Food for thought

Earlier this month, Rachel was able to go to the School of Healing at Bethel in Redding. (lucky girl!) She shared something with me that really made me think, so I thought I would share it with you.

Some of you know(and some of you have been or are yourselves) we did foster care for awhile.
Oftentimes, foster children will stuff more food in their mouths than they can eat, looking like a chipmunk. Sometimes they will take the food from the table and run off with it, worried that that is all they will get. Other times,they will sneak food into their rooms,hide it under the bed, etc.
As a foster parent, we just have to reassure them they will be able to eat when they want,and there will be enough. It sometimes takes awhile,but they usually figure it out after a bit.
One of the speakers was (is) himself a foster parent. He used the above as an analogy. He shared that often times; we are like that with God. God gives us something,and we will take it, run with it, afraid there won't be a "next time", or enough. We also sometimes hide it, afraid we won't get anything else.

What we need to realize is that God's gifts are always there for us. God will always make sure there is enough,if we will just stop hoarding it, or try to use it as quickly as possible, afraid there isn't going to be anymore. We are often like some of those foster children who didn't get enough to eat in their homes,and have a hard time understanding that there IS enough in this home, and there will ALWAYS be enough.

For me;this was a big eye opener. I had honestly never thought about God's gifts in that perspective. Now, I just have to remember there IS enough, WILL be enough,and I don't have to hoard the gift, or stuff it in my mouth, afraid that I won't get anything else.
Wow! It is something I am going to work on!

Costco reciepts

We made our way through the main aisle of Costco, with the usual stops one needs to make with a 5 year old who wants to sample anything available.
We finally made it over to the deli section to pick the meat and bread we wanted for our sandwiches.

Content with our selection; we made our way to the front registers to pay for our items. Dick ordered a couple of hot dog combos while there,and paid for our items.
In his haste, he nearly forgot to take the reciept with him to the snack bar. I handed him the reciept, unaware of the fact that there were two reciepts.
After he put all the goodies on his hot dogs, we headed for the door.
Dick handed the door man the reciept in the box. The man looked at the reciept. "Where is your reciept?" the doorman asked. He continued " This one is for the hot dogs and drinks,and it LOOKS like you have some meat, cheese and bread in this box." I felt a big "DUH" coming on at the word "LOOKS" but kept my mouth shut.
Dick looked at me and said "YOU gave me the wrong reciept." I couldn't help but reply in defense "Don't blame me!" "I didn't know there were two reciepts!"

Grumbling that the snack bar had probably thrown away the reciept, and without any suggestions from the doorman, Dick started off on a seemingly wild goose chase.
Annie and I stayed behind with the food we had paid for, but not having the reciept to prove it, we waited; one patiently, the other NOT so patiently.
(patient is an adjective that would NOT correctly describe the noun known as Annie.)

I watched as Dick first went to the snack bar, then over to the customer service desk. From there; I could not see where he went. I began to wonder if Costco was going to keep my hubby as proof of purchase.

After what seemed an eternity; he came back with a computer printout of our proof of purchase.
I felt by then that Annie and I should have been bestowed with some sort of an award for our PATIENCE or at least my creativity in trying to keep Annie occupied and out of trouble during the wait.

We once again made our way to the door; with Dick's irritation written all over his face. The doorman meekly thanked us,and we left, on our not so merry way.
By the time we made it to the car, Dick's irritation had subsided,and he happily ate his late lunch of hot dogs,while I ate a late lunch consisting of my cinnamon roll from Cinnabon. (and,yes, I enjoyed every bite!)

A Child's View of the Fog

About a year or so ago, I was talking with one of my assistants in my tiny tots class.It had been foggy, and thus the subject of our conversation. On our way out to the church,Annie(being only 4 at the time,although she is 5 now and still wants me to "LOOKAT!" ) was saying "mom, look at me!" I patiently tried to explain that I needed to pay attention to my driving,as it was foggy.
She quipped "I'll watch the fog for you, my eyes work better than yours!" I laughed, ableit a bit chagrined. After a couple of minutes, she reminded me that she was still watching the fog for me. I laughed again,and told her she cracks me up! I thought I might have to pull over, for laughing,but did fine.
I thought Annie's quote was funny, but read on, because my friend's daughter had a quote that takes the cake!
The mom told me that as they were getting into the car to leave for church; her daughter(who was 6 ) looked around and asked ;" Mommy; why is there dog breath outside?"
Kids are just too funny!
I am so glad I get to do the job I get to do! It is never boring,and kids just come up with great stuff!

George "The KIller" Tiller

I heard that George "The Killer" Tiller was murdered today. (I am NOT the one who gave him that moniker) He was shot while in church.
First, I cannot fathom how someone who murders babies( he was one who did Partial Birth abortions) can sit in a church with a clear conscience.
Don't get me wrong,I am NOT condoning his murder, it was wrong, as much as what George Tiller was doing. Murdering an abortion doctor isn't the answer.
I wish the case against him could have been successful and he would have been sitting in prison or at least stripped of his medical license, instead of mocking God(I feel) by sitting in church with innocent blood on his hands.
I wonder though,how much longer he would have been able to continue killing innocent children without God's judgement eventually catching up with him.
I wonder how he felt standing in front of his creator, knowing he snuffed out so many of the lives his creator created?(I know, that doesn't sound grammatically correct. but I want it that way)
I don't think I would have been able to look God in the eye.

Did it ever cross his mind that these babies are God' s creation? Did he Ever once feel any guilt?I am sure he felt no compassion.
In a strange way, I am not so surprised that George Tiller was killed. I hope he hears the cries of the babies he killed for the rest of eternity. That may be the wrong attitude, but that is how I feel. I have never had an abortion myself, but I have been affected by the choice someone I know made to abort, and it broke my heart that she made that choice. I have no compassion for the doctors who perform these abortions, it is all about money. Not about compassion.
Maybe I should feel some compassion for the doctors and clinic operators, but right now, I do not. I only feel compassion for these innocents.,and only that some of them are so decieved, they sincerely believe they are helping women.
I suppose maybe I might feel a bit of compassion for The KIller Tiller, but only in that he had to stand before God knowing he grieved our creator deeply.

It's okay to be pretty

Today, in the ladies meeting, one of the ladies(whom I happened to think of as pretty even before today) Shared about humility and being pretty.

She shared how God showed her it's okay to be outwardly pretty,because he created beauty!

It really got me to thinking because I have never allowed myself to really think I was pretty.

For some stupid reason; I would tell myself that(in jr. High and high school) that I wasn't anything special because I didn't want to be stuck up. Some of the friends I had in elementary school were pretty,and when we got into jr.high they became popular and decided they couldn't be my friend anymore. So, I guess I was afraid of being like that,and took it to another extreme. I honestly don't remember my mom saying I looked pretty too many times, I can think of one for sure. I do remember always thinking that my sisters were the pretty ones; and they really were (are) pretty. I look at my youngest sister and often think she is very pretty. It is kind of silly I suppose,that I didn't let myself believe that I could be pretty like my sisters!

Even when I met my husband, and he would tell me I was beautiful, I couldn't figure out what he was seeing! (this is kind of funny, but I thought at first he liked another girl in church , who was my friend. When I realized it was me, not Linda, I was a bit taken aback!)

Over time, I did begin to allow myself to look in the mirror and say "not bad" but that was about it. About a year ago, I invited a neighbor to go to a Mary Kay event as my guest. We were playing with color,and I tried a new lip color. One of the other consultants said I looked beautiful.(again, I thought ; ME??) my neighbor said "Kim is gorgeous anyway" I was really surprised.

When my friend shared today how God told her He didn't have a problem with her image; that SHE did,it really hit me and made me think. She said God had told her it's okay to be pretty.

I have never had a problem with someone else being pretty; I just couldn't let myself think that.

I have always been self concious, and not one who wanted to stand out. If I met someone who was pretty,and they wanted to be my friend, I was always a little taken aback, thinking "She wants to be friends with ME??" I wasn't pretty or good enough!

Today though, I found out different. I learned it's okay to look at myself longer than it takes to put my makeup on. It's okay to look at myself in the mirror and think I look pretty.

I am made in my Father's image,and God created me to look like I do! I even look like him! (wow.)

It's going to take some practice, but I think I can do this! I know I am not a snob,and I am not stuck up,and just because I might look in the mirror and like the way I look, doesn't mean that it's wrong. God doesn't have a problem with the way I look, so I shouldn't either, and nor should you. Thanks Jen, for sharing!!

Grandpa Wizner

One of the most colorful members of my family is My Grandpa(Great Grandfather) Wizner. Grandpa was my paternal Great Grandfather, my Grandmother's dad. I can remember listening to family stories of him when I was a little girl. It used to amaze me that all these stories were about one man!

I don't remember when he was born; I do remember he always seemed old to me! That didn't mask the fact that he was extremely ornery.

William Wizner was the kind of man who was not easy to figure out.

One would probably know if they were on his "bad side" but it was likely you otherwise didn't know where you stood.

He loved jokes, especially practical jokes,but only as long as he wasn't the object of the joke.

He was sneaky,and very clever. I remember once going to see him in the hospital. He loved to smoke. He really liked my mom,and I think he figured since my mom liked him in return,she would do his bidding.

I remember he begged my mom for some cigarettes. He wanted her to sneak them up to his room. I think in those days, smoking was allowed in some areas of the hospital, but the doctor had told Grandpa no smoking! He was a chain smoker,and the Dr.had told him he needed to quit or he would likely die. As far as Grandpa cared, he had been smoking his entire adult life(or longer) and hadn't died yet. He got his wish,mom felt sorry for him and brought him some cigarettes. I don't know how things turned out after that. I remember thinking my mom was going to be in big trouble! I remember questioning her,and she told me that he had been smoking for so long that a few more cigarettes wouldn't hurt him, it was better than making him miserable.

Grandpa wasn't a big man. He stood about 5'8'and was rather stoop shouldered. He was rather thin,weighing about one hundred forty eight pounds. He wasn't especially handsome. He had a big nose(some would say it rivals Jimmy Durante's)a wide toothless smile,and looked quite a bit like Will Rogers, SR. As a matter of fact; Grandpa almost got to play Will Rogers in a movie about Roger's life! If I remember right; it ended up that Will Rogers Jr. played his father instead of Grandpa.

Grandpa also had a temper. It didn't take much to make him mad. When that happened, he stayed angry for some time. My Grandma told me that she and her brothers(there were 3 boys and one girl)had certain chores to be done every day when they were young. One day, she and her brother, Ken were working in their garden. They began to throw tomatoes at each other. They were having so much fun that they didn't see Grandpa coming up out of the basement just a few feet away. Uncle Ken took aim and threw a tomato intending to hit Grandma. Fortunately for Grandma(and Unfortunately for Uncle Ken) she ducked. The tomato missed it's intended target, and Grandpa caught a rotten one in the face!

Grandpa began hurling a string of profanity and threatened to skin alive the responsible party. Grandma and Uncle Ken decided they had better stay out of sight for a while and decided to hide in the garden until they felt it was safe to come out. I don't know if Grandpa ever found out who it was. I suspect he did, but never followed through on his threat.

Grandpa was also greedy(perhaps miserly might work better) and would do nearly anything to save some money. One day, he told my Grandmother(I believe she said she was about 5 at the time.) to take the milk cows (except one)out to the woods behind the house and tie them up. She did as she was told, but wondered why did Grandpa want her take them to the woods, of all places! She didn't dare ask questions, she knew better than to question her father!

When she returned to the house, she saw him talking to a strange man. She walked over and quietly stood beside Grandpa. When the man asked if the one milk cow was all they had; Grandma piped up before Grandpa could say anything and said"No Sir!" "There are more in the woods!" Realizing she had said something wrong, my grandmother ran into the house and told her mother what had just taken place,perhaps she figured there would be some relative safety if she told her mother before her Dad could!

I guess I can't blame Grandpa for trying to avoid the tax man!

When Grandpa returned to the house, he calmly took Grandma aside explained that she shouldn't have said anything about the cows, the strange man was from the income tax service!

I think I remember Grandma telling me that she was really surprised that Great Grandpa was that calm. I am sure she expected otherwise!

Grandpa wasn't all bad. He meant well much of the time, but it seemed to get lost in translation.Grandpa was full of surprises!

Even those who thought they knew him best found him to be full of surprises.

Frequently,he would bring home poor man he found wandering in the woods or along the side of the road. I guess he figured that he could share what they had.

My Grandmother told me that these men would stay anywhere from just a few hours, to months at a time.

One man in particular stayed so long, that Grandma Wizner finally told him either he could help with the chores, or leave. The man decided he would rather not work, so he left, never to be seen again!

Grandpa Wizner was quite remarkable. He never seemed to run out of energy,or ways to con people in order to get his way.

Even though he was ornery, he had a sort of endearing quality about him that one couldn't help but like or love him, especially his wife,Great Grandma Myrtle(yes, that was her name!)

He was always playing mean tricks on her. Once, he poured ketchup all over his shirt,and came stumbling out of the kitchen yelling; "I'm hurt, Myrtle, I'm hurt!" (That one was especially bad, because they were getting along in age and Grandma Wizner had heart problems. ) He dropped onto the floor, pretending to be unconscious! I don't remember hearing whether Grandma Myrtle fell for it or not. I suspect she probably knew him well enough to know he was trying to fool her!

Another story that comes to mind is one when he and Grandma Wizner were in a convalescent home. Neither was able to take care of themselves, so my Grandmother was the one responsible for their social security checks, etc, as she was the closest living relative. Grandpa became convinced that my Grandmother was stealing from him,and that she wasn't giving him his money.(This of course, was not true, My Grandma Dorothy was a very devoted daughter, and she and my Grandpa did not need Great-Grandpa's money.) He turned Grandma into the authorities , despite the nursing home staff trying to convince him that his money was indeed safe,and his daughter was not stealing from him. Thankfully, the allegations were found to be false, and that ended that, at least where the stealing theory was concerned!

He didn't let that end his ornery streak, though. Another time, he was wheeling down the hall in the convalescent home,and spotted money sitting on the counter at the nurse's station. He casually rolled up, grabbed the money,and took off down the hall, with nurses in hot pursuit!

I am not sure if Grandpa thought he might actually succeed with taking the money,or if it was just to get a rise out of the nurses. If he was trying for the latter, it was a success!

Grandpa is dead now, but I remember him very clearly,and I still think he is probably the most interesting person I have ever known!

A 21st century Pharaoh?

I was reading in Exodus last night. (I think it was chapters 9 and 10) Moses and Aaron are trying to get Pharaoh to let their people go. There have been locusts, water turning to blood, gnats(the locusts and gnats would have been more than enough for me, I hate bugs!), just to name a few.
Each time God sends a plague, Pharaoh's heart remains hardened. I had a thought, while reading that, and I am pretty sure God was showing me something. Since taking the oath of office only 6 ago, President Obama has signed several executive orders. I keep asking God "What is it going to take to get this President to see he is wrong?" I want to beat my head against the wall. I am a common sense type of person,and this is really aggravating me!
I believe it was no mistake that I read those two chapters last night,and here's what I think God is showing me: I think our new President is somewhat like Pharaoh of Moses' time. He knows the decisions he has made are not in our best interest, but yet he has hardened his heart to what he knows is right. It took many plagues to get Pharaoh's attention his heart was so hard!

I am thinking we have to keep petitioning God for our President's salvation and for God to soften his heart. I know we all know we are supposed to pray for our leaders, but this is one we have to keep praying hard for! Don't get me wrong, I am NOT easily inclined to pray for our new President, I really have to make myself do it. I am trying to find good , and having a hard time of it. I just want to throw up my hands and say "forget it!" I am stubborn that way sometimes.

On a different note; I am amazed at how each time I read a book of the
Bible, God speaks to me in new and different ways. I am amazed that God would show ME some of the things he does, and speak to me in the ways he does. I am the type that thinks of God speaking to everyone BUT me, so it just amazes me that he gives me the privilege of hearing from him. I know I am not any big shot, but I also know that I don't need to be or have to be! I just have to be willing,and LISTEN. The listening part is something I am working really hard on!!!
Tomorrow, I will post another, completely different, and fun blog!! I hope you'll read it and laugh! I know I could use a good laugh!