Friendship

This is how and what I believe. I have always considered myself a Christian. But, I have found my beliefs a bit different. I am a strong believer in God’s Will. I believe much of the path my life has taken was the will of my God. I accept many of the happenings in my life as His will and try not to analyze those happenings. I have never felt my God to be like a light that could be turned off and on to be used only when needed.
I believe my God, my friend, is always at my side. I never felt that it was necessary to use special words, positions, places or people to talk with Him. And, no matter where I am, good places or bad, I have never doubted that my God was by my side.
I talk with My Friend more often than anyone else in this world. And yes, He talks to me! I address my prayers to that Friend beside me. I never tell Him how I expect things to be done. I only ask that His Will be done. I never feel He needs my advice on how to do His work.
I believe that whatever house of worship you go to, that God you worship is one and the same as My Friend who is always at my side! It makes no difference what we call Him or Her; it’s the same image that we hold in our minds eye. I mentioned Her because I heard a friend pray to Her Mother in Heaven. (Her choice)
Just what does that God look like? Some think He is some old gray haired bearded man floating in the clouds. Others think He is a fat man with a big belly. What difference does it make? The important thing is that you have FAITH that someone or something is there!
Many times I have stated that My God speaks to me. Many of the lesser times, if God’s words could ever be called lesser, are offered as blessings or casual friend to friend words. But, the important things are given to me in words so strong that they block my thought process until I write them word for word and date them! You may feel this makes me a prophet. I do not feel that way! I feel that they are things My Friend thinks are important for me to know!
Do I feel special? Of course I do! But, I believe that my God speaks to everyone, but few have learned to, or want to listen.
I believe every mortal sees God, in their vision, differently. I will never try to push my vision of God on you and I don’t want you pushing your vision of God on me!
I do not believe that My God, My Friend, has ever punished me! I have been “let know” the many times I’ve messed-up. I also know that I’ve been forgiven for those mess-ups! I do not believe there will be a judgment day the day I die. I believe yesterday was yesterday’s judgment day and that I was given today to show that I can do better. Tomorrow? I’ll worry about that after my first breath of that new day!
I have never felt alone, even as a small child skipping home from school! I have always known that I have had that unseen friend who is always there beside me. Often I’ve heard the voice, yet I’ve never seen the face. Maybe, just maybe, someday I’ll see the face, but that’s really unimportant because I always know My Friend is there by my side! You know faith and friendship walk hand in hand.

Getting Nothing Done

Sometimes it takes a long time to get nothing done. Sadly, some spend their entire lifetime! I guess, I’m one of the guilty ones! It always seems that something more challenging or exciting would pop up before I finished the project I was working on. I never had to look far to find one or two partly finished projects hanging around. Sadly, I often found that starting of those new projects to be far more exciting than putting the last “boring” finishing touches on the one I was working on.
I guess, you could call me a planning and putting things together in my head person. In my mind’s eye, I could always see that finished project, even though it remained hanging there unfinished in my work area. As soon as I was sure that my ideas would work, I would feel that the major part of my job was over! I think some would say that I had a problem with responsibility. Isn’t it strange that responsibility never seemed to enter into all of those plans that were spinning around in my head! Others could say that those plans lacked discipline.
I would just say that I was putting it off until “I had more time.” More time! I have yet to find a day with more than twenty four hours! Just where did I expect that “more time” to come from? Does that sound familiar?
Did I just hear you say; OK you’ve laid your problem on me. Now just what do you expect ME to do about it?”
I don’t expect YOU to do anything from my problem, other than learn from it. I’ll tell you what I’m trying to do about it. And maybe, I’ll tell you about a few learning experiences I’m having. I’m starting with short steps; I’ve found giant steps are hard for me to do. I will tell you about a few things I’ve learned. I’ve learned a light switch pushes just as easy to the off position as the on. That; if I eat my least liked food first it doesn’t taste as bad. And last, but not least, before I go to bed each night I try to “find some time” to work on one of those long hanging “put off” jobs. Remember, I’m still taking small steps!
If we have lived a day that we have “got nothing done” we’ve wasted that day! And, our days are too precious to waste! Our God just put so many grains of sand in each of our hour glasses! We can’t just sit there and watch each grain drop away!
To get that something done we have to set a goal. A good place to start is before we turn off our light this evening. That way, when we wake, we always know where we are headed. If we never know where we are headed, how will we ever know when we get there? We must also remember; wherever you want to go, one step at a time is how you get there.
I’ve heard so many excuses by people for not getting things done. Come to think about it, I’ve used many of them myself! I’ve learned; I have to do the best I can with what my God has given me. And I’m sure my ability to put things off was not one of them!

It'll Freeze That Way

My Grandma always use to say “Don’t make faces that way because they might freeze that way!” and that always made me think before I made ugly faces. That had such an effect on me, when I was small, that sometimes I would run and look at myself in a mirror to make sure that even my thoughts could cause my face to freeze with an unwanted expression!
Not long ago I found myself speaking in front of several hundred people, many were oldsters like me. As I looked over that group I could not help but remember my Grandma’s words! There sat dozens of frozen faces! Could they really have forgotten how to smile? If they had forgotten how to smile, could I ever expect to hear them laugh? Had facial expressions gone out of style? Had our wired or wireless communications created a generation where expressions were no longer needed?
Again, looking back at Grandma, her advice was always; look people in the eye and smile. I know this is hard to do with E-Mail, Facebook or even the phone but, I’m sure that smile that’s hidden deep in our hearts can still come through!
I have always felt that a frowning face is an unhappy face. It looks like to me that we have built ourselves an unhappy box and placed ourselves squarely in the middle of it. And maybe worst of all, many are satisfied with ourselves just the way we are!
I’m not too old to remember people singing and playing a song that went something like this; smile, and the world smiles with you. Even some of today’s music is unhappy music, music without harmony, just words and many of those words are profane! It seems as though many of today’s people find joy in bad mouthing and finding fault and unhappiness with our world today. And, sadly many of their faces show it!
In our world today there seems to be a pill for everything! I think that quite a few have overdosed on ugly pills. My grandma use to say that if some people would smile their faces would crack. And remember ugly goes clear to the bone! Would you, or could you be happy with a person that never smiles? I want you to look in your mirror, could that person looking back at you be that person?
I was so blessed to have the Grandma that loved me and taught me the value of a smile. I’m so lucky to have a Father in Heaven that sends blessings my way and gives me many things to smile about. I’ve learned that I usually can find something positive in every situation. I find that the more I smile, the more things I find to smile about.
Smile, you may like it! Smile and have a great day! Smile and let them wonder what you know that they don’t! Smile, you don’t want your face to freeze that other way!

Going Nowhere

Going nowhere can be a lifelong trip for some! If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you ever know if you have arrived?
Just living from day to day seems to be such a burden for many! Is it they can’t see or take the time to enjoy the good parts of their lives? Or, are finding the negatives all they look for each day? Are their glasses designed to filter out all the good in their lives? All those blessings we all receive each day?
This past week I asked a lady how her day was going. Her reply “It’s just another ordinary day.” I thought to myself; what’s an ordinary day? God makes EACH of my days special! And, I’ve learned that I never have to look far to find my gift. An example; today several of us were sitting outside eating breakfast together when our outdoor cat, Snoopy, sensed food and came begging. I was eating a sausage biscuit and when she came to me I broke off a piece of the sausage and gave it to her. She took a sniff of it and gave me that look that said “is that all there is?” Then she turned and walked away. The next person she came to was Sandra. Our cat gave Sandra that starving look and Sandra broke off a corner of her biscuit. Snoopy chomped it down like it was nectar from the Gods and begged for more.
Snoopy, now our biscuit eating cat, had given us all a laugh and had made that day special. Many special happenings that are put in our lives never rate headlines. They are put there just for us to see and enjoy. Some would mean nothing to others but are put there to add to our day.
Many little things are put in each of our lives every day, put there to make that day special. To make us feel special. But, we must learn to find the roses before we can smell them!
I can’t envision a day that goes nowhere! I’ve learned to look for and FIND something special, put there for me, each day of my life. Maybe some expect too much. Or maybe, they have yet to learn about all those little special things that are added to each of our days and that are put there just for us.
Several people that I talk with regularly, when ask how their day is going, always give me the same stock answer “Same old, same old.” I will not allow myself that same old, same old! There must surely be more to their lives than that continually repeated nothingness! They need to program a new destination on their GPS!
We are what we program ourselves to be! And, it can’t be what others try to make us! Unless we WANT others to live our lives for us! Boredom is a SELFIMPOSED imprisonment that we create for ourselves!
The key to our lives is nothing more than setting a goal for ourselves, setting a direction and a destination and heading in that direction. Nowhere is never the place for you or me to be. It is only the place we’re always running from or to, a hiding place. If that is our only goal it’s time to change direction and start heading for that other misty goal, SOMEPLACE ELSE!

This Little Light

For many years there stood warm welcoming yard light in the front yard. As often happens in this part of Florida the iron pipe rusted and I had to take the thing down. I planned to replace it when “I got around to it!”
Now let’s move forward at least twenty or twenty-five years. The wires were still there but, my round to it was not!
I’ll back-up a bit though not as much. Every year we send out over a hundred Christmas cards with a picture of us standing in front of a different lighthouse. We found that to be out of the question this year because of my health, so what could we do?
I decided, in early spring of 2011, that if I could no longer go to a lighthouse I would bring a lighthouse to me! I would build one right here in the yard! That meant that I would have to go from a crazy idea to a finished product that we could stand by for our Christmas card photo by Thanksgiving!
The more I thought about it with my health and our finances, the more it looked like the impossible dream. But, wasn’t I the one that was always telling everyone that if they could dream it, they could do it?
It was then; I started drawing plans for the lighthouse in my head! I included our financial limitations but, I forgot to plan for MY limitations! Twenty or thirty years ago I could dig seven or eight post holes, line up the posts, and mix and pour the cement! I was shocked to find that if I dug two post holes that I had to rest until tomorrow to mix and pour in the cement! I had to learn that each day there was just so much goody in my body and when it was used up, it was GONE! If I pushed harder it made the next day a rest day! And remember, I always had that Thanksgiving date hanging over my head!
I found that my body could only stand for a few minutes! But, I was amazed to find how much I could accomplish while sitting in that old white plastic chair! My health limitations and our financial limitations worked well together, neither leaned to hard on the other.
I only used screws in the construction, that way if my plans in my head were “a little off” all I had to do was back the screws out and do it right the next time.
Location for the lighthouse was easy because I always liked the location of that old yard light. And besides, the old wires still marked the spot!
I learned much from this project. I learned my limitations and I learned the price I had to pay for trying to extend those limitations!
It all started with those plans in my head, those dreams! Then, day by day, week by week, month by month, I could see those dreams turn into reality. It would have never happened if I would have convinced myself that I was too old to start something like that. To old? Gosh I’m only Eighty-six!

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine! Let it shine! Let it shine!

Merry Christmas

Judging or Liking

In many religions we are told we should not judge. But, in my lifetime I have run across several people that I just flat out did not like! Most times it was that our personalities that clashed. We did not see eye to eye!
I was assigned a doctor that, as soon as I walked through his door, this man had the ability to raise my hackles! After his first few words I knew that I didn’t like the man. And, I was supposed to put my life in his hands! One day Sandra and I were in his office when she asks him a question. Without looking at her he turned to me and said “she is sure a nosy broad isn’t she?” To me that was not acceptable bed side manner! In fact that was my last visit to that office.
He had all the qualifications for being a good doctor but I just didn’t like the man! I’m sure that there are people that I too rub the wrong way as well but at least I try to be nice to others.
God created each of us with different personalities. We can’t all be expected to march in step. We should try to have respect for others. Part of learning to live is learning when to speak and when to listen. We humans often feel that we have the ability to modify or change God’s creations. Some have used up a lifetime learning that some things are changeable and some are not. Many marriages are proof of this!
Many weddings are performed at a time of life when it hard to distinguish the difference between love and lust. Those same weddings are between those who have found that they weren’t overjoyed with a few things their other was doing. They think or hope they can make their mate into someone more to their liking! Seldom does it happen! What you liked or disliked is what you got!
After many years of life and learning I’ve found, for me, it’s better to keep my distance from the few I dislike because God created hundreds more of those I do like! I don’t like to argue. Both parties are pulled down by even the simplest most unimportant argument. A hard lesson to learn is; when an argument is over, it’s over! To keep bringing it back rarely changes its outcome but can cause longtime hard feelings!
I have found that the person who has many that they don’t like so often is a negative person. It seems like they get a joy out of looking for and finding things they don’t like in every person they meet. My years in the prison ministry have shown me that there is much good even in the so called, bad people.
In my life I’ve met people that I was sure they were “good people” but for some reason I did not like them! I found the smart thing for me to do was keep my distance from them. I did not want to put myself in a situation that might hurt the both of us.
As I close, let me give you a simple example of the difference between judging and disliking; as I sit at the dinner table someone passes me a dish of carrots. I pass the dish to the next person. I don’t like carrots! But I’m not judging all carrots; I’m not telling the rest not to eat them because they taste bad to me.