The Rose and The Zucchini

 Yesterday I got home from work and saw a beautiful bud on the rose bush by my door. I took tyme to stop and smell the rose and to take its picture. I oooed and ahhhed and praised God for His beautiful creation and then went on about my evening.

 I got home from work today and saw the same rose bud I saw yesterday, only today it was no longer a bud, but an opened up, young rose. I stopped, smelled, pictured, oooed and ahhhed again, all the while thinking, “wow, what a difference a day makes”!

I went inside and got busy preparing dinner, making yet another zucchini dish from the blessing and bounty of my garden. As I chopped the rather large zucchini, I remembered how small it was the day before. In fact, when I picked it, I had a hard tyme convincing myself it was actually the same zucchini as the day before, but it was in the same spot, attached to the same vine, so it had to be the same zucchini. I chopped along thinking, “wow, what a difference a day makes”!

Then it dawned on me that we are all like roses and zucchini because each of our days makes a difference. It might not often seem like it, but each day has us aging and growing. Sure, we might not see as much difference in one day as the rose and the zucchini, but each day does make a difference in our lives. The thing of it is, it’s up to us to decide if the day will make a good difference or a bad difference.

Did we pray for someone today? Did we hold a door for someone or say a kind word to someone? Did we make someone smile or laugh or feel good about themselves? Did we cook dinner for someone or serve at a food pantry? Did we make a donation to a worthy cause or show up to lend a helping hand to someone in need?

Or, did we spend the day wishing for things we can’t have? Did we think negative thoughts and bring others down? Did we put others down by offering harsh criticism and unkind words? Did we lie or cheat someone?

Good or bad, each one of those things on its own makes a difference in each day and therefore each day makes a difference. And, as the days add up, so do the differences. They become noticeable in either a good or bad way.

So, if we’re feeling like a day didn’t matter or if we’re wondering what the point is, let’s remember the Rose and the Zucchini. Let’s remember that a lot can open up, change and grow in a single day. Let’s remember that we have a lot of say in the difference our day makes.

Micah 6:8 says, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?”

“What a difference a day makes!”

Say What We Mean and Mean What We Say

Silly question, but do you know that words have meanings? I sometymes wonder if a lot of people forget that little fact. The older I get, the more I realize that many people use words where they don't belong, mainly off-color or foul language that really does not convey the true essence of what they are trying to say. I have always thought that if I cannot find a word that expresses my intended meaning, then I shouldn't be talking. Perhaps it is because of my black and white brain and my inability to understand "gray area" very well at all. If you say cow, I picture a cow. If you say "sea cow", I picture a sea and a cow...it takes my brain some processing to realize you are referring to a manatee. Now granted, my brain and I have been together for quite a while now, so many of the processes happen quickly and I can keep up, but sometymes that is not the case. Sometymes my brain gets hung up on words, because they don't mean what people are trying to say.

To quote one of my favorite movies...

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means".

One of the greatest examples of this is when people say something is as ________ as hell.

Insert your word of choice. I've heard "cool as hell", "strange as hell", "hot as hell", "hectic as hell", "empty as hell" ... I've even heard someone say, "righteous as hell". Mentally, I'm still shaking my head over that one.

It's concerning to me that people make such comparisons, not only because they are so far from true, but because it actually takes away from the scary, horrible, terrible, hopeless place that hell actually is. Hell is a real place and anyone who dies without knowing Jesus Christ as Savior is going there...forever. Seriously...ETERNAL DEATH.

Hell is not cool (figuratively or literally). The strangest thing you could possibly imagine can not come close to describing how strange hell is. Nothing you have seen or felt or can imagine is as hot (figuratively or literally) as hell is. No scene you've ever encountered or imagined can compare to the chaos that is hell. Sadly, many have died not knowing Christ, so hell is certainly not empty. As for Righteous, well, I think you can see that particular statement proves my point. WORDS HAVE MEANING!

Yes, words have meaning and we need to use them correctly so as to reach those that need to hear what we have to say. If we want to say something is cool as in neat, then we need to compare it to something that is actually cool/neat instead of letting our words desensitize reality.

Now, I admit that the English language can make things interesting what with its "their, there, they're" and other such homonyms. I also admit that I can appreciate a good play on words and I applaud clever humor. Still we need to remember that words not only have meaning, they have lasting meaning as well.

In Matthew 5:37, Jesus tells us to let our yes be yes and our no be no. He is referring to taking or rather not taking oaths, but He is also telling us to let our words be true. Jesus often spoke in parables because they were easy to understand and helped people understand Him, which was the purpose of His ministry and should be the purpose of ours.

The truth is, we are not perfect like Jesus. People will misunderstand us and they will take offense to our words at tymes, even if our intentions are the purest of pure. We need to guard our tongues (Proverbs 21:23) and remember to use our words wisely. We need to say what we mean and mean what we say!

The Fifth Basket

The year 2020 will likely go down in history as one of the strangest years ever recorded. Ask anyone over the age of seven what he or she thinks about 2020 and, chances are, the report or description offered will not accentuate the positives. Why not? Well, simply because it doesn’t seem like there are that many positives to accentuate.

It seems like every positive thing in the world has either changed, stopped, been postponed or simply discarded. People are now facing so many more issues, most of which are either government initiated or society driven, and each issue has multiple sides to be taken. Arguments, anger, hatred, distrust and myriad of other hurtful and harmful occurrences are overtaking the minds and hearts of human beings everywhere.  People who were once friends are no longer speaking because they stand of different sides of political issues. Fear is causing people to act out against others who do not see situations the same way they do, thus tearing apart friendships that, to this point, have stood the test of tyme. Not to mention, random strangers are harming random strangers just because they look different or have a different opinion on a topic. Yes, if you ask anyone about the number of positives there are to accentuate in 2020, chances are, the number they offer will be considerably less than had you asked in 2019.

So, where are the positives and how do we get them back? Is there still hope or has the ‘new normal’ of 2020 completely depleted the all reserves of optimism that ever existed? Okay, yes, that seems to be a rather negative outlook, but the way the year is going, it stands to reason that many are wondering that very thing.

Several weeks ago…or has it been months? That’s another aspect of 2020 that makes it strange; tyme goes by so fast and yet seems to take forever, but I digress. I’ll just describe it as ‘a while back’. A while back, my mother got five beautiful hanging baskets filled with Petunias and Verbena to use in decorating outside of our church. Well, with 2020 being 2020 and all, we are not having church at the church building, but rather outside at the community center so we can all be socially distant. [Insert personal opinion/comment here]. Still, as head of the beautification committee, my mother wanted the church building to look nice, so she hung the baskets, knowing she would have to drive the few miles to church every other evening to water and care for the flowers.

Have I mentioned that 2020 has had less than positive effects on people? Well, suffice it to type that my mother fell victim to the tyme and mental warp that is 2020. She forgot to water the flowers. After several scorching hot days and no water, the baskets that had been lusciously filled with green, pink and purple were now filled with nothing but brown.  One day, one of the church’s trustees stopped by to check on the building and noticed the lifeless baskets. Though it seemed pointless, the trustee watered them and then informed my mother of their dismal status. My mother was heartbroken by her lapse in memory and, after several days, basically gave up on the idea that the flowers would revive. The trustee however did not give up so easily and continued to water the brown, shriveled vines that once bloomed so profusely.

Days passed. Then a week, then two, but there were no signs to offer hope of any recovery…except in one basket. For whatever reason, there was one basket that seemed to be bouncing back. First with green, then with a small bloom, so the trustee kept watering and checking. The trustee told me of the progress and I told my mother, but my mother had given up on the idea of any real recovery. Finally one day, I suggested that my mom bring the baskets home to make it easier to keep an eye on them. She was reluctant, what with the loss of hope and all, but the baskets ended up at her house where she could see them and remember to tend to them.

It's been several weeks since the relocation of the baskets and I am happy to write that all five baskets are green and again blooming profusely with beautiful and vibrant Verbena. Only one basket however revived with both Verbena and Petunias…the fifth basket.

My mother has since tended to the flowers, removing the petunia vines from the first four baskets, but every tyme I see that fifth basket, filled with Verbena AND Petunias, it gives me hope and reminds me triple fold to never give up. You see, not only did the plants in that fifth basket fight the scorching heat to survive, but the trustee who found them fighting fought for them. Both plant and trustee refused to give up hope of survival and that is two folds of my reminder.  So, what is the third fold? Well, it’s the hope the Trustee had in regard to the other four baskets. The trustee could have looked at the four totally brown baskets and decided there was no point in watering them because they looked as though they had no hope of surviving, but instead, the trustee looked at the hope in the fifth basket and gave that hope to the other four.

You see, in this strange existence that is 2020 (and really, that is every day of life no matter the year), we all have the power to be like the Trustee and focus on the hope we see in each day and then share that hope with others around us. Yes, life is tough and it can be hard to find many positives to accentuate, but like in the case of the Trustee and the fifth basket, all it takes is one to give hope to many.

So, what is your fifth basket?  Where do you focus when you need to find hope that things will get better? Where do you look when you need to find hope that people will stop letting politics ruin their friendships … or hope that fear will cease and stop causing friends to lash out at each other … or hope that strangers will stop harming each other for their differences?

For me that fifth basket, that One Hope, is Jesus Christ. Jesus, The One and only Son of God has already overcome every trouble, problem and evil in this world. He is a constant source of hope in the bleakness that seems to be around us. Like the fifth basket, Jesus is The Hope when there seems to be no other hope around, but unlike that fifth basket, we never have to wonder if Jesus will pull us through. His Hope, His love and His wisdom will never fade or make us question anything. He is there to help us through each day and give us the strength we need to help others have hope.

The bottom line is, life isn’t easy. Troubles occur. We forget to water. The heat scorches. There are tymes that hope seems to evade us on a daily basis, but we all have the power to be a Trustee and focus our hearts and minds on the Fifth Basket and let that Hope be the positive we accentuate and the 2020 vision we share.   

 -L.D.Kirklin-

The Fifth Basket

My Hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus' name

When darkness hides His lovely face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood
When all around my soul gives way 
He then is all my hope and stay

When He shall come with trumpet sound
Oh, may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne

On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand - Edward Mote-

Truly Important

I was sitting at my desk on this not so easy day. My burdens weighing so heavy on me that my heart was starting to pound and my thoughts about myself were not very good ones. I couldn't take anymore and I began to cry. As I laid my head down on my desk and let the tears begin to flow, I said allowed to myself, "I'm drowning and no one seems to notice or care". Then, just as the painful thought left my mouth, I heard the sound of a church bell. It was coming from my phone.
Recently I had downloaded a new Bible app to my phone and it sends a verse of the day...but never at 11:00. I opened the app and there was a verse:
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor. The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6
As I read the Inspiration that goes with the daily verse, it talked about heavy responsibility and burdens and how hard those can be in life. However, it went on to talk about how Jesus already shouldered the burden of sin and lifted that from us. Then it said;

"Never forget, never lose perspective or be ungrateful for the gift of life and salvation given to us by Him, for that is what is truly important."
Yes, burdens of life can be tough. We can feel forgotten, lost, cast aside, different, disconnected and unimportant. We can have money troubles, relationship troubles, work troubles. We can feel like we are at our wits end and nothing will ever get better or go right for us. We can feel the burdens of those around us. We can feel helpless, clueless and just less than we are. Burdens are tough, but thankfully God is tougher.
It's easy to let the burdens of life blur the blessings of life. It's easy to focus on what we don't have rather than what we do. It's easy to see what's wrong rather than look for what's right. The thing of it is, easy usually isn't best. It's the things worth working for that are worth having. The effort makes us appreciative and we'll want to keep and take care of that for which we worked.
So, we need to work hard to see the blessing not the burden. We need to work hard to see what we have instead of what we don't. We need to work hard to see what's right instead of what's wrong, because hard work offers purpose and purpose produces gratefulness and heart filled with gratefulness -and Jesus- will remember what is truly important in life.
Was that random verse of the day a message from God? Does God do that? I don't really know. All I know is that it came to me in a moment that I truly needed it. When I said allowed, "No one seems to care"...God showed me that He does and reminded me to ...

"Never forget, never lose perspective or be ungrateful for the gift of life and salvation given to us by Him, for that is what is truly important."

Leap Day

Practically everyone knows that Leap Day comes around every four years.  I write 'practically everyone' because there are those select few who fail to pay attention to such things as Leap Day and Daylight Savings and end up early or late depending on the overlooked event. Most people however are prepared when Leap Day comes around. 

Leap Day is some creative person's solution - many credit Roman Emperor Julius Caesar - to calculating the earth's revolution around the Sun. So, bear with me here, it takes approximately 365.25 days for the earth to revolve around the sun. That .25 adds up to one day every four years. Of course, that is among the simplest of explanations used to explain why February has 29 days every four years.

So why is Leap Day so important? Well, it basically comes down to this; if we didn't have a Leap Day every four years, then basically over a 100 year span we would lose around 24 days, which means eventually Winter would be in the Summer and Spring would be in the Fall. I don't know about you, but where I live, snow in July and colored leaves in March would be very strange sites to behold.

I guess because it does happen only every four years, Leap Day can be rather exciting to some - especially those born on February 29th - and certainly a topic of conversation as the day approaches. Recently, I signed up for a new Bible app and shortly after doing so I received an e-mail from the App asking, "What are you going to do with your extra day?", referring to February 29th which was quickly approaching.  At first I thought to answer the question, not for them, but rather for my internal reflection. However, as I tried to come up with an answer, it occurred to me that February 29th was not an extra day for me, at least not in God's eyes - and really, what better eyes are there?

The fact of the matter is, God has each day numbered for us and for the world. Now, I don't mean that to seem morbid or gloomy, but the concept is true. Just because we humans add an extra day to the calendar, doesn't mean that God added an extra day to our lives. Leap Day was factored in to the lifespan of everyone alive today. So perhaps the question the app should be asking is, "What are you going to do with your today"?

Today is the perfect day to ask Christ Jesus into your heart if you haven't already. If you have, today is the perfect day to start talking to Him if you've been silent for a while. Today is the perfect day to ask forgiveness of your sins and lay your burden at the foot of the Cross. Today is the perfect day to start exercising like you've been talking about doing or mending emotional fences if they are in disrepair.   Today is the perfect day to live your life instead of putting off the things your need or want to do - providing the want to is in accordance with God's will for your life.

In truth, I think Leap Day is aptly named, not because it is an extra day or because of the leap it makes to keep the seasons in check, but because it is a reminder that we should Leap for Joy over the blessing of another day in God's calendar of our lives. We should Leap for Joy over the blessings of family and friends in our lives, because life is short and spending it doing anything but living in the happiness God has for us (Psalm 146:5 / Proverbs 16:20) is foolish and gives the enemy a mighty foothold ... and really no one can leap when his or her foot is being held down. 

So, what did you do with the blessing of your today?  If you're blessed with one, what will you do with your tomorrow?  Life is short dear friends, let's Love, Live and Leap in Praise to God above! 

The Greatest Creator (of Them All)

I've listened to Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver sing the song "The Greatest Creator (of them all) many tymes and I've always enjoy it, but today the song rang quite true to me...

Today as I was working on my resume, a less than enjoyable task in my estimation, I started to get rather down on myself and started questioning practically every choice I’ve made over the years. The process began to go down hill rather quickly and I decided it was tyme for a well deserved and much needed break.  I went into the kitchen and started to put some dishes away and tidy up.  As I worked, I happened to glance out the window to check the state of a troubled clematis. Much to my surprise, I saw a little sparrow perched on a decorative ladder that is there for the clematis to climb. I immediately thought it a beautiful picture, but I knew there was no way to get a clean capture of the sight because as soon as I attempted to step out into the clear of day, the bird would likely fly away.

What is a photographer to do? The only window in the kitchen that offered any vantage point had a screen in it, so that option was out - I mean I am a photo editor and I could remove the screen, but really, I do have better uses for my tyme than removing a window screens from a pictures, but I digress.

Moving on, I went to the window in the door of the living room, trying to find a usable angle, but with the door closed, the only possible line of sight was blocked by the lattice work on the porch. I couldn’t open the door in fear I’d startle the bird, so it was tyme to get crafty.

Thankfully, the sparrow remain perched longer than birds tend to and I was able to utilize the zoom, focus and breathing techniques I've developed over the years - yes, breathing. You'd be surprised how much even-breathing matters when you're holding a camera and using a powerful zoom, but here I go again, digressing.

After a few attempts and some interesting maneuvering, I was able to zoom through the lattice work and freeze a moment of tyme, a moment I deemed a beautiful gift from God. It was then the thought of God as the Greatest Creator occurred to me, but, oddly enough, it wasn’t the picture that prompted the thought; it was an ability He gave when He created me.

It came to mind, as I worked with the zoom on my human-made camera, I was able to see my point of focus in far more detail than my camera could. God created me with the ability to see, process and appreciate the beauty of the world around me.  My camera saw everything I saw, but I was able to single out one thing among the billions of details in the frame. That which my camera had to zoom in and focus on, I saw in an instant, no tools or technology required.

After getting the pictures I sought, I went back to my computer and continued creating my resume. As I worked, this tyme with a different and far more positive perspective, I realized God put that little bird in my day to remind me of the gifts and talents He gave me and as a result, I finished my resume with confidence and a smile.

Yes, a human created the tool that allowed me to capture a moment in tyme, but God created both the human who created to the tool and the human who saw the opportunity to use the tool.

 In that moment, I was reminded that God creates everyone with gifts, talents and abilities, but it’s how we choose to use them that matters.  Perhaps your resume doesn’t seem up to par. Perhaps it seems like other people have all the talents and gifts in the world when you have little to none, but it’s not true. God created you with everything you need in order to do what He has you here to do. You are The Greatest Creator’s greatest creation!

His eye really is on the sparrow and I know He watches (and cares) for me and YOU!

Grace vs. Truth

I grew up in a difficult environment and honestly, to this day, I am terrified of making mistakes. As a child, the consequences for doing something wrong were far beyond what sanity would consider normal and certainly beyond anything thing I will offer details about at the moment. Suffice it to type, terror was a constant in my day to day existence.
 
Over the years, I've worked through a lot of the damage that situation caused, but today, in a conversation with my brother-in-law, it occurred to me that there is more work I can do. We were discussing Grace verses Truth and how 99% of people tend to be heavily weighted with one or the other and how very few people seem capable of acting as Jesus did - ALWAYS telling people the truth and ALWAYS offering people grace for their mistakes.

I looked inward and realized that I do tend to cling to truth and find it difficult to offer grace when the person needing my grace refuses to acknowledge the truth. While it's easy to offer grace to someone who wants it, it's quite difficult to offer grace to someone who refuses to admit a wrong and refuses to change, thus requiring my grace on a constant basis. Still, I think I am required to stay in the person’s path and keep offering my grace until the person acknowledges his or her need for it and accepts it.  Of course I can only do that for so long until I am exhausted.

Unfortunately, when a situation gets to that point of exhaustion on my part, I tend to pull away and not have much, if anything, to do with the person who refuses to admit he or she needs my grace.  Onlookers tend to think I took my grace with me and call me unforgiving when in reality, I laid my forgiveness at the person’s door for him or her to pick up when the need was finally recognized.  I simply could not hold on to my grace and keep my heart unscathed any longer.

So, is it wrong to walk away from people who put you in a constant state of woe or is it a healthy action to remove yourself from a situation that causes you continuously offer grace to someone who refuses acknowledge his or her need for it?

There's the old adage that God gives us only what we can handle.  While the adage is meant to be encouraging, I think it's also a bit deceiving. In a way it makes us think if we're going through something difficult, that's what God intends for us and we need to suffer until it's over. We think if we walk away from a taxing situation in order to save ourselves from permanent destruction we are failures, but does God really want us to damage ourselves to try and help someone who refuses to accept our help?  Doubtful.

There are tymes in life when we are called to plant a seed. There are tymes when we are called to water and nurture a seed someone else planted. There are tymes when we are blessed to reap the harvest of a seed someone else planted and nurtured – And there are tymes when we are NOT called to have any part of the growing process. 

I think the key to navigating this life of spiritual farming is to be in communication with God and be willing to do what He asks of us, even if it is offer grace and remove ourselves from a situation that is preventing us from planting, nurturing and cultivating elsewhere.  

It's easy to get caught up in doing what we think God wants us to do, but how often do we actually stop and ask God what He wants us to do? Sure, we're taught to forgive people, but does forgiving someone mean you have to keep putting yourself in a position where you need to keep forgiving them for the same thing?  I don't know that there is a concrete answer to that question that will apply to every situation. The point is, we need to do what God is calling us to do instead of relying solely on what we've been taught we should do.

It's important to note, I'm not advocating for giving up on someone when it gets tough, but I am suggesting that we sometymes put ourselves through pain, angst and trouble by staying in a situation longer than we're supposed to stay. We have to have faith that God will direct us and we have to be willing to work at what He asks us to do.

Just like faith and works need each other to balance (James 1), truth needs and grace and grace needs truth in order to be effective, but if you’re not called to have a hand in the current part of a person’s spiritual cultivation, the truth is, it’s okay to offer your grace and continue on the journey God has for you.  After all, Jesus always stopped to offer His grace to people, but He didn’t let offering His grace to people stop Him from doing what He came here to do.


 If you ask yourself “what does God want me to do”, truth and grace will always go hand in hand – but sometymes your feet will be involved as well.