Faith, Folklore, and Friends

She had beautiful feet. Her lot in life was simple. She embraced it, gave it all she had. A farm wife who never had a real "job", who never earned any money of her own. Her house was unadorned, basic furnishing made by her man. Her floors, always clean, were covered with the cheap linoleum that drummers brought once a year. Her house was filled with laughter, comfort. One always felt welcome entering there, gratified. Ratty-haired little children who came to her house were offered kindness and gentleness, something they rarely saw. She told them about the Lord, that He loved them, that they were important to Him. Some of the seeds she sowed fell away, were lost. Others struggled with the knowledge. Some fell in love with the Lord and served Him with all their heart, reproducing from the seed she had sown many years before. No make-up, her gray hair always in a bun, a tad overweight. She would not have been picked out of the crowd for her physical beauty. As she aged, her legs...

The eagle, our American symbol, is the embodiment of strength, beauty, and freedom. It is said the eagle was used as a national emblem because, at one of the first battles of the Revolution (which occurred early in the morning) the noise of the struggle awoke the sleeping eagles on the heights and they flew from their nests and circled about over the heads of the fighting men, all the while giving vent to their raucous cries. "They are shrieking for Freedom," said the patriots. Thus the eagle, full of the boundless spirit of freedom, living above the valleys, strong and powerful in his might, has become the national emblem of a country that offers freedom in word and thought and an opportunity for a full and free expansion into the boundless space of the future. --Maude M. Grant Deuteronomy 32:11 compares God to a mother eagle, which "stirs up her nest, hovers over her young, that spreads its wings to catch them." When God sees we are mature enough to fly, he pushes...

We are covered with blessings, undeserved, gifts from our Father. 76. Exciting news 77. Shelter from the storms 78. Safe trips 79. Lower electric bills 80. Birthdays when a little girl turns four 81. Sharing food with friends 82. Writing in the sky 83. Beauty after life is done 84. Soothing music 85. Honey 86. Strength 87. Roots that go deep 88. Getting a long job completed 89. Laughter 90. Popcorn 91. Walking in leaves 92. Still waters 93. Prayer 94. Promises 95. Sharing lazy Sunday afternoons 96. Wood for the fireplace 97. Black walnuts 98. Old things made new 99. Extended family 100. Another new morning O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you. Psalm 89:8

Nobody's perfect. We believe it in our hearts, not our minds. We waste precious time trying to prove we are, trying to meet the standards of others. We feel guilty if we're not perfect. Guilt imposed by society, not God. God doesn't overwhelm us, His burden is light. Those extra loads on our shoulders are from trying to please the world, not God. Somewhere along the way, we have become frightfully confused, our eyes scaled by life's noise. We are worn out trying to please our families, our bosses, our leaders, our community. All of us have work to do, tasks given according to our abilities. It should be done with enthusiasm, with joy and thankfulness. We are NOT required to do what God has assigned to others. Would the mountains fall if you turned your cell phone off? Would the world stop spinning if you took a few minutes to sit alone, and just listen? Would the course of human events be forever altered if you said, "No, thank you very ...

Golden roots. Stored energy from vines that tumble off their hills, form mats of green over clay. Sustainer of life for countless generations of people. Eaten raw for mega-doses of beta-carotine. Baked on coals from winter's fireplace for a bedtime snack. Fried to golden nuggets in sugar-laced fat. Bushels that turn into new shoes and Christmas presents. A lowly tuber that has its own day in many US towns. Talking about a vegetable so freaking good it can be made into a pie! Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. Genesis 1:11

Your actions are shouting so loud, I can’t hear what you’re saying. This poster hangs on my classroom wall. The words leap off to the young teachers who come to this place, training to change the world. They study weather, space, the oceans, rocks. They study authority, truthfulness, fairness. Always absorbing, always imitating. WE.ARE.ALL.TEACHERS! For good or bad, a teacher's influence never ends. We have to be diligent, strong. We have to remember. Omnipresent eyes are on us. Oh, be careful little eyes, what you see, Oh, be careful little eyes, what you see, For the Father up above, Is looking down in love, So be careful little eyes what you see. A civilized, moral society is structured by rules, boundaries. There is a time to say no, a time to set limits, if we love enough. Everything is not okay. Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. Psalm 128:1-2

Gratitude for blessings I probably don't deserve: 51. God's artistry in an autumn sky 52. Driving through the countryside 53. Old friends 54. Hands that make music 55. People who can be depended on. 56. Snuggling against Hub's warm back. 57. Gates 58. My good pastor 59. Healing 60. Good memories that make me laugh 61. Good memories that make me cry 62. Good memories that teach, convict 63. Making cinnamon rolls 64. The way my house smells when I bake 65. Seeing beauty in unexpected places 66. Getting letters 67. The continuity of life 68. Family traditions 69. People who continue to work after its okay to stop 70. Acorns 71. The invention of the printing press 72. Martin Luther 73. Parking places 74. Jo Ann 75. Symmetry Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, you who have done great things. Who, O God, is like you? Psalm 71:19

W e waited as the darkness of winter relented. We waited longing for leaves, for warm nights sleeping with the window open, insect songs and the smell of honeysuckle. We cleaned debris from the deck, envisioning friends in lounge chairs, sipping iced tea. We cleaned perennial beds, searching for green. We stacked the leftover firewood, winter's detritus in a dustpan swept up like the icy wind. Summer was born, a painful birth with pangs of thunder. When summer was new, we went for walks, caught fireflies, cranked up the grill. As she grew, with heat and humidity, we ran to hide in air-conditioned rooms, and we forgot. Then, while we weren't looking, summer leaked through our lives like water through our hands. Now its dead, ended, not a trace remaining. The block party, the week-end trips, Saturday afternoon cook-outs. Horseshoe games in the backyard, building a water fountain, transplanting vines. All the things we meant to do that are not going to happen this year. God grant...

The Gratitude Community is a reminder to be forever thankful. The site will link you to others who are sharing their lists. This week, I am especially thankful for: 26. Good coffee beans 27. Candles 28. Sleeping on sheets that smell like October 29. Fall weekends 30. Hearing 31. Crock pots 32. The smell of supper greeting me at the door after work 33. Order 34. Blank paper 35. Surprises in the mailbox 36. Leather shoes 37. Young voices calling to say goodnight 38. Sherlock 39. Yellow leaves on the deck 40. Things that stay the same 41. Things that change 42. Airplanes 43. Huckleberry bushes 44. Sweet students 45. Charlotte 46. Storm doors that let the light in 47. Hymns 48. Wildflowers 49. Buzzards 50. A bountiful crop of peppers Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8

Celebrate today with Brugmansia arborea . This Angel Trumpet grows in the back yard, a beautiful toxic plant that struts her stuff in autumn. And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. Matthew 6: 28-29

Just because you have seen something doesn't mean you understand it. Maria blows the stars around, and sends the clouds a'flying. Maria makes the mountains sound like folks were up there dying . From the Paint Your Wagon soundtrack; They call the Wind Maria . The wind is blowing tonight, blustery at times as a cold front pushes in. It rushes past my bedroom window, and I wonder where its going, where its been. Did this gust that scatters yellow over the deck begin small, a whisper that soothed another? It may have been born much colder, growing gentle as it mingled with warm counterparts that had spent the day racing over the Gulf, giving rides to sea gulls, sprinkling sand on tanned bodies. The soft wind that gently supports the wings of a butterfly in Africa can travel across the Atlantic, feeding as it goes, then push ocean waters over entire cities, entire communities, entire lives, before it loses its energy. The same wind that is harnessed for electricity can be the refre...

It was a big gamble. In 1902, debt-ridden Alexander Kerr borrowed money to buy a patent on a glass vacuum jar that could be sealed at home. A San Francisco glass works company believed his dream, and four years later, the business was thriving. When the 1906 earthquake devastated most of San Francisco, Kerr was informed that his factory, in the heart of the conflagration,had undoubtedly been destroyed. When the fires died, the Kerr factory was found intact within the smoldering ashes, not one glass jar broken. The two-piece canning lid, invented in the Kerr kitchen in 1915, increased their business explosively. It is still being used today. When Alexander died in 1925, Ruth took over, managing the successful company in comfortable shoes and the Bible on her desk. The Kerr's business motto: Every time Kerr makes a dollar, God gets a dime . It works. "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almight...

Its in the news. Astronomers excited about seeing for the first time many earth-like planets in the solar system. Twenty-first century technology allowing a peep into the heavens; images that Galileo and Copernicus couldn't fathom. An Austrian astronomer recently estimated the number of stars to be approximately 70 sextillion. 70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. More than the grains of sand on Planet Earth. They have been there since the fourth day. They have been in their place, waiting, serving their purpose. Twinkle, twinkle little star. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1

The morning sun lightens the eastern sky; it peeps above the horizon. Its a new day. Showers running, breakfast clatter, phones ringing, traffic outside increasing. Lost shoes, television blaring, did you sign the permission form? Noise pollution inside, outside. Our bombarded brains scream. Priorities set by popular culture, we are controlled by clocks, datebooks, deadlines. Seeking to satisfy standards we don't set or understand, we can't spare time for what's really important in our own lives, terrified we will lose our spot on the merry-go- round. The best things in life are neglected while we scurry to make more money to buy more stuff to impress more people that we don't even know. Stop. Be still. Our life here is short, too short to be spent foolishly. We pray for direction, but can't hear when He answers through our shroud of commotion. Calm. Down. Listen. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth...

It's a big, scary world out there. Twenty-four hours a day, multimedia saturates with information. Some useless, some just plain silly, the majority unwelcome. News of terrorism, wars, natural disasters, impending epidemics, fuel prices, abuse, unemployment--it never ends. Christians are promised that we will never left alone or unattended. Legions of angels hover about, guiding, clearing the road ahead. Not scared of the darkness or what lies waiting, they are in complete control, obeying orders sent from the throne. Mighty warriors of God gently hold us in their hands, moving us out of harm's way. Clothed with power too wonderful for earthy eyes, they comform to recognizable images: the kind man with salt-and-pepper hair wearing a black turtleneck, the grizzled old man in a battered Ford who gets you to the airport on time, the homeless unkept there at just the right time. We are told of accidents where trees were missed by mere inches, where a young father was ...