A little boy, about eight or nine walked into the plumbing section of the large store with his dad. There was a plumbing problem at home and dad decided that he could fix it himself. All he needed were the right parts and tools, so he and his son went shopping. They appeared a bit lost looking at all the packages hanging on the hooks and all the little boxes full of washers and strange metal things. An associate came close by to ask if they needed help. Dad spoke broken English trying to explain what he needed. When the associate's brow wrinkled trying to understand, the eight year old interrupted his dad with a "be quiet, Dad." He then went on to explain what his dad meant in such an impressive articulate way that the associate understood immediately and began piling parts and tools together and explaining the steps to solve the problem. Dad then got the directions second handed from his son who repeated the instructions in his dad's native tongue.
That little boy has taken the first step on the road to assimilation, learning the English Language. Dad and Mom might never be able to be as fully assimilated as their children, but they came to America and are in the process. It may take a while for them to be brought into conformity with our customs and attitudes and adapt and adjust, but for the children, it will be easier. They are getting an earlier start. It is up to us to incorporate them into our society by being a friend and including them in our lives and doing stuff with them, showing off our culture and explaining things to them.
My son, the helicopter pilot, has a sixth sense when it comes to aviators. He is almost like a magnet and attracts them to him. A jet pilot from Morocco approached him the other day and, somehow, the conversation got around to flying. They compared notes on the differences and likenesses between jets and helicopters. This Moroccan shared why he had become a citizen of the US. Morocco was his mother and would always be his mother and he would always love his mother, but now the US was his wife and he loved his wife. This aviator has assimilated.
The US of A is an exceptional country and many people would want to live here because of what we stand for - Freedom. We are like a magnet and people are drawn to us, but, not every one is welcomed. Those who would love this country and want to be assimilated into it and become useful to it are welcomed. We welcome them to come in legally.
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Saturday, October 27, 2018
#TheTreasureIsTheTrip
The jaws of life were called in to extract my son from the car he had been driving. A helicopter flew him to the hospital and he was admitted, in a semi-comatose state, under a mistaken identity. This happened twelve hours away from us and we did not hear about it for two days.
These events, plus other unusual circumstances involved with the accident, had to be recorded so that nothing would be forgotten. That is why my story in "The Treasure Is The Trip" became a book. There were too many strange events to go unnoticed. There were too many God moments to ignore. I began writing this story twenty-five years ago, some months after it happened, and it sat in my computer for years. Occasionally, I would read it and rewrite to improve it and then the idea came to me that there had been other, not so momentous, events in my life where I had experienced something 'out of the ordinary' and perhaps they could be incorporated.
My hope for this little book is that someone, kind of like me, a woman in a happy marriage, a mother in a relatively normal, average community doing just normal, average things can be taken on a life changing trip beginning with a phone call at 11:30 on a Sunday night and that someone after reading it might see life a bit differently. This trip was loaded with surprises and value beyond any expectations and I hope others will find the treasure in their trip.
These events, plus other unusual circumstances involved with the accident, had to be recorded so that nothing would be forgotten. That is why my story in "The Treasure Is The Trip" became a book. There were too many strange events to go unnoticed. There were too many God moments to ignore. I began writing this story twenty-five years ago, some months after it happened, and it sat in my computer for years. Occasionally, I would read it and rewrite to improve it and then the idea came to me that there had been other, not so momentous, events in my life where I had experienced something 'out of the ordinary' and perhaps they could be incorporated.
My hope for this little book is that someone, kind of like me, a woman in a happy marriage, a mother in a relatively normal, average community doing just normal, average things can be taken on a life changing trip beginning with a phone call at 11:30 on a Sunday night and that someone after reading it might see life a bit differently. This trip was loaded with surprises and value beyond any expectations and I hope others will find the treasure in their trip.
Saturday, October 20, 2018
#GenesAndPoliticians
Suspicion! Even though I knew my husband loved me, when we were first married, I was still suspicious because he was a salesman. Somehow, I had the innate ability to be suspicious of smooth talkers and salesmen fit into that category. It is said that 'the way to a man's heart is through his stomach' and that includes the eyes because it has to look appetizing or the plate will not be touched. We all know how advertisers use pictures of beautiful models to get attention, especially of items men are interested in.
Women are a bit different and are won over by what they hear. So, there is an eye gate for men and an ear gate for women to get through to them. The interesting thing about the difference and the alike aspects of the sexes is that both have the X chromosome. The female has two of these X's and the male has one along with the Y. The Y makes it male and the X is the, shall I say, feminine part. So, males and females have a likeness here. That puts us all in the same place where the ear gate has some influence. This is important because Scripture tells us that "Faith comes by hearing and the hearing of the Word of God" and God would not have provided the way to faith just to the female.
Now, what has all this got to do with 'suspicion' and 'smooth talk'? When it comes to politicians, they are the best smooth talkers ever. I liked George W. because he was inept at talking. He just said what was on his mind and it was usually stumbling and not very pretty. Clinton, on the other hand was polished and charismatic and even took many polls to see what touched the emotions of voters and made sure to incorporate that into his talking. The same is true of Obama. He is so good, so polished, so perfect in the way he comes across. And, boy, am I suspicious - too good to be true - is my conclusion. Trump is clumsy, rude, crude and no great orator and I was drawn to him just because of that. He is not polished when speaking, but he is real, not just an ad.
Scripture also tells us that people are like sheep. You must be familiar with the phrase - 'A wolf in sheep's clothing' and there are many, politicians included, that are just that and so ready to take advantage of unthinking sheep. I have never heard of a cowherd or a pigherd or a horseherd, but there has always been a shepherd to take care of sheep. We, like sheep, have all gone astray and so need a shepherd who always tells us the truth and guides us the right way and cares for us.
One last word, and that word is 'discernment'. Let's not let the polish get in the way. Let us not be led astray by smooth talk. Let us pray for discernment.
Women are a bit different and are won over by what they hear. So, there is an eye gate for men and an ear gate for women to get through to them. The interesting thing about the difference and the alike aspects of the sexes is that both have the X chromosome. The female has two of these X's and the male has one along with the Y. The Y makes it male and the X is the, shall I say, feminine part. So, males and females have a likeness here. That puts us all in the same place where the ear gate has some influence. This is important because Scripture tells us that "Faith comes by hearing and the hearing of the Word of God" and God would not have provided the way to faith just to the female.
Now, what has all this got to do with 'suspicion' and 'smooth talk'? When it comes to politicians, they are the best smooth talkers ever. I liked George W. because he was inept at talking. He just said what was on his mind and it was usually stumbling and not very pretty. Clinton, on the other hand was polished and charismatic and even took many polls to see what touched the emotions of voters and made sure to incorporate that into his talking. The same is true of Obama. He is so good, so polished, so perfect in the way he comes across. And, boy, am I suspicious - too good to be true - is my conclusion. Trump is clumsy, rude, crude and no great orator and I was drawn to him just because of that. He is not polished when speaking, but he is real, not just an ad.
Scripture also tells us that people are like sheep. You must be familiar with the phrase - 'A wolf in sheep's clothing' and there are many, politicians included, that are just that and so ready to take advantage of unthinking sheep. I have never heard of a cowherd or a pigherd or a horseherd, but there has always been a shepherd to take care of sheep. We, like sheep, have all gone astray and so need a shepherd who always tells us the truth and guides us the right way and cares for us.
One last word, and that word is 'discernment'. Let's not let the polish get in the way. Let us not be led astray by smooth talk. Let us pray for discernment.
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
#WishfulThinkingOrBelief
A dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep. If wishes were fishes we'd all have a pot full to fry. Star light, star bright make my wish come true tonight. We all have dreams, some big, some small, some seemingly impossible, some that just take rolling up your sleeves and tackling to accomplish. We all have wishes that we hope will come true, but might need something magical to accomplish it.
Joseph, the eleventh child of Jacob, had a couple of dreams where he saw his family bowing down to him. I wonder if he ever thought about being greater than his older brothers. You know how brothers can make a younger sibling suffer and Jacob, his father, evidently made no effort to hide the fact that Joseph was his favorite. That would make for a dysfunctional family and lead to jealousy, which it did in this family and I can imagine Joseph got the brunt of all that hostility, so it might be that he had a wish to be greater than his brothers.
Whether or not the dream came first or the belief, God did give Joseph that dream and I believe there is evidence that Joseph believed God gave it to him and he believed it just might happen. A wish is so flimsy because it has nothing real to base it on. It strikes me that Joseph was able to keep believing God and what God had given him, the dream, because he knew God. There was something solid to base his belief of God on. The accounts that his Granddaddy, Abraham, told of being led by God from Ur to Canaan and about Sodom and Gomorrah and his uncle Lot and how he became a father at the age of 100 and Sarah, a mother, at the age of 90 gave facts that Joseph could see God working in.
Joseph needed a strong belief in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob because his brothers sold him into slavery and while in Egypt was accused of rape and then imprisoned for 13 years before the fruition of that dream he was given when he was a teenager. Joseph hung in there and always gave his best, whether as a slave or a prisoner, and just kept trusting his God.
Belief is much more than a wish. Some people don't like to think that God created a hell for the devil and his angels and people who refuse to believe what He says about sin and His dear Son's payment for sin are ensured of being there forever might wish that since God is love that all will go to heaven. That is just wishful thinking because it has absolutely nothing to base it on except for a wish.
The Bible tells it like it is and you have the choice to believe it or not, but the consequences of unbelief are intact whether you believe or not.
Joseph, the eleventh child of Jacob, had a couple of dreams where he saw his family bowing down to him. I wonder if he ever thought about being greater than his older brothers. You know how brothers can make a younger sibling suffer and Jacob, his father, evidently made no effort to hide the fact that Joseph was his favorite. That would make for a dysfunctional family and lead to jealousy, which it did in this family and I can imagine Joseph got the brunt of all that hostility, so it might be that he had a wish to be greater than his brothers.
Whether or not the dream came first or the belief, God did give Joseph that dream and I believe there is evidence that Joseph believed God gave it to him and he believed it just might happen. A wish is so flimsy because it has nothing real to base it on. It strikes me that Joseph was able to keep believing God and what God had given him, the dream, because he knew God. There was something solid to base his belief of God on. The accounts that his Granddaddy, Abraham, told of being led by God from Ur to Canaan and about Sodom and Gomorrah and his uncle Lot and how he became a father at the age of 100 and Sarah, a mother, at the age of 90 gave facts that Joseph could see God working in.
Joseph needed a strong belief in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob because his brothers sold him into slavery and while in Egypt was accused of rape and then imprisoned for 13 years before the fruition of that dream he was given when he was a teenager. Joseph hung in there and always gave his best, whether as a slave or a prisoner, and just kept trusting his God.
Belief is much more than a wish. Some people don't like to think that God created a hell for the devil and his angels and people who refuse to believe what He says about sin and His dear Son's payment for sin are ensured of being there forever might wish that since God is love that all will go to heaven. That is just wishful thinking because it has absolutely nothing to base it on except for a wish.
The Bible tells it like it is and you have the choice to believe it or not, but the consequences of unbelief are intact whether you believe or not.
Friday, October 12, 2018
#OfVitaminesAndSupplements
Farming changed from hand labor to machines in the 19th and 20th centuries. Before machines were doing most of the hard hours outside in the sun, people were spending hours plowing, planting and reaping. As a consequence, these people were tanned by the sun and this made it undeniable that they were laborers. The aristocratic class definitely did not want to get tan and have society suspect they had to do outside labor so women wore hats and gloves and long dresses. Men wore hats, also and gloves.
When the farming revolution took over there were changes in attitudes along with farming. Out of job laborers had to find work inside and it became harder to distinguish, from appearances, who was an aristocrat and who wasn't because most everyone was a 'pale face'. Somehow, it became vogue for the wealthy to take vacations where there was lots of sunshine and now aristocrats were proudly parading their tans, while the lower class, who couldn't afford those vacations remained pale.
Today, most people work inside and aren't exposed to the sun most of the time and the consequence of this is a Vitamin D-3 deficiency. This vitamin is vital to good health in so many ways. It has been proven that without an adequate amount in the body, calcium cannot be absorbed properly and calcium is necessary not only for healthy teeth and bones, but for joints and muscles and the heart is a muscle. It boosts the immune system and feeds the brain. People living in the northern hemisphere are affected negatively during the winter months because the UVB rays of the sun are muted for months. Have I proven the point that this supplement is important?
It fascinates me that this vital supplement is named the 'Sun Vitamin' because it so duplicates the necessity of the 'SON' in our lives. The SON, Jesus, gives us eternal life, but without the daily intake of the supplement of the SON, the Word of God, we can become seriously unhealthy spiritually. Our structure can weaken and we can fall apart, feel self pity and doubt. Our immune system can become vulnerable to temptations. Our heart can become weak and our brain can dysfunction with worry and anxiety and make bad decisions. Have I proven the point that getting into the SON Vitamin, the Word of God, daily is important?
When the farming revolution took over there were changes in attitudes along with farming. Out of job laborers had to find work inside and it became harder to distinguish, from appearances, who was an aristocrat and who wasn't because most everyone was a 'pale face'. Somehow, it became vogue for the wealthy to take vacations where there was lots of sunshine and now aristocrats were proudly parading their tans, while the lower class, who couldn't afford those vacations remained pale.
Today, most people work inside and aren't exposed to the sun most of the time and the consequence of this is a Vitamin D-3 deficiency. This vitamin is vital to good health in so many ways. It has been proven that without an adequate amount in the body, calcium cannot be absorbed properly and calcium is necessary not only for healthy teeth and bones, but for joints and muscles and the heart is a muscle. It boosts the immune system and feeds the brain. People living in the northern hemisphere are affected negatively during the winter months because the UVB rays of the sun are muted for months. Have I proven the point that this supplement is important?
It fascinates me that this vital supplement is named the 'Sun Vitamin' because it so duplicates the necessity of the 'SON' in our lives. The SON, Jesus, gives us eternal life, but without the daily intake of the supplement of the SON, the Word of God, we can become seriously unhealthy spiritually. Our structure can weaken and we can fall apart, feel self pity and doubt. Our immune system can become vulnerable to temptations. Our heart can become weak and our brain can dysfunction with worry and anxiety and make bad decisions. Have I proven the point that getting into the SON Vitamin, the Word of God, daily is important?
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
#PresumptionOfInnocence
The entire western world has moved forward, in the legal realm, for over one thousand years under the system of the presumption of innocence. The statue 'Lady Justice' is blindfolded holding the scales of justice in her hands. The blindfold suggests that she cannot see the color, ethnicity, sex, financial status or anything else about the person standing before her. She is waiting to hear the evidence to be placed on the scales of justice and weighed when all the facts are in.
We cannot be prejudicial, ever, in our courts and ever say that any person does not deserve the presumption of innocence because of any circumstance or condition. That one thing would devastate the whole of western civilization and the rule of law which has been in part of making America unique.
The presumption of innocence works in all relationships, between friends, in marriage, at work. Paul, in writing to the church at Corinth after counseling them against bringing lawsuits against brothers and sisters of the church, points out in 1st Corinthians 13 the thing that does work - love. Now you may say, 'What's love got to do with it?' There are four descriptive verses that tell what love is, does and does not do. There is one phrase that has baffled some. This phrase - 'believes all things' -
has been used to discredit adherents by calling them dupes, naive, gullible and undiscriminating. What this phrase is saying is that love gives the benefit of a doubt or in other words presumes they are innocent until evidence proves the contrary. Love doesn't jump to conclusions.
You may question whether love has anything to do with justice. The one thing held in common by both love and justice is blindness. When love is blind all sorts of bad things can happen because the ability to pursue evidence is usually lost and lovers are willing to believe just about anything, but justice requires evidence to function and lets the chips fall where they may.
May we be a people who love justice and fight for truth in all our affairs. May we be able to discern when people are pulling our strings using emotion rather than facts. Emotions do not fit on the scales of justice - only the facts, just the facts, mam.
We cannot be prejudicial, ever, in our courts and ever say that any person does not deserve the presumption of innocence because of any circumstance or condition. That one thing would devastate the whole of western civilization and the rule of law which has been in part of making America unique.
The presumption of innocence works in all relationships, between friends, in marriage, at work. Paul, in writing to the church at Corinth after counseling them against bringing lawsuits against brothers and sisters of the church, points out in 1st Corinthians 13 the thing that does work - love. Now you may say, 'What's love got to do with it?' There are four descriptive verses that tell what love is, does and does not do. There is one phrase that has baffled some. This phrase - 'believes all things' -
has been used to discredit adherents by calling them dupes, naive, gullible and undiscriminating. What this phrase is saying is that love gives the benefit of a doubt or in other words presumes they are innocent until evidence proves the contrary. Love doesn't jump to conclusions.
You may question whether love has anything to do with justice. The one thing held in common by both love and justice is blindness. When love is blind all sorts of bad things can happen because the ability to pursue evidence is usually lost and lovers are willing to believe just about anything, but justice requires evidence to function and lets the chips fall where they may.
May we be a people who love justice and fight for truth in all our affairs. May we be able to discern when people are pulling our strings using emotion rather than facts. Emotions do not fit on the scales of justice - only the facts, just the facts, mam.
Thursday, October 4, 2018
#TheAgeOfInnocence
Many years ago when I was in high school and a presidential election was going on in 1952, General Eisenhower came to Memphis. I was very excited because no celebrity had visited my home town that I knew of. A bunch of us girls took the bus downtown to see him. There was a large crowd and the closest we could get was six blocks away, but we got to see him in person.
That summer both parties held their conventions and I stayed up very late every night to watch all of it. I didn't want to miss a thing. It was wonderful watching the democratic process and I have been interested in politics ever since then. Some creative person in Memphis decided to rent a theater so a mini convention could be held with each high school sending representatives. POGO, a comic strip character at the time, had declared his candidacy and our school made placards and we went determined that our candidate would capture the nomination. It was noisy and lots of 'I Go POGO' signs were waved and speeches made and votes cast. We didn't tear up the theater or get in fist fights. We learned a bit about how things work and had fun doing it.
Contrast that scene with the demonstrators of today where not just placards are carried, but rocks and intentions to hurt the 'others'. There was no cars turned over or fires started or 'others' hurt in 1952. It was a time of innocent displays. Never will there be innocence again for once it is gone, like virginity, once it is gone, it is gone.
What has happened to debase our society? How do people justify that it is OK to malign and tarnish a good man's reputation by throwing accusations, not evidence in order to keep him off the Supreme Court? Have we no conscience? And how could a sitting senator suggest that someone seeking to sit on the Supreme Court should be found guilty until proven innocent? This is the perfect picture of 'The Ends Justify The Means' and shame on you.
Perhaps, each of us should choose to do unto others what we would want others to do unto us as a life style. Perhaps we can pray for those who spitefully use us and take to heart what God has said, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." Perhaps we can forgive as we have been forgiven. Perhaps, we can choose to love others for love covers a multitude of sins. Then, perhaps, society will be different.
#LiarLiarPantsOnFire
"The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9 Mankind is given to lying from the first man on down to us. We will shade the truth or embellish it or not tell all, but it is all lies. When we want others to be impressed or to protect ourselves, we will veer varying degrees from the truth and we are lying. Even our body language can deceive. Sometimes its difficult to know what is a lie because some people are really good at it.
"Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar." Romans 3:4 God is truth. Get that? God IS Truth and cannot lie. Get that? God CANNOT lie. Man is foible and given to lying, and each of needs wisdom and discernment before we swallow the whole thing. In fact, Jesus did not entrust Himself to those following Him when He was in Jerusalem at one point, because He knew what was in man. John 2:24.
Satan is known as the father of all lies for he told the first one. He is the great deceiver and is successful because people believe him. But, there is guaranteed punishment for lying. That old saying; 'liar liar pants on fire', was saying punishment is coming and Revelation 21:8 looks forward to the lake of fire as being the place liars will spend eternity.
We may think lightly of that little sin, a lie, when where are so many big sins, like murder or adultery or robbery, but God doesn't think lightly of any sin and as James 2:10 says, 'and he stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all'. Just one point - a little lie - is justifiable cause for the severest punishment. So, we are all in the same boat as far is being guilty is concerned and some don't want to be in that boat and repent or decide that they will not lie intentionally and will try to be more accurate when talking, and confess that little-big sin to God and receive forgiveness.
There is help offered. Galatians 5:16 tells us to walk by the Spirit and we will not carry out the deeds of the flesh. We will demonstrate love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and SELF-CONTROL when we are living by the Spirit.
"Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar." Romans 3:4 God is truth. Get that? God IS Truth and cannot lie. Get that? God CANNOT lie. Man is foible and given to lying, and each of needs wisdom and discernment before we swallow the whole thing. In fact, Jesus did not entrust Himself to those following Him when He was in Jerusalem at one point, because He knew what was in man. John 2:24.
Satan is known as the father of all lies for he told the first one. He is the great deceiver and is successful because people believe him. But, there is guaranteed punishment for lying. That old saying; 'liar liar pants on fire', was saying punishment is coming and Revelation 21:8 looks forward to the lake of fire as being the place liars will spend eternity.
We may think lightly of that little sin, a lie, when where are so many big sins, like murder or adultery or robbery, but God doesn't think lightly of any sin and as James 2:10 says, 'and he stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all'. Just one point - a little lie - is justifiable cause for the severest punishment. So, we are all in the same boat as far is being guilty is concerned and some don't want to be in that boat and repent or decide that they will not lie intentionally and will try to be more accurate when talking, and confess that little-big sin to God and receive forgiveness.
There is help offered. Galatians 5:16 tells us to walk by the Spirit and we will not carry out the deeds of the flesh. We will demonstrate love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and SELF-CONTROL when we are living by the Spirit.
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