#TheBestGPS

This is not the age of paper maps. This is the age of the Global Positioning System. My car did not come with a GPS,  nor my phone, so I find myself rather limited and not confident in finding my way around in my new location. I went on-line to look for a GPS and read all the benefits and checked prices. There are devices that show streets and give the time it would take to get to your destination and even a voice to tell you how many feet there are ahead of your turn.

My son was telling me of an incident in his life shortly after becoming an Army helicopter pilot. He was given a mission to fly a part for repairs to New Mexico and he had never flown there before, so everything was new to him. He is always working to perfect his abilities and decided to use instrument control to land rather that by sight, even tho there was no bad weather and it wasn't dark out. The control tower at the air field gave him permission to do this and immediately took a personal interest in his flight. There had to be 15 seconds apart communications from a certain distance and as he flew closer, there had to be 5 seconds apart communications - "you're veering to the left 3 degrees", "move to the right", "now, you're on course", all to get him safely down.

It got me to thinking about the one GPS I did have - the God's Personal Service one and the benefits I have. I do not have to wear head phones or use a mike or buy a device to find my way through life. Today's GPS can direct you, but that's it. God's Personal Service offers so much more. The more frequently you turn to Him and confer with Him, the more you depend on Him, the stronger the bond you have with Him develops and the deeper the relationship with Him becomes. Thus, you develop an appreciation of His qualities and you are able to trust easier and life becomes less frantic. God wants to be seriously involved in your life. He tells us to come to Him over everything, to talk to Him about anything, to not worry or be anxious, to throw our concerns to Him. He wants us to land safely and even to enjoy our trip. As you read His Word, He instructs you, He corrects you, He trains you and as you talk to Him, He hears you heart and is always working to improve you, not just direct you. This part of the communication cycle is so very important because as you let Him speak to you through His word, it stays in your mind and He can prompt you, remind you of the things you need to progress and prosper.

This system is so much better than anything the world has to offer.

#LifeIsACinch

There is an old saying - "Inch by inch, life is a cinch, but, by the yard, it gets hard." I guess if you have a very big rock in your path, it is easier to bend over and push it forward an inch, than to try to pick it up and carry it three feet. you may want to move forward faster than inch by inch, but you may not have all it takes to go three feet carrying a 50 pound rock. You may, in fact, hurt yourself and set your pace back considerably by carrying the rock.

There have been a few large rocks in my book path. First, there were three errors that the editing had not caught and it took a bit of convincing to get them corrected and that took time to get to the printer, but six weeks later, all is good. This process started April 4th.

Second, I had sent a copy of my book to three people who I considered knowledgeable and with good standing and a review from them would give credibility to my book. One said he would read it and put it in his personal library, but no word about giving a review. Another said he might or might not read it. The third said, sure he would love to read it, but some six weeks later, no word. I 'took the bull by the horns' and e-mailed him day before yesterday reminding him and within minutes he got back to me and apologized and asked me some pertinent questions and, now, I do expect to hear from him. This process started March 4th.

Two days ago I took a soft cover and a hard cover copy of my book to the Gum Springs Library with my Author Letter to make an appointment with the librarian. It was 10:30 a.m. and she wasn't to be in till 1:00 p.m., so I left the books and went back today to see if I could see her. She was in meetings all day, but I found out she will be at work tomorrow so, I e-mailed her asking for an appointment and she responded with a time tomorrow! This process started two days ago.

Today, I stopped by a printer and showed him what I wanted in a business card and he e-mailed me a copy which I signed off for and it may be ready tomorrow or Tuesday. This process started today!

Yesterday, at work, a gentleman stopped by to tell me that he and his wife loved my book. He didn't have any shopping to do, he just made the effort to come by and tell me that my boss had loaned him her copy and he wanted me to know his reaction to it. God keeps encouraging me when I wonder if I am able to move the big rock forward at all.

God said, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31 and from my point of view, now, that walking includes moving big rocks in my path. God said, "A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his path." Proverbs 16:9 and I have been involved in that process. God said, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans for good and not evil, to give you a future and a hope." and I have that hope and life is a cinch.

#HelpInTimeOfNeed

There are days when I really love my job and yesterday was one of them. When school lets out there usually is an increase of shoppers after 3:00. I'm at the cash register when a youngster, about 7 or 8 arrives there with his choices in hand and his grandmother not far behind. He places his purchases on the counter and looks up to me as I scan the bar codes. The total came to $7.40 and I asked him if he had $7.40 and he said, "I think so." and unzipped the pouch he had under his arm. His grandmother stepped back about six feet to watch. He dumped all his holdings on the counter and I leaned over as he started counting the change - four quarters and pushed them over - "That's one." and then four more and four more and then the dimes and then the nickles and finally down to the pennies. We added them up together and it came to $7.22. His grandmother was taking pictures of him learning the procedure of the purchase and noted that he was a bit short and so moved forward. I asked him what was 22 from 40 and after just a few seconds he said, "18" and I said correct while his grandmother reached into her change purse and brought a handful of change which she held out before him and let him count out 22 cents. With some pride he presented to me $7.40 and I hit the paid button and the printer went to work on the receipt which went into the bag with his selections and he, with a big smile on his face, took. Grandmother had a big smile on her face, also, as she thanked me for taking the time with her grandson.

This scenario was a perfect picture of God walking alongside of His children and watching and coming to their aid in time of need as we learn how to figure things out and He often gives without our even asking.

Two years earlier I was brand new at the cash register at this same counter, never having any experience at all. I was part-time and not at work days in a row to help get the system firm in my memory. My boss, the manager, was returning after his lunch one day and we were busy with many customers around. Just his standing front of me with a purchase in hand made me nervous and I moved much slower than an experienced cashier would have. Out of the six weeks of my employment I probably had nine or ten days at the cash register and this day a lead was standing behind me watching and training me when, with a very loud voice, my boss declared, "This is not working!" He angrily reiterated it a couple of times more as I finished up with his purchase. I was in shock. I was embarrassed. Customers all turned to see what the commotion was about. I was embarrassed for me, but I was also embarrassed for him because this was his store and his behavior was not consistent with the position he held.

I cannot take credit for my reactions for I was in shock, but, I did keep standing at that cash register for another four hours doing what I had been hired to do. I firmly believe that the Holy Spirit was very close to me and filling in the gaps of my need. I determined to finish my day and wait and pray about making an appointment with him to discuss the matter. My next work day was two days away and I did approach him and scheduled a time with him and the assistant manager. The first thing out of his mouth was an apology which I immediately accepted. This incident happened in June and I did not talk to anyone who worked there about it. This was not to be shared. In November this man was released from his job. I am still working.

"Submit yourself under the mighty hand of God and in due time He will exalt you, casting all your anxiety on Him, for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6

#TheRightToVote

Why did it take so long for society to accept the fact that women were people?  From the time that the government of the USA was formed in 1788 until 1870 only white men who owned property could vote. In 1870 all men were given the right to vote, but women were not considered to be 100% human beings and it wasn't until 1920 and the passing of the 19th Amendment that women were finally given the right to vote. That is not even 100 years ago. The very wise leaders of our government came to the conclusion that women were 100% human beings at least 6,000 years after the first man and woman were created.

So, I guess there is hope for people to finally catch up. Back in the 8th century B.C. Isaiah declared the earth to be round, but very few people took that statement seriously, because for hundreds of years after that statement was made people still considered the earth to be flat and Columbus was taking a death defying chance heading west. It was proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the earth was, in fact, round when he didn't fall off in 1492.

Will the great minds of our society ever look to God's Word for understanding, especially about serious things, like life? Leviticus 7:11 states that "life is in the blood" and it is very simple thing. Without blood there is no life and with blood there is and the heart pumps the blood through-out the whole body be it big or small or young or old or even six weeks after conception. Around six weeks a baby's heart starts pumping the blood that has already been manufactured some time before that, so if life is in the blood, life was there earlier. The proof that life exists is given by the beating of that tiny heart.

Thank God for the Governor of Iowa and the state legislatures of Iowa finally writing and signing a bill to prevent abortion after the beating of a heart. Leviticus was written in the 8th century B.C. and from all appearances, nobody of influence took it seriously until 2018.

Tuesday, November 6th is our day to Vote. Please, VOTE.

#ColorBlind

Yesterday, I received a  big bouquet of Tulips from one of my sons for Mother's Day. There were so many colors and variations of colors and they were beautiful. That is how it is with the human race - so many colors and shades of colors and all are beautiful.

The door bell rang at our home in Memphis one hot summer day when I was about eight or nine and I answered it. There was this black lady standing on on our porch with three or four little children gathered around her and out by the curb was a cart filled with vegetables. She asked me if my mother was at home and I replied, "Yes, mam, I'll get her for you."  I walked back into the kitchen where my mother was doing some cleaning and before I could get the words out of my mouth, my mother began to chide me. She had heard the conversation between me and the lady and was concerned that I had broken some rule of etiquette in the south in the 40's. I had said 'mam' to the black lady and that was considered a big no-no. I was never to do that again.

In my young eyes at the time, the lady standing on our front porch was my elder, no matter what her color was and I had been taught to respect my elders by saying mam and sir. She was a human being and her skin was a bit darker than mine, but if a rule is a rule, it should apply to every situation and my logic told me that she deserved to be treated with respect. I didn't dwell on what had just happened in my house very much at the time, but that day was a marked day in my memory.

Even growing up in the south in the 40's when buses had white lines painted on the floor of every one to mark the place where Negros were not allowed to go beyond and at public places there were always two sets of restrooms, distinctly marked, 'White' and 'Colored" and schools designated for each race and theaters and water fountains and on and on, somehow, I always saw people, human-beings with variations of color and each one deserving respect. We were all created in the image of God with our varying colors or even with freckles.

Romans 13:7 tells us to "give respect to whom respect is due and honor to whom honor is due" and that rule should apply in every situation is if is a rule.  May we always have the eyes of a child and see people as human-beings created in God's image.

#Walking

Today is an absolutely lovely day and I couldn't resist the urge to go for a walk. It is about three quarters of  mile from our house around the two blocks and down a long block and around the corner past the club house where the pond and pool and play ground are and down one last long block back to our house.  It takes me about 20 minutes to make the circle.

I was reminded of long walks my grandmother and I would take when I was a child.  She was born in 1865 was about 70 when her husband died and she came to live with my mother and father.  Her husband had been a farmer and she loved to garden.  I must have gotten my love of growing things from her, because I don't remember my mother growing anything.  Her sister lived a little distance away from our home and she would invite me to go visit my aunt with her and holding hands, we would walk.

She was a remarkable woman and I believe God is still answering the prayers she prayed for me.  She didn't talk too much and didn't have much education, but she taught me much.  Tho I was left handed, she taught me how to crochet and how to sew on the old treadle sewing machine and how to make chow-chow and how to de-feather a chicken.  I still have quilts she made by hand and she sewed many a dress for me and my sisters.  Everything she cooked was from scratch - four layer lemon iced cakes and boiled custard at Christmas and fried okra.

I remember the switching she gave me after catching me up in the tree in our back yard and I never tried that again.  I am ever grateful that she was in my life.

It is my hope that I would have the positive influence on my grandchildren's lives that she had on mine.

#CommuningWithNature

There was an island in the middle of my kitchen back in Wisconsin and I would be washing dishes and be able to look out the big garden window and see the perennial garden I had been working on.  There was a deck built from the kitchen wall, connected to the family room and extending about 14 feet and two wooden deck chairs sat at the end facing me. I am describing this because one day as I was at the sink, I looked out to see a hawk sitting on the back of one of the chairs looking in at me.  He sat there for quite a long while cocking his head in one direction or another.

This hawk had a history with me.  The year before a couple of hawks had spied my little pond in the perennial garden through the leafless trees in the early spring and had decided to make their home in the large maple tree growing near the corner of our house.  On one very hot day in July a very young hawk had either fallen out of its nest or been pushed out by one of its parents and was unable to take off from the ground.  I was concerned because there were a number of stray cats in the neighborhood and I thought he would be safer on the fence where his mom could see him.  So, I gently took him and placed him on the top of the wire fence and left, hoping his mom would come and retrieve him, soon.  In a few minutes he had lost his balance and was hanging on up-side-down, for his dear life, by his little claws.  I retrieved him and placed him on the ground under the lilac bush for shade.  I kept watch, but, when night came he was still there.  The next morning he was gone.  Some days later I saw him and his mom and dad flying to and from their home and occasionally they would sit on a branch and talk to me.  Yes, we did communicate and it was so much fun, me trying to chirp and the three squawking back.

When fall came they went south and I wondered if they would remember and return to the maple tree again.  Well, a family of hawks did make their home in a neighbor's tree the next spring and that is the spring I was referring to when a hawk came to visit me on my deck.  I just bet he was the youngster I had befriended the year before and was checking in on me.  We had bonded and he remembered and he would come and visit me occasionally and squawk at me from a branch and I would chirp back. I had made a friend, but next spring there were no hawks in the neighborhood. I guess a hawk's memory can go just so far.

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#TestingorProofing

The house is filled with the smell and everyone knows that mama is baking bread.  When you start from scratch without frozen dough or a bread making machine, there are several steps and one of the most important step is called 'proofing'.  You wait till the dough has risen and then you attack it.  Yes, attack is the right term. You make a fist and you give the dough a good, solid punch and the dough falls and some novice might wonder why on earth would you do that to nicely rising dough.  By pushing down, you force it to rebound. If it is any good it will and be better than before for more bubbles will form and make the bread lighter and fluffier.

God has asked us to proof Him.  In Malachi 3:10 God tells us to test Him by giving of our resources.  He asks that we push hard against Him and prove Him true to His promise to pour out a blessing till it overflows. He will bounce back after we do the unthinkable of giving money to His cause, the church.  He wants us to test Him and He regularly tests us.

He will punch you hard and you will fall.  He knows all about you and already knows how you will react, but you need to know yourself.  You need to know what is in your heart.  You need to know how healthy your faith is and it is this hurt that will help you to see if your faith will bounce back.  Job said, "tho He slay me, yet will I trust Him".  Job was pushed to the limit and was still able to declare his faith in His God.  He was trusting God's character even when all logic went against His goodness.  God honored his trust and poured out overflowing blessings on him.

He wants to pout out overflowing blessings on you.

#Female/#Woman/#Lady

How would you describe yourself?  If your gender is female, then you can claim to be a woman, just naturally. There is a distinguishing difference between being a woman and being a lady.  In our culture today women are portrayed as powerful, movers and shakers and little girls are encouraged to become a woman.

There was a small discussion on Facebook some minutes ago regarding how men treated women. I posed the thought that perhaps the word 'women' should be changed to 'lady' and perhaps men would act more gentlemanly.  The word 'lady' describes a female that has had good breeding.  She has been taught how to behave well.  She has learned how to be gracious and kind and well mannered.  She has dignity.  We females do want to be treated with respect and gentleness from men.  We are special. We do not have to come from wealth to have good breeding and if we were not blessed with that kind of education in our background, that doesn't have to hold us back from acquiring it now.

If you see yourself as a lady, you will act the part and dress the part and speak the part and others will treat you differently because you are different.  If you expect to be treated as a lady and aren't, just give it time and keep expecting it and be patient because that is the way ladies act.  We set the pace.  We hold all the cards because we are special and what we are makes us needed.  We have lost this prestige position by acting like men, rough and tough and, if I might say, immodest.  So, what can we expect, except to be treated like a man.

#Benefits

Who, what, when, where and why are the questions.

Who? This is for you. You are the who. Each person has the right and privilege to enjoy the benefits that God has waiting for them. God created you to have the relationship with Him of a child with their father, a closer relationship than could ever be with another person on this earth.

What?  What are the benefits of this kind of relationship is the question? To begin with is the end, which is the guarantee of heaven. As a person acknowledges what their condition is, in God's sight,  bound for eternal damnation, and stakes their life on the sacrifice He has provided in Jesus, they immediately receive all the benefits of being a child of God. Heaven is only one.

When?  There is also total forgiveness for past, present and future wrongs and complete access to the Almighty any time and

Where?  any where. You can be driving your car and talking with your Heavenly Father and it is not against the law. You don't need a cell phone. You can think your communication and He hears. You can be in bed or fishing or even in church and talk to God.

Why?  Why would you want to practice the presence of God regularly? He has promised that as you draw close to Him, He will draw close to you, so loneliness is dispelled and fears are destroyed as you realize His love for you. Confidence is developed as you believe his promises that you always have everything you need right now. Freedom from guilt is yours and peace takes the place of anxiety as you place your needs in His good hands. The quality of your life is improved as you grow up into a child of the King and not just another person stumbling along without these benefits.

There is one more question and that is; are YOU drawing close to God more often today than you did yesterday?

#Energy

Have you ever seen a lamp that turns on when you clap your hands?  Back in 1996 the "Clapper" was invented and was quite a fad for a while until notice was taken that a dog barking or a loud sneeze would activate the lamp. You could say, "Let there be light" and clap your hands at the same time and proudly claim to be just as good as God. Well, not quite. Somebody understood electricity and put together the mechanics for producing it and somebody put together the ingredients for a light bulb and somebody figured the best substance to carry electricity way before you clapped your hands and spoke. All the makings for the lamp were in existence before you came along.

It was not that way when there was nothing, that is nothing but God. God has always been. Moses asked God what His name was, for, names back then described or identified people. Remember, God changed Abram's name to Abraham because it signified that he would be the father of many nations. When God answered Moses's question, He said, "I Am" and He was saying I have always been, it is always now with God. He is in the now.  You can't get ahead of Him or behind Him. You aren't in tomorrow or yesterday, but God is. He is there and here at the same time.

You can't speak any thing into existence. You can put together things already in existence, but you do not have the ability to speak some thing into existence. I keep saying that words are important and we should pay attention to the words we use and we should especially pay attention to the words God uses. He spoke and out of nothing light came to be. Wow! Wouldn't you love to have seen that? Jesus is the Word become flesh. That energy and power to create, not just put together stuff, became a man. He limited His limitless energy for 33 years to accomplish something for you and me. He reestablished the broken  connection between God and man as easy as plugging a lamp cord into an electrical socket, but it was at an immeasurable cost to Him.

The cord is waiting for you to plug in and have light.