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“You don’t have to wear a patch on your arm to have honor.”  A Few Good Men

We had the opportunity to visit the new Suntrust Park early in the season and watch the Braves win their fifth in a row!  I’m keenly aware of all the inconvenience this stadium has caused in this area, but I have to say, that it is a beautiful place and very well done.

The lights underneath the decks are red, white, and blue, and the fireworks which are displayed at the beginning, end, and after home runs are patriotic as well.  People stood reverently and joined in singing the National Anthem, and I loved the feeling of celebrating America as well as a baseball team.

Although I could have ordered dinner from our table,  I chose to set out to find the BFB (Best Fan Burger) at one of the grills inside.  I highly recommend it as it comes with everything on it and curly fries for the bargain price of $18.00!!  As I was standing waiting for the BFB, I realized that the announcer had just introduced the group that was singing the National Anthem, and the pregame was beginning.

Everyone around me was talking, eating, laughing, but in the moment when the first words, “O say can you see..” were heard, people began to stop in their tracks and offer their respect to this country.  Men removed their caps and faced the screen, parents silenced their children and helped them place their hands over their hearts, the wait staff quit their duties and stood quietly and still, and people who where sitting at tables eating -swallowed and stood.  As I stood there, I couldn’t help feeling the sense of honor and pride that we as Americans enjoy.

I can only imagine the way a soldier must feel when their duty is done and they come home to the country for whose freedom they fought.  I pray that we always show them the love, respect, and gratitude they deserve.

“To those whose lives of courage prepared the way for me; whose works became my heritage, whose harvest I may reap; who left for me a legacy that I have yet to earn – to them in gratitude shall my heart be turned.” Sally DeFord

Tolerance is defined as “indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own.”  Tolerate, on the other hand, is defined as “allowing the existence or practice of (something that one does not like or agree with) without interference.  To endure.”

When we served the church in Newborn, Randy had made it his mission to bring in young people by forming a church men’s softball team.  He reasoned that this would provide fun for the men while helping him get acquainted.  On Saturday afternoons, we would gather to play other church teams around the area in a makeshift field.  These were strictly for fun!

On one particular occasion,  we faced a Baptist team which had been champions over the years.  They had a father and two sons who were the stars of the team, and they brought along the wife and mother who was one of the most obnoxious fans I have ever seen.  She yelled insults, curse words, instructions, and threats during the entire game.  The lady had a reputation, and no one ever crossed her.  Everyone tolerated her!

Randy was up to bat and the score was tied.  The woman stood up and began to hurl insults.  Suddenly, I saw Randy began to walk toward her, and time stood still.  He got right up to her and said, “M’am, we are supposed to be Christians here, but the best thing you can do right now is sit down and be quiet.”  The crowd went completely still. The woman sat down, but snarled, “My husband will see you later, Preacher!”  We won the game which made it even worse!

The rest of the day, I watched for that man.  It was like the scene in the western, High Noon.  Sure enough, about sundown, he drove up in his truck, got out, walked to our door, and knocked.  This was a huge man!  I hid behind the curtains with my child, and Randy walked to the door.  The two men walked outside and appeared deep in conversation. In a moment, the man slapped Randy on the back, and they both dissolved into laughter. It seems the husband had always wanted to tell his wife “to sit down and be quiet.”  He’d been too tolerant!  She would be tolerated no more he vowed!  It took one person to speak up to end the misery others tolerated!

I tolerate a lot of things like cellphones in grocery stores, (I have been guilty), traffic congestion, texting while driving, inconsiderate people, robo calls, cannonballs in the middle of my water class, and many other annoyances. I guess I’ve built up a tolerance to them.

We tolerate a lot of things as Christians these days.  Billy Graham said, “We have become tolerant of way too many things that sap us of our convictions, beliefs, and faith.  Tolerance is applied too often where it does not belong.”

“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine you have been taught.”  Romans 16:17

We might have to tolerate some things, but lately, I have begun to speak out.  I may be preaching to the choir, but at least I feel better!!

“My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw.  All I am, I owe to my mother.  I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual, and physical education I received from her.”  George Washington   I would have to add spiritual education to the list.

A friend whose daughter was expecting her first child confessed to her mom that she was worried about having this baby because she didn’t know if she would love him or her.  Her mom replied, “Honey, all you have to do is look at your baby, and the love will be instantaneous.”

That advice goes for any mother whether their child is biological, adopted, fostered, or any scientific miracle!  There just is an instant love!  In order to nourish that love, there is nothing better a mother can teach their child than love for God.  God honors mothers who honor Him.

In the first five years of my life, I was sick constantly with tonsillitis. I ran high fevers, had seizures, and was generally pretty miserable.  I can still remember lying in bed, burning up with fever, looking up and seeing my mama’s face.  Hers was the last face I saw before I drifted off to sleep, and the first face I would see when I woke up. I can remember her saying, “I wish I could trade places with you, sugar.”  She would have done that gladly for any of her girls.

As mothers, we all go through times when we wish we could  “trade places” and bear some of our children’s pain, disappointments, illnesses, bad decisions, and other issues.  Such is a mother’s love.  We would love to spare them all the pain life can bring, but we have to turn them over to one who has a greater love for them than we.

I can only imagine the sheer agony of Mary, the Mother of Jesus as she watched her son suffer on the cross.  She was the first face He saw when He was born, was with him during his short life, and was among those who gathered at the foot of the cross.  I know she would have willingly “traded places” with her son.

Mothers are God’s angels here on earth to show His love to their children.  “The love of a mother is the veil of a softer light between the heart and the heavenly Father.”  Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Randy said it best in 2003 when he wrote, “A mother’s love is often defined as ‘that love which most resembles the love of God’.  Her love is life giving and often the most sacrificial – just like His.  Many of us love God today because our Mother’s love best explained and exemplified His.”

Happy Mother’s Day!

Serendipity is defined as “the gift of being able to make delightful discoveries by pure accident.” Horace Warpole

God uses many methods to touch our lives, and I think He can do it serendipitously. Randy and I discovered this during our first months at our new churches in 1976. Our discoveries began the morning Randy left to take his things to the office at the church. We discovered that neither church had an office for the minister. They also had no assistant to type bulletins and answer the phone, no phone, no nursery, no choir or director, and no committees of any kind. These were not delightful discoveries!

While Randy was off making his discoveries, I was discovering things on my own.  I discovered an old mimeograph machine in the pantry, complete with paper, stencils and a supply of ink.  I remember wondering why that would be in the parsonage!?  I also discovered that there were no young families in the church, thus no need for a nursery.  Ah, serendipity!!

As we begin to compare notes, we ascertained, quite correctly, that the office of the church begins and ends in the parsonage. The church and parsonage phone number was one and the same. It makes you very conscious of how you come across when you answer the phone!  I was suddenly promoted to assistant to the minister, typist, and my favorite job – choir director!  We did discover that we had a pianist in both churches!

I quickly discovered that Randy needed a place in which to read, study, write sermons, counsel folks, and hold small meetings, so we cleaned out the front room of the parsonage.  I could type, use stencils and the mimeograph machine, so on every Saturday, I typed the bulletins and ran them off for both churches.  We folded them together on Saturday nights while enjoying the ever popular TV show, Hee Haw!

We discovered that most of the young families were attending another church while keeping their name on the roll of our churches.  That would not do, so Randy set about visiting each family and inviting them to come back and try their home church.  I manned the nursery that Sunday just in case they took him up on the invitation.  That day, we had four young couples with children who came and needed a nursery. They in turn invited friends. As word spread, we had more each Sunday until before I knew it, there were plenty to share the nursery job!  Who knew we had so many young families there?  Serendipity!

We discovered that many of the members could sing, they just had never been asked about forming a choir!  We started with five, and we might not have been good, but we were willing!  We grew to 12!  Serendipity!

Members began to feel pride in their church and enjoy our Sundays together.  It wasn’t long until we had rejuvenated the ever popular Methodist covered dish lunch!  What a wonderful thing to discover folks with which you can make a church family!  I love them to this day!! Thank God for serendipity!!

“A smile costs nothing, but creates much.  It enriches those who receive it without impoverishing those who give it. It happens in a flash, and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.  It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad and nature’s best antidote for trouble.  Yet, it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is no earthly good until it is given away.  Nobody needs a smile so much as those who have none left to give.”  Sign in a Department Store

I recently lunched with a friend of mine who just lost her sister to cancer. As she was telling me about her sister, she was smiling as she relived moments.  It seems that the one thing everybody agreed upon when thinking of her sister was her smile.  I love that she was known for that. Years ago I learned that if you give a smile, it takes a really hard hearted person not to return it.

There was a lady in our church in Newborn who gave her smiles away every day and brightened so many lives.  Betty owned and operated the only “store” in the tiny community.  She not only stocked the shelves with bread, milk, and canned goods, but she flipped burgers and grilled hot dogs every day for hunters, workers, and the people who lived there. Betty’s husband, Steve, worked for Governor George Busbee in Atlanta, and they could have lived anywhere.  She certainly didn’t need to work, but she loved the interaction with people, and she was always smiling and laughing.

At this point in our ministry, I was a stay at home/office mom, so I would strap Rob onto the back of my bike, and we would ride up to see “Miss” Betty at the store.  As an added bonus, we would watch the train come through town.  Betty, Steve, and their family adopted us, and we were always included in their Sunday lunches, Friday night fish fries, and generally anytime the family got together.  I don’t remember knowing a stronger, sweeter woman.

When Steve died of lung caner, she smiled through her tears as the community paid our respects to him.  When her only daughter died after a fight with cancer leaving a husband and two small children, she once again smiled through her ordeal.  I often thought about how people “smile through tears” and how we explain that phenomenon. I think sometimes we are so miserable with our situation such as loss, a disappointment, a death, that we cry.  Then, we think of a memory or something in our lives connected with that person or situation that is so positive that we smile thinking of it.  I like to think both of the people I mentioned smiled so much because Jesus made their life so positive and so full of love and thanksgiving.  They smiled through tears because they have hope, family and friends who love them, and a Savior who knows what it is like to suffer and emerge victorious!

I know a smile can change lives, it changes mine.  The picture is just to make you smile!!

“Let your smile change the world.  Don’t let the world change your smile.”  John Walker

“Home is where the heart is.”  Pliny the Elder

This past month, my sisters and I sold our Mama’s house in our hometown. She and my Daddy built it in 1947, lived in it all their married life, and added on for each of our wedding receptions! They raised us three girls there, entertained family there, celebrated holidays there, had wedding receptions there, met son in laws there, greeted new grandchildren there, had their 50th anniversary party there, and gathered there for funerals of loved ones.  It was a happy place because my Mama made it a home.  She filled it with things and people that she loved.  A part of my heart will always be there!

As we drove away, I was reminded of the many times we are all called upon to take a structure like a house and make it into a home for our family.  Randy and I were so fortunate to only move six times in our married life, but to someone who had never moved, it was six times too many.  Five of those times were to different parsonages in the North Georgia conference.

A parsonage is defined as “a house provided by the church for use by its pastor.”  There are different parsonages, and I must say that we had some of the worst and some of the best.  I had no idea that when you moved into a parsonage, you not only live in a home which is not yours, but also one over which you have no control.  In those days, a committee decided what you hung on the wall, what furniture you had, provided your mattress, and decorated for you whether you liked it or not!  The decor was usually a hodgepodge of whatever the members did not want in their own homes.   You took what was provided, and you made this house your home.

Our first parsonage was pre civil war – quaint on the outside but falling apart on the inside. Sherman spared this house on his march through Georgia, but I can’t for the life of me understand why! The house had huge rooms with high ceilings, and the kitchen and bathroom had been added to the back of the house for functionality with no thought of appearance! The house had space heaters, no AC (which was standard in parsonages), huge cracks around the windows, no washer, dryer, or dishwasher, a hole in the chimney (which was the only additional source of heat) big enough for a man to stand and walk through, and a sink that fell in on our first month there. I was struggling to make this house our home.  What is a preacher’s wife to do?

The morning the sink fell in with dishes in it, this preacher’s wife marched right past the preacher into the bedroom and began to pack!  I remember saying as Randy asked what was wrong, “The sink just fell in! I am going to my Mama’s, taking Rob, and when you move – call me!” When I looked around, Randy was helping me pack as he talked!   He said, “Well, it’s a shame you are going to miss the Parsonage Committee dinner party we are hosting next week.  I wanted them to see the house, so they are coming over.”  I stopped mortified and said, “But, we don’t even have a sink!”  “Yep,” Randy said, “let’s add that to the list.”

I stayed and we got to work.  We entertained the six women and two men committee members on a very eventful evening!  They were very sweet and horrified at the condition of the house.  It seems none of them had ever been invited over to the parsonage before. As God would have it, one of the men owned a construction company, one of the ladies had a connection at the Mart, and yet another sold carpet.  In the next month, we got new carpet, central heating (not air), furniture, washer and dryer, and a new sink!!  The dishwasher was pushing it! With their blessing, I added our touches to the house, we filled it with love, friends, and laughter, and suddenly one day it was our home!

A house is just a house, but making a home is the important thing.

(The picture is my Mama’s house, not our parsonage!!)

“He is not here, for He is risen as He said.”  Luke 24:5

In the beginning of our ministry, Randy began to order and distribute pocket crosses for the members of our congregation and so many others with whom he came in contact.  We got in the habit of carrying one all the time and placing them in the hands of people who were in need of assurance or just an act of love.

The vertical beam of the cross symbolizes God reaching down to us through Jesus with his love, mercy and grace.  The horizontal beam symbolizes God’s people as we reach out to others with that same love, mercy and grace.  I have never known anyone who didn’t appreciate the symbolism, and there are many who still have those crosses today.

In olden times, the cross simply meant death, but Jesus triumphed over the grave and rose to eternal life.  This year as I stand by the graves of my loved ones who have died, I remember that they are not there, but they have risen to live on high with Jesus.  The grave is empty!  He has risen and reigns on high!

“O death where is thy sting?  O grave where is thy victory?”       Corinthians 15:55

“I carry a cross in my pocket, a simple reminder to me;  of the fact that I am a Christian no matter where I may be.  When I put my hand in my pocket to bring out a coin or a key; the cross is there to remind me of the price He paid for me.  It reminds me too, to be thankful for my blessings day by day; and to strive to serve Him better in all that I do and say.  So, I carry a cross in my pocket reminding no one but me, that Jesus Christ is Lord of my life if only I’ll let Him be.”

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation because your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what people think you are.”  John Wooden

It’s always interesting how people perceive others.  Randy and I had an occasion in our early ministry where “reputation” preceded “character.” We were in Dalton when an across the street neighbor took an immediate dislike to our German Shepherd, Chief.  Jack never took the time to know us or talk about it, he just acted on his feelings. The day he called our house to tell us that he would shoot our dog if he was ever outside, was the day we called one of our best lawyer friends, Billy, and told him our story.  Now, Billy just happened to know Jack and made it his business to have lunch with him one day after our call.  As Billy guided the conversation toward neighbors, Jack told him that his neighbors had a big dog that he disliked. One thing led to another and Billy astutely asked the name of the neighbors.  When Jack said Randy Mickler, Billy feigned horror and said, “Oh, no, I’ve heard of him. His nickname is Mad Dog Mickler – you better be careful!  You don’t want to mess with him!”  Jack called us the next day to apologize.  He let someone taint his opinion because he didn’t know our character only the reputation of which he had heard.

On the surface, Christ had the reputation of a healer, miracle worker, exorcist, and teacher.  Only if you take the time to know His character would you see that he had so much more!  I read it put beautifully, Christ had tenderness without weakness, humility without uncertainty, power without insensitivity, integrity without rigidity, passion without prejudice, and boldness without harshness.  He insisted on truth but showed love, mercy and forgiveness. He exhibited confidence, He was convicted, and He was approachable.

When he rode into Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday, many of those who praised Him only knew him by reputation.  The ones who stayed by His side during the next week knew His character.

As we approach Palm Sunday, I want to know all about the character.

As a footnote to our story, Billy is now a judge, and Jack set fire to his own house to collect insurance.  Chief lived a long and happy life.  It’s all about character!

“If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of me.”  Dwight L. Moody

“Whether you believe in miracles or not, I can guarantee that you will experience one.  It may not be the one you’ve prayed for, but a miracle none the less.”  Ordinary Grace

Randy and I were blessed to have next door neighbors in Newborn that literally saved our lives in so many ways!  Miss Margaret and Mr. C.A. were an older (eek 70’s) couple who were so happy to have the new minister and his family live next to them!    They fed us from Mr. C.A.’s garden, babysat when we needed a grandmama, taught us to garden, brought us left overs, had coffee with us in the mornings, and kept us up on all the gossip and the connections in the community.

In the summer of 1977, there appeared one day a letter from the IRS which informed us that we owed the government $157.45 (I remember the amount to this day), due before the end of the year.  We made less than $9000 a year, so the amount owed might as well have been a million.

As God would have it, a former CPA, Stoney, lived across the street.  We crunched numbers every way possible, but because I had withdrawn my teacher retirement, we owed the $157.45.

Summer became fall and still no way to get the money.  One afternoon as we were sitting in our back yard worried and deciding which one of us would go to jail, our friend, Sammy, who lived behind us walked over.  As he walked, you could hear pecans crackling under his feet from the pecan trees which filled our back yard.  Those things had become such an annoyance to us, but suddenly that annoyance had the potential to be a blessing!

In that moment, we both looked up at those pecan trees, and it was as if God had sent us a miracle!  Mr. C.A. confirmed that we could get money for selling pecans!  Miss Margaret and Sammy volunteered to help, we got grocery sacks, and went to work!  We even had Rob out there with a bag.  I don’t remember how many bags we loaded into Mr. C.A.’s truck that day, but I know that when Randy came home, he was smiling and waving crisp $10 bills!  Sixteen ten dollar bills to be exact!  Just like manna from heaven we had all we needed!  We paid taxes and had a couple of dollars for a treat!

Miracles happen every day.  They don’t have to be large ones, they can just be ordinary ones.  I thank God for all kinds of miracles!!

“What is impossible with man is possible with God.”  Luke 18:27

“I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot…when you think about the consequences, you always think of a negative result.”  Michael Jordan

During this season of basketball and anticipation of the Final Four, my mind wanders back to years ago. Our family had the privilege of living across the street from a family in Calhoun, who were and still are our close friends.  The family had two boys, William and Palmer, who, when added to our children, were stair steps in age. Rob and these boys were all into sports, and they were forever playing whatever sport was in season. Ashley and her friends were always the cheerleaders.  I always loved watching and listening to them play basketball using the goal mounted on the garage at the parsonage in Calhoun.

Their favorite game was “last shot”.  In this game, someone would count down from ten thus putting pressure on the one with the ball to take the last shot before the buzzer sounded.  It was a life lesson – although to them it was just fun!

First, it taught them a cool head under pressure.  I watched each one of these boys in game situations, and although they didn’t score each time, they were always the one the coach wanted to have the ball in a clutch situation.  I hope we will all be deserving of that honor when we are called upon to defend our faith and beliefs.

Next, it gave them confidence.  They never let negative results impact them because they knew they had done their best.  As long as we know we have done our best in life, we can have the confidence to make a difference for others.

Lastly, it gave them a love of the game, a competitive spirit, and an understanding of winning and losing, which endures to this day. I see the same love in Drew.  When I see him play the game, I know his daddy has taught him “last shot”.  It is true that “in life you often get what you expect” (Michael Hyatt).  Those boys always expected to make that shot, and more often than not, they did!  In life, we need to love each day and expect only the best from our Lord and Savior.

As Shaq would say, “One lucky shot deserves another.”

Just as a footnote, I am picking UNC!