What's in a Name?

Not long ago, a Mississippi friend posted a picture on Facebook of an old time singer. She got a response saying what a great singer he was.  "He was the best!" my friend exclaimed.

"Who is that?" I wrote. A few minutes later, I got a message that said, "Thelma, watch this!"

So I tuned in on the video to hear Jimmie Rodgers warbling out the words, "T for Texas, T for Tennessee," then a few minutes later, he yodeled and sang, "T for Thelma, the girl that made a wreck out of me."

I had to laugh. It seemed funny to hear my name being sung in that song, although I had heard it many times and often sang it myself.  Once I was even tempted to buy an artistic picture of Texas with the words,  "T for Thelma" in very large print at the bottom. Something about hearing the song blaring in a famous voice from the past made me happy and giggly in spite of myself.

My mother named me "Thelma" after her sister, my Aunt Thelma.  I'm sure it was a popular name back then, but I had never liked it, seeming old-fashioned and outdated. I even started going by the name "Thea" for awhile, as a more contemporary-style name, but I soon went back to the familiar.

This morning, a newcomer to our church came up and introduced herself to me, saying, "I haven't met you," and we exchanged names. "Thelma!" she exclaimed, "That was my mother's name!"  Of course! I told her it was also my aunt's name.

Since I was born in June, that is my middle name. (Being that I was the sixth child, I think Mama was out of ideas for names.)  Now my delightful little great-granddaughter has June for her middle name, too!

The most important name of all is Jesus! We finish our prayers and requests, "In Jesus' name, Amen."  His is the Name above all names!  Scriptures indicate we will receive a new name in Heaven: Rev. 2:17; Rev. 3:12; Isaiah 62:2 and others. I'm sure mine will be a name I will like!

Sunday Surprise

Saturday night I was very tired and went to bed at 9:00 o'clock. This made me awaken Sunday morning at 5:00 a.m.  Oh well, I thought, "This will give me plenty of time to get ready for church." I went through  my routine, got Howard out of bed, selected my clothes, and, since we would eat breakfast at church, there was nothing else to do.

Then I got an anxious report from my husband who had been getting dressed. "My wallet is gone!" he announced in alarm. He was frantically searching everywhere, then I realized it wasn't his wallet that was missing, but a packet where he kept important cards and his driver's license.

Oh, no! Our lifeline! I thought. Time slipped away as we checked clothing pockets, desks, bureaus and everywhere else we could think of.  Trying to re-trace our steps from the day before, we called the stores and businesses where we had been on Saturday. No one had found any of our cards. Of course, we prayed that the lost  would be found.

Distressed and running late, we missed our Sunday School class, but made it in time for church. Our pastor had just returned from a mission trip and was on fire with his morning message. He invited anyone who had a need to come to the front for prayer.

"I have a need," Howard nudged me. I knew what he meant, and we made our way to the front with dozens of others. All we could do was trust God in our dilemma.

We decided to get lunch in town and called our grandson at home to see if he wanted to eat with us. He agreed, and we headed home to pick him up. I got out of the car to go into the house, when a small brown object on the ground caught my eye.

"Howard! I found it!" I exclaimed jubilantly. It was his packet of cards and driver's license! (We had driven with no license!)

He was beside himself with joy and praises to God!  How could we have missed it!  But of course we had parked at a  slightly different angle which revealed the lost treasure!  We don't know how it got there, but we know Who showed it to us, keeping it safe from wind, doggie nibbles or tire tracks!

Needless to say, we enjoyed a very lighthearted meal with plenty of smiles and thankful hearts. As the song goes, "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me." Amen!

Reflections

Things I never knew about my husband:

 At age 12, he was the janitor of his church. Sweeping, mopping classrooms and sanctuary and cleaning restrooms.

At age 13, he was the song leader at his church.

During these years, he played the main wise man in Christmas plays, memorizing endless lines of script.

At age 14, he accompanied the church pianist with his guitar and was on the worship team.

No wonder I fell in love with him when he was 15! When he came into our church, I was smitten.

Things I did learn about him as a teenager:

In the contributions received each Wednesday night for the Friday radio program, he always gave the last dollar.

After the service when we as teens wanted to go get a coke, we had to wait until he was finished praying at the altar.

Here, too, he often led the song service.

Later, I learned he was a good example for our six children who were also brought up in church!

Jumping to Conclusions!

Not long ago we got into our van to do some errands, and instead of the motor purring like a kitten, a horrible grinding noise emitted from the hood. The vehicle wouldn't budge, no matter how much we tried.

"Must be the transmission," was the conclusion.  Oh, no! That would be expensive! Prices were investigated, all of which were thousands of dollars. We let the van sit for weeks, relying on driving our trusty Nissan, even though it had been hit by a hit and run driver a couple of years ago. It wasn't pretty, but it got us where we wanted to go.

(A couple of days ago, we were loading groceries into said car, when a passerby in Walmart's lot stopped and remarked cheerfully, "It don't look like much, but it gets the job done!" ) I had to agree.

Earlier, one of our church friends had taken it upon himself to search for us a good deal on a tranny. We appreciated it, but all was still out of our reach. However, his helpful suggestion prompted my husband to explore a little further rather than abandoning ship, so to speak. He called a mechanic friend who agreed to look at our Honda.

After his inspection, the knowledgeable man announced it was not the transmission, but something less costly! Howard called our road service, had the van towed in, and yesterday it was repaired! Running as good as ever at a fraction of the price!

How often we expect the negative in any situation!  We might hear of illness or accident and worry unnecessarily, instead of believing for the best outcome. Or we say of someone's blessing, "Oh, that could never happen to me."

But the Bible says, "For I know the thoughts I have of you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11.

Or the scripture in Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

I especially appreciate Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean
not unto thine own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path."

Using the van today and enjoying the cool air-conditioning, I could only thank the Lord for everything turning out for the best, and learning not to expect the worst!

This Little Pig went to Market!

A few weeks ago, our fine porker was transported to a recommended, out of town business that processes such things. We had received positive reports of this Mom and Pop industry to which we would take our pig and, as my husband Howard says, "Bring it back in clean, white paper."

Well, yesterday we set out to go retrieve our finished product of bacon, hams, ribs, pork chops, etc. We had not gone on the original trip, since our son and grandson pulled the trailer and delivered our porcine prize to its destiny.  Our grandson, Adam, chauffeured us this time to pick up our investment of months of dutifully feeding, watering and caring for our rooting, grunting (almost-but-not quite) pet.

It was about a 40 mile trip, and we were prepared to know that the owner would be out to lunch at 12:30, so when we got to the (very) small town, we found a home-town restaurant with really good food! The ride down was pleasant with the views of hundreds of acres of Indian land, the green, rolling pastures and occasionally tree-lined roads and valleys.

That made me reminisce of my early childhood growing up near Tulsa, which wasn't far from us on this venture. Once we got on a shortcut back road that opened up into a picturesque scene of the valley below. I thought of a scene in the movie, "Shadow Lands," I  had seen again recently, that portrayed breathtaking distant hills and valleys.

Back home, we filled our freezer, leaving out a few packages for immediate use. Howard couldn't wait to taste the bacon, so I fried some in a skillet this morning. It was delicious! We had heard that this company did a great job of curing and smoking pork! They also smoked the hams, which are so big we will probably wait and have them at Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Feathers and Fur

The little guineas were so cute! All 24 of them, looking like grey pearls as they huddled together in their cage. Howard had agreed to raise them for a friend who would give my husband 12 of them for his own.

The big cage which we had used many times before for baby chicks and ducks was readied with all the accouterments of watering and feeding necessities carefully placed on the fresh straw covering the cage floor.

My wanna-be farmer was ecstatic. He had wanted guineas for a long time. Yesterday morning he had a spring in his step when he went out to feed and check on them as he did every day. A little later he returned with a haggard look of disbelief on his face.

"They're all dead!" he announced incredulously. "All the little guineas are dead! One's head was gone, some looked chewed up and the others were just lying around!"

Oh, no! Nothing had ever breached the cage before! Howard thought maybe a snake got in, but we couldn't be sure.  He resolutely called his friend with the bad news. Ironically, he told Howard a goat he had just bought was dead the next day!

I couldn't help thinking of the scripture in 1 Peter 5:8 which says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."

I know in our fallen world the nature of animals is to devour.  I love the scripture of future promise when these things shall be changed, as in Isaiah 11:6-9:

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea."

What a day for which to look forward!

Sleep Walking

Last night I woke up to hear my husband saying he needed a drink of water. I staggered out of bed and brought him a glass of water. "Here is your water," I said, to which he said, "Huh?" groggily coming out of sleep.

"You said you wanted water, so  here it is," I said, offering it to him, when poof! the water evaporated in my hand! Howard was asleep, and then I realized it was a dream!

Dreams can be mysterious, comforting or crazy! There are many references to dreams in the Bible. I like the scripture in Psalm 126:1-3:

When the Lord restored the captives of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.

We are familiar with the dreams Joseph had in protecting baby Jesus.  Matthew 2:13: Now when they departed, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word. For Herod will seek the young Child to kill Him."

Then in Matthew 2:19, we find: But when Herod was dead, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead."

The Bible says in Acts 2:17, "In the last days it shall be,' says God, 'that I will pour out My Spirit on all people; your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams."

It doesn't say old women, but still! Sweet dreams, everyone!

Faith like Potatoes

That was the title of a movie, but it made me think of our venture in planting potatoes.  They were planted a few months ago, and we were getting restless waiting on them to mature. I had learned from experience before that you have to wait until they bloom and then wait until the leaves wither.

The other day I happened to see the picture of a tub of potatoes we grew from a year or two ago. It was dated June 27, I think. Anyway, the date prodded me to think ours might be ready. True to form, the leaves were withered (mostly), so one day I dragged out a shovel to dislodge our prize.

Wow! That was hard work! Especially when the ground was hard! I gave up until another day when my spouse would help me.  He also discovered how hard the soil was, so we decided to soften up the earth by pouring water on and soaking the dirt.

Yesterday we took the plunge and attempted to dig some potatoes. The ground was still dry and hard, but we managed to unearth a few gems. Unfortunately, they were still pretty small, so we decided to wait a little longer.

In the movie, the man's faith grew with the growth and success of his potatoes.  We have faith in our venture, too.

I got to thinking about how raising children is a lot like growing potatoes. They start out as helpless, appealing little darlings we are gifted with, and as we watch them grow, we have the opportunity and responsibility to help shape our little "taters" into people who bless the world.  We might have to buff off the rough edges of the little lumps of joy as they grow, learn and are affected by life.

They have good roots from the ground up, and it is up to us to "bring up a child in the way it should go." They, too have to develop their faith, not only in their parents, but in a relationship with God, the God who made them and the world and everything that is in it. Even the potatoes!

Consider the Lilies

I had just discarded the wilted bouquet of lovely flowers sent for my birthday by a thoughtful son. Washing the attractive vase they came in, I wished I had more flowers to fill it up. Then I thought about the beautiful orange lilies blooming on their graceful stems down by the roadside.

Howard was mowing, and I had just swept grass clippings from the porch, so I was already outside. I got some scissors from a kitchen hook and resolutely headed for the driveway, keeping an eye out for the unpredictable traffic. Usually, the overgrowth of other wild bushes would have detained me, but every thing had been mowed back, so it was easy to snip off several stalks of the lilies. Now they reign majestically in the living room.

I couldn't help thinking of Jesus's words in Matthew 6:28, where he cautions against worries.
"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe  you, O you of little faith?"

Sure enough, when I looked at my bouquet, I could see withered blooms of yesterday dried on the stalk. But each day, new ones grew in the place of it! Not long ago, my husband and I purged our closets (somewhat). I had perfectly good clothes that I never wear anymore, and he had scads of shirts he didn't need.  Now once in a while, I get something new and am able to enjoy it! We don't need to horde our clothes, for Jesus promises to provide what we need!

"Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble," Matthew 6:31-34.

And the lilies are still blooming!