Blog Archives - The Remarkable Blog

Depending on others.

3/29/2019

When you become my age the topic of depending on others comes up a lot. No one wants to have to depend on other people. Yet, I have noticed from the time we are born until the time we die, we depend on people. A new born depends on its mother to birth him, and then feed him, and then, care for him. A mother depends on her husband and or family, to help her get strong, and back up on her feet doing what she has always done before giving birth. Kids depend on loved ones to feed and clothe them. Teachers depend on their students to learn and do the work to pass the classes. Employers depend on their employees to do what they were hired to do, so that the company makes a profit, and is able to provide services or product.

Life is a team. What are you contributing to the team? When we don't contribute to the team we punish the others on the team. Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit are a team, in fact they are, and always have been the ultimate team. We are invited to be on their team. Together we have everything we need or will ever need.

In your marriage, at your school, on the job and yes.....even in our great country we must be a team, work as a team and think as a team. When we read and study history, especially the Declaration of Independence we see a team who was one for all and all for one. That one, was Freedom! Men sold all they had, gave all their money, their homes and their lives for that one thing. We take that one thing, Freedom and treat it as though it is an option. It is not an option, it is what they died for. It is the same with our faith. People have been giving their lives for what we believe even before Jesus gave His life as well.

Nothing in life is free. If we want to be able to depend on others, rather than have to depend on others, then we need to start with us.

ACTION STEP: Ask yourself the hard question. Can others depend on me? Can Jesus depend on me? Can my family depend on me? Can my employer depend on me? Can my friends depend on me? If not? What can you I do starting today to change my own dependability?

Philippians 1:27
"Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,
so that whether I come and see you or remain absent,
I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;"

Luke 16:10
"He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much;
and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much."

Nonna, "Your grandson has two loose teeth!"~Family

3/28/2019

In the middle of recording TV programs my phone rings. Of course my phone is on silent, but I see the light and think to myself, "I wonder if everyone if okay?" That "everyone" list is fairly long when you are from a large family, pastor a church, still live in the town you are born in, and are as old as I am. I see you smiling. I can only imagine when you are the President of the United States or a large hospital. Praise God He doesn't give us more than we can handle. As soon as we finish recording and take a break I check my phone. "Nonna, Zachary has two loose teeth!" It was in a moment of silence, that I saw five years of my lil man's life flash by. (That's what I call my eldest grandson." My lil man was growing up. Where did those years go?

I remember when my girls were loosing teeth. I remembered the panic when I woke up only to remember the "Tooth Fairy" had forgotten to put a dollar under the pillow. I remember the shear shock. I couldn't find a dollar so, I had to put a five dollar bill under that pillow before she woke up. (That also means now all the other teeth are worth five dollars --and the younger one will now expect five dollars too.) Oh, well better that than shatter a childhood make believe fairy. Right? Well, now I repent for lying. Looking back I was deceived, so bound with fear. Just being honest here. Who started this crazy tradition anyway? Why do we as young parents just buy in to it?

Okay, back to work. This being a grandparent thing is still somewhat new to me. No one told me I would have these feelings. No one told me I would internalize my feelings about the life before having my grandchildren. How was I to know I would love them as much as I love my own children? Who knew, that when I had children that it would change my life forever?

Family...is family. Once you belong, well your in! I get it. Once I became a child of God everything I did, do, say, go through, it's all important to God. He feels what I go through. He rejoices in my victories and is touched by my trials. It's part of belonging. It's part of ownership. It is the essence of relationship.

I will live the rest of my life being touched by all of the people I let into my life, my heart, my family. Why? Because I am created in God's image. God is a father. There is a part of me that is meant and designed for family. Family has feelings, responsibilities, victories and battles, wins and loses. Yesterday, I was reminded of just a small one...the loss of a first tooth of my first grandchild. It's okay. I can do this.

Some of you reading this will think, "Wow she is losing it." Others of you will read this and say, "I get it." You know what makes the difference? Knowing the value and deepness of God and the word "Family."

ACTION STEP: Stop and think for a moment about the Family of God. If you're not sure you belong, take a look at Romans 10:9-10, Ephesians 1:5 "He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,". John 3:6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

You belong to an earthly family. If you make Jesus your Savior then you belong to a heavenly family. When you become a member of a church, you become a part of that family. God is all about family, and family cares about family!

If you feel like no one cares? Find a new family. Find a place where you belong and matte, and that brings out the best in you. Find a family that celebrates your wins and cries with you at your losses. We do exist.

Auto Correct and Vocal Recognition.

3/27/2019

Don't ask me how but I am totally botching this vocal recognition thing. I speak into my phone and it's like it has a mind of it's own. Yesterday, I told my church beautification person to buy 369 flowers for our Resurrection service. Thankfully she knows better. It should have read 3, 6 or 9. Then, I send my superior a voice text and it tells her what she better do? I know better. Fortunately, she knows me and ignored the text. We talked on the phone instead. When I read these I literally I laughed so hard I cried.

Sometimes, I wonder what we sound like to God? Some people only shout at him while they are driving. Others cry so hard when they talk to Him I wonder how He figures it out? I guess He reads their hearts? Then, there are those of us that jump from subject to subject with no transition. We blurt out our "Grocery list', our "Complaining list", our "I want this" list, and "Could you kill these people" list? We laugh, but what do we say to God? If we are speaking to Him apart from His word it is probably lost in translation, much like my vocal recognition. I prefer to talk with people in person. What does their body language say? Are they making eye contact? God communicates to each of us perfectly and we never have to guess what He is saying. We need to be more like God when speaking to others. God is not in a hurry. He cares more about us, than about what He has to say to us.

"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV

ACTION STEP: The best way to talk with God is through your spirit man. Our Spirit man never sleeps or slumbers because it is made in God's image. It is the God part of us if it has been redeemed. Once redeemed it rules our body and or emotions. If we want to communicate like God? Which I do, and I know you do. Then, we must operate more out of our spirit and speak to people like he does, not like the world does. Praying for us all.

Nothing to Defend

3/26/2019

When you are standing on the truth and you know you are, there is nothing to defend. When accusation comes and it will, you don't have to answer the question. One of the things I see in the word and one that my husband does often is when someone asks him a question, he pauses, and in return he asks them a question rather than answer them. Think about that for a minute. This is exactly what Jesus did when ask who He was. He said, "Who do you say that I am?" (Mat. 16:15-16)

So, we see accusation doesn't make something true. The next one that we don't have to crumble to is the accumulation. The gathering of a people population where everyone is saying the same thing, may seem insurmountable. There can be an occlusion, but strength in numbers does not mean strength in truth.

The final "A" word we see in the story of Jesus and his adversaries is much like what we are seeing in the news, "acknowledge". Sooner or later, we see that the truth arises. (Jesus arose from the dead and He is the Truth). Facts don't lie. Truth is truth. Jesus's adversaries had to admit and come to terms with the fact that, He truly was the son of God. The good news is He is also our defender! They had to acknowledge they were wrong and Jesus was guiltless.

ACTION STEP: Be encouraged today. No matter what is said, let God defend you. Accusation will come. Our adversaries may accumulate, but they will acknowledge that God is for us! God is our defender!

Romans 3:4 (KJV)
"God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;
as it is written,
That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome
when thou art judged."

The Truth is Tough for People

3/25/2019

The heart is deceitfully wicked who can know it. Did you ever want something bad enough you ignored the consequences? Not even once? What about that hot fudge Sunday knowing the extra calories, sugar and fat were detrimental to your health. Ice Cream is dairy, it has calcium in it. I need dairy. Calcium is needed for my bones. No? Okay then, how about this one? I know that the speed limit is 55 mph but everyone is going 80 mph, so I am going to just stay with traffic? In reality you left the house late trying to make up time. These are some of my battles with truth. Like a child I want, what I want.

The children of God wanted a God they could see and worship. They knew the 10 Commandments but built a golden calf anyway, ignoring the truth of the first two commandments. Justifying our behavior is learned early. He hit me, so I hit him back. We knew hitting was not an acceptable behavior but we justified our action based on their behavior. Since when is that ever right? The truth is tough for people regardless of age, race, religion, economics, gender or education. Simply knowing truth does not make us free, it’s accepting it as truth, believing it and receiving the truth, obeying the truth that makes us free.

Jesus took our place, just as if he was the guilty one. Justified is the term I like to use for what Jesus did for us. He justified us with the great exchange. His righteousness for our guilt. His freedom for our chains. The truth is tough for all of us to accept and apply to our life, but it is possible. It's a choice. It's a choice we are free to make every day. Truth is truth whether we choose to believe it and live it, or not.

ACTION STEP: Confused about a decision? What is truth. Once you find out what the Word of God says about a subject allow that to settle the issue. Practice loving truth. Practice living truth. Decide that even though the truth is tough for people, you are tough enough to accept it because of Jesus. Now, drive on by the Dairy Crème Corner. You can do this.

What would you say to some graduates?

3/22/2019

I found out about a contest. Being very competitive I entered the contest. The challenge was to write 300 to 800 words to a group of graduates. "Easy enough", I said to myself. I started fingers to the keys and the words flowed like water. Here is what I wrote:

There’s a Freedom after the Fight so “Diatribo”.

The moment you looked forward to. The moment you thought would never arrive. The moment you finally made it. Graduation. One of the many milestones of your life. Twelve years of discipline of either your own, your parents, a counselor, a grandparent, or another key person in your life. We can't make it through life on our own. Today you are here, not because you are so great, although you may be, but because of the greatness of someone else in your life. Today, may seem to be all about you, but the great sign of maturity is the ability to recognize greatness is always the result of a team effort. Most of us don’t remember the day we learned to hold a pencil and write our name. Most of us don’t remember the person who was responsible for the moment the light came on, that two plus two was four. However, ever thing we have learned has been line upon line, precept upon precept. We don’t come into the world knowing how to be a team player. From birth we don’t come out running down the court and laying up the ball and walking off the court a victorious winner. We crawl, we walk we run and then we run with a goal, mentally engage in that goal and then practice and stay in the game until the dream becomes a reality.

Today is not the end of a dream, but the beginning of the continuation of a dream; to stay in the game until the dream becomes a reality. Today we don’t close the book, we simply finish a chapter. What it took to get here, it will take to get you to the end of every chapter, in the book you are called to write. In every great book there is a hero and a villain, a lover and the loved, the suspense and the climax. Each day of our lives we get to make a choice. Will we choose to be the hero or the villain? Will we choose to be the loved or the lover? Between today and the day we close the book there will be suspense. Will we get into the college of our dreams, or will we get the dream job? Will we further our purpose for which we were born, or will we allow ourselves to be enslaved by a culture that tries to cap us off? Will you be a consumer or a creator? Will life be a drag, or a race run with perseverance? The choice is yours.

After today you will wake up and not have to be at class. There is no law you will break if you skip class. You can call off work and no one will call your parents. There is a freedom that always comes after the fight, but there is always another fight for freedom. So, choose your team wisely. We become like those we hang out with. In the book, Hero Maker, by Dave Ferguson he shares that the word for “spend time” in Greek, pronounced “dia-tree-bo (and transliterateddiatribo)means to “rub against” or “to rub off”. We tend to be like those we hang out with. We rub off who we are on others and visa versa. Up until this point in life most of the decisions about who you hung out with, were made for you. The coach chose the players. Your parents, or your geographic location determined the school you attended. Your class schedule, or the spelling of your last name chose where you sat in class. After today, those choices are yours. “Diatribo” wisely. Those that rubbed you the wrong way and those that rubbed against you, determined chapter one. Those that you diatribo tomorrow determine who you are to become, and who they are to become. Continue to write your chapters and help others to write theirs with no regret.

I would love to have the privilege of speaking to the faces under the hats and robes of the graduates today. I have such a passion for young people. I feel as though because of my over six decades of life I have something to share. I have learned so much that I only wish I would have known, when I was young. Life is a great teacher. When you are young one thinks they know it all. As however we age we come to turns with how little we truly know about life.

ACTION STEP: Everyday we are learning. Of course some days we learn more than on other days. But everyday we wake up and take a breath and we learn something we didn't know the day before. Each day is a day of new opportunities. Share what you know with those younger than yourself. Share what you know everywhere you can. Pray for God to give you opportunities to share with others what you have learned by the grace of God. To teach is to learn twice.

Job 12:12
(NIV)
" Is not wisdom found among the aged?
Does not long life bring understanding?"

Take control of your sleep and dream sweet dreams.

3/21/2019

Daniel 2:1
Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.

There have been periods in my life in which I have not sleep well. Then, there have been periods in my life where I slept like a baby. Still, there have been other times where it seems the Lord wants to talk to me all through the night. Of course, I have tried to be the one in control of when, which occurs. That is like trying to control a two year old. All joking aside, I have not been able to understand sleep patterns and dreams. Of course it is not so bad that I have gone to an expert on dreams, but I have read a lot. For the most part, we dream about what is on our minds. We try to sort things out at night, that we find difficult to sort through while we are awake. When we are stressed about something at work, or a person in our life we may rehearse those events at night, putting in other people or situations to try to solve at night, what we cannot solve when we are awake.

Dreams from God occur much the same, except this time He wants to tell us something, or show us something that perhaps our conscious minds have trouble comprehending. I often dream of trying to help people that can't or refused to be helped. In my awake state, I can't imagine people wanting to say, "No", to God and His ways. But, they do. I keep trying to help. Then, my dream will be trying to save someone who has their doors locked from the inside. When I try to get them out, I get hurt because they have purposely put a trap on the inside of the doors, and windows, so that the trap goes off when I try to get them out. At other times I will dream of me doing something that I can't see myself doing in real life. Then, when I wake up I can believe it is possible, because I saw myself doing it in the dream.

Like the above dream, some are easy to interpret, others are much harder to figure out. A good book that has been helpful to me is called, "Understanding the Dreams You Dream" by Ira Milligan, https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=Understanding+the+Dreams+You+Dreams+Ira+Milligan&fr=yhs-Lkry-SF01&hspart=Lkry&hsimp=yhs-SF01&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.gr-assets.com%2Fbooks%2F1430097233l%2F230000.jpg#id=-1&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.gr-assets.com%2Fbooks%2F1430097233l%2F230000.jpg&action=click. There is also a class by Katrina Wilson and here are two sites to get her materials: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dream-talk-katrina-wilson/1112472348 (http://www.wilsonministries.com/productdetails.php?details=8)

ACTION STEP: Try to unwind yourself before you go to bed. Turn off the TV, and start turning down the temperature in the room, and begin to dim the lights. Prepare your body and your mind for sleep. Try not to eat after 6 PM. All these things can help you prepare for sleep. Pray that God would speak to you as you sleep and that your sleep would be sweet and uninterrupted. Read something from the Word of God and let that be the last thing you put in. See this scripture below, there is no reason you both need to stay awake. He will give you sweet sleep.

Psalm 121:4
NIV
"indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep."

Proverbs 3:24
CEV
"you will rest without a worry and sleep soundly."

Todays is my Daddy's birthday.

3/20/2019

It is hard to believe that my earthly Daddy has been gone for five years. Today, would have been his birthday. Daddy would have been 84 years old today. Seems young to me to die at 84. Perhaps, it is because I am approaching that number too rapidly myself. Daddy was twenty-one years old when I was born. I've always thought he was the most handsome, kindest, hardest working man I knew, as a child growing up. Daddy always worked. He worked at Greer Limestone, but when he came home he kept working. We always had a car in the yard for sale, a lawn mower for sale, and plenty of things to keep him, and the rest of us busy all summer. We had roses, lilac bushes, a vegetable garden, occasionally pigs, hunting dogs, the family dog and of course five children of which I was the oldest. I thought we were rich...and now that I am older I realize we were. Money is not riches. Riches are an abundance of many things. Having money is just an abundance of money. We had many things, and love was one of the most important.

I don't remember Daddy being this big, but I don't remember being this little either. If you look closely you can see my mother in the background sitting on the porch (top left). I always wondered why she sat over there while Daddy and I were getting our photo taken. I have no pictures of my mother and I together when I was a baby. I also have very few memories of her, from when I was very small. So, take lots of pictures of you and your children. Take photos of the family together, and you, and your child alone. Someday photos and memories will be all you have.

I never thought about my Dad dying. He was always there. Then, one day like a vapor he was gone.

James 4:14 (KJV)Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

ACTION STEP: Take a picture today. Take one of you and someone you love. Keep it in a safe place. Write a note to someone who means a lot to you, just telling them that you are blessed to have them in your life. Allow yourself to feel the loss of a loved one, then thank God that you had them for a little while. All of us will leave this earth one day. Ask yourself what will those that are left behind, have to think about, when they think of you?

Lets Laugh Day is today. That's funny!

3/18/2019

MARCH 19 Lets Laugh Day for real is today. Check it out on Google. Who knew? I find it very interesting it comes the day after my anniversary. I might have taken it personal had it been a day earlier? Just kidding.

Let’s Laugh Day is celebrated every year on March 19. It is an unofficial holiday that encourages people to laugh and enjoy the benefits of laughter.

Laughter can help increase the quality of your life.

Studies have suggested that laughter can help people relax and reduce stress.

Laughing and being joyful can also have health and social benefits.

Medical studies have shown a few minutes of laughter can reduce blood pressure, increase immunity response of the body, and boost heart rate. Watching or reading something humorous before sleep can also help people sleep better and longer.

Laughing can even burn calories. Research has shown that 10-15 minutes of laughing can burn up to 50 calories.

People who laugh often are seen by their peers as happy and friendly. As a result, they tend to have more friends and are easily accepted as a part of different social groups.

How to Celebrate? Here are some ways you can celebrate this happy “howl”iday:

Laugh out loud for a few minutes.
Spend some time reading jokes and funny stories.
Watch a funny movie.
Attend a stand-up comedy show

Did You Know……that children laugh more than adults? An average toddler laughs about 400 times a day, while an average adult tends to laugh about 15-20 times a day.

Let's Laugh Day Observances
YearWeekdayDateName2019 is March 19-Today!
2020 Thu Mar 19 Let's Laugh Day
2021 Fri Mar 19 Let's Laugh Day
2022 Sat Mar 19 Let's Laugh Day
2023 Sun Mar 19 Let's Laugh Day
2024 Tue Mar 19 Let's Laugh Day
2025 Wed Mar 19 Let's Laugh Day
2026 Thu Mar 19 Let's Laugh Day
2027 Fri Mar 19 Let's Laugh Day
2028 Sun Mar 19 Let's Laugh Day

ACTION STEP: Decide to laugh today. Send a friend a joke or call them up, and share one. I know lots of blond jokes, so I plan to post a few on FB. Check them out.

Psalm 126:2
Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting; T
hen they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."

Today is my Anniversary of 42 years

3/18/2019

I thought today I would dedicate this Blog to all the married couples that have stuck it out. We married in 1977. Then, I had just turned 21 and my soon to be husband would be 21 in September of the same year. My brothers were beginning to wonder if I would ever marry. I thought I was actually too young to marry. Looking back we knew nothing but hard work, so work we did. We worked all the time. I worked at a bank and around the house, he worked retail and around the house. We sometimes worked until 1 or 2 AM in the morning. We did that for years. Work paid off. We bought our first home and then we bought our second home. We both changed jobs over the years and began our family. We had hard times like everyone else. We just worked our problems out with God and one another, and those God brought in to our lives to help us. We are grateful for all the help and wisdom shared.

With so many people getting a divorce today, I wanted to share this picture. Could it be that what we do in our marriage makes a difference in generations to come? Does staying together in marriage give your children an edge at staying married? I think so. I came from a divorced family, as did all my brothers. However, we have all stayed married. For us, it has been really tough at times. We have had great trails and loses. We have had a house fire and lost our first born, after having her for a short sixteen days. Things that could have torn us apart, actually brought us closer together. The biggest difference however, has been the God we serve, the Book we live our lives out of, and the people we choose to be a part of our lives.

The three biggest decisions in your life will be, the God you serve, the person you marry and where you choose to live which will determine where you work. Running close behind is the friends you keep, and the decisions you make concerning how you will raise your children or even if you will have any.

I hope this information will help you make some great decisions. I pray that if your reading this you will consider the decisions you are making today. Marriage is not easy. God designed marriage and the family, and doing it His way, is really the only way it will work.

ACTION STEP: If you plan to marry get pre-marital counseling. Pick a mentor couple to do life with. If you don't know Jesus get that relationship right first, or no other relationship will ever be totally right. Read the Bible and find out what marriage is and what it is not. What is your role? Roles are spelled out in the Bible. A Biblical marriage is one where the man is the head and loves his wife as much as Christ loved his church, and gave His life for her. Women are to honor the man as they honor their father, and Father God. Do it God's way, and you can lead the way for others to do the same.