Gathered Gems

Pollyanna!

2009-07-02T23:15:00.004-05:00

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things." Phil. 4:8

I love to sit and watch a good old fashioned Disney movie. I know I'm showing my age, but there is something pure and simplistic about a car named Herby, or a dog that talks or even finding a purpose for "flubber". These movies bring back the kid in us and if only for a short 90 minutes or so, take us to a more pristine and happy world.

I just finished watching Pollyanna. I don't have a whole lot of childhood memories. I think they are still caught up in the peri-menopause transition zone. But I do vividly remember watching this movie and the effect it had on me at that time. I think I found it truly captivating that one person could have such a dramatic effect on other people. I would remember Pollyanna when situations called for happier thoughts about unhappy people. I am surprised actually as I write this at how much of a profound effect this movie did have on my life.

Pollyanna is about a orphaned girl full of sunshine and happiness who moves in with her wealthy Aunt in a town beset with it's own less than happy characters. The movie carries Pollyanna's cheerful "gladness" attitude around town weaving it through everyone's lives and with it depositing a small miracle in each one. All this despite the cantankerous bitter Aunt who for some reason has lost the ability to show love. The movie however takes a sad turn even for Pollyanna as an accident leaves her paralyzed and on her way to a surgical hospital. The town responds with a reciprocal outpouring of love as they bid her farewell but they themselves are left submerged in their newfound happiness! Letting it be known how infectious happiness can be. And we are left with this glob of teary eyed "gladness" wondering if it is really possible to be that kind of happy, grateful for life...seeing only the good in everyone, type human being.
Lets face it. We could use more Pollyannas in this world. One can barely escape the tidal wave of "it's all about me" drama that sweeps our media, our Schools, our cyber world and even our Churchs'. This movie left me with a lot of hope! Happiness is contagious. Just as contagious as an epidemic of the measles. If we spent more time looking for the good in people and and thinking "happy" thoughts and quoting "happy texts" we could literally be the antiserum to a world befallen with a serious lack of "gladness".

A town was brought back to life by the positive, "look for the good in everyone" attitude. Lets face it this type of cheer is contagious. There are approximately 800 happy texts in the Bible...we love and serve a Happy God!!

Some thoughts on paper....

2009-04-30T22:43:00.003-05:00

I came across some writings that I never did get around to posting. Thought I might share them.

The Shama

2009-04-30T22:41:00.001-05:00

Hear, O, Israel. Jehovah our God is one Jehovah.
And you shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
And these words which I command you this day shall be in your heart.
And you shall carefully teach them to your sons, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk
by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.
And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
And you shall write them upon the posts of your house, and on your gates.

This command of Jehovah called the "shama" was given to the Israelites as God was preparing to give them Land flowing with Milk and honey which He had promised to their forefathers.

To be Crucified

2009-04-30T22:35:00.002-05:00

Recently one of our small groupies embarked on a mission trip to Ecuador. Her and her daughter took this trip not knowing much about the culture they were going to experience. Upon arriving at the airport....her daughter was met with some "unwelcomed" verbal nuances that understandably made her feel very uncomfortable. A complete u-turn at this point sounded reasonable, however, once they were in closed and safe quarters things began to calm down and they were met with some comforting local ministry workers who vowed that they would be well taken care of...and they were. Upon returning home from their mission trip they were just beaming with excitement! They had an absolutely wonderful, unforgettable and life changing experience. And to think that all would have been missed had they followed their initial fears and turned around and come home.

As we were discussing over dinner one night the unique and enjoyable aspects of their trip we started to consider what an experience it would be if I were to go on the next trip. Of course the subject of having to fly accompanied this idea and the idea of flying has never been a popular one with me. After hearing this my dearly beloved small groupie loaded up her ammunition and preceded to fire, with perfect precision, at my need to "control" my surroundings. In fact I believe her words were, and I quote, as I know I will invite her to read this blog, "boy, you really don't like to give up control do you?" Now, there are not too many people in my life that will just up and "shoot" me with bullets that really hit home with my soul and make me think, "Gee...am I that obvious? Is my control factor that apparent in my life?" So I decided to look up the word control in the dictionary just to get an accurate description of my bullet wound!
Control: To check, test, or verify by evidence or experiments; to incorporate suitable controls in a controlled experiment; To exercise restraining or directing influence over; to have power over; and my favorite! to reduce the incidence or severity of...

I believe we all at some time have wrestled with the control or lack of it in our lives. Especially at those difficult times when things are just not going as we would like, and after exhausting all of our human efforts to force the issue we discover that there really isn't anything we can do...our hands are tied.

It is comforting though to know that our Lord, Jesus is not immune to this type of suffering. His last days on earth, particularly in the Garden of Gethsamane, reminds me of this. When he was praying to His Father in heaven. Jesus knew what lay ahead...and he was scared. The bible says that as he was praying "drops of blood" fell from his face. The heartache He must have gone through is more than what I could ever endure and much more intense than my temporary woes here on earth. Jesus, of his own volition, was not in control..and yet even though he could have changed that, he didn't. He accepted Gods will and in the end purchased for us a place in heaven. And I would imagine that as Jesus was praying..he was reminded of all that God had done for him up to that point. God's faithfulness in all areas of His ministry....God's provision and comfort after Jesus' 40 days of fasting in the desert, His Father's tender words of love at His baptism.

I am reminded these days as well of God's faithfulness. God has always been in my life. I cannot remember a time when He was not there. I can remember times when I left him...but somehow I always knew God was never very far away. Always providing...always rescuing...always forgiving. So why..is it so hard for us to remember the track record when hard times come around again....and again...and again? We worry, we fret we do everything humanly possible to "reduce the incidence or severity" of what we are going through or what we "think" will happen if we don't do something.

Maybe it's not so much about forgetting the track record as it is about just not wanting to go through it at all! And as I sit here in my Garden of Gethsamane..racking my brain trying to figure out what last ditch effort I can make to change the outcome, I realize the real reason behind my insanity...I don't want to fly! I don't want to embark out of my comfort zone...have my limits stretched...be all that I can be...I don't want to get on that plane! And lately I feel as though there are band aids on my band aids. Yet there is a part of me, maybe that which accompanied Jesus in the desert, that won't give in. Because I know in my heart of hearts that God, for some unmistakable reason is doing a work in me, and true to His word, He will not stop until it is completed. So, I may as well stop whining...saddle up my horse.....stock up on the chocolate and Merlot and just get on the plane. There is a destination...if not in this world then in eternity. God is the pilot and while I am on the plane it may go well with me if I take a trip more often to the cockpit and get to know my pilot a little better. Because the more you know someone the more you trust them...right?

Perspective...

2009-04-30T21:54:00.002-05:00

Perspective is a funny thing. It can cause us to broaden our outlook or it can narrow our ability to see things in ways other than what is relative to our momentary situation or circumstance. Perspective is like a pair of glasses. If you don’t have the right prescription your vision is impaired.

During the time that the Israelites had been taken captive to Babylon the Lord brought to the prophet Jeremiah a vision. Following this vision, the Lord asked, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I paused at the end of this sentence. I started to look around asking myself, Tina, “What do you see?” At first glance I saw the obvious. Sitting in my living room, I first saw the Nativity scene displayed on my sofa table. Perusing over to the left I saw a candle. Then I glanced over at the Christmas tree and then to the clock on the wall. The words, “what do you see” kept running through my mind, as I found myself again much more conscious of what I had just seen… the Christmas tree, the Nativity scene and the clock on the wall, etc. Then a funny thing happened. I started to see the same things but in a different light the more I looked at them. I began to look beyond what was actually there. As I looked again at the Nativity Scene hope started to fill my soul as I remembered the salvation I have in that little baby lying in the manger. The Old World style clock on the wall has been hanging there for eight years now and before then in my apartment. It was a gift from my father who passed away this past summer. It gave me a feeling of his touch on my life. As I looked at the Christmas tree I saw the Angels that decorated it and how they were handed down to me from my Mother who passed away just under three years before. Then I started to count the many blessings in my life that started to adorn my perspective at that moment.

This Christmas is guaranteed to be an emotional precedence for me and my family. The losses in our family this year have left a melancholy gap in the Holiday traditions we normally celebrate. The effect of losing a loved can be very profound and sometimes mysterious and how each of us grieves that loss can be very personal. Holidays of course always seem to prompt a more sentimental visit down memory lane.

But that’s not all…

My attention has been more intimately focused on the reason for why Christmas is even here. . I find myself more in tune with the gift that is always, no matter what, under everyone’s Christmas tree every Christmas morning…the gift of Heaven. That brings such hope! Such a light in an ever increasingly dark world.
I begin to find an amazing comfort in knowing that someday I will be with my loved ones again…celebrating Christmas.

2009-03-31T23:40:00.003-05:00

So far so good in Orlando! And up until today, the weather has been sunny and warm. Warm enough to engage ourselves in reviewing the new addition to Sea world...the Aquatica water park. Now...I can't say that I have been to an entourage of water parks in my life time but enough to know that this particular one is right on! From the landscaping to the virtual white sandy beach, this water park is going to be a fave. It has an extremely relaxing atmosphere with tropical music playing throughout the park, accompanied with very talkative tropical birds and a very friendly staff. I cannot remember the last time I laughed so hard. The rides and water activities seemed as though they were specially designed to be nothing but pure fun! Even us adults were having the time of our lives. The water itself is so inviting because of it's bathing temperatures. It is a really nice park. The wave pool was probably my favorite...but it's hard to choose.
Today however, we visited the Atlantic Ocean. The weather wasn't the greatest but when you are looking at the vastness of the open sea...I guess it really doesn't matter if it's accompanied by sun or clouds. We shopped the Ocean walk a bit..drove on the beach and grabbed a cup of java at Starbucks. And while we were enjoying our space on the shores of the Atlantic, we had a surprising visit by Mark and Denny from Delaware. Two students on their own Spring Break but not spending it in the typical fashion. It wasn't hard for me to think after they had left that while we were enjoying our shopping trips and water parks and relaxing in the sun. These two students from the University of Delaware were witnessing for Jesus. That is how they were spending their Spring Break. They were simple and to the point. Their first question was engaging."Can we talk to you about religious views?" I kind of chuckled and said, "which one?" And then I added, "we are Christians". To which they replied, " so are we!" But what surprised me was their next question. "So, do you believe in works and good deeds...." and before he could even finish the question I said, " nope...our salvation rests in Jesus Christ" and their faces lit up as I continued "so we're cool". I thought it very profound that these two "witnesses" were not satisfied with my "we're Christians" confession. They wanted to affirm that we were indeed on the one true path to God. We exchanged prayer requests and they went on their way. But I was left with the suspicious feeling that their visit was a divine appointment. Maybe they needed prayers or maybe just an encouraging word, I don't know. I do know that I was left with a gift of hope and a conviction that I need to witness more in my world.
Those are my highlights....now Mary's is her "airbrushed tattoo" that she very successfully and determinedly talked me into allowing. I say "talk" but that is really an understatement. Why are teens so efficient at the art of wearing you down to the point of saying yes? And why is it that we parents have not learned this same art of persuasion at wearing them down to get them to do what we want? We had it when we were teens right? Gee....do we actually grow out of it?
Well, that 's the highlight for today. My activity for the night is to nurse my sunburn. Yes...one does not come to Florida without at least one!

I miss you Mom.....

2008-02-17T21:11:00.002-05:00

There is a flower that grows
a beauty unlike any other
a beautiful scent so unique
I give to you my mother.
Your voice I long to hear
it matters to me now
Is there none to match it?
If so, Lord show me how.
My heart longs for a season
to which this flower will bloom
But no season will behold it
So it's scent rests in ruin
There is a day to come
when it's blossom will return
My soul beholds the waiting
as a bride awaits her groom.
In desperation my soul cries out
How can God fill this space?
Will he bring back the scent
to put a smile back on this face?
There is a season for all ceased blooms
when again their scent will fill the earth
A time waiting in Holy secret
When flesh gives way to eternal birth.

I Dream of Softballs!

2007-08-17T20:16:00.000-05:00

I would not at all consider myself the type of person who ponders on what dreams are all about. In fact I think I speak for most people when I say that I am lucky if I even remotely remember a dream upon awakening. However there are those remote instances where I will have a dream, a vivid one, and I am left wondering what the dream meant. Why do I think it meant anything? Well, number one...I refuse to believe that all that creative work that just occured was all for naught! Number two, because I do believe that God will communicate with us in creative and unconventional ways that will cause us to stop and think. So..what was my dream?

My dream had me as a pitcher in a softball game. I find this hilarious because the last time I pitched for any team was when I was in the Army and I pitched so lousy that the opposing team was cheering for me!

At any rate... I was the pitcher and though the dream did not commumicate such technicalities as "a no hitter" or a "strike out", the overall sensation of the dream was one of success. That is...until I lost my ball! Here I am standing on the pitchers mound with no ball to pitch . All of a sudden I see myself frantically searching for my lost ball. I looked in corners, under benches, under bags and all to no avail. In my frustration I looked at the ump and called a "time out" after which I ran off the field toward home to see if I could find my missing ball. And the frantic search continued there and though I did not find my ball I did find some other rather peculiar balls. I found lopsided balls. I found water balls. I found balls that were too soft or too small...I found every ball but mine and as I was standing in a room with an armfull of balls that only a dream could create, a question occured to me. "why don't you just ask the ump for a new ball?" Wow! What a revelation! So I hurriedly started a mad dash back to the game and all of a sudden a fearful thought struck me! What if they didn't wait...can timeouts last that long? And as I was approaching the field with that fearful wonder in my head, the dream ended and I was left without knowing how it all unfolded. Now of course commonsense tells us all that no timeout will last that long and that no pitcher is that stupid! But dreams are not about common sense are they? They are usually about something deep within us that needs attention.

So I am sharing this little two-bit dream with you because I believe it has some real significance...but I am having trouble putting it all together because I cannot relate it to anything currently relative in my life. At least as far as I can see. I am hoping that someone out there will bless me with a "Daniel" interpretation. I do have some ideas as to what the dream could have meant...nevertheless, I will wait to share them with other commenters should any choose to do so.

I wait for Daniel in the Kings court!

Does God Care?

2007-07-03T23:41:00.000-05:00

Psalm 8
"Who is man that you are mindful of him?...."

He sees a need and He sends me there
I go because He says" I care"
I wonder sometimes if I do too much,
baseball, Bible School, church and such.
Sometimes it consumes much of my time,
and it doesn't pay much, not even a dime.
Does it really matter these things I do?
Or will it be forgotten in a lifetime or two?

Then the evidence begins to show,
like a seed when planted starts to grow.
Like the Good book says "we reap what we sow"
I may never figure out the why or the how
but a life has been changed even if not now.
Someone maybe got the message that said "I care"
That is why God sent me there.

If I had to guess as to which attribute of God were the hardest to fathom it would be His love. It seems one of the most difficult things for us to believe is the greatness of Gods love for us . It may even be the last light bulb that goes off in our Christian Journey. I know it took me a while in my Faith Walk to actually realize just how wide and how deep God's love for me is. And believe it or not it was not the sudden realization of the death on the cross that did it. Sure it opened my eyes, but it was the love that was shown to me through the people God place in my life's journey that brought it home for me, that made it real for me. We can't discount the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ...not at all. It is an act though not so easily grasped in word as in deed. Didn't God after all use Jesus? Sometimes it is easier to grasp the impression left by the human touch or an act of kindness. I believe the love God has shown to us through Jesus is best imitated through each other. In fact it is because of the death and resurrection of Jesus that we are able to show this God like love. Jesus set the stage and though it is a hard act to follow, it is doable. I believe we learn to love by how we are loved. When you actually stop and let God love you you will begin to show that love to others. It may not come easy at first, maybe you weren't loved so well in the past. Maybe you lost the will to love or be loved. You are the one that God will use the most...why? Because you know what it's like not to be loved and God will use that in you to love others so that they will know! Remember God takes what the enemy meant for evil and uses it for good. Those precious gems we think we need to hide, that we think are unattractive and unusable...God cares about those!

What is God really like?

2007-07-02T22:39:00.000-05:00

Hebrews 1:3, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sin, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven."

God is many things. Can we even narrow it down to what He is "really" like? If we were perhaps to come up with a single phrase or paragraph that would encompass the likeness of God what would what would it read? If you read the Bible you will find that God is, among many things, omnipresent, omnipotent, infinite and wise. God is Love, God is eternal, God is everything to everyone...God is the word that we read...the list my friend goes on and on and on. Whatever it is it won't be enough and will have an endless volume of revisions. This is not to say that God changes, it is to say however that as our faith walk continues we are continually discovering new and wonderful things about God and many of them are "indescribable". The likeness of God is a constant continuum of what He is in our lives . And who he is in our lives can be the same or quite different than in the lives of others. We do not need to know the in's and out's and why's of God. We only need to know who He is to us that we might be that to others. I believe that the more you experience God the more you come to know Him. If we do not allow God to manifest His character in our lives we cannot begin to know who He is. Like all relationships it doesn't just happen....we are called to make it happen, to seek God with all of our hearts all of our souls and all of our minds. God promises to honor that and in return He will reveal himself to us in very unique and personal ways.

It is through Jesus, His son that God has revealed His love to us. Jesus allowed God to be manifested in His life and as we come to know and walk with Jesus we come to know God the Father. Is it possible for the People in your life to know who God is by knowing you?

"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being....."

If you want to know God then know Jesus His Son. If you want to know what God is really like then you must walk the steps of Jesus. Because Jesus is God the Son. Jesus is the Love of God living among us, inside us and through us.

Mistaking Confusion for Motive

2007-05-15T21:52:00.000-05:00

"There's a way that looks harmless enough, look again-it leads straight to Hell." Proverbs 16:25

Have you ever noticed that when we say we are confused, it's usually in the middle of a crisis...and the crisis usually involves two things..."what I want to do ( more characterized by 'what I shouldn't do') and what I don't want to do ( more characterized by 'what I should do')? Yep...it's the old Freud Classic....a battle between id and ego..with superego off in the distance having a good laugh!

A wise friend once said to me that "we think we are confused when we are struggling to win the battle between right and wrong". We spend an enormous amount of effort trying to justify why we should do what we shouldn't and why we can't do what we should. The agony comes when we fail to convince our "Superego" whose job is to be the moral judge. We wrap ourselves all up in a tizzy all in the name of confusion when all the while what we are really feeling is the effects of our conscience voicing it's opinion. You see, God didn't make us stupid..we just tend to do stupid things. I have used this saying during various times over the years as a compass to point me in the direction of my true motives for the state of confusion I am in...and most of the time the confusion is directly related to my own selfish desires trying to outweigh what I know to be right.

There is a well full of tranquility in knowing that you are on the right road and no other sense of accomplishment is more satisfying. I want to be sure that the life I am leading is not in vain. God is the creator of me. He put me together complete with all my right parts, gifts, abilities, dreams and passions. I want to know that my life has a direction and a purpose. I don't want 'ME' to be the one and only thing that is guiding my superego because 'Me' has a lot of screw ups just waiting to happen. God has never let be down...this world has many, many times. I prefer to know that the path I am on was tailored made just for me by Him complete with my own personal travel guide...that should I get lost no matter how many times, He will point me back in the right direction. And should I get wounded...the great physician is right by my side. I like knowing that when I get up in the morning there is a day in wait with a purpose just for me..all I have to do is seek his wisdom and direction.

From my own perspective I have only two directions on my life's "compass" , my way and God's way. There was a time in my life when it all had to be my way....and when I first heard this advice from a wise friend I too was in the process of wanting something my way instead of doing it Gods way. Of course it seemed easier at the time, it always does, but in the long run...when you look at the whole picture, our way puts us on a course that brings us right back to where we were...back in the same situation and in the same state of confusion. Gods way may be a little tougher at first, but the blessings that will be lavished upon us, can never be matched. People are inclined to think that God is not listening or that He doesn't care or "it's just me, God has more important things to do". Oh but he cares so much! It's we who do not give him the opportunity to let him work in our lives and show us just exactly how much he does care and how much he wants to move us out of that state of confusion. suddenly

The Beauty of it all...

2007-02-23T17:51:00.000-05:00

You are probably wondering why I chose to title this blog "Gathered Gems". Then again maybe you really don't care...but for those of you who are curious, here you go! Do you remember those times in your life when you just absolutely blew it? You made a wrong choice, loved the wrong person, said the wrong thing...or maybe like me you've broken just about every one of the Ten Commandments, and maybe even invented some new ones...and you wonder if you will ever get it right? Well, before you label yourself a total misfit consider this:
Remember the saying, "you learn by your mistakes"? Well according to my recollet, I should be a genius by now! I'm in my 43rd year of trying to mistake proof my life and I am beginning to realize that if I should by some miracle accomplish this...then alas, I would be really stupid! It takes a lot longer than this life time to get it all right and by the time it does happen...well, you're in heaven.

There are many beautiful gems in the world. They have been around since the beginning. Do you ever wonder what it takes to make these stones into the beautiful gems that they are? Well first they are mined...from the depths of the earth they are brought out looking nothing like the stones we see. The beauty is hidden until the earth is chipped, cut and polished away. And the beauty from within is revealed. Then from there shines one of Gods many wonders of the earth. The process these stones go through is not pretty...but indeed necessary to bring forth the beauty from within. So what are my gathered Gems? They are what God has used to bring out His beauty in me. They are the cutting, the chipping and the polishing God used to make me shine! Why does he care? I don't know...but He does! He takes the very human nature of me and uses it to form me into the beautiful Gem He created me to be. I have many gathered Gems and my hope for this site is to share them with you. That you might come to realize that the mistakes we make in life and the mistakes made to us are not the end all. In fact sometimes they can be the beginning of a revelation that will take us on a journey of healing. If we leave the gems covered with the earth no one will ever know their beauty and they will have served no purpose. Well the same theory applies with us...if we leave those little earth covered gems in our lives covered up inside of us..buried deep within where no one will ever see, they will serve no purpose. We will not grow, we will not learn and we will have missed every opportunity to capture the strength that is within us to allow ourselves to heal from the hurts and the pain. This is God chipping, cutting and polishing us into His gatherd Gem. He will take those lousy decisions...those unspeakable choices...those "sins" we told ourselves we would never reveal because to us they were just too horrible to talk about. We can let them stay buried, but with this comes no healing, no change. Only a temporary stay until the next crisis comes along and we make the same mistakes and the same bad choices.
Now let's suppose that the mistakes we have made in our life aren't so bad after all. Looking back at them...they may even make us laugh. Or they may make us appreciate the experiences in life that otherwise would have no impact on us at all.

For instance...

I hate divorce for the simple reason, it really hurts the kids...I know this because I've watched them cry.

I can do without a lot of anything because the more you have, the more you can lose...well, except for chocolate!

I can almost figure out the mind of a man...almost.

I hate charge cards..the only thing they really buy is debt.

I know how good it feels to tell the truth because I know how bad it feels to lie.

I know how to run a business, because mine failed.

I know the benefits of being humble because I have experienced the pitfalls of pride.

I know what it is like to live trying to impress God with all my good works...and get totally exhausted...now I just rest in His grace.

I no longer covet what someone else has because I have found it drove them nuts!

I have found that if I don't tell them that I love them...they won't know.

I have found that too much of yourself leaves little left for others.

...and before you waste any time trying to figure out the "why" of everything, consider this: Even if by some twisted fate we did..that would make us god...and I don't know about you but I like the idea of resting in Him, not everyone else resting in me.

The mistakes we make in life form a well of wisdom that we can draw from to pave the way for future success or become roadblocks that keep us dwelling in self pity and self fulfilled prophecies that give us excuses to fail.

So lets not label them mistakes, lets call them Gems. Just like the process these pieces of earth go through that finally reveals the beauty within, life is the process we go through, and our little gathered gems decorate us and make us real. They adorn our lives with wisdom, strength and character. They qualify as credentials to help those who are traveling the path where we have once traveled.

Consider this spot a place where you can be real and share your gathered gems, words of encouragement...a slice of wisdom for the day. They won't be judged or criticised, but they will help someone else. They will be adorned with compassion and grace and a prayer that they will serve as a reminder that you are on your way to becoming one of God's beautiful gems!

So post away!

Our Gathered Gems

2006-08-24T20:35:00.000-05:00