Recently the Lee family went to Porter Farms to pick strawberry's, and my picture was taken from a side angle. Man, was I in for shock! I'm keenly aware of the weight issue, but not the other.
Normally, I see my reflection minus the side view of grey. What happened???? Look at that grey hair! I know, at least I still have some hair, but grey?!?! Needless to say I was not too happy about this. After all, I'm only 46 years young, but looking more like an aging saint headed to a convalescent home. People are probably thinking that Mary is hanging out her grandfather. Something must be done. Hopefully I will soon visit my hairstylist (Samara) to take corrective action against that dreaded foe: "hairest greyest" (Latin for grey hair). I seem to recall that other family members have also encountered this situation, but no names mentioned here...yet! (Trying to be nice...)
When I asked Lisa about this unusual sight, she responded, "I still love you." (Though with a very large smile etched across her lovely face.) She had quietly observed the greying over some time, and still chose to love me despite the no hair to grey hair. She is the love of my life!
I still have my sense of humor, despite being told by a 10 year old boy in church that I was boring, and here is an example of that. Enjoy! The next post will show a before and after pic. Take care...
Gotta love Leslie Nielson and all those flicks from Police Squad.
This week I was preparing to do chapel for our preschoolers, and stumbled across an object lesson on forgiveness. Make a fist, now let it go. Repeat. Think about the things that we hold on to: hurt feelings, confusion, rejection, being neglected or overlooked, etc. However, God teaches us to let those go. (Releasing of fist.) When we hold on to those things, we don't have room to receive the things that God has for us. Our hands are full and fists are clinched. When we let them go, we have hands outstretched ready to receive blessings from Him.
Obviously this lesson was more for the adults (me included) than for the preschoolers, so we need to do a check-up. Are we withholding forgiveness from someone? Are we holding a grudge? Are we communicating our thoughts and emotions? Are we confessing our sins to God? Do we recognize that we also disappoint others?
If we don't forgive, we only hurt ourselves. Often times, the other person doesn't know we have been offended, and when it's made known there is reconciliation. Just remember, forgive as Christ has forgiven. Since I'm a follower of Christ, then I must imitate His actions. Christ forgave, so then I too must forgive.
Too often in our lives, we focus on the minors and major on the minors. What really matters most in life is ignored, and precious time and resources are spent on trivial issues. I have discovered that God's Word is trustworthy and reliant. God has declared to us His matters of importance, and somehow we have watered them down through time and opinions to suit our comfort levels. First off, eternity matters. We are only on this planet for a small amount of time, but we will spend eternity in heaven or hell. Preparation should take a place of emphasis in our lives. The question, "Are you prepared to step into eternity?" Should remind us of the frailty of life, and the need to focus on matters of eternity. Have you or your loved ones made that all important decision to trust Christ as Savior?
The second issue deals with family. Family is an institution ordained by God and should be held in the highest regard. Basically, spend time with your family. A child will spell love as T-I-M-E. So spend your time wisely upon the people in your life. In this culture, especially, shower time on your loved ones. Make them feel special through time spent together. My little princess loves puzzles. I mean she LOVES puzzles. They are NOT my thing. I don't care for them at all. However, I still do puzzles with my princess, because she wants to do them. It's our time together. Hopefully one day, she will want to play a sport or attend a ballgame as "our time together." Regardless, I will spend time with her making memories. Hopefully, when the time comes, she will remember this and place me in a quality nursing home, or maybe even live in her basement ("King of Queen's" style).
