Just Carve-by request sharing again

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I missed art class this week…was just too tired to go…if I could have gotten there I would have been energized by the creativity and the creative spirits I share the room with….

I went to a two hour sculpture class once. We chose a small chunk of stone…mine was green and about the size and shape of a Kiwi. The teacher told us to just start carving and let the stone tell us what it wanted to be. I usually start my creative endeavors with a plan…a vision of the end result. Often those endeavors take on lives of their own and the product can end up very different from my original vision, but I almost always have some kind of goal.  But this time I just started gently carving without any idea of what I wanted it to be.

I found myself making pointed ridges on one side and I thought. That’s odd, what in the world could those ridges be? I kept working…carving a little off here and there and thinking…this doesn’t look like anything realistic but that’s okay because I am having fun.

The class was wrapping up and time running short when I turned the stone over and was shocked to find that I had carved an alligator! Not the traditional kind of gator, stretched out lengthwise but one curled in toward its tail. It was the most wonderful art experience I ever had because it came from someplace deep inside me that only an action of creating could find.

When those happy “accidents” happen I feel a sweet connection to my Father God, the creator of everything, that reminds me that I am made in his image. Stamped on my heart forever is the word, God’s!

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.   —Genesis 1:27

Made with Love

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While in Chicago I had the opportunity to visit the Chicago Institute of art. There is just nothing like seeing paintings in person. There is something tangible  in live art that just doesn’t show up in a print or photo of a painting. What is it?

Once I heard a mom say that the difference between the two peanut butter sandwiches on her table was that one of them was made while she was watching the end of a TV show, and the other one was made while she was thinking about, and praying for her child.

Simply put, it was made with love.

She swore that the sandwiches would actually taste different, and she offered the one “made with love” to her toddler and ate the other one herself.

And you know what? I believe her. There are intangibles all around us because we live in a world that contains far more than what we can touch, see and understand.

I believe that the paintings that were actually touched by the artist, messed over, cried over or even prayed over, contain at least some small part of that artist’s soul.

I can feel it when I walk into a gallery, and it stays with me when I go home.

I want that kind of love to be a part of my projects. I want the world to be a “bit better or more beautiful because I lived in it”. (from quote by Edward W. Bok, Lake Wales, FL)

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,    —Ecclesiastes 9:10

Super Heros

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I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.   —Matthew 24:49

My precious daugher-in-law calls me E-Mom. It is short for Elasti-mom. The first year she was in my son’s life we watched the movie “The Incredibles” together. Erin likened me to Elasti-Girl, the Mom in that movie, who repeatedly had to stretch out her arms and legs to save her family.

I don’t see myself as anything special, but I do know that in the years that I was raising my special needs children, I did have to stretch myself beyond recognition, and I did do things that took strength that I didn’t know was in me.

I was able to do these things, not because I am special, not because I’m a super hero, but because I am a child of God and the power of the resurrection was and is available to me.

The Power of the Resurrection!

There is not a single event in human history that has revealed more clearly the power of God than the resurrection of  Jesus Christ. When Christ rose that first Easter, He, once and for all, put death in it’s place. He broke its grip on all mankind. The power that one act took rocked the earth, split rocks in two, tore the veil, and broke open the graves of all mankind forever!

If we belong to Him we no longer have to be afraid of anything, not even death. We may have to struggle and stretch and fight our way through our movie of life, but in the end, just like the Incredibles we will win!

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you many know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.     —Ephesians: 1:18-20

Refill Please

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“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

 What will be my first words when my husband gets home today? I know he is as tired as I am. What can I do to encourage him, to build him up?

I have a  fountain at my house. It is a simple little mechanism. Water from a tiny pool is pumped up over a water wheel, then it returns to the pond to be pumped back up and over again. Once I filled it I thought it would be maintenance free. But a few days later I discovered that if I didn’t add more water daily it would begin to run dry. The water evaporated just that quickly.

People are like fountains. We tell our spouses and our children that them we love them; they have heard us say we are proud of them; surely they have enough encouragement to keep them wheeling right along. But like so many drops of water all the good things we say will evaporate, in a relatively short time. And it’s hard to keep going in a discouraging world when your encouragement pond is running dry. It takes only a moment to say a kind word, a second to pat a back. We need to look for ways to water our loved one’s spirits with a little encouragement every day.

 Father, help me to be an encourager. Help me to use my words for building up not tearing down. Give me eyes that see all the good things in my loved ones and the determination to help him see them too. Amen

Listening

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I have so much to do today. I bet you do too.

And I know we need to be productive and busy doing the “works God has prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).  So, I started out my day with a large, ambitious list that included writing this blog. Usually I sit down with several ideas of where to start but today when I settled in to write I felt a bit lost. I didn’t know where to start…. until I realized….today is a listening day.

You see, none of us, even writers and speakers, have anything worthwhile to say if we haven’t spent enough time listening.

I drive a Honda Element. I really like my little car. Since it first came to live with us we have driven it relentlessly… hour long commutes to work, to Florida to see my family, back and forth from the coast to the upstate to see my daughter, her husband, our grandbaby and friends. We have put over 150,000 miles on it in a very short time. And it is not quiet anymore. It creaks and groans and vibrates and moans and squeaks down the road, each week adding some new and probably significant sound. At first I’d try to figure out what each new sound meant thinking that maybe I  needed to have someone look at it….maybe it needed attention. But I couldn’t really take the time or resources to do anything about it so I stopped paying attention to the sounds. They have become simply a part of trying to get somewhere, relegated to background noise that I have to live with.

I had stopped listening.

Those of you who know anything about cars know that one day I will pay dearly for that because those sounds do mean something and my brave little car does need attention.

And I think it’s the same in our everyday lives. If we stop listening; to the bird’s songs, to the wind in the trees, to the people we meet in our day, to our friends, children, husbands and wives then we will  miss when they need attention. And if we don’t make time to hear the “still, small voice” then we will surely miss the miracle of God’s comfort, love, presence and leading.

Today is a listening day. It is already halfway over and I will not get much marked off my to-do  list.

But maybe listening for God’s voice and leading should be first on that list everyday anyway.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.                                                                                                                       ——John 10:27

Good Medicine

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When Sadie, our Golden Retriever, came to live with us it was because we had tried everything else. Despite our efforts and that of medical science our then ten-year-old son, Daniel, hadn’t been able to gain any weight since he was three. In fact, he was so medically fragile that he couldn’t attend school. Daniel has Downs Syndrome and is profoundly retarded but his “failure to thrive” was not a result of the Downs. The inability to gain in spite of a healthy appetite was a mystery. Though he seemed perfectly happy at home, we couldn’t help but think he had to be lonely. When we learned, through a program called Pet Partners, that there are dogs trained specifically for children like Daniel we had to give it a try. Imagine our delight to find that one of the best trainers in the country, Connie C. , lived only a few miles away. Connie invited us to come to her training facility. She wanted to meet Daniel, and the rest of our family to see if we might be viable candidates for a specially trained dog. Connie concluded that a companion dog could be a good thing for Daniel—well, at least it was worth a try—but she cautioned that we may have a long wait ahead of us. Finding the right dog for a special child sometimes takes years. It was only eight months later when Sadie came to stay. Though an affectionate child at times, Daniel often lives in a world of his own, watching his hands move or experimenting with new motor-boat sounds. The challenge would be to get him to pay attention to Sadie—to get them to bond. So we carefully followed Connie’s instructions. Sadie slept in Daniel’s room. When I fed Sadie I put Daniel nearby so they could “visit” at mealtime. I made her lay by him while the other kids were at school, she rode right beside Daniel in our van as I taxied his siblings to their activities. In spite of all our efforts, however, it was hard to see any progress. The evidence was scant that any bonding was occurring. But one afternoon as I drove to pick my daughter up from school I glanced in my rearview mirror and was surprised to find Daniel’s arm around Sadie. Her head rested on his chest, and his head rested on hers. Daniel had a friend. A few months after Sadie came to live with us Daniel had a check up. He had gained three pounds. Sadie* was good medicine for all of us, but for Daniel she was a miracle.

*Sadie died of old age in 2004. We still miss her.

YAY GOD!

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 When was the last time you just yelled out loud with sheer, unfettered joy? 

Sometimes when I am sitting in church it is all I can do to keep quiet. I want to holler, “YAY GOD! You are so AWESOME! And then to my fellow Christians,”Hey guys, we are singing about GOD! You know, the One who is perfect and holy. The One who made the whole universe. Who made all the galaxies that we can’t even see from this little planet that He also made. The One who designed those dogwoods and azaleas, who wrote the bird’s songs. The person who charged the clouds with lightening, and created the giraffe, the ostrich, the platypus and me!”

Most of my adult life I have been a Presbyterian with short interludes into being a Baptist. I love worshiping with these generally calm folks and I am touched deeply by quiet, respectful worship. I would never do anything to disrupt that way of honoring God. But just once in a while shouldn’t we just rear back and let it go? I can’t think of anything else, in all the world, that is so exciting as our amazing God!

Scripture backs me up on this y’all.

“Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King, over all the earth!”  —Psalm 47:1-2

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music…Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together with joy…  —Psalm 98:8

and more: Psalm 66:1, Psalm 95:1, Psalm 100:1, Isaiah 12:6, Isaiah 54:1 …

So today if you hear some hooting and hollering going on in Upstate South Carolina, don’t worry, it’s probably me. God is awesome! magnificiant! amazing! and I don’t think I can contain that in my little heart anymore!

“You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy!”  —Isaiah 26:19

Waterbabies

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 I’m a waterbaby. I grew up on a lake in Flordia and my husband would tell you that I have water in my veins. Like the mermaid in Splash I just can’t go very long without seeing, touching and hearing water. I crave being near or in water almost unreasonably.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When can I go and meet with God? —Psalm 42:1-2

This morning in my heart I hear God’s musical voice like water over rocks singing: Thirst for me. Crave me. I am the living water, the beautiful spirit of life. I am the abundant fulfillment of all that you need. The answer to your deepest thirst is me!

See also: Accustomed to Beauty https://robinprincemonroe.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/accustomed-to-beauty/

Great Delight

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I have about 30 photos of our oldest son on his first day home from the hospital. That is not unusal for first time parents, but what may be a bit unusual is that all of them are of him asleep, sitting in an infant seat in the middle of our tiny living room. I remember that day clearly and we didn’ t even turn on the T.V. We just sat there, and delighted in him, our first born son. Now mind you, he did nothing but sleep…but we sat and stared at him and marveled at his wonderfulness.

Yesterday, I ate lunch with my sweet daughter and my little  8 month old grandaughter, Leah.  Leah ate her carrots, smiled, cooed and wiggled. She did nothing unusual for a baby her age, but everything she did simply delighted me. At one point while we were in the restaurant the old Captain and Tenille song, “Love Will Keep Us Together” come on and I sang along  with it (yes, people stared)  helping Leah dance in my lap and that seemed to delight  her.

The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. —Zephaniah 3:17

God our father loves us far more than we love our children or grandchildren. That fact is hard to fathom, but it is absolutely true. And He delights in us, not just a little, but He takes great delight in us. Since I am acutely aware of all my failings I can’t imagine God taking great delight in me.  Honestly, it rarely crosses my mind.

But this morning I took a moment and pictured Him, the God of the whole Universe, delighting in me, singing a  joyful and beautiful song to me!

And I couldn’t help but be delighted in Him!

Complete Joy!

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  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete     —Jesus speaking to his disciples in John 15:11

 The “this” in the verse is the story of the vine and the branches. Jesus had just told his disciples that he is the true vine and we are the branches. He told them that if we remain in him we will bear much fruit but apart from him we can do nothing, nada, zilch. He used the word remain eleven times (NIV) in these few paragraphs.

Okay…so remaining is important…so how do I do that? How do I remain in him?

At first I thought maybe it means to stay close. When I go into our kitchen my little pug Lucy stays so close that I have to be careful not to step on her. If I move, even an inch, she moves. I am the source of all that she wants and needs. I feed her, love her, bathe her, make sure she is flealess and keep her safe. That is one kind of remaining — staying close.

Then I thought about my son when he was about eighteen months old and how when we were in a crowd he either wanted me to hold his hand or carry him. He needed to be constantly touching  me. If I let go, for even a second, he would scream. That is another kind of remaining —contant contact.

Finally, I realized the remaining that Jesus is talking about is way more than either of the above. It is more like being plugged into a power outlet. I have a great vacuum but if I run it around my house without plugging it in it does nothing, nada, zilch, to clean my floor. 

The remaining that Jesus is talking about means actually being a part of. The vine and the branch share a lifeblood that flows through both of them and that lifeblood produces beautiful fruit and complete joy.

Now if I can just figure out how to stay plugged in……

Just a Little Bit

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When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”….Philip answered him, “Eight months wages would not buy enough for each one to have a bite!”…. Andrew spoke up….” Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”….Jesus took the loaves gave thanks and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted….                  —John 6:5-11

The needs of those around me often overwhelm me. There are so many beautiful things in this world but there is also so much pain. And I am often tired….feeling like all I have left are crumbs of bread, and bits of fish. And I am surprised by the fact that Jesus wants this little bit that I have, but He does. And I am continually amazed at how He takes the little bits and does wonderful miracles with them…..

Little bits of time….little bits of love….little bits of courage…little bits of money….little bits of talent….little bits of all I am…Jesus will take those little bits, thank God for them, and then use them to make miracles. 

All I have to do is hand them over to Him…

Practicing Joy

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 We are all in pain. Every one of us is carrying a wound or scar because there simply isn’t a way to walk through this world without getting hurt along the way. But I’ve decided that I have a choice, I can spend most of my time looking down at myself and my brokeness or I can practice looking up.

And I’ve decided to “practice”. To practice looking for joy.

I remember once during a particularily difficult time in my life saying to one of my sweet friends, “I don’t want to miss the good stuff.” And that became our mantra. “Don’t miss the good stuff!”  So I began to look for every little thing that made me smile. It’s only about 8 in the morning and here’s my list so far: the sunshine falling across the carpet in my den, the mockingbird singing outside my window, Merlin’s hug before he left for work, honey in my hot tea, bacon with my breakfast, my pug’s little snore, reading the Bible story about the firey furnace, hot water for a shower, my soft, faded jeans…and so much more!

But all of these things pale in comparison to the one joy that I have been promised now and throughout eternity, the presence of God!

Psalm 20:6  says, “Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.” Every moment of every day I am honored with the presence of the Holy, Living God of the Universe! So how can I ever not have joy?

Inexpressible, Glorious Joy!

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 Though you have not seen Him, you love Him and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an  inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.     —1 Peter 1:6-9

When I wake in the morning I splash my face, throw on some cloths then get started making our breakfast. I don’t think in those 15 or so minutes I consider, even for a second, that I am at that very time receiving the goal of my faith. I make my cup of tea then sit down for my quiet time….and even then I don’t think I really consider that at that very moment I am receiving the salvation of my soul. I think, I may be missing some of the joy because my perspective is so earthbound. Inexpressible joy comes when we have a heavenly perspective, an eternal vision of what our time here means, because it is only then that we can really understand what matters.

I have not seen Him, but I love Him! I believe in Him, and every single day of my life I am receiving the goal of my faith, the salvation of my soul!

Be Joyful Always

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Okay, I have to admit, I didn’t wake up this morning with a heart full of joy. I’m not sad today, or overly stressed, or especially unhappy but I don’t think I’m joyful, and I think I’m missing out.

Be joyful always. 1 Thessalonians 5:16

Be joyful always? Always? How are we supposed to do that when life continually smacks us in the face? I don’t know. But I’m determined to find out. I am ready for some JOY!

My plan is to blog here every Tuesday and Thursday, and for a while, to explore this whole joy thing. Come visit “Silver Lines” and leave your thoughts and we’ll explore it together.

Have a joyFULL day!

The King is Coming!

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At Christmastime I went to the program at my special needs son Daniel’s residence. Daniel is 26 now but mentally about a year old. The staff there helped, but the residents who struggle against all manner of disability were the stars of the show which included a scene from Santa’s workshop and then the Christmas Nativity, acted out with angels in wheelchairs, shepherds with braces, and wise men with garbled speech. It was, to me, the most beautiful Christmas pageant I had ever seen. Toward the end of the show one resident came out and with a somewhat shaky but strong voice began to sing, “The King is Coming, He’s coming for me!” Never before had it been so clear to me what that really means. The picture of Christ coming for all of us in our brokenness… healing us once and for all, forever….and the joy that those folks had in their patient waiting for Him…
The King IS coming! Praise God, He’s coming for me!