Kids can be downright brats. I've known many such kids over the years. There have been times when I wondered how in the world a parent could let a child "act like that" in public. (Wal-Mart, my other home, comes to mind first.)
You may think this blog post is about bratty kids. It's not. It's about mercy. I have received more than my share of mercy in my life. Much more. Here are two accounts of times when I most assuredly should have been punished but was shown mercy. Both times said mercy was extended by my precious mother, now in Heaven for 27 years.
Once when I was about six or so, Daddy decided it was time to add the bathroom to his old home place to which we had moved upon leaving our home near Atlanta. Yes, THE bathroom. The only bathroom it ever had. Decision made, Mother and Daddy asked someone they knew that was qualified to install the new loo, and he came over one day to discuss the particulars. He brought his little boy with him. His little boy was my age. His little boy was in my class at school. I was the only kid on Briscoe Hill. Do you know what it does to a kid who is the only kid in the area when a kid...a kid from school...comes over for the first (and only) time? A kid like me has to show out a little because she doesn't know anything else to do. So when I was to put the glass milk bottle out (yes, we had a milkman who actually brought milk to our house in glass bottles!) my mother said, "Don't throw it. It'll break." Of course, I knew more than she did and gave it a toss into the grass.
Upon hearing the tinkling of breaking glass, I knew all too well what had occurred, was mortified, and ran into the house. I think I was even crying. The boy from my class was sitting on the porch watching as I totally disobeyed my mother AND made myself look foolish. My mother followed me into the house and found me sobbing. Instead of the thrashing that I probably expected, she came near and put her arm around me. She probably hugged me to herself and told me it was okay until I quit crying. I don't remember what happened after that. I guess I was too much in awe of her kindness to remember or even care.
The second time was several years later when my cousin and her parents were coming to visit. She is about my age and we played together well, so I was excited. We only had the opportunity to get together a few times a year and when we did, it was always fun. But wouldn't you know it, something came up and they couldn't come. I found out just about time we were sitting down to supper with my brother and his family. I was pouting and acting up (again) and my brother, who was sitting across the table from me, thought it necessary to mock me. (Don't ever mock a kid who has been sorely disappointed. I've already said I was the only kid on Briscoe Hill, so pulling the rug out from under a promised visit from another kid was serious.) I simply HAD to get back at him, so I scooped up some mashed potatoes from my plate, pulled back the spoon, and catapulted the thick, sticky goop across the table and planted it firmly upon his bare forehead. What was that voice? My conscience. "June, you are dead where you sit." Again, when I expected my mother to launch herself across the table at me, she just dished out the mercy. Looking back (and being a mother of two myself) she probably was thinking to herself, "Good for you. He deserved it." After all, he's seventeen years older than I am. He should have known better.
My mother taught me a lot about parenting, just by her excellent example. I don't mean to mislead you...I got plenty of punishment for plenty of misbehaviors. However, my mother was a very loving and discerning person and balanced life very well. I suppose there are three kinds of mothers in the world: those who beat their children for the least infraction of the rules; those who have no rules and therefore never punish a kid for breaking them because they don't exist; and those like my mother who weigh the circumstances at hand before acting. I wish all the brats in the world had mothers with as much love and mercy as the one I had.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Life Ain't Fair
If you stand in my kitchen and the door into the dining room is open, you can look through and see a huge portrait of my husband, the only child of his parents. And you will see it. You can't miss it. Although a bit large, it's a lovely thing, painted by Leon Loard when hubby was finishing up high school around 1970 and secured in a lovely golden frame worthy of a delicacy you might bid on at a Sotheby's auction. Remember, I told you he was an only child. His parents definitely doted on him. He was their world. Somehow, though, he escaped that "only-child-is-a-hellion" reputation. Thankfully.
As I said, standing in the kitchen and peering through you will see the portrait. Immediately. And over the years, many have done exactly that, invariably commenting, "That's a lovely picture of your son," to which I gleefully reply, "That's not my son. That's my husband." I guess I might expect that assumption of adults who have seen both men. What I didn't expect was the innocence of a child.
Yesterday being a Friday, we had both grandchildren at our house and at one point in the day, the granddaughter says, "Yay." I turned to see what she was talking about (she's two...we turn to see what she's talking about a LOT) and saw that she was pointing into the dining room. "Yay," she repeated. I looked up to see the portrait of my husband.
"No, honey, that's not Uncle Jay. That's Pop," I smiled. She gave it another look and asked, "Where's JuJu?" I was incredibly touched by her thoughtfulness but answered honestly, "Oh, honey. My parents didn't have that kind of money," knowing that she wouldn't understand that at all. She gave it another look then turned back to her playthings.
You could almost hear her little inner voice saying, "The other kids are right. Life ain't fair."
As I said, standing in the kitchen and peering through you will see the portrait. Immediately. And over the years, many have done exactly that, invariably commenting, "That's a lovely picture of your son," to which I gleefully reply, "That's not my son. That's my husband." I guess I might expect that assumption of adults who have seen both men. What I didn't expect was the innocence of a child.
Yesterday being a Friday, we had both grandchildren at our house and at one point in the day, the granddaughter says, "Yay." I turned to see what she was talking about (she's two...we turn to see what she's talking about a LOT) and saw that she was pointing into the dining room. "Yay," she repeated. I looked up to see the portrait of my husband.
"No, honey, that's not Uncle Jay. That's Pop," I smiled. She gave it another look and asked, "Where's JuJu?" I was incredibly touched by her thoughtfulness but answered honestly, "Oh, honey. My parents didn't have that kind of money," knowing that she wouldn't understand that at all. She gave it another look then turned back to her playthings.
You could almost hear her little inner voice saying, "The other kids are right. Life ain't fair."
Older Isn't Necessarily Bigger
Hubby and I have the gigantic privilege of having our two grandchildren over to our house every Friday for a play day, and it warms our hearts to have all that preciousness in our home. They are sweet little things. Little things that I'll refer to as Thing One and Thing Two. You know, sort of change the names to protect the innocent. Thing One, our grandson, is five years old and his little sister, Thing Two, is...well...two. You can imagine the joy, tears, power struggles, pandemonium, laughter, funny conversations and weariness that ensue. Yesterday was no different. Especially at nap time.
Thing One and I nap in the guest room with Thing Two in the portable baby bed beside us. (What's that? Of course I take a nap with them!) Yesterday as we were settling in for our afternoon siesta, Thing One and I were talking, as we usually do, when the conversation turned to bones. Thing One asked if cats have bones. Yes, cats have bones. Do I have a bone in my leg? Yes, you do. See? Then I proceeded to show him how to feel the bones in one's body. Do Angry Birds have bones? No. Angry Birds are not real. Are teeth bones? Yes, teeth are sorta like bones. (By now Thing Two is blissfully sucking her pacifier and dreaming of Disney princesses.) Deciding to seize the moment, I began to wax educational and told him that milk and cheese are good for building strong, healthy bones. Thing One is no lover of such dairy products. I know this. With slightly wrinkled nose he said, "I don't drink too much milk," to which I replied, "Maybe you should." He thought for just a second and promised, "When I'm twenty I will." Picturing him at twenty years of age made me think of myself and I said, "I'll be 74 when you're twenty." He wondered, "Will you be too big for the house then?" Not being really sure if "big" meant "tall" or "round," I simply replied honestly, "I hope not!"
Little things. They'll grab your heart. One way or another.
Thing One and I nap in the guest room with Thing Two in the portable baby bed beside us. (What's that? Of course I take a nap with them!) Yesterday as we were settling in for our afternoon siesta, Thing One and I were talking, as we usually do, when the conversation turned to bones. Thing One asked if cats have bones. Yes, cats have bones. Do I have a bone in my leg? Yes, you do. See? Then I proceeded to show him how to feel the bones in one's body. Do Angry Birds have bones? No. Angry Birds are not real. Are teeth bones? Yes, teeth are sorta like bones. (By now Thing Two is blissfully sucking her pacifier and dreaming of Disney princesses.) Deciding to seize the moment, I began to wax educational and told him that milk and cheese are good for building strong, healthy bones. Thing One is no lover of such dairy products. I know this. With slightly wrinkled nose he said, "I don't drink too much milk," to which I replied, "Maybe you should." He thought for just a second and promised, "When I'm twenty I will." Picturing him at twenty years of age made me think of myself and I said, "I'll be 74 when you're twenty." He wondered, "Will you be too big for the house then?" Not being really sure if "big" meant "tall" or "round," I simply replied honestly, "I hope not!"
Little things. They'll grab your heart. One way or another.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
NOT TRYIN' TO GLORIFY THE PIRATE'S LIFE, BUT WHAT?! WHY DIDN'T I KNOW IT'S TLAPD?!
Shiver me timbers! How is it that it's halfway through the day and I have to find out from Fox News that it's "Talk Like a Pirate Day?!" Well, blow me down!
My blog posts usually pertain to some serious topic like truth, appearances, genealogy, or my Southern ways (that may not be serious to you, but it is to me, matey!) but today I am so surprised that I had not been alerted by Facebook or some lame-yet-well-intentioned forwarded email or even a 24-hour warning from my beloved Fox News that I just had to share my concern. Argh! But, alas, I will have to give Fox a reprieve...the announcers only discovered it themselves while I was watching the early afternoon show.
Lest ye think I be attempting to glorify the pirate life, leave me put you at ease. I think it is bilge. However, over the past few years much jest has been made of pirates and their evil ways. Harkens me back to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies which feature the most playful and almost innocent of pirates ever to hit the silver screen, Captain Jack Sparrow, portrayed by the very talented Johnny Depp.
Landlubber, yet beach lover, that I am, I make no pretense as to being informed as to pirate ways and the like. I do enjoy the movies, though, if I can just get past all the weirdness, the undead, the slimy sea creatures, and the constant drink. (As some of my readers may know, I am no partaker of the grog. I prefer orange juice...it prevents scurvy.)
Well, mates, I must shove off from my office now and go to the galley for a beverage, but I will leave you with this picture. They are, as the old saw goes, "worth a thousand words." One of which is "avast." Means to stop or halt. Which this picture may force you to do.
My blog posts usually pertain to some serious topic like truth, appearances, genealogy, or my Southern ways (that may not be serious to you, but it is to me, matey!) but today I am so surprised that I had not been alerted by Facebook or some lame-yet-well-intentioned forwarded email or even a 24-hour warning from my beloved Fox News that I just had to share my concern. Argh! But, alas, I will have to give Fox a reprieve...the announcers only discovered it themselves while I was watching the early afternoon show.
Lest ye think I be attempting to glorify the pirate life, leave me put you at ease. I think it is bilge. However, over the past few years much jest has been made of pirates and their evil ways. Harkens me back to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies which feature the most playful and almost innocent of pirates ever to hit the silver screen, Captain Jack Sparrow, portrayed by the very talented Johnny Depp.
Landlubber, yet beach lover, that I am, I make no pretense as to being informed as to pirate ways and the like. I do enjoy the movies, though, if I can just get past all the weirdness, the undead, the slimy sea creatures, and the constant drink. (As some of my readers may know, I am no partaker of the grog. I prefer orange juice...it prevents scurvy.)
Well, mates, I must shove off from my office now and go to the galley for a beverage, but I will leave you with this picture. They are, as the old saw goes, "worth a thousand words." One of which is "avast." Means to stop or halt. Which this picture may force you to do.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
WHAT IS "JESUS PORN?????"
The following is an article that I have taken from my Facebook page posted by one of my friends in show business in California. It breaks my heart. (She didn't write it.) The friend that posted it does not appear to have the kingdom of God at heart but whether or not the people at Sherwood (who produced the Christian films "Flywheel," "Facing the Giants," Fireproof," and "Courageous") can write well enough to suit "real" show-business people. Please pray for these people who just don't understand that Sherwood isn't out for an Oscar but for the salvation of souls. People have spoken loudly that what they want are more films like the Kendrick brothers and Sherwood produce. I guess it's not how you write but what you write.
http://www.bren.us/courageous-yeah-kinda
http://www.bren.us/courageous-yeah-kinda
Friday, July 22, 2011
DO I REALLY LOOK LIKE THAT?
As some of you know, I have a real heart for the lost in the media, entertainment, and celebrity world. One of my connections to people who are ministering to those dear folks that God loves is Dr. Larry Poland with Mastermedia International. I receive his quarterly newsletter, The Mediator, and am never disappointed in its contents...there is always an encouraging story about Jesus Christ's presence in those realms of society. With Dr. Poland's permission, I am using an article he wrote in the Spring, 2011, issue as this blog. I'd appreciate your comments. As usual, my request is that you be nice!
Modesty: The Naked Truth
Editor's note: In this issue of The Mediator Dr. Poland sets aside his regular series on "Wisdom for the Trenches" to deal with a subject he considers critical to the witness of Christians living in a media-saturated culture. "Wisdom for the Trenches" will return in the next issue.
INTRODUCTION
Modesty is a virtue that is all but lost in American society and that has become increasingly rare even in the Christian community. The pervasive influence of immodesty in society impacts Christian men and women through images in film, TV, videos, Internet, and in secular social settings.
Regardless of the above, the Bible condemns immodesty. Immodesty has a number of destructive effects on the immodest person, on those who view the immodest person, and on the Christian community.
Speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Jeremiah the prophet condemns Israel's immodesty by saying, "...you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush in shame." (Jer. 3:3 NIV). Again, he declared, "Are they not ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush." (Jer. 6:15 NIV). Peter exhorts women to modesty in the following words, "I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety...." (1 Peter 2:9 NIV).
The Apostle Paul exhorts believers to "shine like stars" on the dark backdrop of the degenerate culture around them. Surely this includes the believer's image as well as his behavior--modesty is about both.
A simple definition of modesty is: Making sure that my external appearance accurately reflects my internal commitment to Christ and to biblical holiness--regardless of worldly fashions.
DESTRUCTIVE EFFECTS OF IMMODESTY
While immodesty can be a problem for both sexes, it is a greater and more common problem when expressed by women. Following are some destructive elements of immodesty among believers:
1. It blurs the distinction between those who know and love Christ and those who reject God and His law. Question: "Why wouldn't I want to appear to others like one who knows and loves Christ, rather than one from 'the world?'"
2. It blurs the distinction between those who are immoral by behavior from those who are moral by behavior. Question: "If I am not an immoral person, why would I want to dress like one?"
3. It detracts from the believer's true beauty, the countenance. Question: "If the light of Christ is in countenance, and He is the source of my attractiveness, why would I want to draw attention away from His countenance and true beauty by immodest dress?"
4. It tempts others to sin. Question: "If immodesty in dress tempts others to lust after or to covet me sexually, am I willing to be responsible for their struggle?"
5. It feeds the fleshly--not the spiritual--side of the immodest believer. Question: "If I dress or act immodestly in public, will it not stir within me inappropriate fleshly or sexually seductive passions?"
6. It sends messages about the immodest person that reveal their true heart attitude toward purity. Question: "If, as Jesus said, 'from the overflow of the heart a person speaks, 'why would I want my apparel to 'speak' that my heart is impure or immoral, if it isn't?"
7. It contributes to temptations that lead to porn addiction, fornication, adultery, pregnancy out of marriage, sexually transmitted diseases, and the impairment of sexual intimacy in the God-ordained bond of marriage. Question: "If I am not soliciting sexual advances, why would I want to dress as if I were, and, thus, risk having to deal with the potentially horrific consequences of such advances--possibly even rape?"
CONCLUSION
In their best-selling book, Every Man's Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time, Stephen Arterburn, Fred Stoeker, and Mike Yorkey describe the plague of addiction to sexual temptation and impure images (a.k.a. pornography) in the Body of Christ. Not just a man's problem anymore, "lust addiction" is a growing issue with believing women.
Is it not time to make a renewed commitment to help each other conquer these temptations? Step one surely must be to do nothing which feeds sexual lust and moral sin in others.
Modesty: The Naked Truth
Editor's note: In this issue of The Mediator Dr. Poland sets aside his regular series on "Wisdom for the Trenches" to deal with a subject he considers critical to the witness of Christians living in a media-saturated culture. "Wisdom for the Trenches" will return in the next issue.
INTRODUCTION
Modesty is a virtue that is all but lost in American society and that has become increasingly rare even in the Christian community. The pervasive influence of immodesty in society impacts Christian men and women through images in film, TV, videos, Internet, and in secular social settings.
Regardless of the above, the Bible condemns immodesty. Immodesty has a number of destructive effects on the immodest person, on those who view the immodest person, and on the Christian community.
Speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Jeremiah the prophet condemns Israel's immodesty by saying, "...you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush in shame." (Jer. 3:3 NIV). Again, he declared, "Are they not ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush." (Jer. 6:15 NIV). Peter exhorts women to modesty in the following words, "I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety...." (1 Peter 2:9 NIV).
The Apostle Paul exhorts believers to "shine like stars" on the dark backdrop of the degenerate culture around them. Surely this includes the believer's image as well as his behavior--modesty is about both.
A simple definition of modesty is: Making sure that my external appearance accurately reflects my internal commitment to Christ and to biblical holiness--regardless of worldly fashions.
DESTRUCTIVE EFFECTS OF IMMODESTY
While immodesty can be a problem for both sexes, it is a greater and more common problem when expressed by women. Following are some destructive elements of immodesty among believers:
1. It blurs the distinction between those who know and love Christ and those who reject God and His law. Question: "Why wouldn't I want to appear to others like one who knows and loves Christ, rather than one from 'the world?'"
2. It blurs the distinction between those who are immoral by behavior from those who are moral by behavior. Question: "If I am not an immoral person, why would I want to dress like one?"
3. It detracts from the believer's true beauty, the countenance. Question: "If the light of Christ is in countenance, and He is the source of my attractiveness, why would I want to draw attention away from His countenance and true beauty by immodest dress?"
4. It tempts others to sin. Question: "If immodesty in dress tempts others to lust after or to covet me sexually, am I willing to be responsible for their struggle?"
5. It feeds the fleshly--not the spiritual--side of the immodest believer. Question: "If I dress or act immodestly in public, will it not stir within me inappropriate fleshly or sexually seductive passions?"
6. It sends messages about the immodest person that reveal their true heart attitude toward purity. Question: "If, as Jesus said, 'from the overflow of the heart a person speaks, 'why would I want my apparel to 'speak' that my heart is impure or immoral, if it isn't?"
7. It contributes to temptations that lead to porn addiction, fornication, adultery, pregnancy out of marriage, sexually transmitted diseases, and the impairment of sexual intimacy in the God-ordained bond of marriage. Question: "If I am not soliciting sexual advances, why would I want to dress as if I were, and, thus, risk having to deal with the potentially horrific consequences of such advances--possibly even rape?"
CONCLUSION
In their best-selling book, Every Man's Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time, Stephen Arterburn, Fred Stoeker, and Mike Yorkey describe the plague of addiction to sexual temptation and impure images (a.k.a. pornography) in the Body of Christ. Not just a man's problem anymore, "lust addiction" is a growing issue with believing women.
Is it not time to make a renewed commitment to help each other conquer these temptations? Step one surely must be to do nothing which feeds sexual lust and moral sin in others.
“Reprinted by permission, Dr. Larry Poland, Mastermedia
International, www.mastermediaintl.org”
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Live and Let Diet
People often wonder, aloud sometimes, how I've stayed so thin as I've aged. Well, I guess I owe a lot to God's grace and his gift of good genes, but honestly, it has now become awfully hard to keep the weight off. When I was younger, in fact until I was 31 years old, I could eat exactly as I pleased and barely an ounce showed up on my frame. Now, well...let's just say that I can put it on reeeeeally fast now. Several months ago I bought a dress to wear to my son's wedding coming up in September, and after only a few months, I took it from the closet and tried it on again. Um...yeah. Some of my middle had to go. Sooooooo...after trial and error, I have come up with a "diet" that, for one reason or another, works for me. Interested? Okay. Here goes:
First of all, I walk an hour about five or six mornings a week. It really does help. AND it's a really good prayer time.
Breakfast: A cup of hot tea. (Sometimes green, sometimes Earl Grey, sometimes some other flavor.) 1/2 cup of fat-free milk. (Believe it or not, depending on the brand, it really DOES have taste.) Four cubes of cheese. (From that really huge bag of cheese cubes you can buy in the cheese section at Wal-Mart.)
Several glasses of ice water until lunch. Supposedly the colder the water, the more your body has to work to keep your body at a normal temperature. That means it's burning calories.
Lunch: One can of Campbell's Soup At Hand. (They have several that are low calorie, like Chicken and Stars and Chicken and Mini Noodles. Occasionally I have the Classic Tomato. Yum.) About 1/2 to 3/4 cup of fat-free cottage cheese and one of those cute little Dole fruits cups that come four to a package. I usually get the pineapple tidbits, peaches, mandarin orange segments, or pears.
MORE ice water.
Usually I get a little hungry around 2:30 or 3:00 and have a bowl of Cheerios or some other not-so-fattening cereal, again with the fat-free milk.
Supper: Whatever I fix for the hubby. I just try not to eat too much of it.
I try not to eat as many sweets and as much bread as I used to. I still eat a sweet or two now and then. They're my weakness. I also eat some bread on occasion. If I had to be really, really strict, I might get a little loopy.
This appears to be working, I have lost about 4 1/2 pounds in about 2 weeks. :)
This may not interest a single soul out there, but here it is...just in case.
First of all, I walk an hour about five or six mornings a week. It really does help. AND it's a really good prayer time.
Breakfast: A cup of hot tea. (Sometimes green, sometimes Earl Grey, sometimes some other flavor.) 1/2 cup of fat-free milk. (Believe it or not, depending on the brand, it really DOES have taste.) Four cubes of cheese. (From that really huge bag of cheese cubes you can buy in the cheese section at Wal-Mart.)
Several glasses of ice water until lunch. Supposedly the colder the water, the more your body has to work to keep your body at a normal temperature. That means it's burning calories.
Lunch: One can of Campbell's Soup At Hand. (They have several that are low calorie, like Chicken and Stars and Chicken and Mini Noodles. Occasionally I have the Classic Tomato. Yum.) About 1/2 to 3/4 cup of fat-free cottage cheese and one of those cute little Dole fruits cups that come four to a package. I usually get the pineapple tidbits, peaches, mandarin orange segments, or pears.
MORE ice water.
Usually I get a little hungry around 2:30 or 3:00 and have a bowl of Cheerios or some other not-so-fattening cereal, again with the fat-free milk.
Supper: Whatever I fix for the hubby. I just try not to eat too much of it.
I try not to eat as many sweets and as much bread as I used to. I still eat a sweet or two now and then. They're my weakness. I also eat some bread on occasion. If I had to be really, really strict, I might get a little loopy.
This appears to be working, I have lost about 4 1/2 pounds in about 2 weeks. :)
This may not interest a single soul out there, but here it is...just in case.
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