Growing With Rose

This is old e-mail, old but good--good for growing on.

The first day of school, our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around and a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me, with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, “Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?”

I laughed and enthusiastically responded, “Of course you may!” She gave me a giant squeeze.

“Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked.

She jokingly replied, “I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids...”

“No, seriously?” I asked. I was curious what motivated her to take on this challenge, at her age.

She told me, “I always dreamed of having a college education; and now, I'm getting one!”

After class, we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months, we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this “time machine”, as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon. She easily made friends, wherever she went. She loved to dress up, and she reveled in the attention bestowed on her, by the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester, we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us.

She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, “I'm sorry. I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent, and this whiskey is killing me!

I'll never get my speech back in order, so let me just tell you what I know.”

As we laughed, she cleared her throat and began. “ We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success.

You have to laugh and find humor, every day.

You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!

There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old... If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up, by always finding opportunity in change.

Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”

She concluded her speech by courageously singing The Rose. She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.




At the year's end, Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.

One week after graduation, Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral, in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

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As we let the lessons that Rose left behind take root, let us treasure the vibrant and fragrant flowers that fill our lives and go by other names than "Rose". Bloom and be blessed, my friends!

Hearing Voices (Part 1)

Hey, there,
If anybody actually reads this thing, long time no type. And this is me avoiding a very full inbox. All good stuff, I'm sure. There's just sooo much of it! :D

I haven't been online for a couple of weeks, cuz I was working on a final proofing of A Gentle Strength... Very soon we will have a printed book on our hands.

Recent weeks have reminded me of some lessons learned long ago.
　
Words have weight, but we get to choose which words weigh the most. We must be careful. Let us make certain that the words we cling to will lift us up in truth and trust, not hold us back and weigh us down with fear.

Faith--real faith--leaves no quarter for lingering fear, because faith is founded in love; and perfect love cast out fear (1 John 4:18, 2 Tim. 1:7).

By faith, we venture foward, in spite of convention and human expectations, because our souls hunger for and need the best that God has for us. I take great comfort in knowing that, as I take these baby steps forward, I am never beyond His protection; and He is never out of earshot!

Psalm 91:4

As hard as it is (and sometimes, it is near to impossible) we must have selective hearing. Believe what God says about you, over and above all other opinions--even the opinions of well-meaning but wrong-minded loved ones!

I am reminded that God has good things in store for me; and while I wait for those things to manifest, I will cling to Jesus, so that His voice is always the loudest whisper in my ear (Isaiah 30:21, John 10:27)...

Equalizers

American culture paints a warped picture of feminine success. So focused are we on acquiring our rights that what began as an urge and a drive to not be counted as less valuable or able than men has strangely morphed into the generally accepted idea that women and men are not only equal but the same. The same. On the surface, that seems fine. No differences equals no barriers. Right?

That sort of thinking is what makes the feminist movement dangerous to the fabric of the family. Men and women are different; and that is not a bad thing. Saying that and knowing that does not make me anti-woman. Nor does it mean that I am in favor of suppression.

Remember Annie Oakley’s song line, "Anything you can do, I can do better"? I love that line. Love that song. But even though it makes me smile, it’s not quite accurate. Being able to do something does not mean that I should do that thing. I can do many things, but only a few of those many things are part of what I am called to do. Doing those few things means employing my God-given gifts. For each of us, work that is part of our calling always does the most thorough job of highlighting our strengths, magnifying our joys, and glorifying our Savior.

Men and women are divinely designed to be different; but "different" is not a synonym for "less". He set it up so that our gifts, our strengths, would lie in different areas. That He did so that we would compliment each other. We were designed to work together--designed to need each other. That need is not weakness. It is meant to be the beginning of a new kind of Christ-centered strength.

The principle of submission used to scare me. Loss of control is always a little scary. Then, I realized The Cross is the great equalizer.

There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither bond nor free,
there is neither male nor female:
for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
--Galatians 3:28--

As long as he is your brother in Christ before he becomes your husband, there need be no fear attached to submission. I love the way that Maya Angelou worded it. She said:

A woman's heart
should be so hidden in Christ
that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.

His being bound to The Cross insures that the power that you yield is used to bless and not to abuse. The Cross becomes your safety net, and submission becomes very much a mutual and joyous act.

Therefore as the church
is subject unto Christ,
so let the wives
be to their own husbands
in every thing.
Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ also loved the church,
and gave himself for it.
–Ephesians 5:24--25

He who loves you as Christ loved the Church will find joy in seeing you shine, not in forcing your silence.

These words from the Hebrew holy book called the Talmud paint a beautiful picture of marriage as Jesus means it to be:

The woman came from a man’s rib–
not on his feet to be stepped on;
not on his head to be superior,
but on his side to be equal;
under his arms to be protected,
and near his heart to be loved.
　
As I read these words again, I am reminded, again, that nowhere but in The Cross of Christ can women find such equality, such voice, such victory. Thank You, Lord, that we are so valued. Thank You, Jesus, for that precious liberty!

Resolved to Rest in Jesus

A new has begun.
Did you make any resolutions?
Resolutions should not be depressing.
Why is it that even making that list makes us feel defeated?
　
Because the strength of human will alone is never enough to bring lasting change.

Lasting change is always fueled first by The Holy Spirit; and apart from Christ, we can do nothing (John 15:5, 2 Corinthians 5:17).

Because I want to feel victorious instead, I resolve:
to rest in Jesus
to trust that He wants good things for me--good beyond my wildest dreams
to seek His Will
To bank on His Power, rather than my strength
to revel in the insulating comfort of His Peace
and to let my soul feed daily on His Joy!

The Joy and Peace that come with knowing Jesus do not cancel out the stress and stife and sometimes, the chaos that are part of our normal days. Rather, they insulate and arm us; so that we can succeed, in spite of the turmoil.
　
　
Whatever your resolutions might be, I pray that 2010 brings renewal, real growth, and soul-deep victory (Proverbs 3:5--6, Ephesians 3:20).

Let us begin to realize and relish how thoroughly we are known and how lavishly we are loved by our Jesus!!

Sculpting Without Clay

More fun with Jack. Here are some examples of extreme carving talent.

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This slideshow shows off more creative talents; but this time, the "clay" ain't pumpkins. It's hay.

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL

I love Autumn. The turning leaves. The cool mornings. This is the beginning of cocoa weather. :D Join me for a cup, while we focus on the beauty that our creative God has placed all around us. Fix your thoughts on His power, rather than The Devil's pull.

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Rather than Halloween, I celebrate Fall Festival. The fun without the fear, and without the gore. In celebration of Fall Festival 2009, I wanted to share two slideshows. This was my first attempt at putting video on the blog... Scary... :O

Several days and many attempts later, I am sad to reoprt that this blog and my panda do not play well together... :(

And before you ask, no I do not have a pet panda bear... and had I one, you may rest assured, I would never put to him the task of typing this blog. Even though, in truth, he would probably proove to be the better typist... :)

Panda is my antivirus program--one which I highly reccommend, by the way. It is apparently just as paranoid about my uploading things, as it is about my downloading things. Good news though... When I temporarily disabled Panda, the upload worked!... Twice!! :D Yaahoooo!!!

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The first slideshow is just a little furry fun.

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The second was made two years ago. It's a cool Christian take on Jack-o-lanterns.

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Whew! and Wow!

The title will make sense, shortly; I promise. :)

Words have power. Power to enlighten the mind. Power to touch the senses. Power to soothe the soul. Words that we use frequently tend to become bland from overuse... They lose some of their punch, because familiarity causes us ignore their real meaning. We sorta become mentally numb to their importance.

In an earlier post (September 27, 2009), I said:

The same mercy is offered to all...

Mercy and its companion word grace are two words that tend to become bland--especially for "maturing" Christians, who have moved beyond the need for milk (Hebrews 5:12--14).

While grace is similar to mercy in connotation--and by that I mean that they "feel" somewhat alike, as we absorb them from the printed page--the two words are not synonyms. If we were to place them on a family tree, Grace and Mercy would be sisters, yes. Identical twins? Never.

What does mercy mean to you? Is it kindness? Yes, in part. Is it forgiveness? Yes, in part.

Make no mistake. Mercy is not The Father ignoring the mud of our sins. He cannot ignore the mud, anymore than we can deny the mud. God is just; and His sense of justice demands that our sins--all of those splotches of unranked filth--be punished. Mercy is Jesus stepping up, on our behalf and taking the punishment that we have coming(Colossians 2:14).

The muck and the mire, the filth and the stench that we relish rolling in, all of it was poured over His head, as He hung on The Cross. It dripped from His chin. It oozed between His fingers. It filled His ears and coated His toes. Not one ounce or form of sin was spared Him. He bore it all, in fullest measure; and in doing so, He also took the full measure of our punishment (Isaiah 53:5, 2 Corinthians 5:21).

Mercy does not give us a punishment that we do deserve.

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As for grace, in this context it isn't a synonym for "poise". Nor is it a mealtime prayer. A long-time family tradition in our home paints an accurate picture of grace. We give "just cuz I love ya" gifts.

No holiday has to be at hand. No occasion needed. In fact, the very best ones are off-the cuff and never pre-planned. We simply keep an eye out for small gifts that would bring a smile. You know the sort of gifts that scream out who they were meant to belong to and simply beg you to insure that they wind up in the right hands...

We get them when we see them, and we give them when we get them. No waiting. All-occasion paper, plain-jane bows, hand-written notes. Hidden in plain sight, and left without announcement for the unsuspecting recipient to stumble upon.

The price tag is always small, but the pleasure is always huge; and the facial expressions are always absolutely priceless! :D

God likes to give His children "just cuz I love ya" gifts too. Hold your arms and your heart open, and you'll be thoroughly surprised by the sheer weight of the gifts--drawn straight from Heaven's boundless stores--that He wants to shower you with. When we are receiving from Heaven's bounty, we are standing in the flow of His Grace (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Picture yourself. Like a kid at Christmas. Before the unwrapping begins, the presents are passed out. That massive stack in front of you--it is meant for you. Every box, every bag, every package--even the funny-shaped one at the back that must've been so much fun to wrap--each one has a nametag on it that bears your name. Each package is suited especially to you.

He doesn't wanna wait for a holiday. He needs no occasion to excuse gift-giving... He likes to suprise us; and our priceless facial expressions no doubt make Him smile (Ephesians 3:20).

Grace gives us favor (or blessings) that we don't deserve or expect.

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Mercy says, "Whew!"

Grace says, "Wow!"