Standing in the Card Isle

As I was standing in the card isle I wondered....what could be going through people's minds as they are getting a card.  and more specifically for holidays like "Father's Day"

"should I get him a funny one?"
"...too mushy"
"we're not that close"
"what can I get for my father-in-law, that will have just the right words"
"my son and I are not on best of terms but this is his first child, what card will fit?"
"I don't talk to my dad, but maybe a card might shorten the gap..."
"This one's perfect!"

I will share a little bit about me so you might be able to relate or at least get something from the post on a more personal level.  Not too much detail going into this, but I've never known my dad.  I remember meeting him once as a child but didn't make the connection that he was my dad.  It wasn't until my senior year in college that I started writing letters back and forth with him.  My grandmother has raised me and my mom close by.  My mom remarried when I was a senior in highschool.  And so I have a step father.  Both I love, and I appriciate things about them...  but the ultimate figure I've always looked up to as a father has been my Heaveanly Father. 

So when I was on that isle today looking at cards, I was thinking:
"....oh this one's nice... (for my step father)... but it says dad, and I don't call him dad..... ooo... this one's nice....no.... too mushy.... grrr... I can't find a simple happy father's day card.... I want to tell him I appriciate him ... not that classic hallmark novel card...... guess I'll have to make him one... now to my (father).. .... hmm... all these talk about growing up together.... nope these aren't going to work... this one talks about how he's been there for me.... not going to work... guess I'll make them both a card"

Conclusion:  I am making them both a card- hand made is better anyway.

My point is that you never know what is going through ones mind when they are purchasing a card on the card isle.  Be sensitive to them. you've got the careless ones , and you've got the ones who will use the card as one of their most powerful tools of communication.

second point:  whether you celebrate fathersday or not.... the Creator of you is also FATHER to you.

That moment of Turning

Should I go?
Should I not?
Should I wait?
Should I not?

What will they say?
What will they think?
What will they do?
What will they conclude?

Why do I wait?
Why don't I choose?
Why do I linger?
Am I afraid to loose?

What have I got to loose here?
Its all gain from here on out
What am I waiting for?
I need to kill this doubt.

Here I go
I'm laying it down
my life is nothing without YOU

Forgive me
take me
make me
...something new

reshape me
rescue me
save me from my selfishness

Bring me to the place
Where its all about YOU
and I live
for YOU
because
its all about
YOU

and so my heart steps out
and pivots away from the path of defeat
and onward I turn to the path of YOU

and this moment of turning
so hard to come to
has great peace afterwards
because I rest in YOU.

Tough question.

Are there moments in life when you sit and ponder questions like...
What should I conclude with capital punishment?
What about Abortion?
Women in Ministry?
Does the Creator save all?

Tough questions that make you... cringe to have to face and think about.

I have a blog friend who is confronting these issues on their blog right now.  A series called  CHRISTIANITY THAT MAKES ME CRINGE (see following link for one of the posts): http://www.thescandal.org/2011/05/christianity-that-makes-me-cringe-women.html

I'm not say that their opinion is fact and is  agreeable or disagreeable... but these are questions that might pop up in your life and what do you conclude to?  Do you take the popular vote? Do you go with what the friend next to you says so you don't get flogged? 

Here are a few Survival Tips for Tough questions:
1.  Always ask questions and test all things (Acts 17:11-12; James 1: 2-3; 1Thess. 5:21-24)
2.  Ask for wisdom from the Lord (Proverbs 3: 5-6; James 1:5-6; Psalm 32:8)
3.  Pray for peace in the things you don't understand (Philippians 4: 6-7)
4.  Seek Scriptures (not out of context) (Colossians 3:16; Proverbs 2:1-7)
5.  Seek council, and give room for correction (Psalm 19:20; Proverbs 1:5)
6.  Grow forward: learn, apply wisdom and seek for more wisdom (Romans 12:2; James 1: 2-4)

Check out http://www.thescandal.org/ and comment on their blog your ideas, opinions, insights, help out all who are seeking these questions... I might even touch on these great questions in the near future on my blog.  DON'T FORGET YOUR SURVIVAL TIPS... you don't want to stumble or cause another to stumble.. stay strong my friends.

Pay to Pray

At work today I came across some friends I haven't seen since college and the guy was sharing with me his trip to Thailand.  Him and 5 other guys went there to teach basketball and about the Lord. I asked him what he thought was interesting or different:  He said that while he was there he noticed people would pay to visit a temple to pray to a rock.  "And here we are, and we get to pray for free" he said.  ....wow.

He had a point.  We have a freedom here!  which "we" am I talking about?  I am talking about those who have said YES to the Lord Jesus Christ and have trusted their lives over to HIM.  if you are that "we"  you are free to call upon the Lord.  You don't have to pay to go into a temple to pray.  You don't even have to go into a temple to PRAY!  your body is the temple! 

I tell kids all the time, its like calling God on a cell phone... He's only a speed dial number away..and He's already got His ear to the phone ready for your call.  No phone phone bills, no phone cards to buy.. its free.  How beautiful to think of this freedom we hold... to talk to the CREATOR..the one who SHAPED THE HEAVENS and breathed life into everything!! wow.!

So I share with you and hope you share with others especially those who "pay" to "pray"...that they can call TOLL FREE

You Whisper to Me with Thunder

You whisper to me with Thunder

You calm me with Your breeze

You remind me of your wonder

through lightening and its mysteries

You whispter to me with sunsets

You calm me with Your hues

You remind me of your beauty

through sliver linings with contrasts of blue

You whisper to me with seasons

You calm me with your flowers

You remind me of having hope

their changes display Your Power

You whisper to me with tradgeties

You calm me with a hug and tear

You remind me of Your Victory

Death where's your sting, no Fear!

“Be still, and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
(Psalm 46:10)

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.  For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.
(Isaiah 30:18)

What do You think about?

Often I share on this blog what my motto says:  ...Barefoot in the grass... bringing to heart what the Big World is

My mission is just that, at least strive with the best of my abilities. Often I share things that strike my curiousity, concerns, and compassion..

BUT  for this post I want to see what the audience wants.  I want to know what you think about?...what things do you think about often, questions you ponder, things that touch your heart..

Any suggestions?  and I might blog on those topics.. please share, post on here or on the link to this site via my facebook page.

Listening to your thoughts with big ears and still barefeet in the grass :D

Wal-Mart Flowers

As I got off of work ( a busy day at work) I stopped by Wal-Mart to get a couple of things and was going to be on my way out.  ..

 

... But I found myself wandering over to the Garden section of Wal-Mart, and thought, "why, not.." so I meandered over to the greenhouse area and as soon as I entered, its like the world stood still... there was no time, no schedule, no deadlines, no traffic, no troubles... just me and the beautiful fountain in front of me surrounded by hundreds of flowers and a swinging bench.

I breath in the air...and yes... it smells like beauty.... it smells like peace

 As I walk through the greenhouse, my eyes are in awe of all the colors and shapes of the plants.  And I find myself being in awe of the ONE who created these things before me.

I continue my stroll through the greenhouse, I stop and smell a couple of different flowers... believe it or not they have their very own distinct aroma.. ..wow.

And then I come to the Hallelujah chorus of this walk.. I come to the cacti.  Who would imagine that there are SO MANY different cacti!!! when I think of a cactus I think of a tall green stem with arms and lots of pricklies! 

But NO, not these!  some were pokey, some were smooth, some had flowers, some look like they weren't even possibly a cactus!

But I'm getting to a point here... promise :-D

On my way home I was driving and thinking about my time with the Wal-Mart Flowers and I learned a few things..

1.  In the midst of busy lives, The LORD sends peaceful beautiful things our way, we just have to recognize them.

2.  God is a CREATIVE Creator

3.  God says that man is like the flower in the field, It flourishes, then fades away, but the Word of the Lord endures forever

4.  And I continued to be intrigued by the cacti that I saw.

I stopped to get my hair done on my way home and was talking to the hairstylist about all the cacti I saw and how beautiful they were..and she asked me if there were fruit on them yet, I was like "I didn't know that there could be fruit on a cactus!"  she said yes and that she has one at home that grows fruit.

So then that made me think, maybe we can be like the cactus, that may seem tough, sharp, strange looking, but  let our flowers blossom, let the beauty of the Lord shine through and most important, bear fruit to feed (or in a spiritual sense, produce a life that brings others to the TRUTH, to the Word of the Lord which lasts forever). 

In the end, you might say, "I think you have dug too deep into this thought", but like I said earlier, you have to be willing to let the Lord reveal His beauty to you, and believe me HE WILL... its ALL AROUND..and I mean not just in nature... I mean in a baby's eyes, in a father's hug, in a child's giggle, in a rebel's random act of kindness... seek it out...find your "WAL-MART FLOWERS"  if you have a story....share it: we would love to hear. :-D