Talk is cheap

My Dad had lots of sayings like this:
Talk is cheap, whiskey costs money.
Another way to put that is: put your money where your mouth is.
They were great one liners, kind of like the book of Proverbs. I took them for granted as a kid but they are a treasure to me now.
The book of Proverbs, in fact, is the source of my latest dilemma. It's really the fault of that infamous 'Proverbs 31' woman. Until recently I saw her as the spiritual Martha Stewart. But in my most recent reading I had another insight about her.
Yes, she was a very busy woman, up before dawn and dropping into bed, who knows when since is says her lamp does not go out at night. She made the cover for her bed and I only make the bed. She brings her food from afar, and I just try to see how far it will stretch. On and on the list goes.
But it was verse 12 that I chose to apply:
She brings her husband good and not harm all the days of her life.
How I long for that to be true of my life. In word, action and attitude, to do my husband good. But I have to admit that I quickly failed the test.
We recently purchased a new TV and Armoire to hold it. My dear Son in law helped carry it up to our second floor family room. He committed himself to come back the next time he was in town and hook it all up.
Yesterday Ruth called to say they were going to be in town this weekend and would be willing to come and hook the TV up.
Jon said "No, that is all right. I am going to have new carpet and hate to have to move the TV since it is so heavy. We can wait".
UGH!!!
I told Ruth that we were not going to be doing that that soon and having a new TV and not using it was just plain silly. Why did we buy it now anyway? I vented my frustration and hung up.
Then I turned to mopping the floor and the Spirit said to me
" Are you doing good and not harm to your husband?"
"Huh?"
"To put it another way, do you have books you have not read yet, or yarn you have not used yet?"
Then I realized that I was speaking words that did not build up or encourage. It was a case of the pot calling the kettle black. I repented then and there. I didn't want to get a whooping from the Lord.

H.A. R.M.

I had my eyes examined the other day and it is always an event. First, I see the former employees and bosses and get caught up on the latest news. I also have a chance to observe the patients without the obligation to examine to please them.
As I was waiting for my exam, an older man was being pretested. He talked so loud that I could not help overhearing him. It went like this:
" 'Who is your medical doctor?"
He lapsed into a long story about Dr __________referring him to Dr.________ who referred him to another doctor and so on. Then he said:
"Oh did you mean my primary doctor? Well, he is........."
You get the idea.
When asked :
"What medication are you taking ?"
He replied, "I don't know. I have 22 bottles on the dining room table but I don't know what they are or what they are for anyway!"
Finally he was called for his exam and he talked all the way down the hall and all the way back about 20 minutes later!
When I finally had my exam. I mentioned the previous patient to the Doctor. Doctor said that the patient never stopped talking even when asked "which is better, number 1 or number 2."
It seems to me that he has HARM. Hit And Run Mouth. He desires to be heard but not hear. He desired to be known but now know.
That makes me think of a epitaph I read recently:

Beneath this stone, a lump of clay
Lies Annabelle Young
Who on the 24th of May
Began to hold her tongue.

James said " Be quick to hear and slow to speak"
Solomon weighs in with " Even a fool is considers wise if he keeps his mouth shut"
God gave us two ears and one mouth. There must be a lesson here.
So next time I am a babbling brook, remind of HARM

Which Song?

We all are singing a song, even if it is just in our hearts.
It will be one of two choices:
God leave me alone
OR
God leads me along.
Which song are you singing today?

Who you know

Last Saturday I got up early to go to a pot party! Now, before you call 911, let me assure you that it was a party to decorate clay pots, not smoke marijuana. My going at all is the unusual feature in this story. I am not crafty and derive no joy in such ventures. I am too obsessive to begin with and lack talent and experience too.
This time, unlike the previous where we painted on designs, we were to decopage! I was intimidated and had a hard time just wrapping the pot with colorful tissue paper. Then I got glue all over me and the table. In Monk fashion, I have to wipe that up quick.( which took up some time-Yeah)
The ladies around me were having a blast. They visited as they worked and they were finished with one and on to another before I could wrap my first one. I was just there to show support for this project, I kept telling myself. We have to have 300 pots done before Easter for give- aways on Easter weekend at church.
Since I was there, I did make a good try and in fact completed three pots and have some more to do at home!
It became obvious that it was not about what I knew( since I knew nothing), but Who I knew. I needed my friend Pamela to show me step by step how to do this. She was so helpful to me and even added words to encouragement me along the way. She did not laugh at me but with me, a great quality of hers.
My work will never be in the art galleries of the world, or even Modesto for that matter. I do not have the knowledge or skill to do so. But because of a dear friend, I was able to create a simple pot to point someone to the ONE I know, the resurrected Jesus.

Terrible horrible no good very bad evening

Did you ever read that book about Alexander? He had a terrible, horrible no good very bad day. It included lima beans for dinner, kissing on TV, cavities when his siblings had none, his night light burning out and much more. He wanted to move to Australia. But his Mom said there were bad days there too.
Last evening was one of those 'days' for me.
Buddy threw up his dinner while I was talking on the phone. The printer had a paper jam and when I cleared it, it refused to acknowledge I have done so. So I followed instructions and took the back off, not noting how it fit. Then I could not see to put it back. So I borrowed the lamp in the bedroom, not knowing the top was going to fall sideways limp. I sighed and lugged it to the printer anyway, desperately needing the light, but still could not figure out how to put the back on again. I could not turn the printer off either or fix the lamp.
And the way my 'luck' was running, Jon drove up to the house in time to see me through the window as I dragged the lamp back, dangling wildly. UGH.
Things may be that crazy in Australia but I know for sure that in Heaven, it will be stress free.
Paul put it this way:
To live is Christ
To die is gain.

Painted in a corner

Yesterday Buddy heard a noise. Now you say, doesn't that happen all day long. Well, 'yes and no.'
What he heard with he extrasensitive radar was a 'booming noise.' It was WWIII as far as he was concerned. I had been up earlier and sneaked back to bed for a cuddle before the day began.
Just as I settled in for a long winter nap, I heard a noise myself. It was coming from the little bathroom, really just the shower and toilet room. I knew that it meant that Buddy had gone in there to hide and somehow shut the door and was now in the dark in tight quarters. I sighed and hoped he would just go to sleep. HA!
No way, he panicked and banged the door. I got up and let him out and shut the door.
"It's Ok" I crooned to him. "Go back to bed, silly one".
That lasted 30 seconds, just time for me to lay my head down again.
Now he headed to the walk in closet and was digging to China.
Jon jumped up and tried to reassure him, to no avail.
We gave up and got up and he followed us around begging for us to make the popping noise stop. We explained there was nothing to fear, but he was not comforted. I resorted to his doggie tranquilizer but even that did not help for many hours. The noise, whatever it was continued , driving he more crazy by the minute. And ,me with him.
In my frustration, I wished I was a dog so I could explain to him there was nothing to be afraid of. But , alas I do not speak his language.
Then it hit me, that is what God did. He came to earth as one of us, speaking our language to tell us how much he loved us in a way we could understand. I am grateful that when I am afraid, I can look to him and read of his love and care and not drive myself crazy over things that can't really harm me.
Buddy finally collapsed at 2 PM and boy did he sleep.
I would like to say that we have not heard the noise again, but it was there, this morning, like clockwork. We put on a soothing CD, turned the volume up and he was lulled back to sleep. We all got a pre-breakfast nap.

Any port in a storm

The other day we had Buddy out on his morning walk and thunder sounded. As you may know he is terrified of any sound that resembled fireworks( more on that tomorrow). He put his head down and ran all the way home with Jon hanging on to him as best he could.
He knew nothing of the saying " any port in a storm". For him there was only one place to be safe, HOME. He knew that he could find a dark safe place there, that Mom would take care of him and protect him.
That is how I feel about God. He is, as the song says, " a shelter in the time of storm". He talks softly to me, as I do to Buddy. He protects me, as Buddy thinks I am doing for him. He has to power to change what is going on. That is where God and I differ. I can't stop what frightens Buddy but God can stop what frightens me, if he chooses. Sometimes He calms the storm and sometimes He calms His child. Either way, He is my safe place and like Buddy, I know no other shelter will work.

Money

The founder of the Methodist church, John Wesley, had a profound impact on church history.
The other day I read a quote by Rev. Wesley and repeat it here for your reflection :
'Whenever I receive money I give it away as soon as I can before it burns a hole in my heart.'
I have heard that money burns a hole in the pocket but I think that it is more true that it burns hole in the heart.
Think on it!

False advertising

One night last summer when our middle grandson was here, we saw a TV commercial for a local fast food establishment. They were offering a delicious Junior Sundae. And the best part was that it was only $.99.
The next day Jon drove us over to that drive in. He did not have to read the menu. He had come for his junior Sundae and that is what he ordered. Mick, being perhaps smarter, ordered something entirely different. With my sugar limitations, I didn't get anything. They bagged our delights and we drove home.
Jon could not wait to dig into his sundae. As you may have guessed, they really should have called 'microscopic' sundae.
" Hey, look a this. This is false advertising. I can't believe I fell for that!" Jon whined.
" I see what you mean" Mick replied. "It is sort of small, to say the least."
I just shook my head. "Why does it look so big on TV?"
I hate ads the deceive. It makes me feel stupid that I got suckered into to buying their product.
Just a note for future reference:
You will never find that to be true with God. In fact, He is more that you can imagine.
Paul says:
Eye has not seen, neither has ear hear what God has for those who love him.
You can trust God to be BETTER that what you have heard.

Timing

Yesterday we had company for dinner. Because I had a busy afternoon, I did some prep ahead, like cooking the brown rice, putting the fish in the marinade, and making the pudding.
When I arrives back home at 3:30 I had to get going. I ironed the table cloth and set the table. Next I needed to make the cookie dough to have it ready to bake after dinner. Also I wanted to get the biscuit dough made and cut them out. All this led to a weird scene- me in the garage with the mixer!
Why ,you might ask yourself, was I in the garage creaming the eggs, sugar and butter? I asked myself that same question.
Here in lies the story.
Jon is very sensitive to noise when he is on the phone. He has to have absolute silence. I think it is the way men are wired.( I am sorry Lord to questioning your design). They can not multi-task. This led to my dilemma.
As I was gathering all the ingredients, Jon picked that moment to call and chat with his sister. What to do? I did not want to slow down the progress I was making so I opted to head out to the garage to mix my dough. I thought I was pretty smart.
Back in the kitchen with the dough done, I discovered Jon was still visiting and getting caught up on family news. Now I had an even noisier task to accomplish. I needed to use the blender to grind up some oatmeal into flour for the biscuits. So out to the garage I went again, dragging my blender!
This second trip gave me cause to ponder how critical timing is. It is obvious in the book of Esther ( If it's been awhile since you have read it, give it a good read).
But the verse God gave me was Galatians 4:4' At just the right time, God sent forth His Son, born of a virgin, born under the law to redeem those under the law .' God's timing is always perfect and He sent Jesus neither one day too early nor one day too late. He came at just the right time.
Now if Jon and I could just get our timing coordinated!

Buddy's trick

Buddy is getting quite sneaky. At bedtime every night, we give him a little soy milk when we have ours. He is quick to fixate on rituals ( could he have caught OCD from us?) and will carry on if we forget.
This particular night, I gave him his soy milk and began the rest of the bedtime routine. Jon, unaware of my having already satisfied Buddy's whining, gave him soy milk too! Buddy was so proud of himself. He did not even have to work Jon very hard to appear pathetic and in need to his nightcap.
Of course that meant that someone would have to commit to get up very early with him. Perhaps that was his plan as well. Jon was that good sport and took him out at 3:30 AM. He even gave him breakfast at that time!
To show the depth of his lying ability , when I got up later he acted like he had not been fed. But I was not fooled. After all Mom's have eyes in the back of their heads, right?
God does too. Or to be more correct, He can see everywhere at once since He is omnipresent. I know that thought for some is scary. For me, it is so encouraging. One of my new favorite verses is II Chronicles 16:9 :
The eyes of the Lord range throughout all the earth, looking to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.
That describes me, a heart fully committed to Him. So I can be sure that he is watching over me. And available to strengthen me.
" My Father's watching over me." YEAH

Sky Burial

I just finished reading a book with the above title. It is about Tibet. The title refers to a practice that makes me shudder. Actually I had chosen the book since we had seen a video of this area and this practice recently.
The book itself is a powerful love story about a wife who hunts for her husband who vanished in Tibet in 1958. Unfortunately he was a victim of a sky burial, a martyr actually to stop the killed of Chinese soldiers by Tibetans.
This area is Buddhist and Lamaist combined. They have a place in the mountains where they put dead bodies ( and sometimes not so dead) for the biggest vultures I have ever seen. ( more like dog size!) They feel that if the birds eat the entire body that evil spirits will not haunt the village. But they never know if every last piece has been consumed and the spirits have accepted the sacrifice. The dread calls for more and more 'sky burials'.
As I pondered this, I thought about how Satan is a murderer and loves death. He is also a liar and has hidden the truth that they are sacrificing to evil spirits, not the other way around. The video we saw gave us an eerie feeling, as though we could sense the evil in that place right through our TV.
I was awakened several times in the night to pray for the people of Tibet who know nothing of the Love of God, only the horror of evil spirits and the fear they will not appease them. I prayed God would send someone who can communicate the love God has for them and the final sacrifice Jesus gave.

Magic Eraser

I have to say that my husband is a neat freak. He and Mr. Morticia probably would tie. Now it is good to be clean. I was raised to keep things picked up but not to have things squeaky clean.
Over the years Jon has lowered his standards and I have raised mine and most days we have not problem. Note that I said, MOST DAYS!
Today was not one of the 'most days'. I was in he kitchen when he went to get a drink from the frig. I was so proud of myself since I took all the magnets, etc off the front recently and it is neat as a pin. Or so I thought. But lo and behold, Jon found some grey marks on the door and said:
"Well look at this! This is from some magnet you used and I am not very happy about it. You have taken the paint right off."
Quickly I grabbed my Mr Clean magic eraser and hoped it would do the trick. He stood by very skeptical, since he was sure I have damaged the frig beyond repair.
I am happy to report that once again the magic eraser did just that. It erased the smudges, whatever they were. Whew!
Did you know that God has a 'magic eraser' too? It is the shed blood of Christ. Apply it to sin and it is not just covered but eradicated. Nothing else can do that, not even Mr. Clean. So bring your sin to the Father and let him deal with it. You sure can't remove it.

The ring part 2

No I have not found my ring. Booh Hoo!!! I keep looking in odd places and have found other cool stuff, but not my ring. I can now tell you what is in my purse and my makeup drawer is very clean. Even the couch where I napped that day has been inspected and I found a stray piece of popcorn- now stale.
But yesterday my loving husband took me to purchase another ring! I picked a lovely ring , simple yet elegant, with opals and diamonds. It was on sale, 50% off and then we had another 20% off coupon. Ever the shopper, Jon was very proud of himself. His Mom sure would have been too.
Only one problem, I came home without it. Oh, it is paid for and safe, but not on my hand.
I had to have it sized.
As I napped yesterday thinking about all this, I thought about how the Holy Spirit is our 'engagement ring', sort of a down payment for our wedding to come at the end of time. We can't see the reality of Jesus our Bridegroom yet, but he has paid the price and our relationship is a done deal. The Holy Spirit is my guarantee that He is mine and I am his.
And in a funny way, the Holy Spirit's job is to size me up to fit Jesus in eternity by developing Jesus character in me, day by day.