CHOOSE MVPs

Most of us have "many valuable people" in our lives. But.....do we tell them? Do we thank God for them? Do we encourage them?

TX son received an MVP award of sorts at the Allen Sport's Association banquet last Friday night. He was recognized as "Coach of the Year" at this non-profit's youth sport's association's 40th year celebration.

As "the" mom, I knew it was very deserving. Other spoken and written accolades confirmed this as well.

His boys, all 5 of them,  know first hand what a sports coach and life coach he has been---(Proverbs 22:6) How fitting a verse, as I have prayed it for him for 40+ years.

This worthy recipient, coached 61 teams in 4 different sports in 10 years!!!

Just ask those boys of his as he has coached them all! Most Valuable Papa indeed!

CHOOSE generosity

During the recent snowy/cold/rainy days, I decided to offer Maurice, our mailman a cup of hot chocolate. It's easy to offer him bottled water or cokes, his favorite----but to offer something cooked in our home is going out on a limb. Folks are understandably very leery these days of accepting home-made goods.

Relational fostering precedes such acceptance.

Easy also to choose bestowing generosity on Maurice, whom I like and then blogging the results, whatever they are! He's such a friendly, nice guy; whether he accepts it or not, will not change that.

However, notice in the entry title, "generosity" is written in lowercase letters as well as throughout the entry. That's because sharing this "generous" act was similar to "touting" which is rampant on all forms of social media.

True GENEROSITY is preceded by humility, is God-directed and is usually done anonymously.
I know that.
My cup of hot chocolate is a step in building a relationship of one who is a part of my life only because of my address. Ones's generosity to another is to benefit the receiver.
For me, that requires knowing a bit more about my mailman than his truck number or mail route times for my street.

RESULTS: I'm glad I offered Maurice a warm cup of chocolate.
He did not accept it, saying his stomach couldn't tolerate chocolate.
However, his refusal was gracious with a smile that warmed my heart.
Then, he added, "you know those cokes are still my favorite."

He's right I do know that cokes are his favorites. For that reason, I will keep them on my grocery list.

And if I'm not going to be home, I can just leave his "treat" in the mailbox.

He'll know who put it there.

CHOOSE JOY of SIMPLICITY

Real Simple! A Magazine---found in Dr. Nutcracker's offfice, no less.
Who are they kidding!

Just finding time to sit down and read this "deceitfully" titled periodical is a joke.

Not only that, the article I was seeking, "Sleep Better" was no where to be found.
Not in the Table of Contents. Not in subscripts. Not with a "thumb through"

That, like the title, is false advertising in my book."
Nothing in my life seems REAL SIMPLE.  I tend to make the simple difficult!

Real simple/Simple assembly required----weren't those deceiving phrases on the package directions of every late Christmas Eve project we (mainly hubby) tried to construct for Santa's delivery!
The KISS acronym has been around, (Keep it Simple Stupid) for years, yet complexity seems to be the word of the day in my life.

Simplify is the "mantra" of the social domain of our western world, but who can do it "easily" ?

These days everyone seems to espouse the philosophy of simplicity whether it's one's decorator, photographer or "Nutcracker" MD.

Word to self----

Theologically only one "simple" thing is needed---"...the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3) Such simplicity and purity will take care of everything else.
Don't be overwhelmed by complex ideas from every realm of our culture----just simply trust Him.

Complexity overwhelms--kills ideas. Simplicity gives birth to ideas---His ideas/truths which give birth to JOY! The simple joy of knowing Him!

CHOOSE ANTONYMS

When reading Philippians 2:14, Do all things without grumbling or disputing, Pastor Cole introduced the term, captious as a synonym for the word grumbling, when used as an adjective. A grumbling person. A "Crankshaft" of sorts. 

Captious. Fault finding. Petty. Hard to please.

I don't want to be a captious Christian. Captious folks can't get close to God.
I don't want that descriptor to be applied to me.

So....I looked up antonyms for it. Instead I was overwhelmed with synonyms---28 to be exact!

Cantankerous, carping, hypercritical, nagging, testy......to name a few!

I had to search hard for some antonyms, which in this case were "positives." I don't want it to be that way in my life. I don't want folks to have to really search to find some positive descriptors based on my attitude and word choices.

Today I choose antonyms of captious....but I can only find 6. 

Commendatory, complimentary, encouraging, flattering, laudatory and praising.

Of the 6, commendatory, complimentary, flattering and laudatory seemed more "works" based to me.

That narrowed my "choices" to encouraging and praising. I focus my praising on the Lord.

Therefore, I choose encouraging even though I know that means changing some "words" for the ones whom I love most. More loving and encouraging words than training and disciplining words.

May i continually choose to display antonyms of captious in my life!

CHOOSE GRACE

For Christians, "under grace" is the best life choice. The place to be.

Pastor Cole continues to remind us that God desires progress NOT perfection in our Christian Walk. So.....why don't we seek grace not perfection as Emily Ley's 2016 title, coupled with God's word, implores us. (Ephesians 2:8)

Young women, juggling careers and motherhood, would especially appreciate the encouragement in this book to embrace simplicity and celebrate joy.

• Here's the thing about doing it all: even if you can do it all, no one can do it all WELL. (p.13 )
• I will hold myself to a standard of GRACE not perfection. (p.16) 
• Sometimes the problem isn'a our organizational skills; it's our abundance of things. (p.45)
• You don't need a Pinterest-perfect home; you need a home that works for you and makes you feel ALIVE. ( 55)
• We're more likely to lose our patience with our loved ones when we carry the weight of stress on our shoulders. (p.135)
• Grace and Gratitude go hand in hand. (p. 151)

Even this "old granny" found some "grace gems" worthy of choosing.

CHOOSE JOY in READING

Choose joy in reading by selecting books that touch the heart.

There's no such thing as a good book written just for children!

If a book is well written it can appeal to all ages.

That's my philosophy and I'm sticking by it.

I often choose to read books that touch the heart----not sappy books, but endearing ones. Some, such as All the Light We Cannot See, with 544 pages are on Best Sellers Shelf. Others are found in the "kiddie lit" section. That's where this week I found, Tucky Jo and Little Heart, unpaged. (Unpaged is library-speak for picture books. No page numbers.) Both are set during World War II---one in France against the Nazi's and the other in the Philippines with the Japanese occupation. Both touched my heart.

Maybe the Philippines setting book reminded me of the rare times when Daddy, a Kentuckian, would answer my questions about the months he was on the isle of Leyte in WWII, where he was wounded by a Japanese sniper/soldier. A wound that saved his life. He was "hospitalized" there, think MASH, and thus removed from the war. The next day his entire unit, of which he was the Sergeant in charge, was killed when they resumed their reconnaissance with a "sub" platoon leader. He wore that guilt for the rest of his life, I think.

Today's choice not only touched my heart, it blessed my heart with memories of Daddy and gratitude for all the US vets who served In the Pacific in WWII.

CHOOSE JOY--MOMENT BY MOMENT

Following Dr. Nutcracker's RX, I eased into my day at kitchen table with hubby by my side

What a show we had as yesterday hubby cut a hole in Miss Ann's pumpkin so that "critters" could eat the seeds. He loves birds, so I assume his desire was more bird visitors. Squirrel wreak havoc with his bird feeders, as do the raccoons. But, TODAY, Guess who's coming to dinner!

"King of the Pumpkin"

Enjoying the "moment by moment" views as both the doc and God's word recommend.

Teach us to consider our mortality so that we might live wisely. (Psalm 90:12, CEV)

Choose Good News

"Choose Good News"---Obviously that choice negates turning on the TV for nightly news.

Actually the title would read better if it said "Choose Spreading the Good News." 

I was spreading caramel on cupcakes to take to an ailing friend when I saw the Acts 4:12 citation under the ingredients. Of course, I looked it up.

Salvation is to be found through Him alone; in all the world there is no one else whom God has given who can save us. (GNT, Good News Translation)

Hooray, for the Batesville, Mississippi Caramel Factory for spreading the message of salvation, the good news of the gospel, while others are spreading caramel. 

CHOOSE: IDIOMATIC LANGUAGE

Started entry title as "Choose: Obedience"---but that sounded "spiritually prideful," which in and of itself sounds oxymoronic.

"Choose Diligence" lost out as the title as well, because though I've long been known for diligence---that sounds negative in this sense. So...

....I chose "idiomatic language" not only because it's Wordsmith Wednesday but because I'm a "hard nut to crack" and today I'm going to the "nutcracker" doc. Think metaphorical insanity.

With my brain a metaphor for a nut and because I don't know what's going on in there half the time, I decided to be diligent and obey my internist and keep my appointment with Dr. A, who is a recognized "nutcracker!" He doesn't have a clue as to how hard it is to gain entry into my circular thinking noggin. 

I'm sipping a strong cuppa nutcracker tea this morning in preparation.

Maybe I should take some nutcracker tea to serve him as well as I'm a hard, tough nut to crack and he's gonna need extra help to be up to the "Dotsy" challenge!

CHOOSE GOD'S GUIDANCE

Completing grandson Noah's book for his 13th Birthday (1/3/17) had me in Proverbs 3, as that is the Proverb, I have prayed for him since birth. Often, I pray scripture from different versions in order to deepen my understanding of what God is saying as I pray God's best for him.

Proverb 3: 6 (HCSB, Holman Christian Standard Bible) says, "Think about Him in all your ways and He will guide you on the right paths." That's exactly what I want for all my grands but especially for Noah when I am in Proverbs 3.

God has planned all our days and it would behoove us to align our will with His by seeking each day the very detailed, pre-planned guidance for all our day (Psalm 139:16) which He has available for us in His word, and in answer to our "aligned" prayers.

It's so important to choose God's guidance daily as we select our life's paths. 

That's my "Noah Prayer" today! Choose God's Guidance, Noah!