Garbage In-Garbage Out

There is a phrase graphically describing a common cause of computer errors, glitches, operator error. etc.: garbage in, garbage out.  In plain English, and it's true in any walk of life, you get out of something whatever you put into it, only more so.

The obvious lesson here is: set our minds on our goal in order to succeed. Something more subtle occurs to me. Daily we are bombarded with ideas and lifestyles that are foreign to us. Sometimes it seems my mind is a vacuum, ready to absorb every stray thought, good or bad or indifferent, that comes my way. It's so easy to just take in all the opinions, get used to them, let them blend in, tolerate them as "acceptable, alternative" versions of life, giving them equal validity to the moral code I grew up with.

I know when I hear something often enough, it becomes less shocking, less foreign, begins to sound okay to me; it takes up residence in my brain and masquerades as my own thoughts. You know, there is a bird, I think it's the cuckoo, that avoids building, preferring to lay its eggs in another bird's nest. When the babies hatch, the mother, unaware of the intrusion, unknowingly feeds the interloper, who crowd out the tiny chicks the nest was built for.

That may be the origin of the saying, "You can't stop a bird from flying over your head, but you don't have to let it build a nest in your hair". We need to take care what thoughts we allow to take root in our minds and hearts. There's just no telling what weeds will sprout up in our lives. I wrote a little verse to remind me.

WORD NEST  

Words, unlike birds, once on the wing

Can't be recalled or turned away.

Once given place, they soar through space,

Then lodge in the heart to stay.

If we can make a habit to keep our minds filled with the right stuff, then that other junk just floats on by.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise think about these things.       Philippians 4:8, NIV.

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Family Dynamics

                                                

Parents, we love our kids intensely, but as they grow, don’t they drive us crazy sometimes? You have to keep after them or they go way off-track in nothing flat. Honestly, they can look right at you and you’d swear they’re listening. But you get “I didn’t hear you/ didn’t know you were talking to me/I was outside/the TV was too loud”.

“All I asked you to do before I got home is…”, you say.  Isn’t their frequent reply, “I was gonna, but I didn’t know you’d be back so soon”? Every tenth time, don’t you begin to wonder what it will take to get their attention?  

You’ve left notes, called or texted reminders explaining your urgent deadlines; eventually you get to the point of despair. Don’t your concerns matter to them? All the mushy birthday and mother’s day cards to the contrary, do they really care what you expect, what you need from them? There comes a point when good intentions either result in obedience or discipline.

And then there develops a mindset that “What Mama doesn’t know won’t hurt me” and “I didn’t lie, exactly; I just kept quiet” or “I changed the subject.” That really sets up a barrier between them and you. They avoid your presence; you endure their absence.

You become disillusioned. Any discipline brings accusations or defiance: “If you loved me, you would still let me go to that party, I promise I’ll finish my homework this weekend--it’s not due until Tuesday.”

If you give up trying to instill or awaken their awareness of normal family values, write them off, go with their flow, let them set their own agenda, what happens? For a while they may brag about how cool you have become (if they notice) but one day when they get into trouble, they will blame lack of good parenting as cause for their unforgiveable or illegal behavior. “It’s your fault. If you really cared about me, you would have taught me right from wrong.”

The many excuses we hear from our children may stem from their hearing or sensing the same excuses we give to God. “I know I promised to get back into church, but the Pastor said something I didn’t like” or “The alarm didn’t go off” (oh, really? It worked fine yesterday in time to get to that clearance sale.) Sometimes I get to the point of realizing I haven’t heard a word from God lately.  Then I notice a coat of dust on my Bible and recall most of my recent prayers (when I remembered to pray) have centered on my own daily wants, needs, and concerns.

Funny, when I get those two things activated, incorporated into my daily routine, God takes the time to speak quietly but surely and more frequently. It feels as though I left God on hold until I finally come back to continue our conversation. As soon as I pick up the phone, so to speak, He has something to say. He won’t interrupt me when I act like I am too busy with anything other than Him, but shows His willingness, no, eagerness to continue our dialog.

I know, there’s no thunderous voice from the sky, but when I tune into the right frequency, I begin to discern the source of thoughts which come to me, to distinguish between my random thoughts and the strident, angry whisper (from you know who) and the calm, strong words (which seem to be expressed clearly, briefly, no drama, He only needs a few words).

That sudden flash telling you to call someone you haven’t thought of lately. Too often, is your next thought, “I just sat down,” Or “I’ll need to make myself a note to call him when I have the time”? As our Parent, how do you think God feels about us when we tune Him out? Has He stopped talking to you, tired of being ignored?

Are you exhausted, trying to do everything on your own? Do you feel alone, far from our Holy Father? Does He seem too far away to care about you?

….who moved?

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.    James 1:5
It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.   Philippians 2:13
Make me know Your ways, O Lord,  teach me Your paths, Lord,. Lead me in Your truth and teach me.      Psalm 25:4-5

EGO

Sometimes I used to fancy that I had flashes of genius and the world

hadn’t caught on yet how witty I was. Sooner or later they’d see

my many talents, I figured. In the meantime, after the flash, I would 

feel sorely unappreciated. It started back in school. My teacher was

the only one who noticed how special I was. She even laughed at

my jokes—sometime.

Other days I even rolled my own eyes along with the crowd. Who was I to try and attract friends, to try to garner approval from the popular crowd? I cringed when I looked in the mirror—pigtails, freckles, scrawny legs, worn out shoes and home-made dresses.

Sadly, it took a few decades for me to see beyond the pigtails, now

thinning hair, freckles traded in for wrinkles, and extra pounds I added, just for the fun of it. I now go out of my way to avoid mirrors because there’s nothing for me to learn there. That’s not a bad thing, because there are other faces, smiling faces, all around me. Wait, what?

It was a surprise to me when I became aware of this phenomenon.

After thinking, wondering how this came to be, I truly had a flash of

genius. Perhaps all along there were people waiting for me to look up, to smile, to speak, too look away from myself and really see them!

But first I had to learn my true identity; a child of Royalty, stolen by

the Gypsy would-be god of this world for a time. There are so many

promises waiting for each of us when we search the Bible for them.

When we meet the One who loved us enough to die for us, even

when we ignore or disappoint Him, it does wonders for your self-

image. You find your true value and see other people and love them

like Jesus does; you can no longer be self-centered. Even if your jokes are lame.

self image: whenever you feel insignificant, remember

how important you are to God. God doesn’t help us

because we deserve it, but because He loves us. Find

your self-worth in God’s unconditional love, not in your

accomplishments. Nothing we do in our own power for

God can be good enough—our obedience in being.

available to Him to do great things will stand thru eternity.

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is 

made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast                                                                     in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

        2 Corinthians 12:9

Time to Mourn by Doris Lakey

Sing,

Angels!

Dance in joy,

Greet her gently.

Her short path was steep;

God alone  heard her cries;

Others saw peace in her eyes;

Silently  she  lingered  in  trust,

Listening  for  His  beckoning  call,

Which seemed to take so long, yet came so soon.

Now,

Alone,

Silently

I face the day,

Yet I'm  not alone,

Your  Spirit is  with me,

Your love surrounds me with grace;

Your   mercy   endures   my  failures;

O   God,   Author   of   Love    Eternal,

Prepare my heart for your presence within.

Hard Times

There are hard times in all our lives. Some of us would look around and deny our neighbors have the kind of troubles we have and that’s probably true, but if we had a chance to compare, we’d probably prefer not to trade ours for theirs.

I was born into Hard Times shared by a nation. The Great Depression caused much suffering, even suicides by some millionaires who had lost what they held most dear. Others were sustained by love for their families, sacrifice and struggle and faith in something—the future, their strength, each other, or God.

Unemployment was widespread, and even those who found work struggled to feed and house their families. My Grandmother Nora sold household cleaning products door-to-door and later worked in a commercial laundry ten hours a day, six days a week, for six dollars a week and raised three teenagers on spaghetti, beans and fried potatoes. The boys would hunt squirrels and possums to sell to neighbors not too proud to eat them and had newspaper routes, to augment family income.

Parents quietly sacrificed to give the best and most of what they had to their children, shielding them from the fears and insecurity of their situation. A few years later I became aware of how deeply this sacrifice went and realized what it meant.

I remember when I was about three, there was often a bowl of oranges or apples on our table, and to please her finicky daughter, my mother would peel an apple for me and eat the peeling herself. At first I was surprised but guessed that grownups had strange preferences and came to expect it as normal. A few years later, she peeled my apple and threw away the skin. Surprised, I asked her “Don’t you want the skin?” She wrinkled her nose and said no.

Throughout my life I have seen parents doing without to provide the best for their children without letting them know all the sacrifices they made. This parental instinct to care for one’s own was implanted in our hearts by a Holy, loving God, who even sacrificed His only Son to provide life for each of us. If He did this for us, can you imagine the home He is now preparing for us, His adopted family?

A Butterfly

Did I read something once, long ago?...If so, this is my tribute to the inspiration that outlasted my memory of that author and his work.           

                THE EXCHANGED LIFE

               

Consider the caterpillar...

When asked to name his heart's dearest wish,

He pondered a long while, then said,

"I'd like to have a tree all to myself;

The biggest tree in the forest,

With so many juicy. green leaves

I could eat without stopping as long as I live."

The Lord smiled and said, "That's what I thought,

But I have a better plan for you;

One I'm sure you will enjoy even more--

But I’ll need your cooperation.  Before I can give you

My gift, you must be willing to give up your dream

And trust me enough to lay down your present life."

So the caterpillar trusted the Lord to do what was best

And closed his eyes on his green, fragrant world.

While he slept, the Lord spun a silver web around him

To keep him warm and safe, until one bright day

He awoke and began to wriggle free of his blanket

And look around his cool green tree;

But something felt strange, and he stretched all over

And looked up in surprise to see two bright, silky wings

Waving above his head, and when he fluttered them,

His little body lifted from the branch, and as he

Rose higher and higher into the blue sky,

                He remembered the Lord's words and gave thanks.



             Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life,
             what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about
             your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than
             food and the body more than clothing?
                                                       Matthew 6:25
                    

My Passport

I have a passport which allows me to leave one nation and enter another, so long as I abide by the laws of whatever country I enter. However, before I am allowed to go from one to another, my passport is examined to authenticate that I have the history of a law-abiding citizen, I must state my reason for being there, and the border officers must believe I constitute no threat within their territory before I am allowed to enter.

Each kingdom has rules about whomever and whatever they restrict from entry. Some of these rules may seem petty to me, but they don’t care. Rules is rules! If I want to enter I must comply or stay behind. Now I’m all for their keeping weapons, infectious diseases or dangerous people out.

But there is a long list of seemingly innocent things they won’t allow. If for instance, if I am taking home a few souvenirs that I didn’t declare? What’s the big deal? Those items are way down in the list and they are so small they probably won’t be noticed.

But what if they are found? I must unpack; all my secrets will be exposed .I may be asked to leave behind some things I hold dear. Some choice: leave them or stay behind to keep them. However, if it appears that I deliberately hid them, I may find myself in real trouble.

There is one thing you need to be aware of--your passport will someday expire!  And  so will you!  Fortunately if you have applied for an unlimited passport through your through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, a passport issued by the Son of God will never expire/

Heaven’s “Pearly Gate” will be an impressive sight one day, but if you thought airport security was tough, just watch this! Boarding pass in hand, you stand in line, waiting your turn to pass through its X-ray machine. You know better than trying to smuggle in big-time bad habits and unconfessed sin, and comparing yourself with those around you, you feel pretty safe. You recognize a few people from your own church up ahead and they don’t look worried. Still, you’ve been told God doesn’t grade on the curve, but against the perfection of His blessed Son, Jesus.

You are next in line. Your mind races, trying to remember anything you overlooked. That X-ray shows everything. As you approach, you glimpse the viewing screen and see dark patches lighting up. A wisp of smoke appears as your “contraband” is removed and destroyed.

Many of the things you thought were good works went up in a puff of smoke, along with the deeply-held sins that you struggled against for so long. Glad you accepted that “fire insurance policy”? None of those seem so important now.

Free at last.

What is a Christian? What is a Hypocrite?

The Bible says we are, first, followers of Christ. We are witnesses to His death and resurrection.

We are the light shining to lead others to His path.

We are salt, to add flavor to a world daily searching for something fresh and new;  salt is needed for the human body to live. It preserves food, purifying it.

We are ambassadors to a foreign world.

We are saints, sanctified by the Blood of Christ, shed to redeem us.

Am I what I say I am? How can you tell? Do I fit that description?

Heaven and the world hate hypocrites. 

If I am a saint and no one can see that because I behave like the world around me, I am a hypocrite because I am acting like something I am not.

You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

You are the light of the world. A town on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. 

In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, So that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.  Matthew 5:13-16

Monumental Differences

Diana, Grace, Doris Hackney

           She knew their names by heart:

Carter, Waggoner, Leonard, all

Very important people with most impressive lives;

She could tell how they won their fortunes,

When they met their wives,

Where their mansions rose majestically

Against the Fort Worth skyline.

Oilmen, retailers, cattlemen and all,

Their sepia adventures in the rotogravure

Lent glamour to her Sunday afternoons.

Believing imitation could express

The sincerest kind of flattery, she stood

Aristocratically, lifting her regal chin

Gallantly facing the uncertainty of the unknown.

Her back scepter-straight, she wafted

White-gloved through downtown streets, glancing

At none, seeing all, reverently

Fingering her dime store pearls, in remembrance

Of the cotton-sack, taller than she, once dragged

Through fields she'd never own.

Before the age of five, she'd learned to pull

That cotton-sack down endless white rows;

Urged on by father and brothers,

Her bloodied fingers flew, her load

Growing heavier, her step slower as

The dew-soaked bag refused at last to budge; its weight

Held her fast; her neck chafed and choked, she pretended

It was a long string of pearls.

Grace was a woman who knew her place;

In presence of her betters, she'd retreat,

Shrinking back into shadows so they couldn't see

And laugh at the raggedy girl disguised as Somebody,

Guarding her dreams of a future like theirs:

Confident, carefree, complacent; lowering her gaze,

She would stand frozen on the spot until they had passed,

As the tiny, barefoot Grace had stood with cotton-sack

On her shoulder, while the gentry landlord passed.

The first real estate she owned is where she lies today,

Dreaming beneath a modest stone

Of her inheritance waiting in her Father's home

Somewhere she's not yet been.

I wonder if she ever looks up at the name

On the granite monument overshadowing hers.

It's sepia-toned, with the Pangburn name of confectioner fame,

Remembered from so long ago. I wonder too

Whether she notices

They are buried as deep as she.

Diana, Grace. Doris Hackney

How We Pray

Prayer seems to mean many things to different people. 

For some, it’s like shopping online where you put everything into the cart and hope you have enough credit to pay for all the things you want. A few may compare it to wishing on a star. Others treat it like a letter to Santa Claus or a trip to an ATM machine. Making your want list. Going through the motions because we know we should, but not really expecting anything much to happen. 

To some folks it’s a quick, self-conscious “Thank you”. Some are embarrassed to pray out loud in front of others. Some expound at length, blessing the world at large and for everything they can think of, as though hoping their listeners can learn eloquence from their performance. There’s a name in the Bible for these folks: Pharisees, those guys who stood in the street or synagogue, loudly proclaiming thanks to God that they are better than the sinners around them.

Some of us avoid praying because it feels like some formal ritual is required to appease a remote God of All There Is, using Elizabethan English in “thee’s and thou’s”. Let’s face it. We all probably have a few of these kinds of prayers in our past when rushed or distracted by life. Our Heavenly Father knows us each by name, our mistakes, our talents and our hearts, inside and out. We don’t need to impress Him. And that’s a stroke of luck because no way do we have anything to brag about to Him! 

But because we know we should; it’s expected. Like writing that thank you to your grandmother for the socks she sent for your birthday. He loves us, He wants us to visit with Him. And we don’t have any problem talking with our best friend, do we? 

One verse in the Bible used to bother me—not just one, you understand. You know what I mean, but still, this one Pray without ceasing (First Thessalonians 5:17). No one can expect us to stumble around with eyes closed all day. How does that even work? 

When you are walking with a friend, as you go along you talk and laugh together about details of your day, sharing good news or the day’s concerns and never seem to run out of things to say. Even when no one is talking you are both aware of each other’s presence and enjoying your companionship. Maybe that’s what God wants from us. 

Good friends don’t hog the conversation. We also listen. Maybe prayer should be a heart-to- heart conversation about important things with your best friend.

When we want to pray for more than a quick "Help me, Lord", consider using the 5-finger approach: Hold up your hand with your thumb closest to your face and pray for those closest to you--family, friends. Then go to your pointer, next in line, and pray for those who teach or guide you (Pastor, teachers). Next the tallest finger reminds you of those above you, your boss at work, government leaders. Your fourth finger, the weakest one can remind you to pray for those weaker than you, the sick and infirm, and your smallest finger, the last, is left to pray for yourself, your needs and desires.

Spring Cleaning

Spring! When new life springs up in glorious Technicolor!

Tiny green buds bursting, reaching for the sky, wildflowers

sweeping across the prairies,  new lambs and baby chicks

stumbling to follow their mothers around, learning how to

behave by copying behavior of their elders.

Humans do that too. We try to copy behavior of others we

admire, until we learn we are unique individuals and can’t

successfully be other than who we are.

Who are we?  A creation by God in His own spiritual image,

designed to find happiness only in His presence. We too

stumble, wander, trying many experiences searching for our

destiny, our true Home, not knowing at first Who or what

we yearn for.

Spring is a time of renewal, new energy, a good time to clear

away cobwebs and dust we’ve allowed to settle into our minds

and hearts, building new spiritual growth, dumping bad habits

we have allowed to settle in comfortably during a winter, sitting

by the fire, watching  television.

Plant new seeds into your life during this growing season, study

your road map (the Bible), consult a tour guide (a church), let

the Holy Spirit nurture the sprouts and soon you will find new

growth blossoming in your heart, new fruit in your life. Maybe,

depending on where you are in your journey Home, you will

discover a new life.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only

begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not

perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the

Son into the world to judge the world, but that the

world might be saved through Him.

 John 3:16

And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come

back again and receive you to myself, that where I

am, there you may be also.

John 14:3