Not Terribly Good…..

Just Thinking……

I’m not terribly good at anything.  I’ll never be a Pinterest poster child.

If you visit my Facebook page, you’ll notice that I post a lot of puns and cartoons.  I love ’em….. just can’t think of them on my own.  So I borrow from others.

I like to cook…… and nobody has died from it….. yet.  Strange….. I grew up in a cooking foodie family.  My brother cooked professionally.  My two sisters are fantastic cooks…… I mean FANTASTIC!!!   Me….. I tend to  read cookbooks…. then put them back on the shelf….. and do it my way.   We have eaten some wonderful mistakes.   And we have thrown out a few.

Another hobby I have is scrapbooking and card making.   Now….. we have a friend who used to always say that he could fix anything….. create anything….. if he had the right tools.  So I have several tools, but my pages and cards never quite match the pattern.  Of course, I must admit that I go off on my own tangent and that might explain the difference.   And keep one of those little journals with the fancy watercolor and pen/ink line doodles…… Uh….. no.

In my former life (pre retirement) I was a teacher.  I LOVED teaching!  My students were my  “kids” and I cared deeply about them.  I have great pleasure now in hearing from them, and seeing the pictures of their babies and knowing that they have become good citizens and great parents.  But I wasn’t the best teacher.  I was constantly learning from other teachers about how to do my job more effectively.

I have flowers in the sunroom and in our yard.  Sometimes they look great.  Other times…..meh…..  My grandmother and my mom had  green green thumbs.   My thumb looks more like camo:  some green and some brown.

A clean house?  Yes, please ….. especially since I have these massive allergies  to dust and pollen and animals and the like.  So I clean….. but it’s not spotless and pristine and sparkling.  A spider web has been known to hang around the corners, and newspapers and ads and “stuff”  have been known to accumulate on the table.

Relationships matter.  I love to be a wife, a mother, a grandma.  But other women have far surpassed me in doing it all correctly and with flair.  Nevertheless, I love my family in my own average bumbling way.

I like to write and have been published a few times.  But mostly I just ramble on in my blog.  My creative imagination gets me in trouble sometimes, and I should  try to get everything down in writing…… but….. most of it just slips away.

My mind gets ideas about  refinishing furniture or fun decorating projects.  But it usually takes my sweet hubby to make the dream become reality.  I just cannot say “Nailed it”!

Well…. the list could go on.  But you get the idea.  I have lots of interests, lots of ideas, lots of goals,  and it doesn’t all happen.    Good enough for average living…… but nothing to brag about.  There will always be someone who can it better than I can.

I’m so  glad that God doesn’t see me as just an average person who doesn’t seem to be gifted.   He has gifted each believer with something that is valuable to the body of believers.  And the gift is unique.  No one else in my local church will have quite the same gift as me!   It takes all of us to work together.

The Bible actually has lists of the kinds of supernatural gifts given to believers.  Look at 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11, 1 Corinthians 12: 28, and Ephesians 4:11.    These include gifts/skills in speaking with God-clarity, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, having mercy and compassion, having wisdom, knowledge and faith,  being able to heal, having miraculous powers,  being able to discern between good and evil spirits, speaking in tongues and interpreting tongues, and helps (which means one who is good at giving assistance).

Every believer has a gift.  No false humility here….. If I am a born again Christian, then I have a gift.  And each of us is expected to use the gift for the benefit of the entire body of believers, often local…  but sometimes in a larger scope.

I learned that I had the gift of teaching and also the gift of serving.    OK.   I wasn’t the number one teacher at school….. but I teach simple truths from God’s Word in small groups.  My house isn’t always squeaky clean with lovely flower arrangements from my garden or flaky baked goods to enjoy….. but I open my home often for people to come talk or gather to study or pray.

And I have learned that I don’t have to be the best….. don’t have to be “terribly good” at something.   I can be an average person and not have to be the shining star.   I just have to be available…… and willing.

Father…. You have gifted me with ability.  Now I ask that You guide me in my availability.   Open my eyes and ears to where You are working, and help me use these gifts for Your glory. Amen

To God be the Glory….

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Listen to the Rhythm of the Falling Rain

Just Thinking……

Today is dark and rainy.  It’s not stormy; it’s rainy.  It’s not a hurricane; it’s rainy.  It’s not a cold icy-spike rain; it’s warm and rainy.  It’s the kind of rain that can easily put me to sleep.

I’m sitting in my sun room on the little couch, staring out the window.  The rain patters on the deck and hot tub.  It falls on the bench and splashes the little red bistro set.   It streams slowly down the window.  It coats the fence and soaks into the yard.  Soft and gentle, it’s just what we need.

Many years ago in my high school days,  I loved listening to a song called “Rhythm of the  Rain” by The Cascades.  Although it was a sad song, I loved the instrumental imitation of the rain, and this particular verse:

Oh, listen to the falling rain
Pitter patter, pitter patter
Oh, oh, oh, listen to the falling rain
Pitter patter, pitter patter  (Rhythm of the Rain)

Now I am humming that song while watching the rain.  What is different though is that now I am almost deaf.  I no longer can hear the rain, not even when it might be pounding on the roof.

The loss of hearing means that I no longer hear the peepers in the spring or the birds at dawn.  I no longer hear the music that I love, and when I sing, it’s just to myself because I cannot hear enough to blend into harmony.  I no longer can hear on the phone, or hear traffic.  I can’t hear the doorbell, or the timer on the oven.    I can’t hear most conversations, nor can I hear the television.

I miss these sounds, but to be truthful, there is a certain comfort in the silence.  I have no distractions to what is going on in my head.  My thought life has improved vastly.  While the sense of hearing has diminished, other senses have improved.    I watch people now with more detail and have more clarity in reading between the lines.

Remember Simon and Garfunkel…. another nod to my past years of music.

People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
No one dared
Disturb the sound of silence  (The Sounds of Silence)

I am in the age of the sound of silence.  It’s not what Simon and Garfunkel envisioned, but in my deafness, I understand this differently.

And……… I am ready to disturb the sound of silence.

I have passed all the tests to be a candidate for a cochlear implant.  The doctors told me that it would be jarring at first to hear sounds that I have not heard for many years.  They said I should ask those I am with to tell me what the sounds are that I hear.  There are voices that I have not heard clearly for quite some time.  I need to become familiar with them again after the implant.

I want to hear the falling rain.  I want to hear my grandchildren and my husband’s gentle voice.  I want all those sounds of the universe to be my normal again……. but I will miss the sounds of silence.   The senseless clatter and chatter and jangling  and  clamor and din and incessant shrill shouting…..  no, I don’t want that.   But it all goes with hearing.

Right now, I just continue to watch the rain.     It is the season for silence.

“I will send you rain in its season…”.  (Lev. 26:4)

Father, thank You for the rain.  Thank You for the season.  As I move forward in the quest for hearing, I ask that You not let me forget the silence.  Amen

To God be the Glory…..

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Airing Your Dirty Laundry

Just Thinking….

Let’s talk laundry.

We all have it.  Sometimes I am amazed at how much laundry two retired people can generate.  Towels after a shower.  Dishcloths and towels in the kitchen.  The microfiber clothes I use to clean windows. Bedding.  Dusty stinky clothes after working outside. The shirts we dribbled gravy onto.  The pants with  ketchup stains.  That skirt where I sat on a sticky bench at Burger King.  Tables cloths and napkins after  a soup supper.  Throw rugs.  Sweat shirts including the sweat.  Underwear.  Socks that threaten to aromatically overwhelm us.

When my mom used to do laundry back in my little kiddle days,  it consisted of a soaking tub  in the basement, a wringer washer and then another tub for rinsing.  Then we had to run them through the wringer again and take it all up the stairs and outside to pin onto the clothesline.    After that we searched the sky for rain clouds and chased the birds away.  In the winter the clothes froze on the line…… sort of an original freeze dried product!  Sometimes in the winter, Mom hung the clothes on a wooden folding rack that stood over the hot air register.  Our winter clothes always seemed stiff…..

Then after they were dry, we made them wet again. by sprinkling water on the clothing with a soda bottle that had a pierced cap.  We rolled up the damp clothes and stacked them into a basket.   The next day would then be ironing day, where we unrolled the clothes, heated the iron and went at it.

And then it started all over again.

I guess we were fortunate that we didn’t have too many clothes, and that we didn’t have to beat them on a washboard, or take them down to the creek to beat with rocks.

Landry for me is relatively easy.  But it still piles up….. and still demands washing.  It’s a never ending cycle.  I did laundry today and this Scripture came to mind:

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
 (PS. 51:7)

I do laundry with some stain remover, Oxi Clean, once in  a while bleach, and a detergent.    I’ve never used hyssop.  So I got to wondering about what hyssop is.

Here’s a synopsis from Wikpedia:

Hyssopus officinalis or hyssop is a herbaceous plant of the genus Hyssopus, native to Southern Europe, the Middle East, and the region surrounding the Caspian Sea. Due to its properties as an antiseptic, cough reliever, and expectorant, it is commonly used as a medicinal plant.

WebMD adds this information:

The chemicals in hyssop may affect the heart and may increase secretions in the lungs. 

Now….. isn’t that interesting?   It is an antiseptic which cleans out the germs  And it affects the heart and lungs.

Father, I desire to be cleaner than Oxi-Clean, whiter than bleach.  I thank You that You have provided the way to be clean….. the blood of Christ.  I thank You that day by day, You continue to clean me.  Lord, clean me with antiseptic to purge my sin-germs,  and Lord,  cleanse my heart,  and help me to breathe in the beauty and freshness of You. Amen.

To God be the Glory…..

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Agreeing to Disagree

Just Thinking…..

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.  (Matthew 7: 1-2)

I’ve been reading  Facebook posts that go something like this: “If you like So And So (national figure, political figure, religious figure, etc), then I’ll defriend you.” Or “If you don’t support my viewpoint, you are no longer my FB friend.”

Truthfully, that concerns me. Most folks know me as a conservative person with distinct views on many facets of life. However, I also love people….. and I don’t understand wanting to surround oneself with only people who are mini-me’s, little mirrors of me.

Where’s the fun? Where’s the growth? Where’s the challenge? I love the debate, the free exchange of ideas, and it’s not to try and crush someone, or to declare myself the know-it-all winner. I just think a healthy community thrives on a free flow of conversation.

Let’s ask the questions. Let’s explore the impossible ideas. Let’s consider other viewpoints. That doesn’t make me a wimp with no backbone. Indeed, it helps me strengthen who I am and what I believe. And sometimes I learn something that makes me pause and reflect.But overall, let’s do this with respect. Where’s the necessity….. the urgency…..  to name call and bash those who hold different perspectives?

So….. if you disagree with me and feel the need to banish me from your Facebook group of friends, then so be it.  If you feel the need to backstab me, or spread rumors, or drop me as a friend or acquaintance, so be it.  I want you to know that I will not do that to you. We may never agree. But that doesn’t mean I no longer want you to be a part of my life. People are just too important to do that to..

How should we live when disagreement and ugliness swirl around us/   Try this on for size:

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 4:31- 5:2)

Letting disagreements divide friends and families and neighbors and coworkers is nothing new.   Paul had to deal with this in the New Testament.  The believers were squabbling about  which day to worship, and should they eat meat that has been offered to idols or not.  Here’s what Paul told them:

 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.  Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.  (Romans 14: 5-6)

You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.  (Romans 14:10)

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.  (Romans 14: 19)

More than ever, we need to discuss issues and policies….. but not personalities.  It is possible to disagree….. and hold fast to our convictions and standards….. and to still respect others.

Father, Forgive us when we began to attack others, and bring shame on their names.  Help us refrain and to put our energies where they will make differences.   Help us to walk a path of peace.   Amen. 

To God be the glory…. 

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Talking It Over With Dad

Just Thinking….

Dad was brilliant.  He graduated salutatorian of his class.  He had uncommon hands-on common sense and could reason his way through many problems.  When he graduated, he wanted to become a math teacher.  But WW2 interfered.

In the mid 1940s, healthy young men knew Uncle Sam was beckoning.  Dad didn’t go on to college because the chances were high that he would be drafted any minute. And sure enough, the letter came.

Dad took the letter to his father.  My grandpa was a veteran of WW1.  He knew the rigors of war.   Grandpa looked at the letter, looked at my dad, and then said, “Son, I wish you didn’t have to go.  But you are no better, nor any worse, than anyone else.  There are just times you have to do what you have to do.”  And so Dad left for basic training, and  ended up in Japan.

When the war ended, he came home, married his sweetheart, started a family and started farming.  He never made it to college.  His intellect was poured into the science and business acumen of farming.  And he did well.  Algebra and geometry were his favorite parts of math, and he used them regularly to figure out problems.

When Dad was alive, I came to him often….. not with a draft board letter….. but with other problems and situations.  I don’t recall him ever saying that I was no better nor any worse than others……  but he did not give empty praise nor condemnations.  He often said that there were times when you do what you have to do.

Should I go to college?  Where? How?  I had no idea of how I could afford it.  Dad just encouraged me to do my best and find a way.  He couldn’t  afford to pay my way, but he gave me his blessing.  And so I left for college and ended up with two degrees.  I did well in teaching after the first awful rocky years;  I had made the right decision to go into education.

My dad is no longer here.  I still want to go to him and talk things over.  I long for his wisdom and experience to guide me.  But he taught me something most important:  Go to your Father.  When my earthly father could not longer be there, I knew my Heavenly Father was always there.

I don’t know if my grandpa went to his own dad, a Swedish immigrant, to talk things over.  Grandpa wrote stories about times with his dad, but nothing was mentioned of getting advice.   I do know that my grandfather went to our Heavenly Father often.  He was a man of strong but quiet faith, and I can recall seeing him pray or just sitting quietly  with his head bowed.  My dad was a man of prayer and I recall many times of hearing him pray.

What a blessing to have these examples of prayer!  What a blessing to have a father and grandfather who knew the Lord, loved the Lord, and spent time talking to Him.  They set the example for me.

Romans 8:15 says…. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”    Abba….. Daddy…..  and because I am a child of God, I can go to Him as if I was going to my daddy!

Father…. What a privilege to call You “Father”.    Thank You for the memories of these men in my life who talked to You.  Thank You for always being there for me.  Thank You for guiding me in doing what I have to do.  Amen.

To God be the Glory,

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