CONSIDER THE BACK ROADS

For a goal oriented traveler sometimes the backroads get left behind in favor of highways and expressways. 

What a travesty! Had we not veered off the beaten  path yesterday, we might never have encountered the legacy of a kind and caring man----well displayed in the rooms of his former high school. A godly man!

As a child he both painted and attended the Baptist Church in Plains, GA.

These days, at 93, he teaches Sunday School at Maranatha Church just down the road, surrounded by pecan trees! (Don't pick them.)

A man who went from peanut farmer....

.....to President of the United States                    ....to Nobel Peace Prize winner......

from small town to DC & back home again!

to become a humanitarian extraordinare--

always with his beloved wife by his side!

ROALYNN & JIMMY CARTER....71 years 9 mos. of marriage,so far.

....Considered by me a "Storybook Romance " discovered on the backroads of GA.

CONSIDER GIVING THANKS EVEN IN HARD PLACES

This morning as I was praying for friends who suffer from chronic pain, this toe tapping song came up on my playlist.

So, my prayer for them was that hearing it would "move" them to tap their toes.
If it moves you to "tap" your toes, give thanks that you are able to do that. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Beyond that, I pray that it moves you to consider praying for other suffering souls, especially those with chronic pain.

CONSIDER THE EASTER STORY

Consider the "real" Easter story as told from the mouth of a very "southern" 3 year old.

Is our "grand" nephew, Asher, a budding preacher?

CONSIDER LIGHT

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.....(Psalm 119:105).....And the way to my soul, according to Dr. David Jeremiah.

Light shines in the darkness

In Dr. Billy Graham's life, Christ's light shone brightly even at his final crusade, his funeral.

The symbolic light found it's way to rest upon the top of his casket.....

(Picture from Anne Graham Lots newsletter)

......like a BIG stamp of approval Father God bestows on His good and faithful servant.         (Matthew 25:21)

ACRONYMS

Acronyms.
You know......those abbreviations formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word.

Today's acronym is FRED. I created it as a way to save face and remind me of the positive connotation, regardless of the shape of the bottle and the assumptions of others. I don't know how the distributor, Fred Beverages, in CA came up with the name or if it has its own product acronym.

I just know that it is pocket-sized and filled with clear liquid, of the Rockland, NY alpine spring water variety.

I wasn't prepared for the glances at my "flask" as GAC patrons dubbed it. 

Vodka? It left a "sour" taste in my mouth.

So....in order to turn a negative into a positive, for me, my "bottle" acronym became ....

Fellowship

Requires 

Embracing

Divinity

Friends in the faith will get it. It's a positive for all who embrace the One who is the "Source of living water" and keeps us all connected by His death, burial and resurrection.

TEACHING TUESDAY = WOW

Right now, the only WOW I'm getting is Wifi Outta Whack!

Will try again later!

Well, 5 hrs later, the picture came through---will work on transferring rest of entry.

If you have time tonight, (3/20) I'd recommend going to novel. bookstore to hear Greg Boyles speak!
His story is one of KINDNESS!!

GOOD FAT AND BAD FAT

All physically fit folks know that there is good fat and bad fat. They ignore bad "fatty" foods.

Even dieters know about good fat but sometimes we tend to disregard it when we smell the aroma of fried foods.

Shutterstock

Here's some "fat" to chew on this Friday.

ENVY is a bad fat. Many women and men feed themselves with this sin. (Proverbs 6:16-19)

It seems to be deeply ingrained in human nature. 

ENVY eats nothing but its own heart. (German proverb)

FAT as used by Billy Graham's son, Nelson, at his father's funeral was "fat" of the good variety.

"My father was F-A-T. He was Faithful, he was Available and he was Teachable.....may we all be that way.

Consider the "fats" in your diet! 

I'm just sayin' or maybe I'm singin' to the food choir!

CONSIDER BIBLE USAGE

So much to consider! Considering "consider" verses that is.

According to online King James Bible Dictionary, the transitive verb consider is used 67 times. 

Impressive for "My One Word" for 2018.  

The first time consider is used in God's word is in Exodus (after Israelites left Egypt) and the last time is in Hebrews (after Jesus' resurrection). 

Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found grace in your sight, show me now your way, that I may know you, that I may find grace in your sight: and consider that this nation (Israel) is your people. (Exodus 33:13, KJV)

For consider Him that endured such contradiction (hostility & opposition)of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. (Heb. 12:3)

Those two verses alone are enough to have me change to the noun form with an er suffix and become a "considerer" of these 2 verses today.

TEACHING TUESDAY: A TOUGH LESSON

"Physician heal thyself." A common Adage. What about, "Teacher, teach thyself?" Even the tough lessons. Suffering can be a hard lesson to swallow and to teach.

Benjamin Franklin is the one noted for saying, "nothing in life is certain but death and taxes." 

I would add suffering. I assume the teachable truth here is acceptance and preparation.

Suffering is a "given."

All suffer. Overtly or hidden. 

Everyone I know has suffered in one way or another. 

Yesterday while meditating on Psalm 107: 17-22, notes from a 2017 Taylor Park sermon and a 2014 blog entry fueled my thinking on suffering. 

**Will  finish my pondering and share final thoughts after my time with Owen.

RIGHT NEIGHBORLY

Pansy Pot. A neighborly gift.
The best part is my "green thumb" neighbor's understanding of my deficiency in this area.
Master Gardener extraordinaire. She believes in "helping," not shaming, the less inclined.
So....when the temps were due to drop, I got a text that it would be okay to take them in out of the elements, even hard rains. When the deadheading was needed, I received the info on the best place for pinching. Now that's a good neighbor.
Pansies for the Patio. A right neighborly gift for sure.

Growing up in a small town, Daddy had a way of recognizing those on our block who were "right neighborly." In fact, he's the originator of the term for me. Christine and Pappy, who love me as a grand daughter, were "RIGHT NEIGHBORLY in all caps! (Galatians 5:14)
Daddy also spoke of "old" Dr. Dade being "right neighborly." I suppose sometimes it's more difficult for the elderly to be "right neighborly" when a 6 year old girl picks, without permission, their beautiful King Alfred daffodils because she wanted to give them to her mother who had always admired them. Being said little girl, I was required by Daddy to "march" right over to the Dades' home and apologize, that was more than the neighborly thing to do, it was the right thing to do. (Exodus 20:5)

Dragging my feet, literally, and pleading "right" motives was not an acceptable excuse.
I marched. (Matthew 19:19)

Dr. Dade accepted my apology and said the right thing to do would be to let him know when I needed flowers for my mother and he would help me choose the right ones from his yard. (Romans 13:8)

That was above and beyond being right neighborly!