JUNE JAUNTS---a pictorial review

Coming soon---I have to review pix first!

Quo-TEA-ble

Ubiquitous Quotes. 
A-men. Quotes are every where! On license pates. In my chocolate. 
In my throat lozenges. 
Yes---even Halls™wants to leave me a message.
Their "well-being/well-meaning" messages  are a little self-centered for me. It's hard enough to get my focus off of self when I'm having a "sore throat pity party."

It's NOT all about me----but I did try to remember how to do the "soul strut" the 1968 Capleville cheerleaders taught me  when I read the "Put a little strut in it" message.

The BEST quotes for me are straight from scripture.
But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory and the lifter up of my head. (Psalm 3:3) 
Calming quotes---best ingested with a cuppa chamomile.

Heart of a Friend

Ah-h-h friendship---the best bouquet of all.
Character traits of good friends are highlighted in scripture.
"A friend loves at all times"----even when I don't make sense or repeat myself, she listens. (Proverbs 17:17)
"Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person"---she's one of the the calmest gals I know. (Proverbs 22:24)
"Walk with the wise and become wise"---accepting a job at Houston High was a wise decision because I walked the halls there with Drenda. (Proverbs 13:20)
The flowers are still there. 1456 is still on the mail box.

But......the heart of the home now resides in Kansas City and she took a bit of my heart with her.

Prayer Protocol

Prayer Protocol. There isn't really one! Not a "serves all, every time" method.

Prayer prods. Prayer prompts. Prayer walks. Prayer circles.

Desperate prayers. Fasting prayers. Arrow prayers. Breath prayers. Silent prayers. Loud prayers.

For me prayer can be journaling. Even blogging becomes my praying with a keyboard.

Some THOTS (Trusting Him On This Subject) that "work for me" are:

• SEEK HIM who is the Answer not just an "answer" to a request/petition.
• There is NO one size fits all prayer method---it's not a "magic" approach.
• Revival begins one heart--one prayer at a time. Start with self!
• Sometimes when discouraged just "keep on keeping on" as Kay Arthur says. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
• Prayer is communication with God---anytime, any place..........Though sometimes a designated space can help.
• My visible prayer chair calls to me. 
• Praying friend, Bernie's visual prayer closet calls to her. (Matthew 6:6) 

My favorite prayer story is about DTS. In 1929, Dallas Theological was near closing due to lack of funds. On commencement day the faculty gathered in President Lewis Sperry Chafer's office in a prayer circle. When it was Harry Ironside's turn, he simply prayed from Psalm 50:10---Lord, we know you own the cattle on a thousand hills. Please sell some of them, and send us money." A knock at the door interrupted the prayer meeting and the president's sec'y handed him a $10,000 note. After reading it, he turned to his colleague, Dr. Ironside and said, "Harry, God sold the cattle." 

High school English teachers remind us that commas are for pauses, but in the spiritual realm they are providential. "My" Wednesday Wordsmith's always love a grammarian type quote so here's one for their own unique "prayer protocol."

Never put a comma where God puts a period, and never put a period where God puts a comma. (unknown)

circling, Circling, CIRCLING!!!

I think in circles.

I talk in circles.

I walk in circles trying to figure out why I have entered a certain room.

So....I've decided to try to do some positive circling.

I'm using this little book, Praying Circles around your Children by Mark Batterson to guide me as I "pray circles" around my children and grands.

Is it a "perfect" book for prayer? NO. No "method" is perfect. Prayer is about one's own communication with God.
 Did I follow all of his suggestions? NO. No, but I was prompted by some of his ideas and affirmed by others as I agree with the importance of praying for one's children and grandchildren.

Some of the "brilliant cut" gems are:

• Diaper spelled backwards is repaid. (What fun it has been to watch this happen to my kids as they entered parenthood!) 
• You will never be a "perfect" parent but you can be a praying parent. 
• Regardless of childrearing philosophies, we can all teach 3 words----please, sorry, and thanks. 
• Pray for favor for your children. (Luke 2:52)

My goal is to keep "circling my prayer wagons" around my kids and "grands" until the Lord calls me home.

**Am now reading Batterson's, The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Greatest Dreams and Biggest Fears. Two encouraging points were, "God's answers are NOT limited by our requests and we pray out of our ignorance but God answers out of His omniscience." (p.19)

Life is short---

Life is short----it is indeed! That's scriptural. "A mere handbreath." (Psalm 39:5)

Mother, who had such a sweet tooth, always finished that adage, "Life is short".....with the wise words of...."so eat dessert first." Which was fine for her because she was 5'8" and weighed 108 at her heaviest.

Maybe that's scriptural, to an extent, as well, according to King Solomon. (Ecclesiastes 8:15)

For the last few days I've tried to "live out" my mother's "sweet tooth rules/dessert first" wisdom. 

Making a hospital "run" Thursday with a friend, I sought butter rolls at "Miss Peggy's Homecooking (on Cleveland) and when those were unavailable, I made a bee-line for the Trolley Stop Market (on Madison) for the "cake lady's" caramel cake from Westside Bar-B-Que, located in New Albany, MS.

The next day, friend Beth served an unbelievably delicious amaretto freeze, topped with REAL whipped cream. I could eat REAL whipped cream by the spoonfuls. I blame that on Mother as well---it's all she served. Of course, back then, we didn't have Reddi-whip or Cool Whip---only dream whip in a box that never graced our pantry shelf.

 Saturday lunch with hubby at Stoney River (Saddle Creek in Germantown) ended with key lime pie. That was his fault---key lime is his fave and even the crust was delicious in their version. However, I commandeered the REAL whipped cream that topped it off!

Yesterday, the sweet tooth saga continued with bread pudding at Second Line in Overton Square, their only dessert. Though it didn't offer whipped cream, fake or otherwise, this warm pudding with caramel sauce and sugared pecans was topped with homemade ice cream. Oh my!

Can one OD on sweets? This morning I decided to "come off" my sugar streak as I savored a Dove dark chocolate morsel---which is "healthy."

Looking at the wrapper, I saw this message, Quote your Daddy!"

So....here it is......

"I thank the good Lord for everyday He gives me." (Clifton T. Adams, 1922-2011)

That's oh so scriptural (1 Thessalonians 5:18)----regardless of the number of days we are given or the circumstances we are in, we can always say, "Thank you, Lord." 

Thank you Daddy, a man of few words,  for that memorable quote!

Mind Minder

Scripture is a great "minder" for the mind. 

Mama Davenport often used the word "mind"as a verb----in the imperative form.

"Mind" the cracks so you don't trip, she would say. Her intent was for one to be careful about something or pay attention to it.

On the old British TV series, "Keeping Up Appearances," Hyacinth Bucket (snobbishly, she pronounced it Bouquet) was always nagging her husband, as he drove her around, to "mind the pedestrian." "Watch out for "was her meaning for "mind."

So....for me, a mind minder is one who pays attention to their mind as if to watch out for it. In capturing thoughts, that can be a positive. If it becomes "worry/anxiety," one needs to turn it over to the Lord. Just yesterday in my Jesus Calling devotional,  I had read about "pockets of darkness" and thought that was an apt description of my mind.

After writing yesterday's Dotsy Details' blog entry, I flipped the page on my kitchen table Jesus Calling DayBrightener to the day's entry (6/10) & read:

"Rest in Me, My child. Give your mind a break from planning and trying to anticipate what will happen..."

What a great reminder to rest in Him and allow Him to "mind" my mind.

I give my mind to Him and He becomes my "mind minder."

MEMORY LEAKS!

Sometimes a character in a book will resonate with a reader on a personal level. Such was the case for me with Aunt Love in The Scent of Lilacs.  Though Aunt Love could spout scripture with chapter and verse reference from days of old, she had trouble coming up with names. (Even more with 2022 Escape room /Locked Mind--almost 6 years after posting this entry!)
"I don't know what's the matter with me," she says. (p. 204)
Her niece Jocie attributed it to "memory leaks" ---though you wouldn't notice her condition by just looking at her. According to her, Aunt Lucy had been "misplacing more and more of her mind lately, but that didn't stop her from pulling out appropriate Bible verses to attempt to keep 13 year old Jocie in line." (p. 8)
Oh, how I can relate to Aunt Love's "mental malady." 

I kept "forgetting" to take a picture of the book....
....until  I was headed to the book drop---oh my!

But God....reminds me to "be anxious for nothing" (Philippians 4:6) and just like Aunt Love, I might be able cite chapter and verse, I just need to "remember" to use it in my own life,

FAITH FOUND....in a garden!

Dorothy Frances Gurney's poem is often quoted/displayed in many gardens.

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,--
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.

Though I didn't see this quote on the recent Master Gardeners' Spring Tour in Collierville, I saw other displays of "faith" that caught my attention.

Look closely to see FAITH written horizontally on the cross.

As one who often seeks and finds refuge by leaning in faith upon the Lord, who is the cornerstone of my faith, it encourages me to see others who testify to their faith in unique ways.

Maybe they, like me,  have been met by the Lord at their  point of need and this simple garden display attests to that.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

This display touched my heart in this garden---finding this "faith display" was my  reward that day!

SOUL SEARCHING

Years ago I learned that one's soul is comprised of the mind, the will and the emotions.
On my own, I began to see how God's love encapsulates my soul. Holding it tightly.
Or maybe it's vice versa----maybe my soul, as a believer is a vessel for His love.

Recent reads have offered other definitions of one's soul. Roger Rosenblatt, in his book, Boy Detective, speaks of taking his "two souls on a walk"---one for the senses and one for the mind. I disagree that they never connect but that might just be a point of semantics. According to him, the mind's soul is the point of deepest thinking and our heart's soul, the point of deepest feeling.
Certainly his lyrical allegory of "two souls leading parallel lives, though never meeting, yet connected---move side by side as they move into eternity, like legs on a walk." was an interesting, albeit different, perspective. (Rosenblatt, p.8)

Gregory Boyle also added knew depth to my "soul searching" in his book, Tattoos on the Heart The Power of Boundless Compassion. Boyle's experiences (and successes) as the head of a ministry to gangs in LA is beyond my wildest imaginations. I have no point of reference other than "breaking news" segments on TV. However, I gained many jewels from this eye-opening book. An easy read of case studies, of sorts.

• Choice is not to focus on the narrow but to narrow our focus. (p.3 1) 
• Kinship is not serving the other, but being one with the other. Jesus was not a man for others; He was one with them. (p. 188)
• As we belong to one another, we let others feel their worth! (p.196)

My favorite reminder was from the lyrics of "O Holy Night"---"Long lay the world in sin and error pining----til He appeared and the soul felt its worth."
Soul-ful words worth searching for and remembering as  one soul reaches out to another.