Month: November 2015

TODAY THE WORDS are LOST IN THE WOODS. I have a story about a young man lost in the woods I want to share.

Jeremy was 15 years old and his greatest times was when he would wander into the woods not far from his house and explore. He had a rifle, but was not allowed to take it if an adult was not present for safety reasons. This didn’t stop Jeremy as he had his trusty knife with him and he felt fearless.

The creek flowed in the woods and provided many stops where the young boy could sit and make up stories of what happened when Indians walked these woods hunting and fishing in the creek’s deepest part. Jeremy knew the creek fed into a river which he had seen when his father and him had gone fishing there when he was younger. 

While Jeremy was sitting on a creek bed rock and thinking about the river and how it flowed and was a lot more interesting than the quiet creek; he was inclined to visit the river even though his father had said he should not go unless he was with him. Jeremy quickly excused his father’s words as he was only 13 when his father gave him that warning but he was 15 and a big boy now. Upon rising up to a full stand and grabbing his knife on his belt to make sure it was there; he started the walk following the creek toward the river. His chest bowed out as he walked with pounding footsteps to make more of a manly walk. He looked at the trees with birds flying in and out of the branches and their silhouette dancing in the broken rays of the sun. He felt powerful as if this were his woods and he was master of the universe.

Jeremy made it to the river without any delays and sat down and wished he had a fishing pole and bait. He became content watching the river churn and twist with it magical movements and he became sleepy and laid down on a big river rock and fell asleep. He slept for hours and when he woke, it was dark all around him and it didn’t even look the same. He knew he needed to get home and he got up quickly and walked in the direction he felt was the way he came. Nothing looked the same and he questioned if he was headed in the direction of home. He was walking by the creek but it seemed different and scary. He walked and walked and wondered why he had not seen the rock he had sat down on prior to his walk to the river. 

As hours went by and nothing seemed the same; nothing familiar and he heard noises he was not wanting to hear; he became frightened  as each minute went by. The clouds had darkened the sky and he could barely see where he was walking. He had not planned on being out in the woods at night so he had no flashlight to guide him. He was not walking with the pounding footsteps and he checked his knife only out of fear he might have to use it on some predator. His face felt moisture and he realized as a big boy, he wasn’t too big to cry and he started yelling for help. 

Help came in a little while since his parents had missed him and figured out he had gone into the woods. His father remembered their talks about the river and he headed that direction with a lantern. Jeremy was relieved to see his father and be reunited  with his mother at the wood’s edge. He was happy to be treated like a little boy in the comfort of his father’s strong arms and his mother’s hugs telling him it would be alright. He went to bed and said a prayer of thanks he was safe in his bed.

Now for the deeper thought….. Even as adults, we don’t think as adults and we sometimes don’t see dangers right in front of our eyes. We wander into unknown territories and we feel invincible. We feel it will not become scary or unfamiliar and we may not consider we can lose our way. As Jeremy only felt safe when his father found him, showed him the way back, and he found comfort in his family. Isn’t that the way we have felt, lost and in unfamiliar places? Our Heavenly Father has brought many lost souls home and in the comfort of His Love. If you feel lost, remember Jeremy’s story and know Your Heavenly Father is looking for you and will gladly find you and bring you home to a life of peace and contentment.

TODAY THE WORDS are ONE MINUTE MORE. While watching the news lately and seeing so many tragedies and loss of lives, a thought came to me and I thought I would share this thought on my blog. I have witnessed people saying if my loved one had lived a few minutes more, I could have said goodbye and told them I loved them one more time. Rescue workers have felt if they could have gotten there a minute earlier, they could have saved him or her. Pastors have felt if I had preached one minute longer, a soul might have come to the altar and been saved. I have heard people say, “Oh, I am so thankful because if I had been one minute earlier, I would have been the one in the wreck.”

Let’s take “ONE MINUTE MORE” and consider what can be done in a minute:

TODAY THE WORDS are WHEN THE BIRDS STOP SINGING. In these perilous times of murders, natural tragedies, and conflict on every corner; it seems necessary to stop and listen for the birds singing and chirping to escape from all of the frightening events. We are given warnings in life. One of the natural warnings is silence and if we cannot hear the birds singing, it means they have hidden themselves from dangers lurking. Please read the excerpt from this article about the Calm before the storm and then we will discuss how it applies to our current world environment.

Is there really a “calm before the storm”? by Jessika Toothman (excerpt from her article)

TODAY THE WORDS are WHY PRAY?  With the tragedy in Paris, I am praying along with millions other people who believe in prayer for all French people who have experienced their world being terrorized. I have thought about prayers and I located this post I made in 2013 and I thought I would share it as it seems appropriate at this time. Here is the post:

TODAY THE WORDS are DO THESE PANTS MAKE ME LOOK FAT?  My husband and I were laughing over a picture about a joke posted on Facebook and it hit me; this is a great way to cover a great subject for the blog. I have never been one to ask my husband, “Does this make me look fat?” Maybe it is because I already know the answer or I don’t need confirmation from others on a subject I know a lot about.

Let’s think about the question DO THESE PANTS MAKE ME LOOK FAT? I get amused as to why anyone would ask that question to another person knowing it is a lose-lose question without a good answer, right? If the person answers “No“; the one who asked will inadvertently say something like, “You are just saying that to make me feel better” or “You don’t want to tell me the truth“. How many times do you remember anyone saying after hearing either yes or no accepting it graciously? This brings up my point in this discussion blog……It is a trap!

In getting real, I am going to say this, “If your behind is fat; it is fat!” It is not the pants, skirt, dress, or anything else but your rear end. No piece of clothing is the cause of the result…you are fat. Maybe that is why I don’t ask such a silly question because I do know the answer. Of course some clothes do not make the situation worse but no clothes can totally make the fat disappear but simply covering the rear end. This being said, there are some clothes which do accentuate the body’s shape and if you have ever seen the people at Walmart, you know exactly what I mean.

So goes this fantasy world we want to live in. If you don’t have the body of a model and not many do; don’t dress in the clothes meant for skinny people. What we should be asking if we are curious if we look good or not is to ask, “Do these pants cover my behind?” or “Do I look decent in these pants?“

I have seen many women who are average or plus size who look more attractive because they choose clothes which are flattering to their body shape. Allow me to give you this example: If you walk into a bakery and see a well iced cake with its smooth lines and shape, it has more appeal than if you could see between the layers which might be as dry as the layers in the perfectly iced cake. You see the flaws and the dryness in the exposed layer cake but there may actually be no difference in the cake itself. IT IS ALL IN PRESENTATION. I learned this in marketing and in decorating, it is the visual acceptance which seals the deal.

Now for the deeper thought….. God sees us without any icing, good or bad. He sees our souls as we see our behinds, fat or not. He tells us the truth and yes, sometimes we don’t want to listen or accept the truth…the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So, maybe a better question might be, “Does my life make me look like a child of God?”

TODAY THE WORD is CHANGE. This morning as I woke up and realized the time had changed and we didn’t set our clock back; I had a thought for the blog which I thought I would share with you.

CHANGE….what it means in different ways to all of us at some time in our lives.

“she decided to change her name