What’s Your Story?

Saturday, April 14, 2018

I shared a bit about Will’s birth story yesterday. Bill went into a little more detail on his FaceBook post. Birthday’s are definitely worth celebrating. 

What about your spiritual re-birth? Do you celebrate it? 

I can’t tell you the exact date, but it was about this time of year when I was nine years old that I gave my life to Christ. 

One day at school I was unable to go outside to play for recess. I stayed in our classroom with a couple of other children. One of them was being disciplined for something — he had to clean all the desks. Well in my nine-year-old mind, his punishment didn’t quite fit the crime. He was getting off pretty easy. So I got out my crayons and marked heavily on my desk and said, “now let’s see you clean THAT off.” 

He and the other children were horrified at what I had done. And how mean it was. But they weren’t nearly as horrified as I was when I realized that our class was on its way back to our room. I was toast. 

I was so ashamed of what I had done. I was unkind. I was bad. And God used that to show me that I could have forgiveness because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. A couple of days later I gave my life to Christ and accepted His forgiveness for being so bad. 

One thing lead to another and here I am 50 years later still amazed at how the Lord changed my life and how He has blessed me beyond measure. 

My birth story involves a desk, some crayons, and the innocent heart of a nine-year-old. What is your birth story? How has Christ changed you? How is He changing you now?

Happy Birthday, Will

Friday, April 13, 2018

Every year on our children’s birthdays, I tell their birth story at dinner. I want each of them to know the particulars of how they arrived because each one was a special event. 

Will was our foreign missions baby. I was planning to go to Africa for three months and had everything all ready to go. Nine days before my departure, the International Mission Board contacted me to say that the rules had changed in Africa and my paperwork was no longer in order. There wouldn’t be sufficient time to correct it before I was to leave. So they cancelled my trip. I sat on the back deck and just cried out to the Lord in sorrow. Three days later I realized I was pregnant with Will. 

(Fourteen years later I took that boy on a mission trip to Africa. It was a time he and I will never forget.)

Will’s arrival into this world was fairly uneventful. He was no small child at 8 pounds 11 ounces. Although he was born on the 13th day of the month, it was a Monday and not a Friday like his mother’s birth. 

All four grandparents were there when Will was born. They were so excited. Daddy took one look at Will’s full head of hair and decided he looked like a Precious Moments doll. So he went out and bought one for him. Bill’s mom and dad suddenly had to drive to Bowling Green once a week which we loved because they always came with a package of diapers and other goodies. 

Now this sweet baby is 31 years old and has a family of his own. He is more precious to me now than ever before. I am so glad God gave him to us. He makes the world a better place. 

April 12th In History

Thursday, April 12, 2018

On this date in 1861, the Civil War officially began. That war would last for four long years, pitting brother against brother and nearly dividing our country in two. 

On this date in 1937, British aviator, Sir Frank Whittle, successfully tested the first aircraft jet engine. 

April 12, 1947 saw the births of David Letterman and Tom Clancy. 

In 1961, Soviet Cosmonaut, Yuri Garagin, became the first person the successfully travel into space and back again. His trip lasted 108 minutes from launch to landing. 

John Young and Bob Crippen were the first to travel in a space shuttle. Columbia flew for the first time April 12-14, 1981. 

On April 12, 1988, “The Last Emperor” won nine Academy Awards. It was the first time a movie won in every category for which it was nominated. 

On Sunday, April 12, 1987, Rich Pond Baptist Church hosted a baby shower for Bill and me. Little did we know that Will would make his grand entrance less than 24 hours later. 

Who knows. Maybe we will look back on today and celebrate something that takes place in it. Enjoy your day. Make it memorable. 

cantotalk.blogspot.com

Barbershop Quartets on Eight-track Tapes

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

I’d like to know who sits around and figures out what national-day-of (blank) we should celebrate every day. I want that job. 

Today is National Barbershop Quartet Day and National Eight-track Tape Day. All we need now is an eight-track of a barbershop quartet — and something to play it on — and we’ll be all set. 

I can remember having an eight track player / stereo / recorder combination back in the seventies. I would listen to Casey Kasem’s “American Top Forty” with my big headphones on — complete with spiral 15-foot cord — and record each of the songs very carefully. Then I would replay the tape with my boyfriend in his 1966 Mustang. 

Those were the days, I guess. 

“The Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America” was founded in Tulsa, Oklahoma on April 11, 1938. I’m not real sure who decided we should commemorate that day but, hey, I like to celebrate about as much as the next person. So let’s have a party. 

Does Pandora have barbershop quartet music? My co-workers will think I have lost my mind!

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The Response to the Sun

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

When we have these funny little “winters” in the springtime, we sometimes wonder about the crocuses, daffodils, tulips and flowering deciduous trees. Will they survive the spring snowfalls? And why do they bloom before it really gets warm anyway?

I did a little research about this yesterday and, while I won’t bore you with the details, it was quite fascinating. I didn’t exactly find what I expected, though. Sometimes research is like that. 

Did you know that the buds on cherry trees actually form in the summer prior their blossoming in the spring? Their development is directly linked to the long sunny days of summer. Fall and winter bring shorter days and the protective cycle of dormancy. And then two things cause them to burst out in the spring — the sun and warm temperatures. If their blooming were solely dependent on the sun (and longer days), then Washington’s Cherry Blossom Festival could be scheduled fairly accurately to coincide with their peaks. Oh, well. 

Bulbs respond similarly to warmer and more sunny days. Unseasonably warm days in February inevitably produce early flowers. But we shouldn’t worry about them. They have endured spring cold snaps for who-knows-how-long. 

Well, all this reading about warmth and sunshine and nature’s response made me think about Christians. Now this, like a lot of analogies, will only go so far. So don’t be too critical. 

I think we as believers can go through growth cycles. Sometimes the Holy Spirit is developing things inside us that we aren’t really aware of. Sometimes we go through periods of relative dormancy. And sometimes we are visibly blossoming and growing. Our roots are going deeper and we are getting stronger and more resilient. 

Unlike the vegetation in our back yards, though, Christians must chose to let the Son work in our lives. Our growth is not passive. The Lord is ready and willing to grow us. But we have to let Him do His thing. 

Father, may we live as in a greenhouse — always growing — always blooming — always dependent on you to be our source of life. And May our blossoms ever bring You great joy. 

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The Five (or Six) Little Winters of Spring

Monday, April 9, 2018

Bill’s mother had names for all these little snows in springtime but I never can remember what order they come in or what to call them. Turns out their names have to do with whatever is happening at the time of the cold snap. 

• redbud
• dogwood
• locust 
• blackberry
• linsey woolsey britches
• whippoorwill 

These little winters are most prevalent in our southern states and might have a different order or a different expected date depending on the location. 

Generally speaking, the first four are named according to what is blooming and tend to be in early to late April. Linsey woolsey britches winter refers to the linen and wool long underwear that could be stashed once it’s over. And whippoorwill winter occurs well into May and might bring temperatures into the forties. This is when the birds are typically out calling for a mate. 

So there you have it. Looks like we are only in redbud winter, y’all. We’ve got a little ways to go. So hang in there. Don’t put up the linsey woolseys or the electric blankets quite yet. 

piedmontgardener.com

April 8, 2018 - Memory Verse

April 8, 2018

 

Focus this week on 

ASSURANCE

 

Come to me, all you who are weary 

and burdened, and I will give you rest. 

Take my yoke upon you 

and learn from me, 

for I am gentle and humble in heart, 

and you will find rest for your souls. 

For my yoke is easy 

and my burden is light.

Matthew‬ ‭11:28-30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Have you ever spent a day working in the yard by yourself? At first your energy level is high but it dwindles as the day goes by. And something that would take only a few minutes if you had another set of hands, takes forever. 

Jesus doesn’t want us to go through our days alone. He wants to be that second set of hands. He wants to share our burdens with us so that we can enjoy walking with Him.