Thursday, April 26, 2018
Heartthoughts: By Any Other Name....
A funny video on Facebook about choosing a "Grandma" name made me think of an incident several years back. I was at their house one day when my grandchildren had a friend over to play. I saw the little girl as she passed the window, seeing me, then I heard her say, "There's a Go-Go in there!"
I laughed, because I knew her grandmother was called "Go-Go." It seems when one of the grandchildren was young, he tried to say "Grandma," but it came out, "Go-Go." The name stuck through the rest of the grandchildren!
Sadly, I didn't have a close relationship with my paternal grandmother, and I only saw my mother's mom a couple of times that I remember. Actually she was Mama's step-mother who raised her. Mama's biological mother died when my mother was still an infant. Distance was a factor at that time, and southwest Texas was just too far.
It seems most grandmothers today have the joy and pleasure of being near their grandchildren and a part of their lives as they grow up. With the exception of one family living close, all mine live far away. It reminds me of when I was raising my children, and we lived 500 miles from my parents, their beloved grandparents.
There were grandchildren aplenty living close to Mama, though, and she had the opportunity to see that they were in church and learning to serve the Lord. I still hear from those nieces and nephews about the influence she had on their lives, getting them to the altar to be saved and baptized!
I am reminded of the scripture in II Timothy 1:5, when Paul writes to Timothy, "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also."
My daughters now have the fun of choosing a "Grandma" name. I am "Mimi" to my grands, and my oldest daughter has chosen that for her name as well! That promoted me to "Mimi the Great!" My youngest daughter, Amy, expands on her name to be called "M'Amy"!
So what's in a name? A lot of love!
I laughed, because I knew her grandmother was called "Go-Go." It seems when one of the grandchildren was young, he tried to say "Grandma," but it came out, "Go-Go." The name stuck through the rest of the grandchildren!
Sadly, I didn't have a close relationship with my paternal grandmother, and I only saw my mother's mom a couple of times that I remember. Actually she was Mama's step-mother who raised her. Mama's biological mother died when my mother was still an infant. Distance was a factor at that time, and southwest Texas was just too far.
It seems most grandmothers today have the joy and pleasure of being near their grandchildren and a part of their lives as they grow up. With the exception of one family living close, all mine live far away. It reminds me of when I was raising my children, and we lived 500 miles from my parents, their beloved grandparents.
There were grandchildren aplenty living close to Mama, though, and she had the opportunity to see that they were in church and learning to serve the Lord. I still hear from those nieces and nephews about the influence she had on their lives, getting them to the altar to be saved and baptized!
I am reminded of the scripture in II Timothy 1:5, when Paul writes to Timothy, "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also."
My daughters now have the fun of choosing a "Grandma" name. I am "Mimi" to my grands, and my oldest daughter has chosen that for her name as well! That promoted me to "Mimi the Great!" My youngest daughter, Amy, expands on her name to be called "M'Amy"!
So what's in a name? A lot of love!
Monday, April 23, 2018
Heartthoughts: New Perspective!
"This house is too small!" I often heard myself lamenting of our over-stuffed house. Then when I'd finished the housework and lay down on the sofa for a rest, a feeling of emptiness frequently swept over me.
"I'm lonely!" I complained to my husband, always perfectly content at his desk and a sheaf of papers to pore over. My loneliness was for my scattered family: little grand kids growing up and now great-grands who hardly knew me!
God must have heard me, for I now live in a spacious farm house with scenic views and a motley collection of animals to distract me. We had lived close between a house on either side, and except for my screened front porch, I had felt little privacy outside.
Then the other day when it seemed spring had finally come and we sat on a swing in the yard, I marveled at the beauty of nature all around us. The sky was a cerulean blue with fluffy white clouds floating like dollops of whipped cream, contrasting with the newly-green grass and leafed-out trees, their branches swaying in the friendly breeze.
Our tiny "herd" of goats dot the hill where they graze with their coats of brown and white, or black and white, like a moving picture. Neighborly horses are silhouetted on the horizon, and pink little pigs root in their pen in the barnyard, lorded over by a proud rooster overseeing the chickens and guineas.
I thought of scriptures in the Bible that say, "He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because he delighted in me," Psalm 18:19, 2 Samuel 22:20.
And I am not lonely now! We have a grandson on the place, with his father often here between work assignments. There is never a dull moment with farm projects the men dream up and work at. Dinner is more than just two people saying, "Please pass the salt," but a lively conversation of shared interests and ideas punctuated with laughter or friendly debate.
With April speeding along, May will be here soon, followed by June, our anniversary month. We are expecting all our kids and as many grands as can come for this momentous occasion, our 60th Anniversary! That is one time I won't mind a crowded house!
"I'm lonely!" I complained to my husband, always perfectly content at his desk and a sheaf of papers to pore over. My loneliness was for my scattered family: little grand kids growing up and now great-grands who hardly knew me!
God must have heard me, for I now live in a spacious farm house with scenic views and a motley collection of animals to distract me. We had lived close between a house on either side, and except for my screened front porch, I had felt little privacy outside.
Then the other day when it seemed spring had finally come and we sat on a swing in the yard, I marveled at the beauty of nature all around us. The sky was a cerulean blue with fluffy white clouds floating like dollops of whipped cream, contrasting with the newly-green grass and leafed-out trees, their branches swaying in the friendly breeze.
Our tiny "herd" of goats dot the hill where they graze with their coats of brown and white, or black and white, like a moving picture. Neighborly horses are silhouetted on the horizon, and pink little pigs root in their pen in the barnyard, lorded over by a proud rooster overseeing the chickens and guineas.
I thought of scriptures in the Bible that say, "He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because he delighted in me," Psalm 18:19, 2 Samuel 22:20.
And I am not lonely now! We have a grandson on the place, with his father often here between work assignments. There is never a dull moment with farm projects the men dream up and work at. Dinner is more than just two people saying, "Please pass the salt," but a lively conversation of shared interests and ideas punctuated with laughter or friendly debate.
With April speeding along, May will be here soon, followed by June, our anniversary month. We are expecting all our kids and as many grands as can come for this momentous occasion, our 60th Anniversary! That is one time I won't mind a crowded house!
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Heartthoughts: Job 12:7, "But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air; and they shall tell thee."
Gazing out the window yesterday, I did a double-take! I had been enjoying looking at the pastoral scene down the slope of chickens pecking, roosters crowing, goats grazing and piglets rooting. The young pigs seemed to be unusually active, flying around their pen in a pink streak. If I didn't know better, I would think there were extra pigs in there.
What? My vision must be getting bad, because instead of two pigs in their pen, I saw four! What in the world? I had been home all afternoon, so how did two more pigs appear out of nowhere?
Going out and getting a closer look, I could see the new pigs were smaller, almost like babies! So cute, but where did they come from? When Howard got home, he was surprised, but he recalled that he had originally wanted female pigs, which were to be delivered at a later date. So that was it! A vehicle had obviously come in without my hearing it! Mystery solved!
While pigs are not my favorite animal, I find the young ones cute and entertaining. They are especially comical when their snouts are covered in mud and they stand stiffly looking at you through the fence with their long lashes.
My grandson and I got into a discussion today about animals. "Some people call a chicken an animal," I mused, to which he said, "They are an animal!" We argued back and forth, because I think of an animal as being a cat, dog, horse, or other four-legged beast, and a chicken, a fowl.
Many don't like to eat pork, but the Bible says in Acts 10:11 that God showed Peter a vision of all kinds of beasts, creeping things, and fowls of the air, and told him to kill and eat. Peter protested, "Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean."
And the voice spake unto him again the second time, "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common," Acts 10:15. So I believe it is okay to eat pork, which is very tasty!
A few days ago, Howard was telling me that eagles could snatch our baby pigs up and carry them away. That, and the suddenness of the little pigs appearing in our pen made me think of the suddenness of the Lord's coming. Matthew 24:40 tells us, Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (41) Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (42) Watch therefore: For ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
What? My vision must be getting bad, because instead of two pigs in their pen, I saw four! What in the world? I had been home all afternoon, so how did two more pigs appear out of nowhere?
Going out and getting a closer look, I could see the new pigs were smaller, almost like babies! So cute, but where did they come from? When Howard got home, he was surprised, but he recalled that he had originally wanted female pigs, which were to be delivered at a later date. So that was it! A vehicle had obviously come in without my hearing it! Mystery solved!
While pigs are not my favorite animal, I find the young ones cute and entertaining. They are especially comical when their snouts are covered in mud and they stand stiffly looking at you through the fence with their long lashes.
My grandson and I got into a discussion today about animals. "Some people call a chicken an animal," I mused, to which he said, "They are an animal!" We argued back and forth, because I think of an animal as being a cat, dog, horse, or other four-legged beast, and a chicken, a fowl.
Many don't like to eat pork, but the Bible says in Acts 10:11 that God showed Peter a vision of all kinds of beasts, creeping things, and fowls of the air, and told him to kill and eat. Peter protested, "Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean."
And the voice spake unto him again the second time, "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common," Acts 10:15. So I believe it is okay to eat pork, which is very tasty!
A few days ago, Howard was telling me that eagles could snatch our baby pigs up and carry them away. That, and the suddenness of the little pigs appearing in our pen made me think of the suddenness of the Lord's coming. Matthew 24:40 tells us, Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (41) Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (42) Watch therefore: For ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Saturday, April 14, 2018
Heartthoughts: Higher than I
"Look at the geese, flying to the pond," I exclaimed to my husband as we sat on the yard swing late yesterday afternoon. They looked so awe-inspiring, sailing along on the cooler breeze that had sprung up, then they disappeared beyond the trees.
A little later, I thought I saw them again, until I realized what I was viewing was not geese with flapping wings, but eagles! There were probably a dozen or more of them circling above us, at first small in the sky, but as they swooped closer we could see how large they were! I oohed and aahed over the rare sighting! I knew eagles clustered around a lake several miles away, but I had never seen them this close!
"They must be riding on the air currents," I ventured, while the eagles floated effortlessly above us. It was exciting to see them fly away and re-appear over our heads, ever closer to us.
"Maybe they are eyeing our little pigs!" Howard surmised. "My dad told me when he was a kid some eagles on the Cimarron river stole a neighbor's baby pigs!"
I couldn't believe they might do that, but they were zooming rather close over the pigs' enclosure! And I had a faint recollection of a newspaper article in which a goat was picked up and dropped on someone's adjacent property by an eagle!
The sun was setting, and soon the eagles disappeared. We went inside, but I began to think about eagles being mentioned in the Bible. Solomon ponders in Proverbs 30:18-19, "There are three things which are too wonderful for me. Yes, four which I do not understand: The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a maid."
In Exodus 19:4, God tells Moses, "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself."
But possibly my favorite mention of eagles is in Isaiah 40:31, "Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength; They shall mount up on wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint."
A little later, I thought I saw them again, until I realized what I was viewing was not geese with flapping wings, but eagles! There were probably a dozen or more of them circling above us, at first small in the sky, but as they swooped closer we could see how large they were! I oohed and aahed over the rare sighting! I knew eagles clustered around a lake several miles away, but I had never seen them this close!
"They must be riding on the air currents," I ventured, while the eagles floated effortlessly above us. It was exciting to see them fly away and re-appear over our heads, ever closer to us.
"Maybe they are eyeing our little pigs!" Howard surmised. "My dad told me when he was a kid some eagles on the Cimarron river stole a neighbor's baby pigs!"
I couldn't believe they might do that, but they were zooming rather close over the pigs' enclosure! And I had a faint recollection of a newspaper article in which a goat was picked up and dropped on someone's adjacent property by an eagle!
The sun was setting, and soon the eagles disappeared. We went inside, but I began to think about eagles being mentioned in the Bible. Solomon ponders in Proverbs 30:18-19, "There are three things which are too wonderful for me. Yes, four which I do not understand: The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a maid."
In Exodus 19:4, God tells Moses, "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself."
But possibly my favorite mention of eagles is in Isaiah 40:31, "Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength; They shall mount up on wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint."
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Heartthoughts: Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness!
What a gorgeous morning the Lord has given us today! Especially beautiful after grey, cold weather of late! I was thinking about how we are to worship God and appreciate all his goodness to us. I find myself frequently exclaiming words like, "Look how pretty the purple flowers are on the lawns!" Or, when I see the blue, blue sky with floating white clouds above in the panorama of God's creation, I can't help but call attention to the sight.
I think giving God glory and expressing thankfulness for the wonders of His world is one way to worship Him. And the wondrous thing about it is that beauty has been scattered to places where people rarely if ever see it, as recorded by explorers and adventurers who capture images that make us marvel. It's as if our Creator made all the infinite flowers, plants, trees and exotic animals for Himself to enjoy, or to favor mankind with the joy of discovery!
Surely the reason we love beauty is that there is beauty in heaven! The Bible say, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts," Ecclesiastes 3:11.
We love to see our homes orderly and with touches of beauty. Seeing a painting, a vase of flowers, a graceful lamp, a beautiful rug or tapestry may instill peace and relaxation in us after a long day.
The beauty of babies and children warm our hearts with their adorable faces and their innocent, trusting demeanor. The Bible says in Matthew 18:10 that their angels always behold the face of the Father in heaven. Puppies, kittens, and baby things of all creation melt us with their perfection and adorable factor. (I once read that a baby's only defense is his voice and cuteness!)
May we praise and worship God for these and many other things he has in His love provided for us!
I think giving God glory and expressing thankfulness for the wonders of His world is one way to worship Him. And the wondrous thing about it is that beauty has been scattered to places where people rarely if ever see it, as recorded by explorers and adventurers who capture images that make us marvel. It's as if our Creator made all the infinite flowers, plants, trees and exotic animals for Himself to enjoy, or to favor mankind with the joy of discovery!
Surely the reason we love beauty is that there is beauty in heaven! The Bible say, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts," Ecclesiastes 3:11.
We love to see our homes orderly and with touches of beauty. Seeing a painting, a vase of flowers, a graceful lamp, a beautiful rug or tapestry may instill peace and relaxation in us after a long day.
The beauty of babies and children warm our hearts with their adorable faces and their innocent, trusting demeanor. The Bible says in Matthew 18:10 that their angels always behold the face of the Father in heaven. Puppies, kittens, and baby things of all creation melt us with their perfection and adorable factor. (I once read that a baby's only defense is his voice and cuteness!)
May we praise and worship God for these and many other things he has in His love provided for us!
Saturday, April 7, 2018
Auction!
My farm life activities also seem to include going to livestock auctions! At least that's where we went the other night. I must admit the sheep and goats were interesting, even fascinating when strange breeds I had never seen were paraded in front of us as we watched from our elevated view.
I fell in love with one group of goats that were marked like puppies with their brown heads and patches of white on their faces. The spiral-horned sheep were majestic, some with a V-shaped bib of wool dangling from their chest. One animal, sheep or goat, I don't remember, had a black head and shoulders like a hood, contrasting with the solid white body. Beautiful!
Despite their charm and beauty, I couldn't help feeling sorry for the animals, trapped and swatted in the viewing area, fear and uncertainty filling their eyes as they darted around looking for a way of escape. It made me think of how slaves were treated as they stood on the auction block not knowing their fate.
I was reminded of Hosea and Gomer in the Bible, Hosea 3:2, when Hosea saw his adulterous wife on the auction block and bought her back, despite her disloyalty in the past and possibly in the future. God had ordained this in order to show the unfaithfulness of Israel, and yet He loved them.
Before knowing God and accepting Jesus as Saviour, we were all slaves to sin. Perhaps we were searching for a way out, as were the animals at the auction. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man cometh to the Father but by me." John 14:6. The only way!
I fell in love with one group of goats that were marked like puppies with their brown heads and patches of white on their faces. The spiral-horned sheep were majestic, some with a V-shaped bib of wool dangling from their chest. One animal, sheep or goat, I don't remember, had a black head and shoulders like a hood, contrasting with the solid white body. Beautiful!
Despite their charm and beauty, I couldn't help feeling sorry for the animals, trapped and swatted in the viewing area, fear and uncertainty filling their eyes as they darted around looking for a way of escape. It made me think of how slaves were treated as they stood on the auction block not knowing their fate.
I was reminded of Hosea and Gomer in the Bible, Hosea 3:2, when Hosea saw his adulterous wife on the auction block and bought her back, despite her disloyalty in the past and possibly in the future. God had ordained this in order to show the unfaithfulness of Israel, and yet He loved them.
Before knowing God and accepting Jesus as Saviour, we were all slaves to sin. Perhaps we were searching for a way out, as were the animals at the auction. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man cometh to the Father but by me." John 14:6. The only way!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)