I AM THEM

I swore I would never become one of them.  I mean really.  Never!  Never!  Never would I become one of them. 

It started by a simple act of getting my collar straightened as I came out of the examination room.  “Here, let me fix your collar.  Don’t want it standing up.”  Then I told office staff how I got in trouble with a teacher when I defended having your collar turned up and your shirt tail out.  “That looks stupid,”  the teacher said.  “It looks cool,”  I replied.  And the next time I saw that teacher, I was wearing a white blouse, with the collar turned up and the tail pulled out.  It was the early 60’s and I do believe my actions had a negative influence on my grade.  A rather substantial influence.

I swore I would never be like them. 

“How can you study with that music?”  my dad asked.  “Turn it off so you can concentrate.”  That music?  What was wrong with that music?  Elvis.  The Everly Brothers.  Bobby Vinton.  Brenda Lee.  The beat.  The sound of the waves.  Blue Suede Shoes.  They helped me focus and, besides, just because it wasn’t Benny Goodman or Glenn Miller or Bing Crosby doesn’t mean it wasn’t music.  I mean, how many times can you hear Over The Rainbow and not want to barf?

I swore I would never be like them.

I could continue with “I will never be like them”  stories, but let’s go back to the conversation in the doctor’s office.  The conversation did not end with my remarks about collars and shirt tails.  It continued with me saying, “It did look cool to me, but I guess it did not look good to them.  You know those that think everything in their day was better.”  And I should have stopped there.  Instead, I finished with, “Of course, I absolutely hate the ripped jeans and wish that fashion fad would pass.  I mean, who in their right mind would work for hours to pay for a pair of ripped jeans?”

And then — WHAM — there I was, sounding like them.  OH NO!!!  I instantly realized: I AM THEM.  Our clothes were better.  Our music was better.  Our education was better.  Our cars were better.  I AM THEM.

Are we “THEM”  when it comes to our faith?  Yes, hold true to our foundation and the Word of God, but are we “THEM?”  Do we allow the past to stop the future?

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PS.  For full disclosure.  I am totally THEM.  Our music was better!  Today’s generation even listens to good ole rock n roll!  And today’s one-mold-fits-all cars cannot hold a candle stick to the cars and pickups of the 50’s and 60’s.  Tail fins.  Sweet sound of a car with glass packs.  Pink Cadillac.  Now that is personality.  Our education produced people who can think for themselves and have common sense.  And a shirt with the collar turned up and the shirt tail out is still cool. 

 

GAMES

I love to play games.  I wonder how many of you know the game Parcheesi.  Or Uncle Wiggily.  Growing up, we played both of these.  My parents played Canasta and everyone played Euchre.  The card game Pinochle was popular.  Of course, there was Bingo and Checkers.  One game I never enjoyed was Monopoly.

My grandkids loved Candy Land, Pay Day, and Life.  When young, our granddaughter got Candy Land ready to play.  She assured me that she had it set up right and she was going to give me the honor of going first.  I drew and went maybe three spaces.  She drew and went to Queen Frostine.  I drew again and landed on Gooey Gumdrop.  She drew and landed two squares from home.  I did not draw yellow.  She drew and won the game.  Of course, she had set the draws up.  The best part was watching her try to keep a straight face.

Pay Day, the old version, was a favorite of the grandboys.  They would grab that game as they came in the door.  They knew how to set up the bank.  The knew exactly how much money each player received to begin the game.  That game was set up before they even told us hi.  Coats came off and, I swear, the trumpets sounded and the royal announcer proclaimed, “Let the game begin.”  The game might last an hour, a day, or a whole weekend.

My favorite game is Sorry.  And it is played with much love, as that mean grandgirl and mean grandboys, would look me in the eye, lay a Sorry card down, take my piece, put it back at start, and say, with sarcasm and a shake of the head, “S..o..r..r..y!”  Believe me, they were not sorry.  I could drip sarcasm and shake my head with the best of them.  There is no feeling like drawing a Sorry card and sending someone back to Start, just as they are ready to get in the safety zone.  We also made-up new ways to play the game.  Yup, Sorry is my favorite game.

Now, poor hubby did not play games.  Growing up with older parents and no siblings, he just did not play games.  No games - until I finally wore him down and he agreed to play one game of Quiddler.  We have played two games of Quiddler almost every night since then.  At first, I won almost every game and am proud of Bill’s stick-to-itness.  He hung in there.  He got better.  Now he wins, but I still win the most games.  The grandkids ask me if I let him win.  I replied, “Did I ever let you win?”  For some odd reason, they all cheer for grandpa to win.

I am going to tell you something that you will not believe.  I love to play games, but do not care if I win or lose.  It is the playing, the trash talking, the “in your face”  moves, and being with others that I enjoy.  Except for one game and that game I play to win.

 

LIFE is not really a game because LIFE is real.  It cannot be taken apart, put back into a box, and returned to the shelf.  The moves we make have consequences.  The moves of those around us impact our lives.  When playing a game trash talking is fun, but stabs and leaves scars in LIFE.  Winning at all cost might declare you a success by the standards of the world, but, in LIFE, can cost you your soul.  Sitting back and doing nothing may feel safe, but you will miss out on the wonders and the blessings of LIFE.  Unlike a board game where you roll dice to determine your next move, LIFE’s moves require wisdom.

LIFE is about being with fellow believers who also have the same goal.  It is about learning the rules and applying them to your actions and how you treat others.  It is about making one move and then another and then another.  Each move getting you one breath closer to eternal life.  LIFE is about winning.

Remember two things:

YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

Therefore, since I am surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let me throw off everything that hinders me and the sin that so easily entangles me.  And let me run with perseverance the race marked out for me, fixing my eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

Hebrews 12:1 and part of 2 - made personal

 WE KNOW THE ENDING.  WE WIN THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.

For the Lord my God is the one who goes with me to fight for me against my enemies to give me victory.

Deuteronomy 20:4 - made personal

THREAD

I am sure you will get tired of the “I am packing” blogs, but hang in there with me.  I had Bill get some totes out of my closet.  One is full of doilies.  He asked, “What are you ever going to do with all those doilies?”  I showed him some I had pulled out and told him those could go to the Thrift Store.  They were ones I had bought here or there.  “But what about those?” he asked, as he nodded at the still almost full container.

“These are special.”  I touched the doilies made with white thread, red thread, gold thread, and pink thread.  Those doilies are made from threads that …

“What color thread would you like your teacher’s doily to be?” mom asked.  We stood there, looking at all the colors.  Each year, in elementary school, my teacher received a handmade doily.  I picked the color and mom crocheted a gift.

“I have some thread that needs wound into a ball,” grandma would say.  I would be all excited because I made a whole nickel to wind that skein of thread.  Hey, don’t sneeze at a nickel.  Back then five pennies would buy a lot of candy! Out would come the chair that the skein fit on.  I would fold the paper wrapper, which had been around the thread, into a sorta circle.  Taking the end of the thread, I would wrap and wrap and wrap.  My fingers would get tired.  I would begin to think this was a lot of work for five cents.  And then, all of the thread was in a ball.  Ready for grandma to use.

Rabbit trail:  I was going to insert a picture of someone winding thread and had to laugh.  There are videos on how to do this.  Videos!  What happened to common sense?  I knew how to wind thread into a ball as a kid.  The skein fit over the arms of that one chair, you made a small ball with that wrapper, and you kept going around and around until the thread was wound into a ball.  My goodness, it is not rocket science.  Videos!  What is this world coming to?

Back to thread.  “Why am I keeping all of these?” I said as I touched those doilies.  “It is all about the thread.  My mom or my grandma has touched each of these.  Skein after skein.  Ball of thread after ball of thread.  And I can see my grandma, sitting silently, crocheting another doily that she would give away.  I can see my mom, counting stitches and keeping us kids under control, as she made an armchair set.  (Don’t laugh.  It was/is a thing.  Look it up.)  Each with thread wrapped around their finger, as thread became a piece of art that would sit under a lamp or a vase or a clock.  Or given to an elementary school teacher.  Or given to a granddaughter/daughter who would one day say, “I am keeping these because the thread has been touched by either my grandma or my mom.  It is all about the thread.  Thread that ties generations together.”

Thread that ties generations together.  Sorta like the Word of God.

Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.

Your faithfulness continues through all generations;

Psalms 119:89-part of 90

PSALM 100

I keep some hints back for those times when Thursday seems to sneak up on me.  This is one of those weeks.  At the top of the list was the question:  Who must approve of us to make us happy?  Following that was a quotation by Wayne Dyer:  If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.  Hummmm.  Nope.  Neither seemed to fit the fast-approaching time to post my blog.  On down the list I went.  No.  Hmmmm, maybe.  Sorta.  YES – Bingo.

PSALM 100

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.  This is rather fitting.  This Monday, maybe not all the earth, but the corner of the earth I am in will be watching an eclipse of the sun.  What an event this is because, if the weather cooperates, will see a total eclipse. 

Worship the LORD with gladness;  You know, the opposite of grouchy, grumpy, aggravated, upset, frowning, or having an unforgiving heart.  

come before him with joyful songs.  Joyful songs that are delightful, glad, happy, and thankful.  No songs that are sad, wretched, or full of calamity.

Know that the LORD is God.  Well, duh.  Who else do you know who could create the world in such a way that a total eclipse would pass over Indiana on April 8, 2024, just so I could see it?

It is he who make us, and we are his;  Psalm 139 is my favorite Psalm.  We are wonderfully made.  Knit in our mother’s womb.  God did that.  He created us.  He created you.  Proclaim (to declare publicly, insistently, proudly, defiantly) these words:  I am a child of God.  Say it again with your head held high and your hand raised toward heaven:  I am a child of God.  One more time, but quietly, almost a whisper, reverently:  I am a child of God.

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  We are not alone!!!  Remember that when you are by yourself and feel forgotten.  We are not along.  You.  Me.  WE are his people!  WE are his sheep and we feed on His Word.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;  Sometimes life can hold more than a bit of troubles, but even in our trials and troubles, we can find things to be thankful for.  How valuable is a kind word, a friend’s smile, a loved one finally getting rest, or a cup of morning coffee.  Do you ever wonder where his courts are?  Does this mean heaven?  Does this mean church?  Or maybe this means our world.  Give praise when the fish are biting.  Give praise when the storm breaks.  What the heck.  Just give praise all the time.  God will love it.

give thanks to him and praise his name.  This is easy.  I praise you and give thanks for the children you created that discovered medications that ease our pain and heal our bodies.  For those that you created to be teachers.  And truck drivers.  And farmers.  And …….

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;  Forever!!  This does not say for a week or a month or a year or 100 years or 100,000 years.  It says FOREVER and that is a very long time.  In other words, our LORD’s love never ends. 

his faithfulness continues through all generations.  What this does not say is that our faithfulness continues through all generations.  We can all look at our families and find those that do not believe.  BUT I can look at my family and see our Lord’s faithfulness in the lives of my grandmother, mother, and daughter.  Generations.

Psalm 100.  Only 5 verses.  An easy read that is full of joy.