Crazy Quilt of Our Life

Recently a dear dear friend was talking to me about making quilts. She is an avid quilter and has many quilting projects just waiting to spring to life and wrap their corners of artistic love around someone’s heart. 

In our conversation I shared that there was a quilting expo in the town very close to where I lived and suggested that she should come and we could go together to see the beautiful and very professional side of this art. Surprisingly she told me that she doesn’t like going to those shows and expos because they remind her how very inadequate her work is next to the quilts in the professional arenas. Well I was taken back a bit by her response but after she explained I could understand how she may have arrived at such a conclusion.

She told me that while she loved making quilts, cutting out triangles, squares and circles, she could never perfectly line up the corners and the points so that they looked flawless. Her hand quilting stitches weren’t perfectly the same length and stitch spaces weren’t quite consistent. When she would go to the expos and look at the perfection and the high quality of the show quilts it only proved to make her feel very “less than” in her talent. 

As I was thinking about her feelings and the parking spot where she had parked her final thoughts and opinions I was deeply concerned. I have seen some of her projects of love that she has stitched and shaped and given life to and I have to tell you that by professional standards that they would most probably never be placed in the arena or the expo center venue. But  I can also tell you this, by the standards of quilters that have traversed the landscape of this country and have stitched pieces of their hearts and pieces of their old tattered calico skirts and homespun shirts, well, her quilts speak “home” and “hearth” to me. Their imperfections remind me of how very imperfect I am and we all are. The stitches and their “unevenness”remind me also of the uneven paths that we all have been called to tred. Sometimes those paths are easy and sometimes not so very easy! With her long and short stitches you see the times when she may very well have gotten sleepy as she stitched into the wee hours of the night just to finish her project. The points of her stars may not have been sharp and the bars of her log cabin squares may not have been perfectly symmetrical but neither are our lives. We search too often for pure perfection and all that is required is our best ability. It says in the book of books, “ my grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Our weaknesses, our imperfections and our edges that do not line up quite right are all of the things that shape who we are. We can give it our best ability and newsflash. . . . . .we will never become perfect. Wiser and more skillful, yes, but never perfect! That description was reserved exclusively for the Lord of Lords. God gives us grace so we must also give ourselves some grace, some room to fail and get back up and try again. Those times when we fall and get back up are the times that prove to build character and strength. We learn to live our eneven, patched worked lives moving from strength to strength. In the end it produces in us a beautiful pieced and stitched together work of art called “our life”. 

So I share here with my friend to look at the beautiful quilts. Look at all the perfect corners and straight and consistent stitches. See how beautifully the color choices are and how they take your breath away. But my dear friend here is a final “factoid” for you to remember. I can most probably guarantee you that if you looked at each very closely you would still find imperfections and if you spoke to the quilter they would probably share the areas where they had to make “do-overs” because the corners didn’t line up. There was most likely a price to pay for their beautiful creations so don’t look at what you see as perfection and think there were no errors. Your “ errors” tell the story of how imperfect we all really are and your quilts when complete declare, “I Persevered till the end”and that’s what saves us and declares His glory in us. What a beautiful quilt every time, stitched with love and pieced together with grace!  Now THATS a show quilt!

The Followspot

You know, I think I’ve finally narrowed down my life’s job description if you will. I really have! I’m serious here! I believe my purpose or job description would be “followspot operaror”. If you are not familiar with this particular job then here’s the description. 

FOLLOWSPOT OPERATOR: Person who operates the followspot (spotlight) which follows someone on the stage. This job takes a great deal of practice. A historic term for these spotlights is “limes” and they were operated by a “lime operator”. The first followspots used

Limelight as the light source. The phrase “being in the limelight” refers to being in a followspot beam. 

So, I am a ‘followspot operator’! My job and purpose is though, not to cast the spotlight on myself or anyone else but to shine it on God! There! You probably knew I was going there but please just follow me a bit further if you will.

Today in my church service they were singing a worship song that said, “ show us, show us your glory. Show us, show us your glory Lord”. Well, my brain went to “what exactly is the glory of God anyway?” So here’s the abbreviated version. 

The glory of God could be defined as ”the radiance of His holiness, His Worth and His valuable perfections. 

So, it is our job for us to think and to act as to make Him look as glorious as He is! To make His glory visible. We are to live so that others would be able to say, “God Is Glorious” not “Jeannie is glorious”. It is my purpose or job description to “spotlight” his holiness and great worth and perfection through my life without being in the “limelight”. I am to be the “followspot operator” and follow him, keeping Him in the spotlight as He is of course the main character on this beautiful stage of Creation. 

It says in Matthew 5:16, “In the same way let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”. 

It is all about God being glorified! He’s the one who’s to be in the spotlight and not us!  We are the “followspot operators” and we need to operate that spotlight to make Him look glorious and trustworthy and shine the light on His infinite worth. “Holy Holy Holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory”. 

Morning Glories

Just before the sun peaks over our horizons, the morning brings us a quiet, pristine sort of calm. Did you ever wonder what it would be like if the day could remain like that all the way through to the sunset in the evening? What if the days' quiet were never broken by the crowing rooster, the whistles of trains, the dogs barking, the roar of traffic on the expressway or simply the ring of a cell phone. Sweet bliss you may say. . . Heaven come down!!! We all need to dream about the refreshment of quiet from time to time and actually take time to drink it in here and there but it's in the busyness and the workplaces of our day that we actually learn and grow. You really can learn lessons from the customer who was rude and chews you out! You really can glean from the mistakes you made in your checkbook. . . . And. . . You really CAN grow from the death of someone very close to you! Life's enrichments always come with a cost but the value of the experience is almost always priceless! The customer who was rude may have caused you to become determined to show kindness to others regardless of the situation. The error in your checkbook may make you more acutely aware of your expenditures and teach you a hard lesson in frugality but one you will hopefully be better for. That loved one who passed away may be the hardest lesson ever, but it probably made you very aware of enjoying every minute you have with those you love and those that are still within arms reach. The lessons that are "lived" are the bricks that form who we are and who we become. If our day never had any trials or challenges it would be glorious for a while but we would never be prepared for that pothole in the road or that car at a standstill around the curve. The "glories of the morning" are always there early but the glorious gift of the day. . . . Well. . . It holds treasures that can't be bought!

Insight Insert:  Have you been meaning to write a letter to someone and you have procrastinated doing it? Have you been meaning to call that special person, maybe a dear old friend or family member but it became very convenient to shelf it somewhere in your mind? Are those "thank you" notes that need to be sent out still lying on the table? What keeps you from doing these things and possibly many others? Time? Possibly! Or maybe you feel that it's been so long since you meant to do that thing that it would be an embarrassment to you now to carry through with it! This is your week! Now is the time! I don't even think I will have to tell you how good you will feel after you have done it either! Now, go, seize the day and enjoy the glorious feeling that God intended you to experience.

Scripture:  Jeremiah 29:11.  For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, pans to give you hope and a future. NIV

Honeycomb In My Mouth

     You know, I can still hear my grandmothers voice in my head every time something comes out  of my mouth that’s not very kind. “You know you can catch more flies with honey “ she would always say. I knew what she meant even though at the time I may have grumbled under my breath and bulked. She was a wise woman and she knew the Lord and an important note was that she always guided us back there, back to the good and kind and sweet ways. If you don’t know what that term really means well I will tell you. It simply means that you can get farther in this life and endear more people to you if you use sweet words of kindness. Ugliness in our words and deeds will never win us any real friends.

     Our lives should at every turn reflect kindness, generosity and draw others to desire to be in our company. When I was in middle school I remember well the “mean” girls. You know them, the ones who walked around with major attitudes and an angry look on their face always. If you so much as looked at them they would glare at you and say something like, “what are you looking at brat?” Now I’ve found as I have grown and matured that these girls were most likely hiding behind or masking some kind of pain that probably caused them to build a wall of “toughness” around themselves. All I knew then was that they were just mean and their words were unkind and I didn’t want to be around them at all. That’s what I’m talking about here. Bullies almost always do not draw friends but only swallow up the weak and spit them out eventually. Kindness is like a sweet honey that can flow out of our mouths. The Bible says in Proverbs, “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones”. 

     One story that I think illustrates this philosophy best is one that my dear husband shared with me just recently. It seems there is a older gentleman that sets up to sell his wares at the local flea market that my husband sells at. This man sets up his entire table with nothing but jars of honey that he has harvested from his bee hives. That’s all he has, just jars of honey. Whenever someone would walk up to his table he would gently lean across and ask them, “ do you know Jesus my friend?” People would stand and talk with him for long periods of time or else they would scamper off like scalded dogs! My husband would sit and observe him wondering what he was talking so much about and yet hardly ever selling any honey. Well, hubby mustered up his boldness and approached the old gentleman’s table. The question was posed and they struck up a conversation. Now my better half knows Jesus very well but he was drawn somehow to the table of honey. After a while he asked the gentleman how his sales had been for the day as my husbands sales had not been good. The old man replied, “oh, I’m not really here to sell honey”. He smiled a broad smile and my husband knew exactly what he was there to do. He blessed the man and went back to his own table thinking to himself of the words of my grandmother. 

     You see, it’s true! It was a secret the old man at the table of honey knew. I’m sure he knew the verse in Proverbs that I previously quoted but he was walking it out. There were also quite a few “flies” around his table and whether they realized it or not there was something sweet that drew them there! How often can you go to a flea market and come away with hope, newness of life, kindness and compassion? And, how often do you have to spend zero dollars to get such a rich bundle of treasures. As Peter the apostle said, “ silver or gold I do not have,  but what I do have I give you”. Our words, our deeds our testimonies given and our kindnesses shared all speak of things that are far sweeter in value than things on this earth. I always thought that I didn’t have much to give but the story of the old man at the honey table certainly proves me wrong. We always have precious golden treasure to share if kindness will always flow from our lips. 

     

What Must A Daffodil Think Of Spring?

First, let me establish my opinion on daffodils. I believe that daffodils are definitely "girls"! Don't judge me, I have my reasons for my conclusion so let me try to explain. The daffodils in all their glory are currently emerging from the winters earth and displaying their newest Spring ensemble wardrobe. How beautiful they are in striking yellow against the brown earth and new green grass. They are quite lovely and cause everyone that passes them to take a second look. What lovely lady standing along the path dressed in her most beautiful Spring outfit wouldn't warrant a second glance or two. So, Daffodils must certainly be girls! Next, if you knew anything about the parts of a daffodil you would know that she indeed has parts called "ovaries" and. . . . . As creation would halve it females also have ovaries. Hmmmmm!  Next, in all her splendor, the daffodil has petals. They surround the center of her glory which is called her "corona". The corona is the crown if you will of her beauty. The bible says in Psalms 12 "an excellent wife is the crown of her husband". "She" has a crown here, clothed with petals ( delicate petals also being the term used to describe women) and she wears a sweet perfume that only enhances the whole package. Ok, delicate, crowned with glory and perfumed with a sweet aroma. Definitely sounds like my daffodils are girls! Ok, so now that we've established that fact, let's move on. Haven't you always wondered if flowers could think, what they would think of Spring or any season of their life cycles for that matter. But Spring in particular is the "time to shine" for our golden girls the daffodils. They have wintered the cold and frozen earth and still as the warmth of the coming Spring heats things up a bit, I can't help but think how I'd feel after having been trapped inside for such a long time. I'm sure I'd think "come on Spring".. . . . . Then as I feel things getting warmer I usually start to shift my wardrobe around and pull out all ofcolors and shorter sleeves and sandals. As the days warm up for the daffodil it begins to push up through towards the sunlight until it's green shoots show above the brown dirt. Then the daffodils begins to change their wardrobes from green stems to greenish/ yellow encased blossoms. Then when the warmest of Spring days arrive, they put on their Spring finery and stand with delicate petals beside the pathways of homes and gardens everywhere displaying their beauty for all the world to see. We then stop, look and smell the best high fashion display of beauty that the outdoor runways of early Spring can provide. I will, however, pause here briefly to point out one very very important difference between the lady daffodils and us ladies. You see, the daffodils never have to worry about where their next outfit is coming from or if it is going to be warm enough on a cooler Springtime evening. They don't have to worry about getting enough food and water and they never worry about how long they'll be able to bloom. We on the other hand have a tendency to worry over everything from "can I afford a new outfit" to "what color looks best with my eyes" to "does this outfit make me look fat?" Daffodils have a fleeting moment of time in the sun but a rewarding one. As for us, we go from season to season thinking the same thing because we don't simply trust our needs to be met as easily as the daffodil does.  So, what must a daffodil think of Spring? I sure do believe the gIrls think with golden smiles, " How wonderful it is to be a flower in the beautiful garden of the Lord!"

“Groundhog Day” Living

Remember that movie "Groundhog Day"? In the movie the main character (Bill Murray) was a TV weatherman covering the Groundhog Day story of Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania. He wakes up in his hotel room and finds the same events, of the day before, keep happening over and over. He is destined, it seems, to re-live the same day again and again. The true definition of insanity I believe. . . . .doing the same thing over and over expecting different results! Whan an insane notion. Bill Murray seemingly was in a time loop, if he chose to do nothing different, then events of the previous day would be destined to be repeat themselves. Isn't it amazing how true this little scenario is in a lot of our lives? We live our days in seemingly the same rut of mundane, repetitive tasks and then we sit back and complain how we feel like we are "stuck" and hate our lives because nothing ever changes! INSANITY!  Really, we've all had a bite outta that apple I think. Today I read a very profound statement that simply said, "You can't start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one"! Wow! I know I've done that. Haven't you? Have you literally ever been reading and you read the same paragraph over and over and didn't actually absorb any of it? Didnt  you feel like just closing the book and putting it down because you figured, "what the heck", it must not be meant for me to read this right now because I can't concentrate! Well, most likely you were distracted or not paying close attention to what you were doing. Do away with the distractions and concentrate on the moment that you are in and you probably wouldn't have an issue at all. The same thing for Bill Murray in the movie, his "ah ha" moment came when he realized that instead of letting his circumstances impose themselves on him, he would take control of his circumstances! That little illustration speaks volumes doesn't it! We do keep doing the same things over and over or re-reading our paragraphs again and again. STOP! Renew your mind and thinking. Begin, like Bill Murray, to live in your moments and enjoy each and every one instead of mundanely living them out in the same way day in and day out. How, you ask? Well, just like the previous " STOP" sign that I posted for you, you have to do just that! Stop, so you can take a chance to look around you and notice things that you may not have noticed before. What's the name of that co-worker who gets coffee at the coffee maker each day about the same time as you do and do you ever ask them questions or engage them in conversation other than, "hello"? Eat breakfast, get dressed, grab your things and run out the door. Your routine? Change it up! Get dressed, out the door, stop at bagel shop, grab bagels and coffee and then get to work early and share breakfast with the first person you see! Could turn out to be a God encounter or maybe it's the next paragraph in your "day after" Groundhog Day story!      

Insight Insert:  This week, purpose to do something different in your schedule EVERY day! Note: remember if the groundhog "does not" see his shadow then Spring supposedly will come early. So, in saying that, allow the light of Gods enlightenment to come to you because his light will dispel all the shadows and "voila", your long awaited "Spring" season could come earlier than you think!

 

Scripture:Romans 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

Silence Is Golden

Why does the smell of a campfire in the fall just draw me in like a fish on a line? Maybe its the cool autumn air coupled with the warmth of the burning logs or maybe it's the smell of the wood burning that tells me that a change is coming or maybe the knowledge that I will be surrounded at that fireside by many other fish and their company brings me happiness! Whatever the reason, a campfire holds lots of moments of joy with each spark that flies out into the cool and dark night air. Have you ever noticed how there are occasional moments of silence when everyone present just seems to get to the pinnacle of relaxation and stares into the flickering flames? No words seem to be necessary at that moment. There's just a "knowing" and a sort of "silent agreement" that calls for no words at all! I experience that same "silent knowing" many times on long trips in the car with my husband of 40 years. We will be talking one minute and noticing the scenery the next and then. . . . it happens; the silence! It's perfectly wonderful. No words are needed to "fill" the space, no awkward nervousness, no throat clearing sounds to provoke intentional guilt, nothing! Just beautiful, understood quiet . . . . But quiet that speaks louder than any public address system ever could! It's the result, I believe, of coming to a point of relaxation and comfort. It's truly a beautiful thing to experience. Why don't we go there more often in our lives? Busyness, I'm sure is the biggest millstone around our necks that keeps us weighed down I suppose but truth be known, we all just need to stop and take more campfire moments. We need to exercise moments if you will so we will want them and run after them at every opportunity. Those moments don't have to be a rare treat but I believe they can happen often and become a real treasure to us. So, light a campfire, take a roadtrip or just sit out under the stars with the one you love wrapped up together in a cozy blanket, then ask God to give you one of those moments. The "silence" will be truly "golden"!

Insight Insert: In the midst of our busy lives and schedules, take time this week to have a few moments of silence somewhere. Go out of your normal places of routine and breath in the quiet of your Lords creation. Purpose to experience the quiet stillness that brings relaxation. Persevere through the temptation to cut those times short and begin to practice his peace! It will leave you wanting more!

Scripture: Mark 6: 31.  Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, " Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest"! 

Psalms 55:6. Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.