Inspirations

When I was growing up, every year my dad would plant a garden.    I helped (forced labor).   I didn’t mind because I loved helping my dad.   He would plant potatoes and green beans and corn.   We worked all summer, then in the fall we enjoyed the fresh veggies.  The funny thing is, we always got when we planted.    I mean my dad never planted beans and had carrots grow.   Most of you, right now, are saying,” duh.”   There is a physical law that says, “You reap what you sow.”   We all understand this law in the physical realm,  but it’s also true in the spiritual realm.   We reap what we plant. If we plant seeds of love Then love, we will harvest. If we plant seeds of bitterness We should not be surprised if we receive that back. What we often forget is that whether we like it or not  and whether we know it...

You spent hours practicing a song for a recital.  You sang it correctly except for one note which, in your opinion, was slightly flat, or maybe it was sharp either way it was off key.  No one could tell the difference but you.  You knew.  As you reflect on the recital, you don’t hear the compliments from the people who came and enjoyed a lovely concert because all you can hear in your head is one wrong note.  It’s the note of perfectionism.  The sharp sound that says, "not good enough." You painted a room.  It was the perfect shade of blue-gray.  Everyone who saw it praised your work, telling you how beautiful it looked.  But you, you know that you ran out and could not get the exact color, so it’s a slightly different tint.  No one can honestly tell but every time you walk into the room you see a tint failure.  It wasn’t perfect.  Perfectionism always says,” you’re not good enough, you failed,” eve...

You're old-fashioned! My children would snark it at me when they were growing up. Usually, it was because I would not let them go to a party, or wear something or watch a movie that, in my opinion, was inappropriate. I've had it thrown at me at other times and places too. At work, when I won't go out drinking. or participate in casual flirting. Other times I hear it  when I insist on being honest even though it makes things harder. I would be lying to say that it never bothers me. It hurts. But, when I'm honest with myself, I am old-fashioned. If by "old-fashioned" you mean that I will not live with a man that is not my husband, then I am definitely old-fashioned. If by "old-fashioned" you mean that I believe you can have fun without alcohol then I am positively old fashioned. If by "old-fashioned” you mean that I will not knowingly lie or cheat, I am busted. If y...

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He was openly evil before God, walking in the footsteps of Jeroboam, who both sinned and made Israel sin.   1Kings 15:33-34 It's father's day.   A day we honor our fathers. Hopefully, most of us had good fathers, and they had a good impact on us. My own father taught me many things. Things like the value of hard work, and how to plant a garden. I also came to believe in God because I saw the changes God made in my dad's life. People who knew my dad still stop me and tell me about the impact he had on their life. In those times, God reminds me that every person on the planet is leaving a legacy, things people will remember about them. Jeroboam was King of Judah. His legacy?  That's quite a legacy. He led a whole country into the sin of idolatry and like father, like son, his children followed his example, and their children followed their pattern. Each generation was becoming progressively worse. As...

            It was hot.  I was tired. I spent all morning working at a job.  I was doing my best to do my job the best that I could do it.    Looking at the progress, I felt that I had done an excellent job and accomplished a great deal.  I was congratulating myself on my A+ work.  I felt like I had succeeded.  Then the supervisor came by she looked at the work smiled and said "That looks really good.  You did a good job."  She gave me a high five.  Yes!  My heart soared.   My work was good enough.    It was only five words, but I was on cloud nine the rest of the day.  We all love and need to hear words of affirmation.  We want to know what we have done is good enough, that someone thinks we are good enough.         As sweet as those words of encouragement were to hear, it also reminded me that there will be another day when I hope to list...

            "You can't do that!"  "It's not safe!"  As I read this comment, I must confess, I laughed.  They were referring to allowing a child to have a monkey bar set up in a hallway of the house.  When I got done laughing, I had to think about when it became wrong to allow children the joy of taking a risk.  After all, life is filled with uncertainties. That's part of what makes life exciting.  Fun.  I work with fryers every day.  They are dangerous!  Trust me. Driving a car is risky.  Do you have any idea how many lunatics there are with driver's licenses?  I do.   But no one stops driving.  Realistically, I can't protect my children one hundred percent of the time.  When I was growing up, I played outside, explored the woods, walked on beams in a barn all unsupervised.  Guess what? I lived to tell about it.  We had boundaries, like no playing in the road,...