CHOOSE: TO CELEBRATE...

I chose to celebrate dear friend Ashley Bryan's life via "Ma Bell," as today is his 94th birthday! We always try to chat on my birthday or his and either bless my heart immensely! Ashley is one of my "Hebrews 10:24 friends"---as he "stirs me up"with his encouragement "to love and good works."

This morning was no different even though we shared grief in the loss of his "Soos." 

Susie/Susan Valdina, an Isleford resident, Ashley's precious friend and his "tech" connector with the digital world, died 2 months ago after 18 month struggle with pancreatic cancer. There are not enough words to tell all she meant to the Cranberry Isles folks, especially Ashley. Often, she was the go between for us as she handled both slug mail (as Isleford post mistress, and emails on his behalf. She made sure I received a birthday hug and e-mail blessings from him on my birthday last year.
As our chat continued we shared much good news.

One of the biggies was the stage performances of his "Dancing Granny" in Alliance Theatre in Atlanta.

To see and hear this amazing video, click here alliancetheatre.org/granny.
It will be inspirational to all!!
Of course, it truly warms my heart as I have the original "album" (remember those?) signed by Ashley to me,

Ashley was thrilled that we are going to the High Museum in Atlanta Ashley Bryan's  current exhibit, which is causing quite a "stir" in Atlanta. (All the MARTA buses have signs depicting the exhibit, "Painter and Poet: Wonderful World of Ashley Bryan") Above link also has a 6 minute video of Ashley.
Friends from North Carolina are going with us at the end of the month and I am so-o-o-o excited!

Ashley and I both choose to celebrate life each day God gives us, and today we chose to hope to see each other next year on his 95th---as hubby and I plan to go to his island!

CHOOSE: INTENTIONALITY

One must see clearly to see God. That's why I am choosing today to intentionally look for Him. To see God's hand in everything is a choice. Intentionally looking to see God at every turn. Open your eyes to Him---He's at every turn/circumstance. Nature is an easy way to not only glimpse Him but to clearly see Him.  (Romans 1:20) 

One just needs to be looking for Him. That's intentionality!

For more on being intentional, grab yourself a cuppa intentionali-TEA and just click blue link to read this archival blog. 

CHOOSE: TO "SEE" A SONG

This entry could have been, "Choose kiddie lit with your morning cuppa," because the book on the kitchen table was beckoning. I couldn't resist. The title alone drew me in.
Sometimes a simple children's book can open one's mind to possibilities.

My morning cuppa with Eric Carle's, I See a Song, had me contemplating "seeing" with each of  my senses, not just sight. I think Jenna Fergus' art lessons are permeating all areas of my thought processes.

That coupled with recalling all the ways "to see" which my"blind friend," Terry Parlow, had taught me, had my mind seeing with my eyes closed. After he lost his sight in an accident in 2004, he told me that his "vision" was sharper than it had ever been.
I think that's because his other senses were so heightened when he lost his vision.
Carle's succinctness is a creative reminder of the value of intensifying an experience by bringing all of one's senses to bear, rather than just the obvious one.

• Hear color.  
• Paint music. 
• Let colors dance.
• See your own song. 

I would add: Feel color; Feel the beat; Rearrange lyrics to create your own song.

So, I closed my eyes and sang, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." A fount of every blessing. A tuning of my heart. A singing of grace. Unending mercy. LOUD, LOUD, PRAISE!!! A sealed heart!

I felt like the sounds in my head were accompanied by musical and non-muscal sounds from wind swooshes, water dancing and vibrations of a tuning fork.
Even colors came forth, from soft blues and to bright reds in the lyrics, as the words took root in  my head and ended with COLORFUL fireworks!

What a way to begin my day!

All because of a cuppa, a kid's book, and two friends who taught me to see with all my senses and sing & see with all my heart.

CHOOSE: A REREAD FOR REMINISCING

Folks who know me well, know that I rarely reread a book. I'm more of the "So many Books, So Little Time," philosophy. However, since college days I have read Anne Morrow Lindberg's book, Gift From the Sea multiple times.

This past week I dug it out for another reread, partly because July 6 was the birthday of my dear, dear, friend, college chum and sorority sister, Maureen Kinney. 7/6/1946-1/29/2005. She gave me the book in 1968, almost 50 years ago.

"The shape of one's life is determined by many things, but I want first of all to be at peace with myself.
I want...to "live in grace" as much ...as possible....an inner harmony, essentially spiritual." (p.23)
"I would like to achieve a state of inner spiritual grace from which I could function and give as I was meant to in the eye of God." (p. 24) 

Lindberg goes on to expound on the simplification of life, away from a whole caravan of complications." (p.25) As she wrote of daily demands and balancing acts, her words rang true for me. This is not the life of simplicity* but  rather it is the life of multiplicity which the wise men warn us of.....leading us to fragmentation, which does not bring grace but destroys the soul. (p.26-27) Since Lindberg avers that distraction is inherent in a woman's life, (p.28) this condition runs counter to a creative or contemplative life. She decries the dilemma of "remaining whole in the midst of the distractions of life but continues to seek a balance between solitude and communion and between retreat and return."

All of that wisdom in just the first chapter along with an endearing inscription which reads, One of my favorite books, for one of my "most" favorite people. Love, Maureen.   What a treasure!

BTW, personally, I found that 2 Corinthians 11:3, helps me sip from a cuppa simplici-TEA as I reread this book. The verse helps me not be beguiled by the subtleties of the world so that nothing will lead me astray from the simplicity and devotion to Christ.

CHOOSE: TO ENCOURAGE

Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. (Psalm 1:1, from memory so probably KJV)

Scornful folks tend to seek company with the ungodly, and other sinners. But beware, it's an easy "seat" to fall into, even when you sit in your pew every Sunday. That's why Paul admonishes us "to do all things without  murmuring...(Philippians 2:14) Think, inuendos.

To me, a critical spirit spews scorn. Mother would refer to the scornful as "catty." 

Neither descriptors are positive. Therefore, at our house, we try to be appreciative of another's uniqueness or attempts---to applaud their efforts or at least try to understand them, even if that takes extra effort.

"Different"is not a sin.

Scornful folks might be trying to shame others so that their own deficiencies are not so obvious. The adept might introduce scorn through the backdoor of sarcasm---but that still oozes with criticism, even when they try to laugh it off as a joke.

Sarcasm can easily overflow from the heart of the scornful, and sarcasm hurts!

That judgmental seat of scorn is not a place of encouragement. So....don't even go there, much less sit down or take up residence.

May none of us choose to scorn or harbor a critical spirit in our hearts but rather choose to encourage.

Choosing to encourage comes easier as one delights in God's law and meditates on it and not on the perceived faults of others.

CHOOSE: TO SEE

What does it mean for someone to truly see?
After my paralyzed friend, Terry Parlow, lost his sight, he often spoke of how without eyesight, his vision was much clearer for truly seeing what was really  important---and people were at the top of his "focal" list.
Somedays one can be so distracted with the urgencies of life that they don't even "see" what's right in front of them, much less focus on them.
Even when objects, or people are noticed, it can be so quick that the image doesn't seem to really register.
Seeing can be more than the transference of visual image from the optic nerve to the brain.

Seeing becomes deeper when it moves to the heart and is then coupled with understanding.
Then blessings can abound!

Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. (Matthew 13:16, Berean Study Bible)

...they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart. (Acts 28:27)

Sometimes it helps to "choose to see" the world on tip-toes with friends on either side to aid in your understanding and enrich the shared visual experience from a variety of perspectives.

*Certainly this picture of precious Rory with his best friends blesses my heart.

CHOOSE: TO CONJUGATE HOPE

Wordsmiths (and preachers) tend to expound grammar tenses in conjugation, moving systematically from the simple to the more complex. Think, "present progressive/continuous" or "future perfect continuous" or even including the indicative or subjunctive mood. Not to mention pluperfect! It's way too early in the day for that!

Simple is "hard" enough for me.

This morning have been musing in "first person" ---I hoped (past tense) I hope, (present tense) and I will hope. 

When prayers seem unanswered, I don't want to give up hope. I need the continuous action of prayer to keep me hoping. Unanswered prayer is painful.

H.O.P.E. Hold On, Pain Ends.

In the dark places, I need to remember the One who is the anchor for my soul.

He is the One who gives me hope.

CHOOSE: TO CELEBRATE FREEDOM WITH GRATITUDE

JULY 4TH 2017!
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord/ (Psalm 33:12)

Today choose to thank a member of our military. The marines are at the Farmington Kroger in Germantown! (Before the rain)

Better yet, if you are blessed enough to have a family member choosing to currently serve in our military or a "vet" in your family, give them a big hug or at least a phone call.

CHOOSE: GOD'S WORD

All. 

Three little letters. An adjective indicating the entire quantity. The all of the all.

Then God spoke all these words. (Exodus 20:1) 

That sentence,"Then God spoke all these words," preceded the 10 Commandments. (Exodus 20: 2-17)--- a foundation for us---both as a spiritual basis for our lives as well as moral and ethical basis for our conduct.

A paraphrase of the first commandment sums up the basis for all the commandments to me...... 

above all else, love God alone.

Whether one's Bible is large or small, the words therein are all God's word.

Open it to find that all of them are the basis for all truth!

I choose all of God's word for the foundation of my faith.

CHOOSE: FIVE FOR THE 5TH FRIDAY

Choose: Acts of Kindness could have been this entry because kindness is key in relationships.
According to a google search, I've already written 5 entries on kindness and according to the marginalia in my NKJV Bible, a needed reminder....
"Desire a life measured more by kindness than by competency."

So...you can "choose" to search through the links below for your favorite of the five:

Kindness Reciprocated pays it forward.
Mature in Kindness.
Kindle Kindness.
Kindness "gentles" responses of others, even family.
Be Kind.

https://dotsydetails.blogspot.com/2009/02/kindness.html (2/24/09)

http://dotsydetails.blogspot.com/2009/08/watermelon-kindness-analogy.html (8/18/09)

https://dotsydetails.blogspot.com/2011/11/kindness-kindled.html (11/7/11)

http://dotsydetails.blogspot.com/2014/11/loyal-tea-adams-family-cuppa.html (11/7/14)

http://dotsydetails.blogspot.com/2017/01/choose-kindness.html?m=0 (1/24/17)

Desire a life measured by kindness more than by competency. (Marginalia, NKJV)
Choose: To Be Kind in at least one of the 5 ways. It will bless your heart!