Did you hear about...

I think I originally heard a version of this on the radio, and it has really stuck with me. It has a good message. So credit to whomever came up with it first.

You know that lady at church, June, the one who is always giving out the refreshments after service. I've heard she leaves her home, and sees another man nearly every day. Her children are left home alone for long stretches of time. You know she is married to Dave, that guy that plays the sax in the choir. For shame!

That paragraph paints a pretty sad picture of June. Her reputation is pretty much down the drain with that information floating around. She and Dave could both lose their good standing in the church if the elders found out about this.

What if I told you the man she visits almost every night is her father, who is terminally ill? And that her children are teenagers, who are perfectly capable of looking after themselves for a few hours. That changes things, doesn't it? Do you look differently at June now, when she hands you a cookie after service, or offers you a sign of peace?

How are we talking about the people in our daily lives? Are we giving the whole story when we speak of them, or half truths meant to tear other people down? In Scripture, the Lord tells us to "Therefore encourage one another, and build each other up, just as you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Speak of things that build our neighbors up, and encourage them. People will remember how you made them feel above all else, so speak in a way that leaves people smiling when they have been in your presence. Speak highly of others, even when you are not in their presence. You never know the burden another person is carrying in his heart.

I think my daughter says it best, "Don't be talkin' bout folks!"

God bless!

Chela

Faker

Friday morning, I was looking at my fish tank, and noticed my snail was missing. My huge yellow snail that college kid had given me as a gift. Looking closer, I found him laying on his side behind our shipwreck ornament.

Darn it, my snail died. What kind of pet owner am I that I can't even keep a snail alive. I need to just give up and keep plastic plants from now on. All day I felt sick about this deceased snail. To make matters worse, just the night before, the kids and I had been watching the fish, and my youngest had mentioned wanting to name the snail. After all, the plecostomus is Stanley. Now I have to tell the kids he died. Great, some pet owner I am.

Shortly before going to pick up ds from school, I decided to check on the snail one more time, just to be sure before I broke the news. I hadn't dealt with removing him just yet. To my surprise, the snail is happily sliding up the side of the tank, very much alive. He's lucky I don't turn him into escargot for his little stunt.

He earned himself a name after all for that stunt...Faker.

God bless
Chela

I am more...

You'll never amount to anything. You're a failure. You're so stupid. You're a loser, what a waste of space. You'll never be able to go water skiing. What an idiot..

Stop right there. I am none of those things. I am a child of the living God. Jesus bought me with His blood on the Cross of Calvary. He promises me a mansion in Heaven with Him. A mansion!! I love the house we live in now, but it's a bit cramped, and we are really rubbing elbows. I get a mansion?!! And I don't have to clean it!

He also promises me a table of plenty, dining with Him in Paradise! What a promise! He offers me a seat at the table with Him. My face shining, as much food as I want. He doesn't want me to cower at the sides, scrounging for scraps.

Jesus also promises me I can do anything. Jesus tells me in Phil 4:3 that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do ANYTHING through Jesus. I can rise above those who tell me I can't, that I am not strong enough, or good enough. Jesus will see me through it all. He believes in me, and knows I can achieve great things in life. He wants me to be happy, and to shine as a light for Him.

Jesus also has great plans for me in life. When he knit me in my mother's womb, he already had my life planned out. In Jeremiah 29:11, Jesus tells me, "For I have great plans for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." Jesus has my life in His hands! He has planned for my future, and they are good plans that will not fail.

I have nothing to worry about, no reason to feel ashamed in my life. Jesus loves me, and cares for me every day. What if I never learn to water ski? I'm not worried. One day Jesus will show me how to walk on water.

Chela

I thought it was funny!

It was about 10:30pm last night, and everyone was tucked into bed, dreaming about our wonderful weekend at the beach. I couldn't sleep, and kept hearing a strange noise. It sounded like a kitten, and I thought maybe our little Hershey was trapped in a room or something. I decided to get up and account for all the cats.

Julie was on my pillow, so I knew it wasn't her. My bedroom window is prime real estate, looking out over the pool, so I assumed someone would be on the sill. It was really dark as I reached my hand over to feel for a kitty.

Sure enough, there was a cat there! Bear jumped up and came flying out of the window, and tore across my dresser. With enough noise to awaken the neighborhood, he continued on flying out of my room, across the hallway, and into ds' room. Unfortunately, he made enough noise to wake dh, who surely thought the world had ended.

I quickly explained it was just the cat, trying not to laugh too loudly. I gave that up entirely when I had to tell ds why the cat had run into his room with the hounds of on his tail. Certainly I used up another of Bear's 9 lives when I touched him in that window sill. I'm not sure why I scared him so badly, I guess he thought everyone was asleep, so it must be a big monster after him. Poor guy.

Everyone else was quiet and accounted for that evening. I think it was the quail I was hearing after all. I kept chuckling about the whole thing until I fell asleep. I'm so glad animals are quick to forgive, or I might not be around to write this to you.

Chela

How They Grow

Last night, I was brushing my teeth when I suddenly remembered something my youngest ds had said many years ago. We were sitting in the car, waiting on a particularly long train when ds said,

"It would take a lot of pounders to pound that train."

Now it would make more sense if you knew that "pounders" back then were tape measures! Ds said they told you how many "pounds" something was. Cut the guy some slack, he was only 3 years old!

His real fascination at that age was a tire pressure gauge. He found them fascinating, and brought one to every show and tell at preschool. We'd frequently check the tire pressure on the van when I picked him up after school. This led to quite often getting asked if we had a flat tire. LOL

Ds is now 13, and growing like crazy. He's hit quite a growth spurt this summer, and is shooting up like bamboo. I've also noticed he is getting broad through the chest and shoulders. He's definitely not a little kid anymore. Ds was complaining during the summer that he had outgrown his shoes. I told him that we'd get him some when school started, as he only wore them once a week anyway, to church.

Poor kid wasn't kidding about the shoes. Dh took him to the shoe store, and ds had grown two shoe sizes. I should have seen it coming, all the food he inhales these days has to be going somewhere.

Ds already has his future planned out. He wants to go to DeVry and learn to design video games like his older brother. He's definitely heading to the right field, computers are taking off these days, and it seems video games are as well. At least at my house they are! On the first day of school this year, he had to write where he wanted to go to college, and what he wanted to do for a living. He of course said DeVry. No one knew where the college was located, except for ds.

Thank You Father for the gift of this young man who has gone from talking of pounding trains to planning out his future. He's a clown, a child with a great heart, and a good head on his shoulders. At least most of the time. He's also the worst bedtime staller I've ever met. I love him dearly, Father, and thank You so very much for the gift of him. Please watch over him, and guide him in Your ways. Amen.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Psalm 127:3