There's A Message In Here Somwhere If I can Just See It. 

Seeing With Our Hearts Instead Of Our Eyes.

Get together all of the 7th grade students in this county, let them take turns drawing, writing, etc, with no preset criteria guiding their endeavor and you are very likely going to come up with something like I worked with today for the photo side of the blog. The piece intrigued me, and the longer I looked at it and examined it under that little + thing they put in computers, the more I realized that the only way to really see it was to "not" look so hard. The 7th graders that I know right now are like one another in every respect, and each one thinks that someone else is examining them right down to the very pores on their skin, but they aren't. That is just a strange little, self implanted, seed that grows with the age category. If you can remember back to that time in your own life(most of us would rather not)you'll know what I mean. How much better life could be if we all learned a simple lesson from this picture and then applied it to the manner in which we deal with others in our world. This is a large piece! The first thing we need to understand about it is that we are looking at the negative! That makes me wonder if the talent that put it together isn't making a statement in this, also. Now it's me that's trying to look behind the impact of reality in black and white and search for reasons for it being as it is. I'm going to keep this around on my screen for awhile as I practice seeing the picture as a whole instead of studying its parts. Maybe by doing this I can learn a lesson about keeping an eye on me when I look at others and, therein, remind myself to look at the larger picture that is actually quite nice, and not pick it apart piece by piece. My lawn looks pretty cool when it's freshly mowed, but if I stop to examine it closely I can see the weeds that are in there, the ones that have not been completely eliminated by today's spraying. The trees in back are beautiful this time of year, if I don't focus on the limbs that need to be cut, and the areas that are dying. The people I come across each day are truly amazing creations of a loving God, but only if I see them as whole. Each one of us is filled with tiny cracks and broken places, and dying parts, we call them wrinkles, and arthritis, and the natural signs of aging(especially don't look too closely when I smile, please, my eyes seem to just radiate fine lines in every direction from enjoying life too much). Some things are just better when we step back and see the greater picture instead of just choosing a point in it to ponder. We don't change the message, the message changes us. Have a great Sunday! God bless, Preacher.

No One Knew When It Started What The End Result Would Be! 

I Saw It, Just Now, The Black Corvette Convertible! 

Discovering The "Hidden" Treasures In Your Life

Most of us are required by circumstances to carefully balance our "wants" and our Needs." We work with a bottom line that must be met in our finances, relationships, and our expectations. If you don't have one of these that is important to you, read no further. My Eyes literally feast on the corvette convertibles that drive by(I've had several of these)and there is a desire that grows within me to go out and get another one. I do not need one, it is highly impractical(not to mention spendy), but there is no denying that I would enjoy driving around in one again. What happens at these emotionally straining times is all in my head. I pull back, ignoring the beauty of the memories while I'm in the process of convincing me that I have everything I need, and it's silly of me to be thinking about(and there's that vision of the new Chevy pickup that really is the least practical truck on the planet but it sure looks cool)another vehicle. That's the rub! I actually owned a 1966 El Camino SS 396 and justified that for years and only gave it up when I came to my senses and realized I had no earthly use for it. I don't want this to be just about guy stuff, because I know that ladies must go through the same thing, only in terms of perhaps different worldly aquisitions, like say a new fall wardrobe. Like we really need more clothes to hang in our closets...Lol! My suggestion is a simple one. I've been journaling since 1974. For most of that time I have attempted to be painfully honest with me. You are the one person you can't fool. Do some active remembering as if you were looking back through a journal from years ago and try to find the places in your mind that make you smile the biggest and the longest and then apply them to a list that includes the things you want, and the things you need side by side.
If we're anything alike, you and I, what we discover is that it has never been as important to get what we want as it is to want what we got. Just being satisfied does not mean we quit striving, it only implies that we look to our blessings, the "hidden" treasures we all have, and unlock those really valuable treasures on a regular basis. We're human, we are probably always going to want more stuff, everybody does, that's why there is a Super Walmart. One of my favorite "poor" pastimes(yes I have been very, as in counting pennies, poor, but not in spirit)was to take the kids(5)to the world's leader in discount marketing and allow them to put whatever they wanted in the cart. This is a great way to put together a Christmas list, too, by the way! They all knew we couldn't "buy" the things in the cart, but we had a ball putting them in, and when we went home we had all learned a little more about one another. The kids and I road in an old VW van back to an old house with old toys, and we found treasures in every minute, and I pray they all still remember and someday share this with their children. So herein you have found a key that unlocks a treasure. The treasure is the one that you have in your mind and, hopefully, it is more a treasure of shared moments and time spent with others than a treasure you have stuck in the safe somewhere. God would have us give away whatever we don't really need and focus more on helping others with their expectations in life, than go on filling our carts and driving them home in a really "hot" automobile. And as for that balancing we do, if we are about the business of actively counting all of our blessings we may just discover there is very little we "need" that we don't have except more true "treasures" to tuck away for the next time a corvette goes by(the black '83 with the silver eagle on the hood could......). Thanks for sharing my thoughts and feelings this evening, I really do pray that this in some way, is a blessing for you to share with others. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

What key unlocks the hidden chapters contained in the book of your life? 

Consider For Just A Moment Of Your Time The Legacy Our Time Spent Is Providing For Others.