June 30, 2009 Soul(mate) Day

Bible Verse of the Day:
Acts 4:32 (New American Standard Bible)
32And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.

Random Thoughts:My thought for the day was to tell you a story about my soul mate. Then I thought surely there would not be a verse to share that had anything to do with that. It really doesn't, but with the stretch of the imagination, maybe you can see where it might be going.
Doug and I have been married for so long it seems like forever. Now bearing in mind, some times we do silly things on purpose, but there are times we can finish each others sentences, want the same things to eat or wear the same color clothes without pre-planning.

Three Sundays in a row when we got ready for church, we came out matching. The third Sunday, I changed clothes. The two previous Sundays everyone kept asking us if we planned it that way. The answer, which no one believed, was NO. We have just lived together way too long. You say, "Ah, but you see what each other lays out to wear." No, Doug gets dressed in the bedroom and I have a great big closet with a table to do my makeup, jewelry, etc. I walk out and we match.

We do food the same way. Even though we have way different taste in foods, there are times we crave the same things. How odd.
That must really be what you would call "Soul mates". What we have, we share. There is no, yours, mine and ours. It is ours. Everything is common property to us. How ironic. I even shared my diabetes with him after 9 years. Now we both have the same problem. I hope he doesn't share his lose of hair with me. I might really be in trouble!
Doug still holds dear to his liver and onions and I still claim my mac and cheese. I don't think I will ever persuade him to eat mac and cheese or dumplings and I know liver and onions will never be on my plate, but, all in all, we walk hand in hand.
Soul mates forever,
Vera (and Doug)

P.S. If we match at church, No, it is not planned.
Have a blessed day.

June 29, 2009 Peace and Father Abraham

Bible Verse of the Day: Genesis 16:11-12 (New American Standard Bible)
11The angel of the LORD said to her further, "Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has given heed to your affliction. 12"He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, And every one's hand will be against him; And he will live to the east of all his brothers."

Random Thoughts: Remember the song about "Father Abraham"? (Maybe I will never grow up, but I love the children's songs!) Bruce Raley used to tirelessly sing that song through all the verses and all the actions. Just watching him sing it with the kids made me tired. The kids loved it and the parents liked the fact the kids were worn out! I think the teachers did, too.

The thought of the song is that we are brothers and sisters coming from the same father. As God promised Hagar in Gen 16, her son and descendants would be rebels to the other son, Issac and his descendants. Two thousand years after the cross, we are still rebels with each other.

Why couldn't God just make Sarah and Hagar not be jealous of each other, the boys would have grown up as happy siblings, all be it the ages were vast, and we all could live happily ever after!
If there wasn't conflict still today, just think of how much money the American government would not be spending on military warfare. Think how far that money could go towards Americans in poverty. Think of how much less bitterness there would be in the world. Why didn't God just make it easy for us.

My thought is, God wanted us to be independent free thinkers who could take care of ourselves in any situation. Learning how to defend God and ourselves is a great testimony for the Lord. It proves who were are and God is giving us a chance to be "pleasing unto Him" in our deeds and our actions.

Until tomorrow,
Still working on that "peace" thing,
Vera

"Father Abraham"

Father Abraham had many sons

Many sons had Father Abraham

I am one of them

And so are you

So let's just praise the Lord!

(unknown)

June 28, 2009 Pick and Choose your Fights

Bible Verse of the Day: Philippians 2:3 (Amplified Bible)
3Do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife, selfishness, or for unworthy ends] or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves].

Happy Birthday: to Marie Ralston and sympathies go out to her as well, in the loss of her mother this week, Mildred Norris of Warner Robbins, Ga.

Random Thoughts: Today is Sunday School, we studied about grace in the family setting.
Sometimes we(me) get so obsessed with thinking we have to have the perfect family and they have to behave a certain way we forget to let them be their own person. When my boys were little I would sit in the choir on Sunday mornings and if the boys were antsy sitting with their grandparents, I would give them "the look" and they knew they were in trouble when we got home. Now, I realize that the boys were good but I expected them to be perfect. News flash...We do not live in a perfect world.
This is so small the the larger scheme of things, but at the time I thought it made me look like a bad parent. Oh, no!! We simply could not have that.
At this point, I am thankful all three of my sons have grown up to be fine outstanding law abiding citizens, have wonderful wives, good jobs and contribute wisely to this world of ours. Even though they fidgeted in church, they did not turn out to be the criminals of the world. Thank you, God, for letting me see that 20 years later.
Blake always said he would not ever get in trouble because he learned from the mistakes of his brothers. Yes, he was a pretty good guy but don't let him fool you. He had his share of not doing as he was told or trying us just a little.
I hope the boys don't remember me as the mean 'ole Mom who was always nagging them, but the Mom that helped make p,b&j sandwiches for band trips and football games and for going to their events at school. One of my greatest regrets is that Jeremiah (the first one to graduate college) graduated on the Saturday before Mothers Day and I had to work and could not make graduation. That will always be a downer for me, but believe me, I was there is spirit and watched the dvd of his graduation quite a few times.
Don't know if God shines down on me as graceful but I hope He is still working on that project.

God's clumsy servant.
Vera

June 27, 2009 Zaccheus was a "wee" little man

Bible Verse of the Day: And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house."
And Jesus said to him," Today salvation has come to this house, because he, to is a son of Abraham.
"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Luke 19:5,9-10

Random thoughts: Remember the song we sang about Zaccheus when we were small. "Zaccheus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he,
He climbed up in the sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see."
I wonder if Zaccheus was as "wee" in stature as he was in backbone. Maybe he was average height but didn't stand tall by Jesus standards. Maybe he just knew he needed to see Jesus because he knew how wrong he had been for so long. True, it could have been a physical disability, but I think the jest of the story is how he didn't stand tall for Jesus.

How tall are we? Do we stand tall for Jesus? When God looks down on us, are we of small stature or do we stand tall as the redwoods? That is a judgement call that we will only know on Judgement Day. I don't know if I am ready to be rated yet. I think I still need to grow. If you have been blessed with physical height you know there are many things that are within your reach that shorter people cannot achieve. Spiritual height measures the same way. If we have grown is stature there is a closer walk we can take with the Lord, that the shorter us cannot have. God richly blesses those of his own that eat right(hungry for the Word) and grow strong bones(A personal walk with God).

Still growing for the Lord,
Vera

June 26, 2009 Celebrate Fishing Day

Bible Verse:"Follow me and will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19

VERY Random Thoughts: No birthdays to day so I just picked a verse. Believe me, this one is very, very random. When I pulled a card out with this verse, I thought about how much my parents tried to make me like fishing. I absolutely hate it. I was always too busy watching for snakes to watch the line. I was too busy fanning flies to cast the hook. I was too busy keeping my hands clean to bait the hook. I was too busy trying to stay cool in 100 degree weather. Fishing simply was/in not my thing. There is NO way to get this non-swimmer on a boat, either.

I love to eat catfish. I like a few other fish. I enjoy reaping the rewards from someone else catch. If you do all the work, I will certainly help you celebrate your bounty.

There are some Christians like that, too. When it is time to do the fishing, we have too many excuses. When it is time to celebrate, we don't mind being first in line. We like the sated feeling without the work involved.

My parents were never pleased that I didn't ever learn to enjoy fishing. I don't think my heavenly Father would be please with me if I didn't do some soul fishing, either. Like Jonah, who tried to avoid doing what God told him, God will grapple with us, even if it isn't in the belly of a big fish. Conviction is a good start to baiting our hook. Reeling in Christians starts with our display of actions first.
Thank you God for allowing me to fish, (even when I don't want to sometimes). I know I was put on this earth to cast a line for you.

God's humble fisherman,
Vera

June 25, 2009 From torn Bibles to heavenly citizenship

Bible Verse of the Day :
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:20







Happy Birthday: to David Jeans(our favorite handyman) and to Kristi Griffin Bookout.


Random Thoughts:

I saw a sign on a church yesterday that read"a torn up Bible belongs to a person that is not". I really like that statement. I am always fascinated to read some of these church messages, but that one really hits the spot.


My Bible is about 30 years old and has notes jotted in the margins and anywhere I can find. The preacher boy in the family has requested this Bible when I die. Child, I am only 52!! He had me write in the front of my Bible a few years ago that he would get it when I die.


How about the song from Blood, Sweat and Tears that says "and when I die, and when I am gone, there will be one child born in this world to carry on, carry on". One of these days that won't happen. One of these days, the Rapture will come and there will be, oh, so fewer people to carry on, carry on.


I look forward to the day when I walk the streets of heaven and meet with old friends that have gone on before me. When I started looking for birthdays for this blog, I used an old calendar from about ten years ago. It is so sad to see how many of our dear faithful church members has already passed on. Some day soon, we shall all meet again, dear ones.

It is good to know that I am a dual citizen. Not only do I have citizenship in the good 'ole U.S.A. but I also have a citizenship in heaven. Isn't it wonderful to know. Personally the heavenly citizenship is the one I am proudest of, and believe me, I truly am honored to be born in America. I thank our forfathers for the forsight to escape for religous freedom. Now I hope some day we can get it restored again. I am never ashamed to proclaim God first, family second and country third. Wish all the anti christians would ban together and refuse to spent the money with "In God we Trust" on it and go off somewhere and make their own country with money that says... well you can come to your own conclusion on that one.(Sorry-soapbox)

Proudly awaiting entry some day,
Vera

Joy, (Not Humor) is possibly the best medicine

Bible Verse of the day:
A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

Happy Birthday: To Mary Layer.

Random Thoughts: To be a good friend, we need to be there and support our friends and family when they are down, but let's be honest, we enjoy being around happy people. Happy people make us happier people. Our life is easier when things go smooth and that makes us more pleasant. It turns into a circle of life.

Don't you just hate it though, when someone happy comes bee-bopping around when you are down and you want everyone to be just as miseriable as you. Boy, can they ever drive you up the wall. How about instead of being a grump, let a little bit of the niceness wear off on you. No, that is not what we want when we are down.

God is telling us the joyful heart is our best medicine when we are down. By experience, I have learned the best way to pick myself up when I am down and depressed is to do something for somebody else. There is always someone who needs a little help. Maybe it is nothing more than a note of encouragement. Maybe it is a covered dish, or maybe it is just a visit for 20 or 30 minutes. Look around, there are always possibilites.

After we find ourselves feeling good over our done deeds, we can look at ourselves and see that life isn't as dire as we might have thought is was. That pleased feeling we get is knowing that God is telling us "Well done, my fine and faithful servant." When we know that we have pleased God with our service, that should give us, well, personal gratification...JOY.

You see, we have come full circle. We were down, picked our self us to help others, then become pleased with our accomplishments and we lift ourselves up. Pretty good medicine if you ask me. I don't know of a pharmaceutical company yet that has made a happy pill that compares to the sense of joy we can receive only on our own merit. Joy is not something just to be handed to us. We have to make our own joy. It doesn't just fall in our laps. Let's put on a happy face and make a point to do something nice for at least one person today that doesn't expect anything from us. Joy is just around the corner. Who knows, it mights just lower our blood pressure or our heart beat, too.

Sincerely,
Your Bible pharmacist of the day,
Vera

When you come to a fork in the middle of the road...use it!

Bible Verse of the day:
He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Psalms 23:3

Happy Birthday:Tom Kirksey and Judy Thompson

Random Thoughts:
While my boys were growing up, they will tell you, I got lost quite a few times. Sometimes in the big city (Memphis and St. Louis just to name a couple) and sometimes on the back roads. I always found my way home, but it got a bit tense from time to time.
Once, Doug had flown to St. Louis for a meeting and on Sunday after church the boys and I were going to have a grand time at the Mall of Memphis before going to the airport to pick up Doug. Our first fiasco of the day was when Blake looked through the bars on the upper floor down on the skaters below. When it was time to leave, his head wouldn't come back through the bars. The ears slide in but won't slide out. Security,janitors, taking time, plane coming in, gonna miss it, way before cell phones. Could you guess that I was some kind of upset.
We finally escape the bars and get to the car. Boy, am I in a hurry. The boys are fussing and Wow did I miss the turn. We got so lost in the seedier side of Memphis and made it back to the bridge and started all over again. We were an hour late getting to the airport. Doug's plane did not come in. His flight was cancelled and he came in on a different carrier. Going to the check in area and having him paged, he was there looking for us. Everyone was so upset, the boys, Doug not being able to find us, us not being able to find him. Boy, was I ever glad to see my husband. He drove home and I was tickled to death for him to do so.
I made a wrong turn.

Another time Doug and the big boys had something to do on Saturday afternoon so Blake and I went for a drive in the fall of the year just to look at the autumn foliage. We got so engrossed in the beautiful color and didn't pay attention to the rural roads we were on. I knew it was afternoon, which way the sun was shining and which way we were from Jonesboro. I just kept going down roads in the direction I thought was town and...well, we are still here today, so I guess we made it home.

Sometimes we take a wrong road in life. Sometimes we go to the wrong places in life. We make mistakes. We ARE allowed to turn back around and find the fork in the road. Take the other one. Take the good one. Take the one that sends you back towards the Son.
Thank you God for guiding me down the paths of righteousness,
Your poor wayfaring stranger,
Traveling through this path of life.
Vera

Mirror, Mirror on the wall

Bible Verse of the Day:
"Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. Isaiah 48:10

Happy Birthday: Scott McGowan and Don Barnes.

Random Thoughts:
Thank you Don Barnes for the ministry you do for our church. You truly are on of God's refined. May he bless you richly on your day.

Look in the mirror and what do I see? Maybe it is a clean face and a dirty heart...or could it be a dirty face and a clean heart. God refines (tests) us. If you have ever watched the process of refining silver, you know it isn't the pretty shiny stuff we think of that first comes out. It is dingy, dark and dirty. The refiner(in our case God) has to put it in the fire time after time to refine it of all the impurities. Sometimes the fire God puts us through is a lot hotter than we want to be in, but it does help to refine us.

The refiner doesn't quit working on the silver until he can see his image in the silver. God desires to see His image in us. That is why "He is still working on me....to make me what I ought to be." As long as we walk this earth, God wants to keep perfecting us so He can see His image in us. What do we see when we look in the mirror. Is it the image God wants to see?
Please God, keep working on me,
Make me what You want me to be,
Your Child,
Vera

Pink Roses and Hearts Day

Bible verse of the day:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy. it does not boast, it is not proud. 1 Cor 13:4

Happy Birthday: Not really, but today is the first anniversary of my youngest son, Blake and his sweet wife Kari. Happy first!

Random Thoughts:It is hard to believe a whole year has past since that day of pink roses and hearts. Doug(my dear sweet honey) cut out scrollsaw hearts for all the guest and we tied them to cards as wedding favors. That took forever. I got the job of peeling the glued-on guides off the hearts.

Then there was the issue of making the flowers. I saw pink roses forever. They were so pretty. I have friends who made the pink table toppers for the guest tables. We had little white lights and silk greenery all over the worship center and the reception area. Blake and Kari dated for 8 years. From the first time I met her I could have guessed there would be pink flowers involved.

Did I mention that all three of my boys wore pink? You would have thought is was worse than taking medicine. They got over it.

Did I mention I was a tad stressed that day? I got over it. An old minister we used to have would always say "this, too, shall pass". It did and now as I reflect back a year later, it was such a pretty day and maybe the bride and the groom's mother were the only two that knew what didn't go just right. I will never tell at this late date, but I will say that Bette Middler has is right when she says "You gotta have friends" 'cause we could never have gotten through the day without the help of many of our friends. My friends, Kari's friends, Blake's friends. Doug's friends. They were all wonderful.

You can never have too many friends. You can never be a friend to too many people. You never know when you just might need a hand.

Happy anniversay to my children,

Love,

Mom

Tomorrow starts they lazy, hazy days of summer

Bible verse of the day:

Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven.

Luke 6:23

Happy birthday: I don't know anyone personally that has a birthday, but we can all wish Lionel Richie the best on his day.

Random Thoughts: Today is the last day of spring. Where has the time gone. Just yesterday we were opening Christmas presents. Oh, my! The heat preceded the calendar, but when I think of summer, it is a time of vacations, lemonade, the ice cream truck and the no worry times of youth.

Oh, those were the days. What would life be like to be so carefree these days. We still can adopt some carefree attitude. I was part of a discussion today about someone who has a wonderful, expensive home and yet is unhappy. What does it take to have a home. Walls, maybe a/c-heat, a place to lay our head and a cache of food. Everything else is window dressing. WE fret over the home, car, clothes,etc. Maybe we could just relax a little and simply appreciate what we have. Thank God for our blessings and reflect on someone worse off than we are instead of what we don't have. Go buy a dollar bottle of bubbles then go out side and blow them. Put your worries in the bubbles and let them float away.

Watch out for chiggers, but even pick a bunch of wildflowers and set them in a window to look at. It will make life happy for a moment. The imagination is a wide as we allow it to be. My favorite...wear blue fingernail and toenail polish. We don't have to conform to what everyone else is or does. We are allowed to be ourselves and THAT is what will make us happy. Look in the mirror and if you can smile back at the person you see....life is good for a while.

Thank you God for the ability to leap for joy.

Your hoppy servant,

Vera

Butterfly Days

Verse of the day:
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God. Mark 10:27

Happy Birthday: Martha Kate Griffin, a sister in Christ that has been battling with cancer for a while now, yet never giving up and giving God praise all them time. What a wonderful lady!! Happy birthday to Cheryl Keller Reeves, another friend who has dealt with her share of struggles. Love you, sisters.

Random thoughts:
In the "Awe-manac" the author refers to today as butterfly day. We as Christians should be like the butterfly. We have been a prisoner of sin, released by the cross and we should be just as beautiful as the butterfly flitting around. We look at the butterfly as one of God's amazing creatures. Are we not greater than the animals and insects? We are God's most amazing creatures. I know there are times I do not act like God's amazing creature, but more like the devils helper. I need to do better.

Martha Kate glows with the beauty through her struggles while I fuss about how hot it is to mow the yard. I should be thanking God for the ability to mow the yard.
I stand amazed
in His Presence,

Vera

lightnin' bugs and hot summer nights

Verse of the day:

A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.Proverbs 30:23

Happy Birthday: goes out to Tara Bates Davis, my daughter-in-law!!

Random Thoughts:

I remember as a child the evenings my family would spend in West Plains during the summer. We never had lightning bugs around our house. I guess it was because we were so close to the river or something, but anyway, when we went to West Plains I was always fascinated by the bright twinkling green lights. I would always go out to the back yard and just lay on the ground mesmerized by the twinkle. One night my cousin, six months my junior and many years wiser, told me you could catch lightning bugs. That was so neat!! My Dad told me that it wasn't a good idea. Oh, but to put a couple of sprigs of grass in a fruit jar with two or three holes in the lid. We caught them, put them in the old mason jar and I took the jar and set beside my make shift bed on the sofa. No one told me they would be dead the next morning. Hence, my one and only time of catching lightning bugs.

As an empty nester, I can still go outside and watch at twilight as the blinking of green hovers around the yard. I love to just sit and watch them, yet I catch myself thinking that my time is wasted doing such nonsense. It isn't . Really, I believe it is good for the soul to take time for nothing. Life is so structured these days, I do believe this is what God means when He tells us to be still and hear Him. We don't have to be thinking about anything or anyone. All we have to do is appreciate all that is around us. Notice what God has created for us to enjoy. (Forget about double chocolate ice cream on top of birthday cake! The devil created that to ruin us!!!!!!)

Thank you Lord for opening my eyes to see all the wonderful things You have made for me. Allow me to be humble and give all the glory where it belongs.

Hopefully His humble servant,

Vera

Water, Water Everywhere

VERSE OF THE DAY:
" I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."
"I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth." Gen 9:11,13

Random Thought:
It seems to be a trend around here that rain has come and is staying awhile. Yesterday while on a trip to the local mall to get the one mile of exercise in the temperature dropped from 92 down to 72 with rain all around. "I" thought that since the "cold front" had moved thru we had missed all the rain. WRONG!! By the time we got inside the mall, it was sprinkling and lightning. It poured...and poured...and poured. When we left the mall(2 hours and a meal later)the ditches were overflowing and they are probably 15 to 20 feet deep behind the mall. As we left and looked back to the east, you guessed it, God's rainbow was shining. He didn't forget. This is probably the fourth or fifth downpour in the last month. Isn't is suppose to be dry before summer hits? Aren't we suppose to water the lawn to make it grow instead of mowing twice a week? Let me guess. Global warming is responsible:(

HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
going out to Carol Duncan and Amy Deaton Cox. It's hard to believe you are spring babies when the temps are in the 90s.

Just Getting Started

I hope this is the start of a wonderful new adventure. My goal and idea is to make a daily notation of Bible verses, birthdays of friends and family and recognize current events as they pertain to absolutely nothing.

Just to get my feet wet and yes, I probably will change layouts and structure along the way, BUT...
my first Happy Birthday wish goes to Jeannie Gillis, my flag day friend. Happy Flag Day, everyone.

My first Bible verse will be..
" Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" Colossians 3:23

Therefore let me say that this blog is here to give God all the glory for everything great and small He has done for me and hopefully give me a little wisdom for your enjoyment, too.
Until tomorrow,
His servant,
Vera