maineroadie's Revelife

Happy Birthday Sweetheart

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:43:45 GMT

Right where I always want to be!

Love always to my sweetie!

What a Friend We Have . . .

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:56:54 GMT

. . . In Jesus! And if we really love Him, He will bless us with other friends as well; real friends, loving friends, special friends.

A very special friend of mine reminded me that I need to watch my words. You know, going on about that tree like that, some people might think that I am a tree hugger! They might look for bark on my shirt, or green smears on my fingers. Perhaps they may think that this little tree is my way of getting close to my mother (nature). Some might even think that I am either very kinky, or perhaps I just don't have many "real" friends.

But I do have friends; some very special friends. I don't "luv" that tree, I love the One who made it. I don't "luv" my male friends, and I don't "luv" my female friends. I love the One who designed them and created them to be just the people that they are. If you don't love the One who breathed life into them, then you can't love your friends freely, in a way that respects them and gives them room to be who they are.

Funny, as I write this, I remember things that were said about those that love Christ: you love a dead man, your not man (or woman) enough to stand on your own, it's just a myth, you're a nut case.

Thanks for reminding me, M., not that I should watch my words, but for reminding me what real friends are. I'll take your friendship any day.

The Tree (continued)

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:11:08 GMT

OK, so you ask, what is so special about this tree? I mean it’s not that beautiful, a little scarred up, and it certainly doesn’t provide a lot of shade.

It is the lessons; life lessons. It has to do with people; how they grow and how we interact.

This tree was bought, as we were all bought. A price was paid for us as certainly as I paid for this tree. A fantastic price and we are given all we need to live.

This tree was slow growing. I could have become inpatient. I could have pulled it out and checked to see what was wrong with it, but I would have unwittingly killed it. “Unwittingly?” Everyone knows that if you disturb a plant by pulling it up you may kill it. True and did you know that if we keep judging the faith of young Christians, we may kill their spirit? Sometimes we just need faith in our Father to have His way, with the trees and with young Christians. There is some growth that we will never see. Only the Father, who knows all things, sees.

This tree had awkward branches. They looked unsightly, but I let them stay until the tree had grown past them and I was able to remove them without harming the tree. And young Christians may have “awkward” habits, but it is not up to older Christians to demand changes. They too will grow and those “awkward” habits will be removed by their elder Brother, and there will be no harm.

This tree had a deep scar. It had to be treated and protected. It took years for the healing. There are some young Christians who have deep scars, and some of them we will never fully understand, but they need our love. 1 Corinthians 13:7 says, love bears all things (KJV); always protects (NIV) and this is where we apply that. We don’t need to know all of the facets of their scarring, but we need to protect them from further injury, and it can takes years of loving.

I enjoy this tree, but its life has been a struggle. I love young Christians, but their lives do not always go so smoothly. Thankfully, I don’t have to know all of the details, for I am free to just love . . . the way I am loved.

The Tree

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 16:53:28 GMT

In my yard are several trees. Pine, three kinds of oaks, two kinds of maple, and a few other various kinds. I am glad for all of them for they bring enjoyment and they bring great lessons. I have seen trees that try to dominate other trees by spreading their branches over the smaller trees and blocking the sun from them, and I have seen trees that humbly wait and absorb reflected light.

One maple, although not particularly a beautiful tree, has revealed to me some special secrets to encouraging and helping others. This tree was bought and placed into a hole in the ground by my driveway. It was barely four feet tall. My feelings weren’t for what it was, but for what I hoped it would be. It had one branch that kind of turned down at an awkward angle, but I knew it would grow. But it was very slow to grow. The oak across from it also got a slow start, but then it just seemed to take off on its own.

Maples, at least my maples, are slow to shoot out the leaves in the spring, and then at the first signs of cooling temperatures in the fall they begin to change and then drop their leaves. That means that their growth season is a little shorter than other trees.

And then there was the winter that it was hit by a snow plow; scraped up the side of its trunk, a gaping wound. I had to spray the cut each spring for five or six years until it healed back. Bugs and bacteria just seem to love an open wound. Trunk wounds mean that there is a decrease in the amount of growth that is possible as well, but over the six years the tree continued in its slow growth and finally reached about eight feet in height. I trimmed the tree and even anchored it for a while to help it grow straight.

Now the tree is about fifteen feet tall and it is filling out rather nicely. It isn’t majestic like an oak, but it is doing its part to shade the yard. Some day it may be thirty or forty feet tall, but that will just be a part of the plan.

To be continued . . .

De-Sync!

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:29:31 GMT

Summertime! It was always a time to kick back and relax and just kind of let the world go by. I used to lay on my back in the grass and just watch the clouds moving. It was a time to get out of sync with the rest of the year.

Those times don't come the way they used to. The world just has a way of moving-in to every corner of our lives, usurping every calm moment, suddenly demanding action whenever peace seems to be approaching.

What is the news today? Don't you know! Where have you been? You don't like world news? What about Hollywood news? Maybe you like sports news! Whatever, it absorbs us, as we absorb it. Sometimes "it" is our work; a never ending line of requests, demands, and deadlines. So hard to break free.

It's time to De-Sync. Get into a different time zone; change the clock altogether! What, and watch the clouds go by? Yes, that is one thing that you could do.

I learned a lot under the clouds. There are great things going on around me that I never even see, because I am not looking up. As I look up, my mind becomes open to think with a new, enhanced perspective. I become aware of how small and insignificant I am in the universe. I have a need to understand the One who set all of these things in motion.

You may think it was just time wasted, but there are few things that I remember as clearly as those days as a child, watching the clouds float by.

Hint: Feel really small; lay back and look up at the stars!

DIS-sing!

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:58:01 GMT

There seems to be a general failure of the culture, or perhaps the culture would DISagree with me on that. This whole idea of DISsing others, whether that means DISmiss or DISrespect, just brings about a whole lot of DIScord. I mean if everyone DISses everyone else, where is the acceptance and the respect for anyone. It throws the whole culture into DISarray.

Now this may not be much of a DISaster to you, but it is to me because I rather like respectably communicating with others. I find it DIScomforting when others are so DISsolved in their own little worlds, that they are unable DISsociate themselves.

I cannot DIScount the fact that some people like that scenario, but it seems that their attention is DISplaced when it is all within themselves.

Perhaps a DIScussion would help, if I could get them to talk. Then, maybe I could DISsuade them from locking others out. But then they might DISdain me for the interruption, or even think that I am DISingenuous. What a DISmal thought!

Whatever; I am DISsatisfied with the answers that I am coming up with. I am starting to become DISillusioned with trying to find hope in this fruitless DISplay of random thoughts.

Oh well, such is life when we DISregard others. I hope that your thoughts are not DISparaging.

Philippians 2:3

Do You Believe?

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:28:05 GMT

It has been quite a day, today. Deep soul-searching (for me) as I shared with my Bible study group about the miracles of the first Passover. It was incredible, the shaping of the Egyptian attitudes, the preparation of the Israelite people, the leadership of Moses - passing all of this information down to 600,000 families, establishing the plan/method/protocol for the celebration of Passover. Every detail perfect, this was the standard and every celebration to follow was to be a copy based on this first instance. I was overwhelmed by the power of a loving God.

And then, tonight, I watched a video; www.heartcrymissionary.com/resources/video/175 You can watch it if you are not timid about serving Christ. It is long and it will grab you in a way that many Christians have not been grabbed before, but if you really believe that Christ is who He said He is, you must see the whole video.

From the Passover lamb that was set apart on the 10th day of that first month so long ago, to the sacrificial Lamb of God that was set apart on the 10th day of the same month, during His "triumphal entry" into Jerusalem, an incredible story of Love!

Flowers from My Daughter

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:13:46 GMT

Extravagant beauty, fresh from my daughter Leigh Anne. Fresh from the plants that she gave to us. The ones that she gave to us before she left for school more than 10 years ago, and the one that she gave to us on a recent visit. How precious. How thoughtful.

Every year, as the bearded iris's bloom, I am reminded of the love that my daughter has for her mom and dad. It is usually between the times that we visit that they bloom, as if to bring back the memory. When I see the flowers, I think of her. When there is an especially good year for the flowers, I think of her. When the flowers wither, I think of her. Just seeing the bulbs in the winter, I think of her.

I guess it really doesn't matter what season it is, or what state the flower bed is in, even under a foot of snow, when I can't see the flowers or bulbs, I still think of her.

I want to be like those silly flowers. Whenever you see me, I want you to think of the One who saves me, the One who loves me, the One who lifts me up. In my good years, I want you to see Jesus. In my bad years, I want you to see Jesus. Even when I seem to fade from view, I want you to see Jesus. I want you to see that all that I am is because of Him, that when I am "not much" He still loves me, that whether I am perfect or flawed He still loves me, and He loves you the same.

If I can be anything at all in my life, let me be a fragrance of the love of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Passing by:

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:54:57 GMT

I chose this background because of the bridge; the idea of all those people living on one side and working on the other, passing by people that work on the one side and live on the other. The thought always facinated me, why don't they trade homes, or even jobs. What gain do they have for living on one side and working on the other? Better wages? But what about the lost time, the sacrificed time with the family?

I have had a couple of jobs that required a long commute (more than 20 miles is long to me) and it was painful. When I changed jobs, at what might be considered "mid-life" I determined that I was not going to have a long drive every day. I was advised that I had to commute in order to find a "good paying job," but I determined to find something close by. It was a sacrifice, but I was not willing to make the alternate sacrifice; extra time away from my kids was not an option. So I waited. It was not easy finding any job, but it was really challenging to find a job (any job) in a small town, when you are over 40 and unemployed.

But still, I was more fortunate than most; finding a job in three months. It just seemed like a long summer.

I am glad I don't commute across that (or any) bridge. It was my choice, and I was blessed.