Happy Thanksgiving…..

This year, Chuck and I have the honor of hostingThankgiving with our friends and neighbors here around the lake.  I am looking forward to squeezing them around a tight dining room table, eating off Ant Ellie's silver, sharing our favorite scriptures and remembering the blessing they have brought to my life as I look into their faces and remember how each of them were dropped into our lives at such a time as this.

There will be no Dallas Cowboys playing in the background…..there will only be a fight for air space as we all try to talk at the same time with our mouths full.  And a lot of laughter.  So, as I try to narrow down my favorite scripture to share at the table in a couple days, I thought I'd share with you a few things I've written down in my "1000 Gifts" journal over the past 12 months. 

45)  The pride I feel inside when Chuck rolls into the room with 2 dogs and a cat on his lap.

76)  The bruises on my legs and hips from roller skating with the granddaughters.

120  My beautiful friend Carla, who after months of not seeing, we can pick up right where we left off.

189)  The millions of bugs I killed on my windshield tonight coming home from Canton.

190)  The millions of bugs cleaned off my windshield from the dew last night.

201) The tears, stinging tears, that flow so quickly when just thinking of Mom.

287) The joy my heart feels when I see Deb (sister) online in the mornings.

343) For the many people in my life named "Jacque" and  "Jackie"

490) Betsy's voice singing

567) The glassy lake being cut by the quiet of the kayak separating it.

598) My brother James who sent me flowers yesterday for no reason.

AND FINALLY

600) A day called "Thanksgiving" to stop and remind us where our blessings come from.

So, my loyal Murphy's Mom friends, don't forget on this Thanksgiving Day, to count your blessings…..name them one by one….count your blessings and see what God has done!

Happy Thanksgiving!

GROWING SEEDS: "Kindness"

Who Rekindled Your Inner Light?

When was the last time you "thanked" someone from your past for the influence they had on your life?  Maybe it was a teacher or a friend's parent or maybe your own parent.

Here we are at Thanksgiving……with Christmas right around the corner…...a time to count our blessings….a time to remember, reflect and be thankful for those people that have made our life what it is today.  As someone who has been delivering Meals on Wheels for 7 years, I see firsthand what a letter, note or phone call of thanks can do for someone.  They feel lonely, forgotten and in their final years, so appreciative of not having been overlooked.  Each time they receive a personal letter or note from you, I hear about it.  They read every word to me….

World Renowed Motivational Speaker, Barbara Glanz once wrote…...

"In my speeches and workshops, I sometimes ask my audiences to shut their eyes and think about someone who, at some time in their lives, has rekindled their inner light.  It is always a profound experience for everyone as they remember the joy they received from being appreciated by someone when they needed it the most.  After one session, a gentleman thanked me for creating a new awareness as he had immediately thought of his 8th grade literature teacher who had really made an impact on his life.  He planned to track her down and thank her.

A few months later, he called me to say he had written to his teacher.  She had gotten his letter and the following week, she sent him her response:  

"Dear John, you will never know how much your letter meant to me.  

I am 83 years old, I live all alone in one room.  

My friends are all gone; my family is gone.  

I taught for 50 years and yours is the first "thank you" letter I have ever gotten from a student.  

Sometimes I wonder what I did with my life.  

I will read and reread your letter until the day I die."  

He was very emotional when relating this story to me.  He said, "She was always the one we talked about at every reunion.  She was everyone's favorite teacher."  But no one ever told her until she received his letter.   

Go ahead; recognize the impact your words have on others and thank someone TODAY who has touched your life.

I Found A Blessing in Deafness

You know, I have complained for years that of all the things medically wrong with Chuck, the absolute, unequivocal, one-hundred-percent thing that's the hardest for me to live with is his lack of HEARING.  Yes, I can deal with his running down old people and small children, along with taking out every door frame in the house and knocking over the toilet, with his wheelchair……I can deal with him wearing two sets of eyeglasses around his neck…..I can deal with the hole in the top of his head from skin cancer that we could store a wine cork in……but his lack of hearing….DADGUMIT…..it makes me CRAZY.  However, I found a blessing….yes, you heard me….a B-L-E-S-S-I-N-G…..in his hard-of-hearing.

The other day, we were headed the hour long drive to Longview when we got into a little "argument".  Ok, it was a BIG argument and Liz said some "not-so-nice" things to Chuck.   Have you ever had those moments when the words flew out of your mouth before you could stop them and then you find yourself grabbing at them as they continue flying out your mouth?  Oh ya, I know you're relating right now…

After my words flew out and I was immediately feeling the regret of them, I look over at Chuck who has a super mean scowl on his face.  His eyebrows were going in different directions….his eyes were beady and his mouth was pierced into a tiny ball…..I was thinking, "Ohhhh boy….I've done it now."  About the time I opened my mouth to apologize, he yells out, "YOU KNOW I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!"

What?  You didn't hear me???  Whewwwww………and I whispered these words under my breath (not that I needed to; he couldn't hear me anyway), "Thank You God for Chuck's hard-of-hearing".  He never heard those mean words I had said to him just 60 seconds earlier…..and his scowl was frustration on not being able to hear what, up until this Blog, he had no idea were nasty words.

So, I think it warrants repeating…..THANK YOU GOD, FOR CHUCK'S HARD-OF-HEARING (the all caps was in case God didn't hear me)…….LOL!!

GROWING SEEDS: "Do You Believe The Scriptures/"

IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE THE SCRIPTURES,

THIS DOESN'T APPLY TO YOU

 

From the time I was a child, my parents "forced" my brother, sister and I to give 10% of our allowance, as well as Grandma's birthday money, to the church.  I didn't fully understand why, if God created everything, He needed my measly little $1.00 from Grandma's $10.00 gift to ME.  They explained to us that it was His money and He told us, in the Bible, to return 10% back to Him.  Period.  And heaven-forbid I buy candy FIRST before dropping my $1.00 into the offering plate!

As I entered my teen years, I came to resent letting go of my hard earned 10% offering.  I had gas to buy for my Chevy Vega, I had stylish platform shoes to buy and let's not forget it takes money to hang out with the girlfriends.  It got harder and harder for me to drop that money in the offering plate each week and my 10% dropped down to 5% then 3% and eventually 0%.  

Fast forward 100 years to today.  At some point over those years in-between, someone explained to me that everything I have….My house, My Jeep, My food, My electricity, My job….even My husband, two dogs and 1-claw cat, ALL belong to God.  It never belonged to me….it was simply a loan while here on earth to allow me to live comfortably, happily and contently….because He loves me.   Period.  All the "Landlord-of-my-Life", God, ever wanted was a little thanks….a little gratitude….a little Faith from me.  As a simple-minded person, this really hit home with me.

From that point on, I looked at Tithing/Giving with a completely different set of eyes.  I realized God's not being an "indian-giver" by asking for a portion back; quite the contrary.  He wanted to bless me with even MORE….and He wanted me to have faith that He is a Man of His Word.  By not obeying Him and giving back, I was not only depriving myself of a special blessing, but I was also keeping this blessing from others.  Without my CONSISTENT, faithful giving, our beautiful church has no heat in the winter and no air conditioning in the summer; no bulletins for me to write this article on, no Lunches of Love that ministers to our community, no choir, no organist, no pastor….the church disappears.  

Are you squirming a bit?  I sure am.

"Remember this; Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will reap generously."

2 Corinthians 9:6

GROWING SEEDS: "Priorities"

Check out the cool drawing above.  I'm not sure exactly who drew this, but I do know it was one of our younger members who handed it to Jack as they were leaving church last week.  Did you notice the rainbow?  How about the 10 hearts?  How about "God and Jesus love us and care for us!"  I admit, I added the cross on one of the 10 hearts.  But let me tell you why…..

I heard an interesting story this week from a long time member of our church.   She was telling me that when she and her husband first started attending First United Methodist many years ago, they prioritized their household expenses like this:  

1) Mortgage 2) Utilities 3) Food 4) Personal Expenses 5) Church Giving (Tithe).  They lived like most of us; sticking strongly to a tight budget with very little to spare.  But upon hearing a sermon on stewardship one Sunday, they felt deeply challenged about how much they TRUST God to provide for their every need.  They decided to move the last item on their list to the very top of the list.  They moved "Church Giving" to the #1 position.  A decision that would terrorize most every one of us.  

It was a bold move……a move that challenged their trust that He is faithful in all things and will take care of them and meet their needs just as He had promised.   A move that guaranteed to be full of rainbows and hearts……as well as anxiety and tension.  But they realized this money they were calling "theirs" never had belonged to them.  God provided each and every dime in their bank account.  It was HIS money and He had blessed them greatly with it.

This church member was Andrea Abbott..  She not only made the bold move to move God to the top of her financial list, but she also moved Him to the top of her daily activities list.  She has served this church and her God well.  She is the fuel that drives and keeps our beloved church organized.   And because she was faithful and honored His request, He has given back to her with BONUS and BLESSING just as He promised……even in the face of daily trials….like cancer.  

The question I have to ask myself is, "Can I put my FAITH where my MONEY is?

Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, 

but not merely given back—

given back with BONUS and BLESSING. 

GIVING, not GETTING, is the way. 

Generosity begets generosity.”

Luke 6:38

GROWING SEEDS: "Power of Prayer"

"POWER OF PRAYER???"

Twenty-three years ago at the young age of 10, my niece Jacque had a tragic accident at her private Christian school.  The swing set she had been playing on suddenly fell, hitting the back of her head causing her to suffer a severe brain trauma.  As the doctors fought to save her life and our family gathered around her, word spread throughout the community and prayer chains were formed.  We will never know just how many people lifted Jacque up in prayer that day, but one thing we do know is that God was listening……and He brought Jacque through the storm and back to us.

But what about the child in the hospital bed next to her who had no one praying for them?  

For years this question has haunted me.  The God I knew didn't discriminate and base His decision to heal, or not heal, on the number of prayers one received.  So why do we pray?  Why form the prayer chains?  Why pray for healing? 

As I've grown in my faith since that time, I've come to realize that usually the prayers are more to strengthen US than the person we're praying for.  Don't get me wrong; I believe in the power of prayer…..I believe God can and does heal people we pray for.  But I also believe he heals those we don't pray for.  I am of the opinion it was God's intent all along to heal Jacque from this horrible accident.  She has gone on to serve Him faithfully and tell the story of her healing to others.  God gave her back to us for awhile……But I think it also warmed His heart to hear so many of His own children growing in faith through their prayers dedicated to her.

But what about those He didn't heal?  Prayer or no-prayer…..He chose to end their time on this earth.  Maybe, just maybe, our prayer requests for healing should be for "His Will" to be done and not "Our Will"…..even if this means His will is the "Ultimate Healing"…..togetherness with God…..FOREVER.  I simply can't think of a better healing than that!

God always answers our prayers.  ALWAYS.  And "No" can be an answer…..as much as "Wait" or "Yes".  

"Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays."

Soren Kierkegaard 

GROWING SEEDS: "Don't Worry About Tomorrow"

 

 

"In the midst of what seems a mess,
in the tripping up and stumbling down of all hopes,
Jesus gave thanks."
Matthew 11:25

The most amazing thing happened this week!

For the first time in my life, I "felt" God touch me.  I've heard him speaking to my heart before....I've sensed the Holy Spirit in decisions that I needed to make and things I needed to do or not do, but I don't believe I had ever "felt" God touch me.......until now.

I have always been a habitual worrier.....I worried about everything......things like "the lake is too low"...."the lake is too high"....."What if" was a constant phrase of mine, whether it was about something health related or what kind of shoes I should wear today.  But as I matured in my relationship with Christ, He appealed to my heart that I needed to stop all this unnecessary, excessive worrying.

"Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. 
Each day has enough trouble of its own." 
Matthew 6:34

It's been a long process.....a practice of-sorts, to recognize and shut the worrying down before it grew a life of its own.  But this week I came face-to-face with an unexpected confrontation involving a close friend that brought all this worry I had worked so hard to overcome, back with a vengeance.  I found myself angry, disappointed, confused and, as my Dad would always say, "totally bent out of shape." 

I felt betrayed......and as I left my meeting with her, I texted my dilemma to a couple close friends who I knew would afford me the space to vent that I so badly wanted to do.  Their response?  "Take a deep breath, count to 10.....and PRAY."  I knew they were right......but I simply wasn't ready to pray just yet.  I was too hurt to talk to God right then. I decided instead to take that deep breath and start counting.  I think I had gotten to #8 when suddenly, out-of-the-blue, a PEACE; a warm embracing Herculean-sized hug, came over my entire body......and I realized that God had just hugged me tight.  He touched me.....HE TOUCHED ME.

And at that very moment, I instantly knew everything would be okay.....even if it meant it might not be okay between my friend and I.  It would be okay.  It was as if that hug could talk and was telling me "I've got this......this isn't your worry.....it's Mine now." 

God and I have moved to a new level of our relationship.  We are tighter now.....best buds.....soul-mates.....BFF's!!!