Temporary Assignment

There's a lot going on in my life right now. For someone who doesn't have a real job, you might find that hard to believe. But, the things that are on my heart are my real job. I take my tasks of the heart very seriously.

I have to say that the Upperroom took me back to Paul's letters to Corinth. In his second letter, I especially am fond of chapter 4. It always has so much to say. I love the comparison of God to the potter and of us to the soft clay. But, we can also be considered a bunch of cracked pots. If you read today's page, you'll know that it's not the outside of the pot, but what is held on the inside that is the key. I hope each of us remembers that when dealing with others. God loves each of his cracked and imperfect pots, let us do likewise.

Further in this enlightening chapter, we are reminded that we are in a temporary situation. That's hard to grasp, but as a believer, that's how we are to view our our current surroundings. All of our possessions, even our relationships pass through our lives for a reason, and they all may be gone in the blink of an eye. We should be ready to let go at any time. I want to do my best in my current temporary assignment, yet fix my eyes on the eternal, unseen home that lies ahead.

These little puppies are two weeks old today. I see a three ring circus in the weeks ahead. Have a great day, luv, Susan

Like an Ox Going to Slaughter

I wish I wasn't so opinionated, but I am. I've been praying for some eight years now for wisdom and guidance and I guess He's been showing me both regularly. It's hard not to have strong feelings about things. I said things. Today's upperroom took me to 1 Corinthians. I was especially drawn to verse 15 which states " The spiritual man makes judgments about all things...." . That's right, things, not people. We are to love all people, not judge. Remember, judge not.

Anyway, I am seeing in the news that Alex Rodriguez, A-Rod, as we know him, is having marital problems. Coincidentally, so is Madonna. Well, you probably know, by now, the story. I've always thought that Madonna's behavior was less than acceptable. I've actually enjoyed some of her songs, but her behavior, not my cup of tea.

When she started dressing more conservatively and writing children's books, I thought, that I wouldn't want her reading to or being a role model to any child that I knew.

Well, when I watched yesterday's Southland Hour, I was reminded of some of the verses in Proverbs that had struck me years ago. I wish someone would have sat A-Rod down and read Proverbs 7 to him. It's a shame what his family is now going through.

I've so enjoyed watching the birds coming to my finch feeders, that is until some critter decided to start munching nightly on the thistle seed. I've had two feeders disappear into the woods. One I found chewed up, the other is gone completely. How wonderful when I took my walk the other day and a neighbor, I had just met previously, had some things placed out by the road for free. I was absolutely delighted to see among the cabinets and fluorescent light bulbs, a perfectly good finch feeder, much nicer than any I had ever purchased. Thank you God. You always give me just what I need.

What a beautiful day it's starting out to be, puppies are eleven days old today. Have a great day, luv, Susan

They'll Know We're Christians By Our LOVE

I've been waiting for Brad Paisley's newest music video and it's finally here. He never fails to disappoint with his work. He does aim to glorify God in all he does, I believe that. That's why I'm such a big fan.

Several weeks ago I watched the Southland Hour, it's the weekly televised Sunday worship service from Southland Christian Church (Sundays at noon on Channel 36). I tape it. Anyway, John Weece was actually showing old tv clips as part of his sermon on Innocence. He summed up our definition of innocence by whistling the theme to the Andy Griffith show. Yep, that's it, all in that little tune. Andy and Opie going fishing on a Sunday afternoon, after church, in Mayberry, that little hometown where we have our family and friends, and we know everyone and everyone knows us, a simpler time, a gentler time, a time of....innocence.

The Andy Griffith Show has always been a favorite of mine. I've heard they even do Bible studies based on the storylines of some of the episodes. Yep, I can see that. I always believed that Andy Griffith and Andy Taylor were pretty much all the same person, a wonderful Christian husband, father and friend.

Now, if you watch the new Brad Paisley music video, you'll see, who else(?), Andy Griffith sitting on a bench with Brad, waiting on a woman. Which just happens to be the name of the new music video, Waiting on a Woman. It's really sweet, guess you could say... innocent.

I don't want to preach to my family, my friends or even the people I come into contact with each and every day. I just want to show them I'm a Christian, by my love. Like Andy.......and Brad.

I tried to talk John Weece into going to see Brad Paisley when he was performing in Lexington last year. Mostly, I just recommend that everyone listens to Brad's songs and watches his videos. ( I might add that God does have a sense of humor, as we all should.)

Hope you read today's upperroom, have a great day, luv, Susan
Happy Rainy 4th!!!

Do Not Grow Weary of Doing Good

This has been a really good day for me so far. I was able to take a couple of walks, feed and observe lots of wildlife, call and talk to family members and mail pictures to a favorite great Aunt. I think I'm especially in a good mood cause of last night.

When I was little, my favorite show was The Rifleman. I loved Chuck Conners as Lucas McCain and his son, of course, was Mark. You can't imagine how exciting it was when Johnny Crawford (aka, Mark McCain) came to our town of Fort Worth, Texas to appear and perform at the local Tandy Leatherworks. The concert was outdoors in their parking lot. Johnny Crawford had become quite the heartthrob as a television star and gifted musician and singer as well. As a diehard fan of six years old, I was in heaven.

Well, let's fast forward some 46 years. As a recent resident of Georgetown, Kentucky I read in the Lexington paper that Johnny Crawford was going to be in a play in Danville. I asked my sister if it was something she'd like to attend, she was a fan as well. So, last night, we went with her husband to the pioneer playhouse and saw a really sweet play about family relations and saw my first "crush" perform as a character other than the son of the Rifleman. The play and all the actors were wonderful and I was enthralled with one performance in particular.

After the final bows, the ensemble lined up for greeting. Pam and I took an end run around the other actors and asked for a picture with Johnny. He was so sweet and even recollected the concert in Fort Worth. He said he remembered it as '62 and mentioned he still has a saddle that Tandy had presented to him that day. It was sweet sharing our memories of that day.

I hope you have a wonderful Fourth of July weekend. I hope to do some encouraging by mail, phone, whatever. As yesterdays upperroom mentioned, God uses us to do unique and significant tasks while here. I believe many of my tasks are small acts of kindness and encouragement....things I've enjoyed doing all my life. Have a great day......God Bless the USA!!! luv, Susan

Remember the Past, Trust Him with the Future

I hope you had a wonderful weekend prior to the beginning of this week. I know it's already Tuesday, so I better get going. I already lost a day getting caught up. I just experienced a truly awesome weekend visiting with my family including aunts, uncles and cousins. They helped enjoy the new puppies and we got to spend time together. I only get to see my extended family on special occasions. This was my uncle Jr. and aunt Shirley's 50th wedding anniversary celebration. We had a great time. Thanks Deb and Mike for bringing us all home to celebrate.

In addition to that, Mark travelled to Florida and spent a super great weekend with his four brothers celebrating his parent' 60th wedding anniversary and his dad's birthday. Geographical distances make their reunions few and far between as well. From seeing the pictures, they had a really memorable time as well.

Remembering back to the pasts of these two families, I'm reminded of turmoil and troubled times. Thankfully, God has worked His miracles and both these families are strong, united and grateful for all their many blessings. We've learned we can trust God with our futures when we look at our present blessings and feel secure in his loving arms with our futures. Thanks be to God for each and every one of our family members. Have a great day, luv, Susan ps, did you read your upperroom?

How?

I'm at a loss for words here. Being from Henderson, I'm just asking how could this happen in our town. From the accounts in the newspaper and on tv, I see that in addition to Henderson, the small towns of Sebree and Dixon were really devastated. Again, how cold this happen? I wish I had the answers....I don't.

I'm praying for understanding as I know that God is in charge. I know that through His time and our willingness to trust Him, this too will be an opportunity to glorify Him. But, how?

I see the hispanic community has been hit especially hard by this tragedy. I pray that the Henderson community will embrace this hurting group of people. I hope and pray their wonderful faith lifts them up and carries them through this.

Taffy is trying to have her puppies and we'll be travelling over the weekend. You have a great day, luv, Susan ps, from the promo on GMA this morning, I think I'll tune in to see that new summer doctor show tonight, it sure sounds inspiring.

THINK ABOUT IT

ALL I EVER REALLY NEEDED TO KNOW, I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN.

These words are at the top of a wonderful bookmark I've had for years. It's an essay by the Rev. Robert Fulghum. I think he also wrote a book by the same name. I believe the essay, which I've been told is also a poster, sums it up beautifully. I read this to my United Methodist Women's group last month and they were unfamiliar with it, but were greatly impressed with it's simple wisdom.

In the past almost two years, I've been honing in on the small sentence within this piece that states, "Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody." Did you learn this in kindergarten? Or maybe from your mom or dad, a sunday school teacher? Most of us seem to know it from our childhood, it is ingrained within us. It can be called common sense, common courtesy, it's so simple, just say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.

I've been paying attention to a man by the name of Randy Pausch. He caught my interest when he was first brought to public light as the professor dying of pancreatic cancer, who gave a last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University. I paid close attention to this man who is leaving the wisdom he's accumulated over his forty some years to his students in this one lecture. My ears perked up when he said it is so important to say you're sorry when you hurt someone, even if you didn't mean to hurt them, you still need to say it for their benefit and yours...wow.

Last month I read an article in the Lexington Herald that was headed Apologies Seem To Head Off Suits. A line in the article states that, "For decades, malpractice lawyers and insurers have counseled doctors and hospitals to 'deny and defend.' But now, some prominent medical centers are trying a disarming approach. By promptly disclosing errors and offering earnest apologies, they hope to restore integrity and make it easier to learn from mistakes and dilute the anger that often fuels lawsuits." Sounds like common sense to me.

Yesterdays Lexington Herald printed another article, on the front page, that was by Jim Warren, a local newspaper writer. It, too, is about the new policy that many hospitals have adopted, the seemingly simple concept that has become a model for many across the country. This policy includes apologizing and communicating. A statement from an involved attorney highlighted in bold print reads, "That felt good; that felt right; this is the way we're going to do it from now on." Sounds like what Randy Pausch said about benefitting after apologizing.

As a mother, babysitter, daycare provider, preschool teacher and finally, as a substitute teacher in the Henderson County School system, I always gently instructed a child to say he or she was sorry when another child was hurt. When they pleaded that they didn't know they hurt the child or it was an accident, I merely pointed out to them that this child was hurt because of something they did, intentional or not and it was their responsibility to apologize to the hurt child. In my recollection, the child always said they were sorry and the other child usually said that's okay. Children are beautiful like that.

Whenever a child was hurt on my watch, whether it was my fault, or not, I always felt terrible pangs of guilt because I was responsible for the child's safety. Of course, I always apologized when explaining to the parent how the child was hurt and exactly how it happened. The parents' response was always, "we understand, thank you for telling us what happened". One dad was extremely unhappy when a child bit his little girl, but I understood his anger. The general consensus was always forgiveness for me.

Now, my point. I was told that no one in the Henderson County School system apologized to the Owens family when Ryan Owens collapsed on the school football practice field in July of 2006. He later died. You can only imagine the pain the family has endured these past almost two years.

I believe if the coaches and school representatives had sat down with the family and sincerely apologized and communicated with the family every detail of what happened there would be no lawsuit. I believe through continued communication and public awareness this terrible incident could have prevented further deaths related to sports in this "win at all cost" atmosphere that is prevalent in high school sports. That's just my opinion, finally got it off my chest.....whew.

Have a great day, luv, Susan