as I listened to a commencement address, the speaker talked about the importance of staying in touch with classmates as they all go their separate ways.  He called it circling back around.  Afterwards, I began to think how like classmates we are as members of a family. We are like branches on a tree in that we all grow in different directions, but we still have our roots which are the same.

When we circle back around, it gives us a chance to remember parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles who are not present physically anymore, but to whom we owe our heritage.

This past weekend, Randy and I had the pleasure of reuniting with his cousins and their families at a reunion held in his hometown of Madison, Florida.  The first cousins alone are 16 strong.  Once you add spouses, children, and children’s children to the mix, it’s quite a group.  As the cousins arrived, you notice that physical change is inevitable, but the personality and love stays the same.

We joined together not only to celebrate, but also to support our aunt who has been diagnosed with cancer.  It reminded me of wagon trains in the old west who circle around to protect those on the inside from threats on the outside.

I began to wonder, do we really appreciate family enough?  We tend to take for granted that we can always see each other if the mood strikes us, but that’s not always the case.  We sometimes put off calling just to talk and catch up,  thinking we can always do it.  We think we can say, “I love you” on the next visit, but what if we don’t have another visit?

Through the weekend, I noticed the underlying truth that although we might be separated by distance, by jobs, by families, we are all united by the bond of love.  I’m thankful for the opportunity to circle back around to get a dose of the love that unites and bonds us.

Trust the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not on thine own understanding.  In all they ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.  Proverbs 3: 5-6

I love to float in the water because it’s amazing to me how peaceful that sensation can be!  You feel totally at peace with only the beating of your own heart resounding in your ears, and your slow, steady breathing.   You are suspended almost by unseen arms.  Peace is all around you – that unmistakable presence of God.  You instinctively surrender to it and relax.

In order to float in this life, you have to make a decision – do I let go, relax, and let God,  or do I fight against that urge and try to swim through problems and do it on my own.  Floating involves complete surrender and trust in God.

I can think of so many times when I or someone I love, agonized over a decision, a situation, an uncertainty, a bad diagnosis, a disappointment, or just an everyday problem.  Sometimes it’s even the sight of seeing the suffering of others who, like us, are stumbling in dreams to which they thought they were entitled or plans unrealized.  It’s at these times, when I float on the love and prayers of those folks who love and care for me.  They come in and mirror the face of Jesus, and it’s like I feel them sitting beside me with my hand in theirs.

At this point in our lives, we find ourselves in the midst of friends, relatives, and countless others who are facing cancer, divorce, retirement, illness, depression, family issues, and many other problems.  When all of the earthly  scientific remedies have been sought, treatments exhausted, and answers not forthcoming, where do we go?  My answer would be, just float.  Give it to God and let him sustain you with those everlasting arms.  He’s got this – float!

We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.                               The Declaration of Independence

In high school, we were required to memorize and be able to quote, the first  paragraph and the famous lines above of The Declaration of Independence.  It’s a beautiful piece of writing, and it made us aware of the gratitude we owe to the patriots who wrote it.  It was a revolutionary document for a revolutionary time. Although Thomas Jefferson is credited with drafting the original copy, there was a committee of five who edited and approved the final copy.   Fifty six men from the original colonies signed it with fifty two of these being orthodox Christians. Three Georgians were among the signers;  Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton.

I read, not surprisingly, that the Bible supplied many of the points listed in the Declaration.  These men used their biblical background to write this Declaration and based on these truths, men fought and died for this country’s freedom.

The first truth is, The Lord our God is one  (Deuteronomy 6:4) which gives the general consensus of a Judaeo Christian nation.  It ties us together.

The second truth is that all men are important and of individual worth.  For this cause, we bow our knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.            Ephesians 3:14  

The third truth is that human life is sacred as evidenced in Psalm 139:13.  For you created my innermost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.  We all matter to God.

As we celebrate the 242nd anniversary of our Nation’s freedom, it is only right that we should pause and remember the inspiration upon which this nation is built.  Men and women who strongly believed in the words above sacrificed everything for the freedom we so willingly enjoy.  My prayer is that in the next 200 years, Americans will still be celebrating their freedom!

America will never be destroyed from the outside.  If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.  Abe Lincoln

God Bless America!

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  Romans 8:1

Riptide is defined as a strong current below the surface of a body of water which moves in a different direction than that of the surface current.  When one is caught in a riptide, the correct thing to do is not fight against it, just go with it staying parallel to shore until it releases you and you can swim in.  Good in theory, but oftentimes not what happens in a real life situation.  Human nature is to fight against it and struggle until you are worn out.

Our family just returned from a delightful beach trip to Florida.  It’s no secret that we all love the ocean, but I realized on this trip that each of us enjoys it differently.

I personally enjoy the calm, clear ocean water with the small rolling waves just right for a lazy float on a raft.  Randy enjoys a day with bigger waves to body surf into the shore.  The boys love those days when the ocean is rough enough to jump waves and they especially love it when they get knocked down.  No matter how many times, they were knocked down, they always got up to get back in the game.

Struggles in life can come when we least expect them just like a riptide.  They can carry us where we don’t want to go, pull us along where we don’t want to be, refuse to let us go, and wear us out.  The important thing is not how many times we get knocked down, how far we stray from what we know is right, how tired we are of fighting, but the fact that we don’t stay there.  We get back up and face those struggles. God never condemns us, but He expects us to get back up, dust ourselves off, and get back into the fight!

Calm seas are easy and don’t require much effort.  It’s the riptides that show how strong we are!

With the Lord, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.  2 Peter 3:8       Loosely translated, this verse says, God has perfect timing – never early – never late.  God is never in a hurry but He is always on time.                   

When we entertain friends at our house, the planning, set up, grocery shopping and cooking of sides is my job.  The grilling of the meat is Randy’s job.  Although there are things that we do well together. coordinating the grilling with the rest of the dinner is dicey at best.  Randy loves to laugh and talk with friends, which means he doesn’t always check the main part of the dinner.

Usually, the banter goes something like this…Randy, is the meat ready?  What – Meat?  Yes.  No, not yet.  Should I put the salad together?  No, not yet.  Please give me ten minutes before it’s ready.  OK.

Usually in less than ten minutes, the door will open, and Randy will announce that the meat is just right.  Great, but I needed ten minutes.  At that point, he will say, “Well, if we have to wait that long, it will be too late, and the meat will be overdone.” 

That’s just the way it is with us and God on so many occasions.  He asks, Will you trust me with this?, and oftentimes, we reply, No, not yet.  Later He asks, Will you trust me now?  We reply, No, not yet.  On it goes until you have done almost all the things you wanted or needed to do, worried needlessly, lost sleep, and are at your wits end, then you tell God that the time is just right.  Luckily, He never says it’s too late.  Rather, He takes us as we are and continues to love us.

Alexander Maclaren says, Christ sometimes delays His help to test our faith and energize our prayers.  Our boat may be tossed by the waves while He continues to sleep, but He never oversleeps.  He is never too late.

The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.   Proverbs 20:7

Father’s Day is coming, and I began to reflect on how much I miss my Dad and Randy’s Dad, but also how proud I am to be blessed with three great Dads in our immediate family.  Dads are sometimes not given the credit due them in the family circle, but their job is daunting and likened to Super Heroes these days.

They must be strong in both their careers and their family life.  Children of all ages depend on Dads to give them a feeling of worth in this life.  If Dad shows his pride and acceptance,  kids feel it.

Dads must be forgiving.  Words spoken in haste can often scar a child unless they know that Dad’s love is unconditional and forgiving.

Dads must be examples.  If a Dad has integrity, a respect for others, a love for country, and a love for God, lessons are taught by watching him in action.

Dads should be loving.  Love can take many forms such as hugs, discipline, words of encouragement, and the powerful spoken words, I love you.

Randy and I recently attended the 50th wedding anniversary celebration of two great friends.  We have watched their girls grow from childhood to adulthood, attain status in careers, and become exceptional women.  We also had the chance to meet and be charmed by their grandchildren.  I was so impressed by the children’s ability to stand when introduced, shake hands firmly, look adults in the eye, smile, and converse that I had to ask, “What life lessons are you teaching at home?”  The answer was simple, “These kids have learned so much from their dad and  granddad.  They see the healthy respect with which they treat their wives, their family,their friends, their business acquaintances, and their God.  They want to be just like them.”  That’s the best compliment a Dad could ever receive!

Happy Father’s Day to all you amazing Dads!

My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways.  Isaiah 55:8

There’s nothing like a change in travel plans to point out how much I hate to be diverted from my original plan.  I’ve never really thought much about the word diverted; however, last week as we were flying home from a vacation, that word took on new meaning.  The meaning of “divert” is to cause someone or something to change course.  This can obviously happen in life as well as on an airplane.

Our trip home was going fine.  We had a flawless morning, and I was already planning what I needed to do when I got home ahead of schedule.  As we neared the end of our flight, our pilot came on the PA system to announce that there were two storms approaching Atlanta, but he was planning to sneak in and land between the two storms.  That didn’t happen, and before I knew it, the pilot was announcing that we being diverted to Huntsville because we were “dangerously low on fuel”.  Plans diverted.

We were at the end of our journey, but others had connections, rides waiting, scheduled meetings, and other things.   I expected angry, frustrated, disgruntled passengers who were terribly upset at this diversion, but what I found was people who took it in stride and even took the opportunity to talk and socialize with newly made friends.  Most were grateful to the pilot and crew for taking precautions to ensure our safety.

There have been so many times in our lives when the carefully laid plans of ours were replaced by the more important plans of God.  I don’t know anyone who ever planned to deal with cancer, job loss, divorce, addiction,  disease, depression, or sudden death.  I do know that God has greater plans when things happen, and he diverts us for a reason that we may never know in this lifetime.  His ways are not ours, and we would be remiss if we didn’t accept the diversion because He knows the plans He has for us.

Our job is to look for blessings along this diverted path and trust God with the rest.

Our Father’s God to Thee, author of liberty,  to Thee we sing.  Long may our land be bright with freedom’s holy light; protect us by Thy might, great God our King.  

Several years ago, Randy and I had the honor to attend the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC as guests of Newt Gingrich.  We sat with Madeleine Albright, and Hugh O’Brien, met Billly Graham and other dignitaries, but the highlight was visiting the Vietnam War Memorial Wall.   We were in search of the names of friends who had given their lives for our country.  As we found each name, we used paper to  rub over the name and keep it.  We gave the paper to the families.  What a sobering experience.

I began to think about the flag of our country and the significance of the meticulous attention paid to it at a military funeral. I researched and learned a lot!  For example, I never knew that the 21 gun salute used at military funerals  is the sum of the numerals 1776!  Also, when a soldier folds the flag at a funeral for the widow or widower it has 13 folds.  My first thought was for the 13 original colonies, but that is far from correct.

The first fold is a symbol of life; the second fold is a symbol of the belief in eternal life.  The third fold is in honor and remembrance of veterans; the fourth fold represents the weaker nature, we, as citizens have as we turn to God in times of peace or war for His divine guidance.

The fifth fold is a tribute to our country; the sixth is for where people’s hearts lie as they pledge allegiance to our country.  The seventh fold is a tribute to Armed Forces while the eighth fold is a tribute to those who have died serving their country.

The ninth fold is a tribute to Mothers and motherhood, while the tenth fold is a tribute to Fathers.  The eleventh fold glorifies the Hebrew God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.

The twelveth fold represents the Christian God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The thirteenth and final fold shows the stars uppermost reminding us of our nation’s motto,  In God We Trust.

I never knew how symbolic each precise fold is to the family and should be to us as Americans.  I will never watch a military funeral again without being cognizant of the foundations upon which this country was built!

May God protect us always as one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you to all our veterans and service men here and abroad.

It is not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick.  Mark 2:17

This month Randy and I had the privilege of attending the graduation of our nephew, Scott, from the University of South Carolina at Greenville Medical School.  He received his doctorate in two tremendously impressive ceremonies.  Although, it was unsettling to hear the Gamecock  Train Whistle while in Columbia, we accepted it with a Bulldog Bark.

The speakers helped me remember the respect with which doctors should be treated, and the enormous job they face each day according to the Hippocratic Oath by which they live.  That oath covers just about everything, and many of its words are words that should apply to every profession.

The speakers were doctors themselves, but they chose to impart their words in a practical way rather than confuse the issue with terms the normal person could not understand.  I took away three C’s.

A professional should first be competent.   It’s not enough to walk away from a university with a degree, one must be able to show others that they know what they are doing in their chosen field.  All the degrees in the world don’t make one competent to do a job.

A professional should do their job with confidence.  Confidence comes with experience, but I know I wouldn’t want to go into surgery, a courtroom, a classroom, or follow a leader that didn’t have confidence in their ability to do the job.  Intimidation or second guessing yourself can’t be healthy for doing a task.

A professional should also exhibit compassion.  The speaker talked about how important it is for a doctor to call a patient by his or her name, look into their eyes when speaking, take time to listen, and hold that person’s hand when you deliver news.  These are the most important things to me – who wants to be treated as a number?  The same is true of a teacher, a lawyer, a coach, a minister, or any other professional.

As an illustration, the speaker used a cancer patient waiting for the diagnosis of her future from her doctor.  Before the doctor spoke, she said, “I want you to weigh the words you will use in the next five minutes carefully because they will change my life.”   This can be said of a student, a defendant, a player, a parishioner or others.

Jesus referred to himself as the “great physician” or doctor.  I’m thankful for all the doctors in my life, and for the many times they have made a difference with their competence, confidence and compassion.

Congratulations Scott and Ashley!

Above all else, guard your heart because everything else flows from it.            Proverbs 4:23

I’ve heard it said that if you want to see an example of God’s love, look to the human heart. The heart is the most unselfish organ in the human body.  On a regular day, your heart beats 100,000 times and pumps 2000 gallons of blood through your body.  Although it is only as big as your fist, it has the job of pushing blood to 60,000 miles of blood vessels that feed your organs and body.  It never takes anything from another part of the body to survive, but functions by itself by siphoning off enough blood to sustain itself as it pushes the blood through the arteries.

The heart is also courageous.  It will take abuse from lifestyles that are not acceptable, diseases that affect it, infections and, with care,  keep on beating until it wears out.

The heart is faithful as well.  If you care for it, it will serve you well all of your life.  It’s an organ that just does what it’s supposed to do and never asks questions or seeks reward.

What of those whose heart is attacked by infection, disease, or other maladies and struggles through no human fault?  There are doctors whose sole purpose is to save those lives through by pass, stints, or transplants.  This is where the unselfishness, courage and faithfulness of the heart and the unselfishness, courage and faithfulness of others enters in.

We know a family whose baby son’s heart was attacked with infection, and his only hope was a transplant. I don’t think there is anything dearer to God’s heart than a child. Through God’s grace, a family who had lost their small son, donated their child’s heart so that our friend’s son might live. Like the heart itself, an unselfish act.  It is amazing that the heart of one can stay alive long enough to bring new life to another.  One unselfish heart beating in the chest of another, God’s perfect design of the heart.

In this day and time, Christians are fighting for the hearts of men and women.  Hearts seem to be hardened toward Christianity and the saving grace that is offered if we only receive it.  There are selfish hearts out there who want only to care for themselves with no thought of helping others.  It’s a mystery to me why we all can’t just let God mend hearts of all kinds and put us on the path to complete healing.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  Ezekiel 36:26

The picture is of little Davis, the happy, healthy recipient of God’s blessing in the form of a new heart!