On This Day

On This Day

I really love Facebook.  Don’t you?  I mean, seriously, where else can we go to keep up with one another, find the best recipes, see pictures of near and far-off places, peoples, and cartoons/memes of any subject under the sun?  Not to mention the groups we can join (no membership fee required), the chat rooms we can converse in, and we also have a place to record our life events for all the world to see--or for just a few select ones, should that be our desire.

One of Facebook’s perks is often a double-edged sword for me.  It’s the feature known as “On This Day.”  For those not familiar with it, what it does is capture the moments from today’s date and highlights them for each year that one was on Facebook.  Oh the walks down Memory Lane I take each morning!  Some cause me to smile and reminisce over past glories while others make me melancholy for hurts that haven’t quite healed.  Some leave me laughing while others have me scratching my head.  Often, as today’s reflections were, I get a little of both.

Apparently in 2014, I wrote a blog about mistaken identity.  It was good (even if I do say so myself) and I recollected the feelings evoked as I read over the words about making a name for one’s self.  How I wanted to be known as a child of God and have His characteristics flow unmistakably through me!  I still do.  For you see, whether we personally can see them or if instead someone has to point them out to us, we all have a certain something that reminds folks of another soul.  Often I have been confused with someone else and in my blog I joked about a few of those times and concluded with this paragraph:

Long story short, each of us is labeled and/or associated with some type of person. Artists, jocks, families, funny people, or what have you: we all leave a mark. We all can be confused with another, as my sister Mary and I often were because we favored in looks. But the group I most want to be associated with, the Person I most want to be known as being related to, and the attributes I most wish to emulate are those of the family of God. I want to be instantly recognizable as a child of God, as one who smiles and offers acceptance, as one whose qualities could come no other way except by inheritance, by being born with the traits and elements of Jesus Christ. If I am to be confused with someone else, may it be as a person of light so that when the truth comes out and my real identity is known, I will have found favor with those whom I come in contact with, and may I leave a sweet savor behind so that even though I was not whom they thought, I was still someone they were glad they just met.

Imagine then, to my chagrin, as I scrolled further down the On This Day page and saw a notification I had posted about funeral arrangements for a man that for the life of me I could not remember whom he was.  I was appalled!  He passed seven years ago and sure, my memories aren’t what they used to be but still...Still, how could he have mattered so much then and not be even a faint memory now?  I internally shuddered.

In conclusion, I was able to investigate and discover who this man was (a former colleague of mine that at the time made a great impression on me and so many others).  However, to not know him now?  To not automatically have his face and personality come to mind saddened me.  I wondered about my own legacy.  Who will remember me when I am gone?  Who will smile longingly at my picture and recall the good times or will I just be the one who folks puzzle over as they repeat my name over and over, trying to jog some link to it?  Thankfully, once we all reach Glory, we won’t have temporary amnesia and we will know--we will know each other fully.  We will rejoice in the creatures God turned us into as we perhaps laugh over past times and see how He worked in us even then.  Even now.  

On this day, friends, may we shine for Jesus, love as He loves, and glorify Him above all.  That’s our purpose and reasonable sacrifice.  And the best part is that it’s not even a hard task to complete.  Let’s finish well, shall we?

...even as I am fully known.

  

Sigh.  This just happened.  

A few moments ago I was looking through my latest pictures and adding them to the program I use, Picasa, for editing purposes.  Picasa has as one of its features an identifying tool, where it labels the people in each photograph.  Depending on if there has already been a name attached to that face, Picasa will ask you to confirm that identity, create a new one, or give it a label for someone it thinks is being depicted.  Sometimes it gets it right; other times it suggests someone closely related to that soul.  Other times it can be downright comical or plain out crazy when it thinks one looks like a certain so-and-so in a given picture.

This tool from Picasa is quite handy for keeping me organized.  Sometimes I need to make a special gift or use someone’s face for something I am working on.  Being able to go to my People Album and have all of these images to choose from in a timely manner is great!

However…

However, the downside to this tool is that it wants to give a name to each face that is recognized by it and when a name isn’t assigned, it can bog down my folder, leaving me with hundreds of unidentified folks that just happened to be randomly in my pictures, or occasional photo bombers that I will probably never know, strangers, or…

Gulp.

Or folks whom I no longer wish to associate with or be reminded of later.  Those perhaps who once were important to me but now only serve as distasteful reminders of happier times or times best left in the past.  

To combat this, I have assigned--collectively--a name to these that combines them all into a one-person folder so that they don’t clog up my collection.  The name I have given to it?  Unknown.  

For the most part, it’s true.  The ones who show up in my pictures where large crowds may be are unknown to me.  And the ones who often show up but I have no relationship to are also easier to be nameless, rather than having a repertoire of hundreds of folks that I really don’t wish to have a personal file on.  Does that make sense?

So, back to the premise of today’s blog. I was struck this morning by seeing several family members that I have relegated to my “Unknown” label.  Saddened, even.  I gazed at some of these faces Picasa was trying to give an identity to and just hurt in my soul that these cousins, siblings, and others were now unknown to me.  Whether we lost touch, weren’t that close after all, or...or...whatever.  To me, for my own sanity and well-being, I put them in the “Unknown” file and wondered:  is someone out there doing this same thing to me?  Am I now a stranger when once I was so much more?  What a sad, sad state of affairs.

I Corinthians 13:12 speaks of this.  Read it with me?  “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”  

Friends, have you been fully known to someone who now is no longer a part of your world?  Or have you been cast aside as unworthy, no longer a vital part--or even a partial part, for that matter--of someone’s life?  Hurts, doesn’t it?  

Sigh.

Thankfully, though, we do have hope.  We have a promise.  One day, reconciliation will happen for those who are a part of the family of God.  The clouds will disappear.  The assumed and presumed will be made known, as will we.  No longer encumbered by the devil’s lies, we will know the truth and it will set us free.  Yes, I agree:  it is sad--it is maddening!!--that some of us are too stubborn and hard-hearted to get to realize these things on this side of eternity.  Too many of us have listened to the lies and the whispers that the devil spouts off, as he wreaks havoc in the lives of God’s children.  Oh the pain he has caused and still continues to maim us with!  But one day...one day, friends, we will know.  Face to face.  All will be revealed.

Until then?  Until then, we still will face hurt and we will still grieve over relationships and loved ones that prick our hearts at the most unexpected moments.  There will still be times that the devil uses these memories and Facebook postings from previous days to steal our joys.  I wish I had an answer for you for how to deal with this but it’s just different for each of us, right, the way that we handle haunts?  All I can do now is remind you again that as God’s children, one day this won’t be so.  One day all wrongs will be made right.  And as the song proclaims, what a day that will be!

Let’s pray!

Ahh, Father.  The marvels of technology continue to progress and we, Your children?  What do we do with these new-fangled “helps”?  Allow them to prick us and gouge at our already-tender hearts as we unknowingly, innocently even, go about a random act that suddenly turns into a minefield of emotions that we weren’t even aware of still existed in us?  

Lord, we have got to do better!  The devil is getting smarter and more conniving in his ways of stealing our joy so we have to be stronger and more proactive in our defense of self.  Using a tool like I just described is one way of self-preservation for me and hopefully it just might help another soul out there with hers.  Ultimately though, Lord, we know we need You to defend us, to preserve us, to save us.  When these fiery darts come out of the blue, I pray our shields of faith will be nearby to block them.  But when they aren’t, Father, will You please balm our wounds?  Will You remind us to seek You, Your Word, and talk to You about our injuries and find solace in Your care until that day, Lord, that day when we are set free?  I’d be ever so grateful if You did!

Thank You for being here for me, for my readers, for Your children.  We don’t always know how to express our feelings, God, but we thank You for the Holy Spirit Who intercedes for our groanings that are often too deep for words, as promised in Romans 8:26.  Thank You for Your Word, Father, and for Your love.  I love You too!

In the precious name of Christ Jesus I pray.  Amen!

A Little Something Different

Today I invite you to go over to Facebook (for those of you who have it) to watch today's wandering thoughts.  If you aren't a member of Facebook, that's okay.  Click on this link and it will allow you to view this video:
WanderingThroughTheBible.

Hope you like it!

Hit me again, Ike

“Where would Tina Turner be right now if she'd rolled over and said, ‘Hit me again, Ike,

and put some stank on it!’? Rollin' on the river, that's where she'd be.”

Where does your inspiration come from?  Old movies?  Songs?  Books?  People?  The Bible?  I would have to say mine come from all of the above.

Take this morning for example.  Steve and I were having our breakfast and I was relating to him about this person on Facebook.  The posts this person--let's call him "Ike" for now--puts up often have the tendency to irk me.  Ike often posts things that are rarely positive; some would even say they are whiny and derogatory to his employer.  The more I told Steve about his comments, the more upset Steve himself got over the silliness and outrageousness of it. Upset isn't quite the right word; irate would be better.  No, that's too strong. Maybe just plain old fed up would best suffice.

Anyway, he says to me, "Can't you just unfollow this person?  They wouldn't know if you did, right:  Facebook doesn't notify them that they are not being followed?"

I said I could but when certain of my friends comment on Ike's page, it shows up in my feed.  His oh-so-wise response that he didn't know would be the spark to set my wandering fingers ablaze this morning with this blog?  "Can't you just un-feed it?"

Whoa!

The tangents my mind took off on as I instantly thought of how many things in my life would not be so pesky and irksome if they just weren't fed!  For instance, you know how Facebook likes to send you those "On This Day" reminders of what happened this time last year, two years ago, and so on?  Things like on this day my mother died in 2012 (as though I needed to be reminded of that).  

Oh the flames that are ignited when I allow myself to dwell on all the angst, hurt, pain, and betrayal that that incident brought up.  Oh sure, there were also some great things that happened on September 3 throughout my lifetime and those things are fondly remembered but honestly, each day in this feed, it seems as though there is something there to try to steal my hard-fought for joy.  And if it's not "On This Day," then there is someone who posts a meme, a quote, a prayer request for whatever family functions and dysfunctions are going on to remind me of my own affairs.

So, what am I saying?  Am I proposing giving up Facebook so that there's not always something there to remind me of past trials?  Hmn.  It surely would eliminate a lot of my random thoughts and keep me less involved (and thereby less likely to be made aware of things that really--in all honesty--don't concern me).  It would free up many moments in my day to better use to pursue happier and more productive thoughts.  In truth, it would probably be one of the smartest things I could do: to unfeed my mind and life of inconsequential things and events.

But...

But, maybe I'm more like the meme I posted above.  Maybe I'm a closet masochist?  Maybe--like was proposed by Fletcher in the "Liar Liar" movie--maybe I enjoy being hit again and again with hurt--and while you're at it, put some stank on it?  I mean, truthfully, if it bothered me enough, wouldn't I quit exposing myself to it?  Wouldn't I unfeed this hungry shark that is never satisfied, never fulfilled, never gets enough of the misery that feeds its appetite?

Sigh.

But there's more to the quote I used this morning from Jim Carrey's dialogue here.  He follows it with "Wake up, Sisters!  There's no such thing as a weaker sex."

Read these words that Jesus told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Hmn.  I can surely relate to the weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties Paul was writing about.  Can't you, friends?  So, while it'd probably be one of the smarter things to do--to give up Facebook, I mean--I don't believe I will.  Even though it has the tendency to reveal things to me that were previously unknown, it also only has as much power as I allow it to.  So, yeah Steve, I will "unfeed" some folks' pages.  I will unfollow more that I know are often ones who just bring me down with their own miserableness.  I won't purposely seek out their posts to see what's new with them.  After all, if it was any of my business, I'd probably already be privy to it, don't you think?  I think so too!

Let's pray!

Dear Lord...

Heavy sigh.

Father?  Thank You for once again showing me a better way.  Who knew a simple word like "unfeed" would open my eyes to something so easy to do, something that should be obvious to begin with, and something that definitely needs to be tended to in my life?  I'm a slow learner and it takes me a while, Lord, to realize what others have known for longer.  Thanks for being tolerant with me and helping me to make the necessary changes that will make me...better?  More like You?  

Yeah.  That is the ultimate goal, right?  You promised to perfect me and even though it may be taking more time than You originally planned, the race is still being run.  Fulfill Your will in me, I pray, in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Oh Me Of Little Faith!

Psalm 43:5 asks this question--and answers it in the same verse: "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God."  So, in response, I direct it back to you, to me.  Why are we afraid, dismayed, doubting, and depressed today?  No need to be!

I've been pondering things lately.  Big surprise, huh?  I know but...that's why I make the big bucks!  Seriously though, a part of my wonderful church is that we have a continuous prayer chain via Facebook that I am a part of.  And, before this came along, we had that old-fashioned kind.  You know:  the kind where people actually called one another on telephones and checked up on their friends, family, and loved ones.  And go back even further, and guess what?  Yep!  We had that real old-timey kind:  the one where we'd hit our knees at the first signs of calamity, distress, or any other type of need.

Regardless of the way our requests are made known to God and to each other, one thing has not changed:  He's still on the throne.  Jesus is by His side, along with the Holy Spirit.  It's been this way since the dawn of time, which, ironically, is what I entitled my picture for today.  Gaze over it and see what those three have been up to, will you?  I tried not to leave you out but forgive me, please, if I did.  

Did you make the list?  See any of your needs that have not already been predetermined and allowed for?  Obviously I do not have the mind of God but...but I do have His heart, placed there when Jesus Christ saved my soul many moons ago.  And because of that, because of His great love, I can rest today.  I don't have to wring my hands when the bad news comes--and it will.  I don't have to fret over who will win the primaries today:  that's already been predetermined.  I don't have to wonder if Brenda's surgery will be okay because I know my Great Physician already has her in His sweet hands.  Those world disasters and senseless acts of violence and/or carelessness have all got His angels ready to take charge and assist where needed.  

So, why am I disquieted?  I'm not!  And you shouldn't be either.  Here's what Jesus did to prove this in Matthew 8:25-27:

And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing!" He said to them, "Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, "What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

I'll tell you what:  that's the kind of Man I am following today.  I hope you are too!

Let's pray!

Rarely do I think of the three of You acting on my behalf, taking for granted You have got me.  Thank You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for this unasked for but greatly appreciated act of mercy, love, and observation of what I need before I even ask for it.  May the hearts and souls of Your children be touched today by the tender mercies You provide is my hope.  Amen!

What is it about her?

Today's picture has been provided by my new friend Anne Payne. For more inspiration from her and her photos, visit here:  http://annepayne.blogspot.com

Let me tell you a thing or two, by the way, about Anne. Let's start with how we met. Well, hmn, wait a minute, Stef. Our paths crossed via Facebook. I had heard of Anne via my friend Charmeyne. Lastly, I finally met Anne in church a couple of Sundays ago as she visited with us at Clarks Chapel. Our souls instantly connected and we hugged as if lifelong friends. But there's only so much you can do in a moment of fellowship so I did what any other normal (??!) red-blooded woman would do: I stalked her Facebook page when I got home!

If you think I am kidding, you would be wrong. Now, before you judge and write me off as bat-crazy, let's talk about this. Why do people have Facebook pages anyway? Mmn hmn: to let the world know about their lives. The pics they post, the notes they write, the comments that make all work together to give the outside world an inside view of what makes this person who s/he is.

So, the more I "peeked" the more my curiosity was piqued. Her photos caught my eye and as I viewed them, I noticed Anne had another site so, of course, I went there and got to know even more about this beautiful woman who was fast stealing a place into my heart. After reading a few of her posts and intruding into her life, I sent her a note, telling her I just had to know more! Thankfully, she didn't call 911 on me and instead, we met for lunch later that week. We spent nearly six hours together as we chatted, laughed, and shared things with one another that we both rarely have opened up to others about.

Yesterday and the day before, I blogged about sharing your talents so that others would be interested in you and why you create what you share. I want to encourage you again today, friends, to keep sharing. I want you to keep doodling in your Bible journals and letting us see little pieces of your hearts there. I want you to keep writing your thoughts down--chaotic as they may be--so that we get an insight into your soul. When something annoys you or makes you mad, I want you to express that so that we care enough to go deeper and figure out why that particular thing had such an impact on you.

I had this blog planned out last night and this is not exactly where I thought I'd go. I was going to point out to you various famous people who--through whatever skills and talents they had--caught our attention and made us want to know them more. Celebrity is intriguing and most of us have that certain someone that when we hear his/her name, drop everything to listen to the latest gossip about that one. I was going to use as my examples folks like Stephen Curry, Chris Pratt, Madison Bumgarner, Denzel Washington, and a few others. Most of us are familiar with these names yet when these guys are studied, we find that not only are they talented--okay, and they aren't hard on the eyes either ;)-- but that they attribute their success to our great God. Using the world as their platforms, they do what they are best at and when others notice them and begin getting to know their backgrounds, they then have the opportunity to share Christ with the world.

Okay, these men are not preachers and don't claim to be "Christians" as their job titles. Instead, they are regular Joes who go in and out each day, doing their jobs, and living lives that invite others to want to know them better. That special quality that they have, that certain je ne sais quoi factor? I think you know what it is. I think you know Who placed it there.

To sum it all up, here's my point. If you share your skills, talents, and gifts with others--even if only through social media--you allow others the opportunity to get to know you better. You quietly express a personality trait that draws man unto you. Whether it's because you teach disabled students and do so with much respect for those special people or whether it's because you paint murals that others ooh and ahh over or even if it's just because you check out your customers in stores, restaurants, and even at call-centers, you do so each time with courtesy and kindness and even though you may NEVER ONCE MENTION THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, your actions speak. Softly. Gently. Convincingly and with conviction.

So, keep shining, friends. Keep letting that glory peep out of you. Be famous and unashamed of your talents for they often are the stepping stone that leads others to a closer walk with Jesus. Open those consignment stores and let those who can't afford the things of the world at full price to be sold at prices that reflect fairness and dignity. Bake those cakes and let others see the time is not wasted as you mix, stir, and pray over the ones who will be consuming them. Be the one who keeps doing the work behind the scenes for I assure you, it is being seen and appreciated and noted. Lastly, remember this prayer:

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

Thanks for reading today! That is all. wink emoticon

What is that smell?!

June 6, 2015

I love Facebook.  Many of the inspirations for my blog come from it.  Case in point:  yesterday a friend of mine shared the following statement that I think you will enjoy:

As I was entering the Home Depot ladies room a cute little girl ( who appeared to be about 7 years) was exiting. She whispered to me "It is going to stink in there. It was my Mom!" Lol. Priceless little children.

I indeed laughed out loud as I pictured this scenario.  Can't you just see the mortified look on the little girl's face and then picture the mom who couldn't have been far behind meandering out as though nothing out of the ordinary had taken place?  How hard it must have been to keep a straight face (in more ways than one if you catch my drift--or the drift that was left behind).  

As children of God, do you ever wonder what scents we are leaving behind?  When we leave a place, is there a fragrance of something pleasant or do we instead leave a stench and have people holding their noses and wanting to get as far away from there as possible?


2 Corinthians 2:15 tells us

For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 

I don't know about you but I for one surely love to follow my nose to things that please it.  Roses, fresh-baked chocolate-chip-pies like I am about to bake for my favorite seven-year-old grandson, the smell of the earth after a solid rain, and who doesn't love the smell of bacon frying and popcorn popping?  On the other hand, popcorn that is burning, a woman with too much perfume, and little boys who use their little bottoms to make dreadful noises and smells are most unwelcome in my aurora.  

Today, as we do whatever it is we have planned, let's purpose to leave behind an aroma that makes people stop in their tracks, turn around to see what that wonder was, and make our Lord Jesus proud of His kids.  Let's create a hunger for those nearest us to want more of that spectacular fragrance to fill their hungry hearts and to create an appetite to learn more of Jesus.  Most importantly though, let's be sure we can truly give them the bread they need.  Are you prepared to share the gospel today?  Let's see if we can get a little help first, shall we?

Dear Lord God, today is another opportunity for us to be lights for You.  You have given us a day to honor You and my prayer is that we all check up before leaving our homes today and make sure we have our dress in place.  May we not have too much Bible and not enough of You.  May we not be overbearing in our knowledge but subtle in our love so that others are attracted to what our testimonies are saying in spite of the things that might come out of our mouths.  

Should someone leave a room where we have been, may the remarks be favorable so that others are enticed to come in and see what the fuss is all about rather than dread taking another step into an arena that is foul and stinky.  Help us, I ask, to be pleasing to those we encounter today and may they smile when we pass and think "I wish I was like that!"

Thank You for this day, Father.  As my family and I celebrate my oldest grandson's special day, may we delight in him the way You delight in us.  In return, may we glean more knowledge of just how very much we are loved by You by the way we love this special boy?  Thank You for him, my other two gsons, and my family.  Thank You for teaching me how to love.  In the name of Jesus I pray.  Amen.