Integrity

I heard a story on the radio yesterday…

Seems there was this young man that had been corresponding by mail or computer (not sure which – I caught the story somewhere in the middle) with this woman, Holly, for several months. Anyway, the time had come for this couple to finally meet. The man was extremely excited because he and Holly had a lot in common and had developed a deep friendship with each other.
Since they had never seen each other and had no idea what the other person looked like, they agreed on a plan as to how to recognize each other. He would be carrying his favorite book and she would have a red rose pinned to her lapel. With that in order, he went to the train station the morning of their meeting and waited for her train to arrive.

As he watched the trains come and go, he thought about all the possibilities of this meeting. Finally the train came and he watched the passengers debark. A beautiful woman exited the train, in a lovely green dress and she walked directly to him. Their eyes locked. He felt the spark between them immediately. She whispered, “Hey soldier, up for a good time?” When he realized there was no red rose on her lapel he was devastated.

She continued walking. He turned and watched her go, thinking to himself that he could follow her. He knew that he and Holly had the foundation for a wonderful friendship but he didn’t know if it would develop into anything else. Here was a vibrant woman wanting to go out with him. But he knew in his heart that Holly would also be devastated if she got off the train and he wasn’t there waiting for her. So, he waited.

The last passenger off the train was a woman, with a red rose in her lapel, about 30 years older than he was. He walked up to her and offered his hand. “Hi, Holly, it’s great to finally meet you.” She replied, “I’m not sure what’s going on, son. But a young girl in a green dress gave me this rose and said if you came up to me to tell you this was a test of sorts and for you to meet her across the street at the diner.”

Integrity - adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

What a great story!

The Sun Rising

It takes my breath away
The sun rising
He gave the light to day
Because of His love

(And) it takes my breath away
The Son rising
Because it reveals
The depth of His love

I can face tomorrow
With His hand to guide me
(Because) it takes my breath away
His redeeming love



Photo - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Phoenix_sunrise.jpg

Rural Route 2

When I was little, we had a mail lady that delivered the mail to the little blue box at the end of our yard everyday about 1:30pm. I’d run outside and grab the mail from our box to see if anything was for me. All our envelopes in that box at that time were addressed to RR2 Box 79. It wasn’t until I was probably 16 or 17 that we actually had a true street address.

Anyway, when I was young, I would look though the TV Guide and other various magazines for offers of free stuff/samples to be sent to our home. I’d sign up for everything (like free stamp collections, etc) because I wanted to have mail specifically addressed to me come in that blue mailbox. (Thankfully, my mom never discouraged me from doing this.) It made me feel important to get something in that box. A lot of people, at least three by my calculations, had to be THINKING about ME during each packages travels. First of all, someone had to write my name on the packing slips. Secondly, someone had to place the envelopes in the bag at the post office. Lastly, the mail lady had to carry it all the way to our house to give it to me. I would imagine that she was thinking about me throughout her whole route those days and how excited I was going to be to get my package. In reality she probably wasn’t even aware I had anything in her car until she got to our house.

When my son became old enough to realize what mail was, I was determined to make sure that I sent him mail occasionally. Same holds true for my granddaughter. Plus, my mom bought my granddaughter a subscription to a wonderful animal magazine that she receives at our house. I honestly believe it has helped promote her self esteem. Her eyes light up anytime she receives mail! There are so many small things we can do in life to show children that we care about them… to show them that they are important to us.

My husband and I just spent the weekend at a family camp this weekend with our granddaughter. Both her parents were scheduled to work and it was important to us that she still be able to attend. The moments we shared on this trip are priceless to me. But the important thing is - I know with every ounce of my being - I can show my granddaughter that she is precious and important to me (and God) whether we are at a family camp, at our mailbox or just sitting in our living room. And I think that is extremely important in every child’s life.


Photo - www.coblemetalworks.com/

Thought for today…..

Butterfly ~ fights to survive and after a painful transition, becomes more beautiful and vibrant than ever. Learn from pain and come back even better!

The Knots Prayer

Dear God,
Please unite the knots in my mind,
my heart and my life.
Remove the have nots,
the can nots and the do nots
that I have in my mind.

Erase the will nots
may nots and
might nots that may
find a home in my heart.

Release me from the could nots,
would not and should nots,
that obstruct my life.

And most of all,
Dear God,
I ask that you remove from my mind,
my heart and my life all of the "am nots"
that I have allowed to hold me back.
Especially the thought that I am not
good enough.

Author Unknown


Thanks Moma for forwarding this to me! I love you!

This is an amazing testimony….

Life is not the amount of Breaths you Take. It's the Moments that Take your Breath Away. ~ Alex Hitchins (aka Hitch)


Mine include:

the birth of my son
the death of my grandmother
the first time i saw my granddaughter
the first time my husband told me i was beautiful
my baptism
the day my sister and i made a scrapbook for my mother

Take some time to cherish your moments....

Conversions

There’s a story in the Bible about a “conversion” of a man called Saul (New Testament not Old). Saul was an angry man and an extreme persecutor of Christians. One day he was traveling to Damascus. He was going there to arrest any Christians that were there in the synagogues. On route, a bright light suddenly shone down from Heaven on Saul and he fell to the ground. In a loud voice, Jesus confronted him saying, “Saul, why do you persecute me?” Then, Jesus instructed him to continue on his way to Damascus. He told him that once he arrived in Damascus, he would be told what to do. When Saul got up, he was blind! He remained blind for three days. That whole time he didn’t have anything to eat or drink. He even had to be lead by the hand into the city. In the meanwhile, God told a man named Ananias (in a dream) that he should go see Saul. Ananias found Saul and healed him. Then, he told him to be baptized to wash away his sins. After this, Saul truly repented for the things he had done in his life. He began to live for Christ! He even went as far as changing his name to Paul, and spent the rest of his life teaching people about Jesus. (He ultimately encouraged all followers of Christ to think correctly about themselves -Romans 12:3, to think correctly about other believers-Romans 12:4-5, and to think correctly about spiritual gifts-Romans 12:6-8.*) Paul, the apostle, who at one time was an extreme persecutor of Christians, suffered many persecutions himself.

When I read this story about Paul, I often reflect on my baptism (my 2nd) in January 2000. I had gone through so much with my disease, especially in 1999, that with my baptism I felt like a different person.

Then, in 2009, I received notification of my 25th High School Reunion. I did NOT want to attend! I was NOT the same person I was in high school. Not only did I go through the normal high school rebellions – but I started noticing the beginnings of my Bi Polar illness around the same time puberty started. As a result, I did a lot of stupid, stupid things in high school. I felt so much confusion during those years. I can honestly say I even had a hatred for myself. I wanted so much to just disappear. Many times I thought about suicide but I was afraid….afraid of death, afraid of dying, afraid of not succeeding – so many things. Anyway, because of all the things I wanted to forget about high school, I just couldn’t face my former classmates at that reunion.

And then a funny thing happened…. I joined Facebook (a social network on the internet). It amazed me how many people from high school contacted me and wanted to be “friends” with me. They didn’t remember me the way I remembered me! One person even sent me a private message saying that I made a difference in their life in high school. I couldn’t imagine how that could possibly be. I can’t say that I began to wish I had gone to the reunion – that would be a lie. But I am glad for the circle of friends that I have allowed back into my life – or should I say that has allowed me back into their lives. And I thank God nearly every day for “My Conversion” from that scared little girl in high school.

* How a Renewed Mind Thinks Part 1 - Insight for Living with Chuck Swindoll - Wednesday, Aug 25, 2010 Romans 12: 3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[a]faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.