Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Posts tagged ‘changes’

Are You Stuck?

Is my blog stuck?

Is writing on the same topic,
“Adding Meaning to Life,”
everyday related to being in a rut?

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At my request, professional blogger of excellence,
The Art of Blogging, Cristian Mihai,
gave me ten tips on how to improve my blog.
One of them was,

“… choose one day of the week
to write some weekly type of blog
that [your] ideal reader would love.”

Before making that suggestion, he asked me to define my “ideal reader.” You, my blogging friend, or my daughter, or my creative, encouraging friend, you are it!

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That’s DeDe, my dear daughter

You know I often use Sundays to post my sermon notes. You know I listen intently to capture what the minister is saying to me, and I record my notes in poetry.

It’s not a stretch to call this my “different weekly type of blog.” I hope you look forward each Sunday to seeing/hearing what the message was in church this morning. Here is today’s:

Rev. Jean Johnson, Madison Valley Presbyterian Church

Ennis, MT, April 28, 2019, John 20:19-31

STUCK?

The disciples were stuck

In the same room as they

Were a week ago when

It was a glorious Easter Day.

.

Why were they still there?

What difference did Christ make?

What difference has his death

Made for your life’s sake?

.

Has His resurrection made

A difference in your days?

Or are you, like the disciples,

Stuck in your usual ways?

.

I should be doing better –

Living more authentically today.

I should be listening carefully

Like the disciples on their Emmaus way.

.

But changing old patterns

Is a process that takes time.

Is staying behind locked doors

A cowardly, unacceptable crime?

.

I wanted to wake up today

To a whole new world of joy.

But the news today was the same old

Sad, violent acts, and hates that destroy.

.

Change is well overdue.

I want to see instant relief,

But the hatred in this world

Tends to shake my firm belief.

.

The empty tomb tells me

That the risen Christ is here.

He’s working with you and me

To change our doubts to cheer.

.

Where you are is your

Starting place where you are.

It’s the place Christ comes

And lets you out to follow His star.

.

Have faith to see

Christ is risen;

He’s unstuck.

So should we be!

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We cannot be stuck in this place of 
violence, synagogue shootings, and
a world of intolerance, prejudice,
wars, and hunger. Listen to the pleads
of the Rabbi who spoke to us today.
Don’t let this dark period hide the light.
Go out and BE THE LIGHT!!

Quote

Be Led, Not Driven

On this Monday following Easter, I am revisiting some of my old blogs.

The emergence of spring in the air and the “drive” to get some spring cleaning done has me reflecting on life and its purpose.

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Some of my newer followers may not have seen this thoughtful post. Please click below and contemplate with me this idea:    via Be Led, Not Driven

Joy at Easter

Easter is a time of joy.

Of course it is! It’s the day of “Hosanna! Hosanna in the Highest! He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!” We sang at Sunrise service (even though it was a rainy day and we couldn’t see the sun), and we went to church and sang joyfully there.

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But in addition to its spiritual meaning, Easter has a social meaning, too. It is a family day. In my family, when I was growing up in central California, USA, it always was a day my sister and I got to wear pretty new dresses with shiny new shoes. We had an Easter egg hunt. We gathered with relatives for a sumptuous dinner of ham with pineapple and scalloped potatoes with cheese, lots of different vegetables, and a variety of home-made desserts. Aunt Angie’s Easter pie with a hard-boiled egg hidden in the enter of it was always part of the offerings. We played with our cousins. It was a day to look forward to and a day to remember.

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In my world today, the pretty new dresses are not a part of the celebration. Wool pants and a cozy sweatshirt was the way to block out the Montana cold. The shiny new shoes gave way to boots to keep my feet dry. No Easter egg hunt in pouring down rain!

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But the part that hasn’t changed is the family gathering. It may not have been aunts and uncles and cousins. We didn’t have Aunt Angie’s Easter pie. But we had my granddaughter, Hope, and her husband Drew, and their almost two-year-old, my great-grandson, Xander. They joined us at church and stayed for the church ham dinner potluck afterward. What a joy! Look at how Xander is growing!

Hope Xander Drew

And we had our grandson, Chris, with us. If you have been following my blog, you met Chris earlier when he came from Switerland late last year and decided to go unshaven for awhile and be a “Montana Mountain Man.”

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Well, look at him now! He’s been at the Anaconda Job Corps since last February and is studying to be a heavy equipment mechanic. He’s taken off 30 pounds (with exercise and careful food intake) since he arrived in the USA last Thanksgiving. He’s feeling fit – and looking happy. What a wonderful Easter gift it was to have him with us this weekend!

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Easter IS a time of JOY. It looks different at different times of our lives, but with God and family as the focus, it always is a time to thank Jesus for His wonderful gift of love. It’s a time to shout “Hosannah! Hallelujah! He is risen indeed!”

Happy Easter!
How did you spend your day?

 

Who is My Neighbor?

Book Review

Who is My Neighbor?

I just received a new book to share with our darling Sunday School class tomorrow. We have read the Bible story of the Good Samaritan – and acted it out. Now it’s time to give it a new, colorful twist!

Who Is My Neighbor? is a creative story that’s sure to prompt rich conversations, encouraging new ways of seeing our neighbors and ourselves. It’s ideal for our 3-to7-year-olds.

Blues and Yellows don’t mix, and that’s how it’s always been. No one remembers why. But then comes the day Midnight Blue takes a tumble along the road. His friends Navy Blue and Powder Blue don’t even stop to help. It’s only when Yellow comes along that everything changes – forever.

We will share the book with our kiddoes tomorrow and do a little art project mixing blue and yellow to see the result of our “Green Growth.”

The Foreword of the book reads,

“Love your neighbor as yourself,

and love the stranger,

because you know what it was like

to be a stranger.”

Available from http://www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com  –  or call 800-554-4694

Praying for Others

Do you have a friend or loved one, a child or grandchild
who is part of your daily prayers?

I do!

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Do you remember, Chris,  my “Montana Mountain Man”?
He’s my youngest grandson,
who was born and raised by our daughter
and her husband in Switzerland.

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He came to Montana to live with us last year
for a month or so. He needed to get a new lease on life,
and look afresh at his life’s options.

After some exploration (remember he is a US citizen),
he decided to join the Job Corps in Anaconda, MT.
Chris got a new look and began his new venture.

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This week he started his real training.
Up to now, Chris has spent six weeks in orientation.
He has washed dishes until he was ready to scream!
He has cleaned floors and learned rules, rules, rules.
It is important to learn that rules are necessary
if you intend to live peacefully with one another.

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Photo by Miguel Constantin Montes on Pexels.com

If we had no rules,
we would be in even worse shape
as a people,
as a nation,
as a world –
than we are now!

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Photo by Artem Bali on Pexels.com

So, Chris learned the rules.
He paid his “dues” as a new inductee,
and he made new friends.
Now he is starting his chosen training:
Heavy Equipment Mechanic.

low angle photography of orange excavator under white clouds

When Chris finishes this training,
he will be set to get a job in an area
that has been deemed to have  great need in our USA.

I pray to God that even if he chooses not to go into this field,
the experiences he is having and the skills he is gaining
will prepare him for a more productive and fulfilling life.

My prayer is for
his health,
his success,
his happiness,
and his continued growth
and maturity as a Christian.

belief bible book business

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Why am I sharing this with you,
my blogging friends?
Because I am convinced that prayer matters.
I am convinced that our prayers
are heard by God,
and His desire is to give us
positive answers to the prayers
we bring to him from the bottom of our hearts.

So, I encourage you to think about the loved ones,
the friends and family who need God’s intervention in their lives.
Bring your petitions to the Lord in prayer.
Ask for God’s will to be done in their lives.

 

I believe God hears.
God cares.
God responds,
and our prayers matter.

Do you believe that, too?

 

So Thankful!

So Thankful!

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That sweet little girl
I hugged tight ten years ago
Is coming today

She’s now twenty-two
Grown up so fast as kids do
Families change, don’t they?

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So thankful for them!
Happy Thanksgiving, my friends.
I’m thankful for you!

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Photo by Carl Attard on Pexels.com


Enjoy the bounties of this season

And be sure to count your blessings!
What are you grateful for today?

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Photo by Ella Olsson on Pexels.com

CAnswer

awareness cancer design pink

Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán on Pexels.com

CAnswer

…

Cancer is the

Answer to many

Questions about

Life and its

Priorities.

…

Cancer brings

Someday into

Today and helps us

Create priorities

To live life now.

…

CAnswer was

A blessing in

Our lives because

It brought us

To Montana!

…

Stay in

The game;

CAnswer may be

Your Best

Touchdown!

We Can’t Resist Change

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Photo by cody berg on Pexels.com

We can’t resist change;
It doesn’t do any good.
It’ll come atcha anyway,
Just as you knew it would.

You can’t live in static constancy.
You can’t love feeling quite STUCK.
You might as well embrace change;
You’ll never survive in muck!

They say the sixties were
A time of enormous flux.
We’re hearing all about it now
From dirt poor to those with bucks.

The media has a lot to say.
Everybody’s weighing in.
John McCain survived the sixties,
And so did Aretha Franklin.

Their lives were celebrated
This week in national news.
Reporters say they rode the waves,
Caused ’em, managed ’em, changed our views.

They figured out how to live
With changes big and small.
But they were not the only ones.
Some of us pions answered the call.

We heard the words of MLK;
We felt the passion, took the power
To remain relevant in the fight
To right the wrongs we saw each hour.

Our lives may not have impacted
As many others as the famous,
But live the changes, that we did.
Saw death and destruction that would shame us.

Assassinations, wars, impeachments,
Protests, Missile Crisis, and debates
All were part of the Sixties decade.
But it also had some greats.

The Voting Rights Act was established;
Medicare brought health care to the masses;
Shirley Chisholm was elected;
Elvis’ army career quietly passes.

“The Pill” was born for married only;
First artificial heart was implanted;
The Vatican II held its four sessions;
The Beatles on Sullivan’s show was granted.

Star Trek debuted in a television series,
Rolling Stone magazine premiered;
“One Small Step for Mankind,”
Cronkite narrated as the moon appeared.

The first e-mail message was sent
On October 29 of 1969;
And the rest is history – changes fast –
Don’t resist it. Change is fine!

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