fbpx

Month: November 2013

TODAY THE WORDS ARE WHO ROBBED US OF THE JOY

TODAY THE WORDS are WHO ROBBED US OF THE JOY?  After watching the fights and the mob mentality of Black Friday, I want to address a theft of the meaning of the upcoming holidays. I will always refer to the wonderful holiday as Christmas but that is not the topic I am referring to in this message. Heaven help us, but I feel most of us have lost what is important and have been robbed of the joy this special season used to have. I am going to go back to a story, and a lot of you who are in their 60’s and older are going to relate to their parents and even some of them hearing this story. We heard our Mother tell of the excitement and anticipation of the fruit roll for their Christmas present. This was in the depression days and fresh fruit was something of a luxury and the child who was next would sit at the end of the room or in the hall and wait for their piece of fruit to come rolling down the floor. They would let out a squeal of excitement as each piece was rolled and each child received his or her reward and we are now fighting over flat screen tvs and computers and willing to go to blows to our fellow man or woman…….Shame on those who do this! No wonder we are in the chaos we are experiencing in this country. Families are being torn apart trying to give what they don’t have and arguments on who gets what; who gets more; who is right and who is wrong and so on and so on. What has gone wrong in this country? Is it we have forgotten the Holy Birthday is the reason for the season? When did a toy, a gift, the whoopla, the parties, the materialistic commercial  tackiness which only serves as a greedy maneuver to outshine the next person? I want to remind all of us the reason for Christmas gifts was for the reminder of the Wiseman’s gifts brought to honor Christ’s birth. They brought precious gifts but I believe no matter what the gifts had been; it was the thought of the respect and love they showed to honor Him. This message may not be popular but needs to be relayed; I wish Grinch would come back and steal the commercial Christmas so that we can look for the star of David; the preciousness of a piece of fruit and relish in its delicious taste; to read the birth’s event and memorize the Christmas story; bow our heads and give thanks for His birth and teach our children of the wonder of the season and not what we have to outdo our neighbor but give to those in need. Now for the deeper thought……Will we give as much attention to the real meaning of Christmas with our little ones and our older ones as we give to “camping out like fools” to get a bargain. The truest bargain we will ever receive in this life is the love as quoted in the bible verse listed below. No present will ever compare, so the biggest gift is not at Walmart, Target, K Mart, or any of those stores, but it was given by God sending His Only Son to save us!
DAILY FEATURED BIBLE VERSE:

John 3:16 – King James Bible “Authorized Version”, Cambridge Edition

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

(c) copyright 2013 Arline Lott Miller. The material here copyrighted, use only by permission.

 

TODAY THE WORDS ARE REALIZATION

 
 
TODAY THE WORDS are REALIZATION. I have a story which was passed down from my Mother about her Mother. I may not have it exactly as it occurred, or the year it happened, but you will find it amusing and then I will reflect on the topic. As the story goes, this occurred the first time my Grandmother was taken to a “picture show” or movies as we know them. In the time frame, this was a western with a lot of shooting and dying from the good cowboys and the bad cowboys (remember they were usually identified by one wearing light colors and the bad ones wearing black or dark colors. In those movies, a lot of bullets flew but they must have been pretty rotten shooters as there were more bullets fired than dead folks. Well, at one point the hero cowboy was walking and apparently the “bad” cowboy was hiding behind a cactus or a tree (okay, so I don’t have all of the facts) and the good cowboy was getting nearer. About that time, with everyone holding their breath, my grandmother jumps up and yells, “Watch Out, he is going to shoot you!” Mom didn’t tell me if the theatre broke out in laughter or not. My grandmother thought this was real action and didn’t understand acting. I don’t tell this story to make light of my grandmother as I have thought many times how we look at something and don’t understand the meaning or miss the realization of the matter at hand. Let’s put on our thinking caps and we will remember how we reacted to the first 3D movie; the special effects of The Exorcist, The Flying Nun, Bewitched, and it brings it home. We sometimes want to believe or even disbelieve for personal reasons. Now for the deeper thought….why is it so hard to believe what our eyes see? We see it; it is real or unreal; reality or imagination; faith or disbelief? When we are asked to believe in God and we are deceived by physical items, how are we to trust the unseen? Here are my thoughts and I welcome others…..Even though I know there are fake things and imitations of any physical items; my heart is given a silent sight to see and feel beyond the visual realm of life. If a Supreme being were not in existence, we would truly be alone except for others like ourselves; if a Supreme being does exist; when we are hurting and peace comes over us in the most difficult times; I know where it comes from. I don’t get into debates with unbelievers; why would I? There is nothing to discuss with a non believer; allow them to see your faith is beyond reproach. A simple “I believe!” is enough realization you will ever need. God is the One to whom you are talking . Live life; love life; and live life to the fullest by trusting in the knowledge of what is truly real and what will serve you for time and all eternity.

DAILY FEATURED BIBLE VERSE:
King James Bible  2 Corinthians 4:18
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

(c) copyright 2013 Arline Lott Miller. The material here copyrighted, use only by permission.

IN ALL THINGS GIVE THANKS

 
On this Thanksgiving morning may we give thanks for all of the big blessings and may we remember to give thanks for all of the little blessings also. It is easy to give thanks for the miracles of healing; it is important to give thanks for the safe return home from a trip to see a sick family member or friend. We need to be thankful for the blessing of changing the oil in our vehicles rather than to have to walk everywhere we go. We want to give thanks for paying taxes because we have a job instead of being jobless and sometimes homeless. We want to give thanks for having to choose where we want to eat instead of those foraging in trash cans for a morsel to eat. We want to see the blessing in paying the utility bill; it says we are warm and comfortable, cool and dry when others are outside trying their best to keep from freezing or having a heat stroke or sick from being wet from the rain. We want to give thanks for the decision when we go to our closets to pick out the outfit for the day while others are layering rags to keep warm. We need to remind ourselves when we are choosing our home décor and are picking out colors when others only have an alley or a cardboard box for their homes. When we look at life, let us give thanks for all of the many blessings we receive and give to others who are giving thanks for being alive.
 
Live life; love life; and live life to the fullest by loving all; giving all which is possible to give; and receiving with thankfulness.
 
DAILY FEATURED BIBLE VERSE:


King James Bible
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.


(c) copyright 2013 Arline Lott Miller. The material here copyrighted, use only by permission.

 

TODAY THE WORD IS SISTERS


TODAY THE WORD is SISTERS.  It is a wonderful day to have “Sisters” as the topic as my Sister is celebrating her ….. birthday! The first thing about sisters is we don’t tell the age of our siblings, but with my sister I find that somewhat amusing since she has never looked her age so I would be bragging if I were her. If she told her age, the first thing out of anyone’s mouth would be, You are kidding since they would never guess it. She has been in my life from the beginning and is one of my first memories. I remember her having black hair with brown eyes so dark they are almost black. She looked like a doll with small features and pretty. Now, for all of you who are regular readers of the blog know I am going to reminisce about funny episodes in our lives, so I hope she doesn’t get mad. She used to get mad at me and my brothers but it is now understandable since I grew up. Mom would always leave her in charge of the rest of us, me and my two brothers, Carlton and Joe. Juanelle was our care taker and that in itself was humorous because there is only 4 1/2 years difference between us and with her being the “oldest” she was not prepared for her leader role. She, however, gave it her best. About an hour before Mom would come home from work, Juanelle would apparently put on her commander’s hat and chase us around the house trying to get us to clean up. It was funny to all of us; it was not funny to her. That is a good reason why none of us was overweight as we ran it off. I have to move ahead to her dating days. First, I was a tomboy; I laughed about her standing in front of the mirror; she didn’t wear a lot of makeup but she spent an eternity on her long, beautiful hair. I would have been playing baseball, touch football or running and she would tell me to stay in our room until her date who ended up her husband came and they would have to sit down together and talk to Mom for a few minutes(that was Mom’s rule for all of our dates). Juanelle would be so serious about me not coming out since I didn’t clean up from the outside romping. I would wait until I knew they were seated on our small couch, knowing they wouldn’t sit close in front of Mom and then here I would come….and sit down in between them. Don’t you know I realize miracles happen since my wonderful loving sister still loves me! The deeper thought is Sisters Love beyond the teasing, joking, differences, and it is deeper than any river! God gives us this kind of love for us to be able to hold hands and be there through the thick and thin. Thanks God for my Sister and may You protect her so I can tease her some more.
DAILY FEATURED BIBLE VERSE:
Proverbs 3:15                
She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
(c) copyright 2013 Arline Lott Miller. The material here copyrighted, use only by permission.
 

TODAY THE WORD IS RAINGUAGE

photo courtesy of The Chicago Tribune.com

TODAY THE WORD is RAINGUAGE. With it raining outside, this little device came to mind and how over the years it has played an important part in a lot of people’s life. In an article by Mary Bellis, she said, “One source has is that the son of King Sejong the Great, who reigned the Choson Dynasty from 1418 to 145, invented the first rain gauge. King Sejong sought ways to improve agricultural technology to provide his subjects with adequate food and clothing.
In improving agricultural technology, Sejong contributed to the sciences of astronomy and meteorology (weather). He invented a calendar for the Korean people and ordered the development of accurate clocks. Droughts plagued the kingdom and King Sejong directed every village to measure the amount of rainfall.

His son, the crown prince, later called King Munjong, invented a rain gauge while measuring rainfall at the palace. Munjong decided that instead of digging into the earth to check rain levels, it would be better to use a standardized container. King Sejong sent a rain gauge to every village, and they were used as an official tool to measure the farmer’s potential harvest. Sejong also used these measurements to determine what the farmer’s land taxes should be. The rain gauge was invented in the fourth month of 1441. The invention of the rain gauge in Korea came two hundred years before inventor Christopher Wren created a rain gauge (tipping bucket rain gauge circa 1662) in Europe”
My daughter’s grandfather on her daddy’s side was a beautiful humble man who was a quiet man who farmed and watched the skies and his crops. He measured each rain with his rain gauge and reported to all of us on how much rain we had received. He could look at the sky and by all appearances it looked clear to all of us novices, but PaPa Smith would say, “It’s gonna rain, children” and doubting Thomas’s as we were, we would think, oh yeah not a cloud in the sky. In about a couple of hours, here it would come; the skies darkened with the clouds rolling in; and it started pouring filling the rain gauge up and PaPa would smile. He wouldn’t chastise us for doubting; he just checked to see how much rain had fallen. He taught us to not jump so fast to conclusions and watch for the signs and monitor the results in a calm, collected way. He didn’t gloat over being right; as a matter of fact; he never mentioned it. PaPa was not educated by school with only a few years, but he was oh so wise. He could figure in his head and you could believe he had it right. His “book learning” was limited but scholars might have fallen short if they had tried to “out commonsense” him as he looked at things in a realistic but fair way; was not judgmental in the least; and had love and joy in his heart for everyone. Rain gauges were an essential tool to him but his best gauge in life was his trust in God. He not only had faith; he was humble about it; didn’t boast about anything; loved with his entire heart; gave to his children with willingness; and loved his neighbors and church family; but above all, He loved God more! Gauge your life with a God gauge; measure each drop of charity and love in that gauge; do more today than yesterday; and fill your life with the rain of God’s love. (TRIBUTE TO ISAAC BROWN SMITH, well loved by us all and especially his granddaughter, Missy)
DAILY FEATURED BIBLE VERSE:
Matthew 23:12                
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
(c) copyright 2013 Arline Lott Miller. The material here copyrighted, use only by permission.
 

TODAY THE WORDS ARE THE SAUCE OF LIFE


TODAY THE WORDS are THE SAUCE OF LIFE. As we head closer to Thanksgiving, a great holiday for gathering with family and friends, I started thinking about the sauces which go along with the usual fined dinner; the cranberry sauce, whether it is homemade or canned; the gravy for the turkey and dressing (or sometimes stuffing, whichever is preferable). All of us know who are eating healthy, the sauces can be hazardous to our health but they are consumed in large quantities and are quite desirable for the majority of diners who are indeed thankful for each morsel. Any of us who haven’t over indulged at this time of year are in mostly likely denial. Let’s take a closer look at the different sauces we taste during this meal. First, cranberry sauce has a different taste since it is the perfect mixture of sweetness and tartness. The canned version has a slightly odd texture but blends softly and is easily blended with the meat or dressing. Second, we usually have the giblet gravy to spoon over the meat or the dressing so it is possible to have both sauces to be shared with the main attraction. Some people make a gravy from the drippings of the turkey so it can be either two or three sauces or gravy to enhance the great food. All three have a different taste but magnifies the taste.
Now for the deeper thought of The Sauce of Life…..From the descriptions of these tremendous tasting sauces which are part of a festive occasion; let’s see how they may play into our lives. Life can be divided into several “sauces” and there are times when life is rolling along with some sweet episodes and some “tart” days and issues. We find ourselves accepting the tartness along with the sweetness and are mostly satisfied with our lives at this time with acceptable jobs and/or careers, a few children with our spouses, maybe a slight up and down financial status, maybe a move, maybe a short sickness but all seems pretty settled. Once the meat of life is served; life can become a little dry and maybe everything is a little less tasteful; we have enjoyed the same meals over a course of time but we may question if this is the right menu and unless we put on the “giblet gravy” we, as humans, may wonder if we still love this menu. It is important to make sure we coat the main course of our life with a hearty dipping of gravy to spice up our life without changing the whole meal. Then when we have coated the meat, the dressing, and moved on through the meal of life; we sit still and rub our bellies (or our hearts) and reminisce about the whole meal of life. We will remember the good times, the vegetables and the starches of life; we will relish the sweet desserts by seeing our children and grandchildren grow up and we smile at all of the courses of life and then we will wipe our souls off and welcome eternity.
DAILY FEATURED BIBLE VERSE:
Psalm 136:26                
Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.
(c) copyright 2013 Arline Lott Miller. The material here copyrighted, use only by permission.
 

TODAY THE WORDS ARE LIVING AND LEARNING

TODAY THE WORDS are LIVING AND LEARNING. I may have touched on this subject in the past but I found sometimes a topic is worthy of repetition or at least looking again in a different light or direction. A lot of people find themselves at an age when they might feel as if they have learned all they are planning on learning or they are stubborn and think they know it all (I guess this is where we get this phrase). If anyone had a right to be a real “know it all” it would have been Einstein. Einstein published more than 300 scientific papers along with over 150 non-scientific works.  His great intellectual achievements and originality have made the word “Einstein” synonymous with genius.(sourced from Wikipedia) The amazing facet of Einstein is he never stopped learning, researching, investigating, attempting to gain by trial and error, and was a scholar for life. If someone whose name depicts genius, how can we feel we cannot learn from each other. For instance, I am learning each day how to hopefully make the blog better, eat healthier, work smarter, and continue to learn how to be a better person spiritually. I have learned throughout life one of the most valuable gift we have are our two ears and one mouth. Listening to others and I mean younger people than most of us are as they have experienced new technology as part of their normal lives. Young people can learn from older people as life gives experience and usually wisdom gained from trial and error and history is on our side. Fortunately for me, I am a curiosity driven person and I will research and I will ask others for help and once given, I respect others’ opinions giving them the respect they deserve. I may not use their ideas; not because they are bad ideas; they may not be appropriate for my goals. The main factor is I do listen. I have learned so much from so many people; I have received a little tidbit here and a big amount of knowledge there. I hope I have done the same for others. Now for the deeper thought: A man or woman is granted a certain amount of intelligence and the higher the intelligence it may seem to result in higher success but this is a fallacy sometimes. People with higher intelligence can resist help from others and insist it is their way or the highway. I look at it this way: God is the most supreme power and is the most intelligent being and if we look to His word for guidance and learning experiences; we have the highest “technology” available to us. If we seek Him; He will find us.
DAILY FEATURED BIBLE VERSE:
Proverbs 11:14                     
Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.
(c) copyright 2013 Arline Lott Miller. The material here copyrighted, use only by permission.
 

TODAY THE WORDS ARE LAUNDRY LAUGHS


TODAY THE WORDS are LAUNDRY LAUGHS. This is one of those days when so many serious events and worries are high and a lot of our moods are serious. I like to go to a happier place to help relieve some of the tension. I don’t make light of those situations but it releases those pent up stress levels in order to keep the sanity. Today, since I usually do laundry on the weekend due to me working all week. This morning, it ran through my mind remembering some of the funny and some not so funny adventures in the laundry room and I thought some of you may have experienced a few of the same kind. All of us have scrambled to get the “found” money left by hurried loading of the laundry. I realize we have some readers who always take their time and look through all of the pockets….Smart thinking but there are also some of us who try to do so many things at one time; we miss items, right? The change is a good thing; dollars are better! Greg and I have had some laughs at the treasure and staking immediate claims on it with the other one claiming finder rights. How about during the laundry cycle, you suddenly remember where you had the important note with a phone number, a reference number, an address, etc. and you make a mad dash to the washer (faster than you normally run) only to find the ink smudged and the info lost.  The washer somehow gets blamed for this atrocity and I find that guilty verdict so funny. How many times have you had to lay out cards and even photos to dry after discovering them after the wash cycle? You know you have (few exceptions but those who haven’t committed this disaster will not get the humor). Then there is the time when your favorite dry clean only sweater or other piece of clothing somehow, mysteriously sneaks into the washer while you are not looking and miniaturizes itself. I laughed so hard after wanting to cry when a sweater shrunk to doll clothes size and it hit me if I could get myself in the washer, could I shrink myself. Don’t worry about me; that thought passed quickly! The deeper thought…..Life is going to be hard at times; life has it tragic moments; it has heartwarming moments and tear dropping moments and we have to take some breaks from the worry and concerns and find some humor in the most common parts of our lives. God will take care of the hard moments; God will let us take care of the laundry.
DAILY FEATURED BIBLE VERSE:
 Zechariah 3:3-4
 3 Joshua was wearing dirty clothes and was standing in front of the angel. 4 The angel said to those standing in front of him, “Take off those dirty clothes.” Then the angel said to Joshua, “Look, I have taken away your sin from you, and I am giving you beautiful, fine clothes.”


(c) copyright 2013 Arline Lott Miller. The material here copyrighted, use only by permission.

TODAY THE WORDS ARE I AM YOUNGER THAN I USED TO BE

This painting by Austrian artist Eduard Veith shows a scene at the mythical Fountain of Youth. Throughout history, people have sought magical ways to restore their youth.

Photograph by Fine Art Photographic Library/CORBIS

 
TODAY THE WORDS are “I AM YOUNGER THAN I USED TO BE”.
  Before you jump up to call for me some mental assistance since you are thinking, “Has she lost her mind?”, I want to explain how this is the topic for today. No, I am not the inventor of some wonder cream or some magic potion for anti aging. I have not found the fountain of youth proclaimed to be discovered by Ponce de Leon in Florida. An excerpt from National Geographic says,
 “But the tale of the search for a fountain of youth is so appealing that it survives anyway, says Ryan K. Smith, a professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
“People are more intrigued by the story of looking and not finding than they are by the idea that the fountain might be out there somewhere,” Smith says.
No original documents survive from Ponce de Leon’s Florida expedition. Spanish historians writing long after he died in 1521 may have created the story that he was seeking the fountain to make fun of him because he was an old man who wanted to restore his sexual vigor, Smith says.”
If you watch TV or look at ads, you will see the latest and greatest return to youth potions, creams, lotions, vitamins, etc. and in America alone, we spend billions of dollars. Arlene Weintraub, who spent four years researching Selling the Fountain of Youth, says the anti-ageing industry has grown from virtually nothing to a staggering $88bn in 10 years, with few products and procedures regulated in the same way as normal pharmaceuticals and medical cures. Much of it is based on replacing the body’s hormones as people grow older. But it also includes extensive use of products such as Botox, vitamin supplements and dietary fads. All have become hugely popular, but there is little proof that they work – or are 100% safe.
My summarization of all of the youth seeking crowd, is a memory of one of my great aunts who she and her husband were deaf impaired and could not speak except utter some words and she was childless. Her skin was like porcelain, her hair was snow white, and the biggest makeup she had on her face was a soft pink lipstick outlining the most beautiful smile topped by some incredible blue eyes. It was amazing she seemed to not have any wrinkles (but in reality she did) and the secret was when she smiled, her wrinkles just disappeared. God gave us smiles to soften our faces while pulling our skin up in the most flattering way. Smile and take years off our faces is an instant year reducer and guess what? It costs nothing but a heart dedicated to living a happy life.
DAILY FEATURED BIBLE VERSE:
John 4:14                     
But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

(c) copyright 2013 Arline Lott Miller. The material here copyrighted, use only by permission.

TODAY THE WORDS ARE RED HOTS

TODAY THE WORDS are RED HOTS. I would like to take you on a trip down memory lane for today and see how many memories this can conjure up. As a child, I remember the first taste I had from the red hot candy, aptly names Red Hot Candy. It certainly didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out its name as it was truly red and it was “hot”. By today’s standards, it might not even be considered that hot, but as a child who had not been exposed to a lot of spicy, tangy, or fiery hot peppery food; it was HOT. I thought my mouth had caught fire; I ran for water; I felt somehow deceived by my brothers who were laughing themselves to death. After the first few seconds of it cooling down; I wanted more! Where was that crazy thought coming from? I did want more; I did eat more and what was so funny was the more I ate, the less my mouth burned and I started tasting the sweetness present in the candy along with the cinnamon. I hadn’t tasted either in the first bite. I grew to love red hots and even moved to the red hot jaw breakers and I was swiftly moving into loving hot, spicy food. Of course, I went on to replay the first taste to other victims, alias my friends, and laughed like my brothers had laughed at me. The epidemic of red hots had officially broken out in our neighborhood and spread around the world. The candy not only took off, but led to many of the future candies with another surprise taste such as the Sweet Tart saga but I leave that one for another day. One of the side effects of the red hot addiction was possible red fingers and mouth but we ate on and on. What was the appeal of this hot candy? Even today, I have not figured this mystery, but if you gave me a box or a handful I would have gobble them down and smiled when I got the burn in my mouth. Now, for the deeper thought……As little as a piece of this candy is, the effect it can have is so dramatic, I think about how a small word can do the same to another. One little word can be “red hot” and can stir so much animosity or hate or hurt. I wrote a quote the other day which said, “Life is lived one word at a time; not one day at a time.” A handful of loving words such as I love you can allow you to taste the sugar and the spice and can create a great memory. The same amount of words said in a hateful rage, such as I hate you; You are stupid; You can’t do anything right can burn another’s soul in the same way the red hots can burn your mouth. If I can still remember the first red hot taste memory; words can last as long in the mind and heart. Choose your life candy carefully; savor the good taste; forgive the bitter taste of life. Make life sweet and tangy!
DAILY FEATURED BIBLE VERSE:
Ephesians 4:29                     
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

(c) copyright 2013 Arline Lott Miller. The material here copyrighted, use only by permission.

 



 

%d bloggers like this: