The truth of God's love, the Encouragement we all need and occasional humor
Author: anitashope
Retired Quality Manager but still have the "Why" curiosity drive so I am turning my love for Christ and nature into my new why chase and am trying to discover more of His word as it relates to His love for His creation.
As I sit here in Iowa, I watch places that I am familiar with being inundated by yet another late season storm. The hurricanes that hit at the back end of the season are always more fierce and this one is still going strong hitting towns I left to move to the mid-west. As the Weather Channel showed videos from St George Island in Florida, I saw water as it moved through someone’s screen porch with the waves slapping against the ceiling. I was heart sick. I had lived through that when young and I fully understand what they are going through. The storm now is moving through my home state of Georgia and family and friends are hiding and hoping for the best.
Mother Nature as we call it can be a beast that consumes whatever it touches. Whether it be from hurricanes, tornadoes, snow storms, nor’ easters and even fire storms nature calls the shots and we try as we might to survive the onslaught. Sometimes we don’t survive like we had hoped but at the end of the day if no one gets hurt its a good day. Stuff can be replaced.
So my prayers go out to all the rescue personnel, all the line repairmen, and all of those who endured today and to those still in its path.
And in closing as I always, please be kind to those having difficult days. Kindness during tragedy carries even more weight.
An Ode is a lyrical poem meant to be sung. Why would you do that for a opossum. It such an unattractive creature especially when it opens its mouth.
Vicious looking teeth
Coming from the south there have always been jokes, poetry, stories and even odes to opossums. There is even a country star, George Jones, that had a nick name of opossum. Maybe because he wrote a song about a opossum. And in checking there are numerous odes to opossums on the internet. Again I ask why?
According to research, opossums are marsupials from the order Didelphimorphia endemic to the Americas and the largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere. Shockingly there are over 103 species in 19 genre. Hmm, who’d a thunk?
What prompt my interest in this was one that had been run over in front of my house yesterday as I was heading to church. It reminded me of a conversation with a small child, not mine, but because this child had only seen opossum when hit on the road, he thought that was where they came from and what their purpose was. It was a chuckling conversation.
But the most chuckling remembrance concerning opossums was from Baby Ruth, my Opossum Queen.
Baby Ruth In Va. snow
Baby Ruth was a Black Lab cross that had a thing against opossums. She would go into attack mode the moment a opossum scent cross her nose. I wrote a story and submitted it for publication about her and this obsession and I will attach it here sometime if publication gets declined, its rather a funny story. As you know, opossum are notorious for playing dead in appearance and emitting the smell of death at the same time.
Don’t let appearances fool you
Baby Ruth would capture them, shake them violently, thinking they were dead and then she would prance around all proud like she had saved the world. Thirty minutes later the opossum would be gone but the crown on Baby Ruth would still be intact. All great memories.
When my nephew was young he found a baby one that had been abandoned or lost and raised it until it was able to fend for itself. They are quite cut as babies but then all babies are cute, especially animal babies, so many varieties. They even seem to smile.
Opossum in a pumpkin
In closing I remind my self as everyone else to be kind.
May I be the water drop of kindness that when dropped creates ripples of joy wherever I go – Anita Neal
We have all gotten use to the special days of recognition like Mother’s Day, Father’s day, Grandparent’s, Kids Day and then commercialization really got hold of it to the digression of Pizza day, really?
But today is World Communion Day. How awesome is that? Think about it. All Christ based churches came together today to share communion on the same day to honor our God for giving us Christ; to honor Christ for giving us salvation and to honor the act of Remembrance of Him in sharing the loaf and the cup. All denominations who honor Christ have details in their service that they do differently. Some use wine, some use juice, some have bread, some have wafers but they do it toward the same purpose – to honor our LORD and what He did for us.
All four Gospels tell of the story of the last supper and as Jesus broke the bread he explained that it represented His body and as He passed the wine how it represented His blood shed for all and that this communion between mind, body and spirit with God was to be done as a remembrance of His love.
What an awesome thing for the world to do in coming together as one as we each spread our outstretched hands of love for fellow Christians…across the world. May all feel the love He has shown for us everyday and may we come together in one heart of love for Him and fellow Christians across the world.
And in closing, as I always remind myself and others, Be Kind. Let you kindness be ripples of love as they flow across the waters of life never ceasing.
Sue W gives us a photo prompt this week of finding a work of art in anything you see. There is art all around us in nature from gorgeous flowers to the leaves beginning to turn.
Then, it is fall and those those of us who have been in the automotive industry know that the new cars are coming out. The art mindset they went through to create the new design from paper to model to car. It’s all very fascination.
When I moved here from the south I was surprised to see a large mural on a train overpass that featured sea life. Yes, we are on the Mississippi but we are 1 state below Canada, now where near any ocean.
Reference to how long it is
The opposite side of the artwork had the head of the octopus and this side shows it holding odd objects, like a pencil? Not sure I understand the artist meaning here.
Maybe the Octopus is the artist
But I was tickled most by the small insignificant object that I wonder if the artist did it on purpose or did it just happened that way.
We all live in a yellow submarine….
The Beatles and the art of music, yet another form of the many forms of wondrous art. I close copying the picture from Sue’s post as it is classic truth.
And I fully agree with #3
And I say, as I always do, a reminder to me as much to you, always be kind, it will save your mind. A poet I am not. Have a great weekend.
Plus there is the internet card variation which can add in animation. But I am choosing the Get Well version of a card sent through by the proverbial ‘snail mail’ system. It takes an extra effort of someone to go purchase, write in and stamp an envelope to someone who is under the weather and this always brighten their day. I remember when my grandmother was in the hospital for gall bladder surgery. She was a school teacher and loved by many, so we took the cards and taped then to the wall. She had a full wall of cards and drawings from children to cheer her up letting her know just how much she was loved.
As I have been healing from my foot surgery, I too received some wonderful cards from friends that cheered my day.
From Sunday School Class
I think it is important to remember those who are healing, whether it be from sickness, surgery or healing from the loss of a loved one. These are all issues that are painful and knowing someone cares always make it better. Sometimes a card or silly note that makes you laugh can be the best type of medicine for healing.
Go the extra mile – remember a friend or family member and give them a smile.
cheese,
And in closing as always, remember the value of kindness and carry it as you go.
Is there ever really a final chapter? Probably not but there is a moment of closure of old before going to new. And this is the hard one for me to post but the one I have been working towards for approximately…10 years give or take. But it has been the last two years that I knew what I needed to do and have been trying to get it done but it has been very hard…Forgiveness.
All the way back into in Genesis 50:17, scripture tells us the importance of forgiving those who treat you badly. All through the bible forgiveness is talked about : Exodus, Numbers, Nehemiah, multiples in Psalms, Daniel and Micah and that’s just the old testament. Then there is Matthew 18:21-22 where Jesus tells us to forgive 70 times 7. That’s a lot of forgiving. But why??? Colossians 3:13 tells us why – Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Forgiveness
If you have read my series on Analyzing the Past #1 & #2 you will probably understand where I am going with this. My mother had drinking issues and I did not learn the lessons from her on how to correctly chose a mate and I chose poorly. I choose someone who had just as much garbage in his closet as I did and due to his mother’s issues he was an abusive man. He didn’t mean to be and hours before his death we were able to resolve most of our issues. He was physically abusive to me but verbally abusive to the children. When he got sick, a combination of diabetes and heart disease, the children were also able to get resolution for his treatment of there past but the damage is still there.
So with the help of professional counseling, strong christian friends, prayer and the love of Jesus I was able to forgive my mother and my husband for bad treatment of me. So about 2 years ago, I realized I was still angry but could not figure our why. I was notorious for going back by the cross where I had laid things at Jesus feet that I could not handle and try to pick them up again. I don’t think I am alone there. A lot of us are fix it people and sometimes you just have to Let Go and Let God. For this issue I didn’t think I was picking up and throwing away the forgiveness I had bestowed on my mother and husband but there was still a deep resentment gnawing inside me an d I did not know where it was coming from.
Last year we got a new pastor and after several months he started a new study series on forgiveness. During that series it dawned on me that I still had someone I had not forgiven and I was not sure I ever could. Lots of hurt, lots of resentment still on the table. When someone does you wrong you can find ways to reconcile that and come to forgiveness. BUT, as a mother and having someone who through their caustic behaviors and down right selfishness caused pain for her children, the woman’s grandchildren – that is hard to forgive. Even in her will after she died, my husbands mother struck out against at my children. And now I find it hard not to scream HOW DARE YOU? And this woman was a pillar in her church. Wow.
So this is the last leg of my journey of forgiveness for my resentment of my past. I feel n o resentment issues and think I have her fully forgiven until I run across a person that reflects that same attitude and I have to guard myself, or my tongue as it were, so that I don’t make things worse. Then I have some deep prayer time to do to get me back on the even plane God needs me on. But its hard.
No one, no one, no one ever has the right to be mean to another person whether is physically, verbally or emotionally. And when you face this type of situation you have to be strong, dig deep and Let go and Let God. He will take care of it, he is the final judge, not us. A hard pill to swallow sometimes.
So now you may understand why I am such an advocate of kindness. Did you know that it takes more muscles in your face to create a frown and it does to make a smile. I think that is God’s way of telling us to smile more, its less work.
And as I always say, Be kind. Today’s kind thought may not save the world but it may save the world of that one person.
Kindness
Enjoy you weekend. Its going to be a wet one for us. But we are smiling, no more 90 degree days for a while.
Hello, my registered name is Spot Junior but my friends and family call me Dittims. I was named after the first dog my mom had when she was a kid. His name was Spot Tillman Junior III. There was no first or second. He was named by mom’s brother who was 3 at the time. It was actually my mom’s human daughter that gave me my nickname Dittims because she said I was special. I guess I am pretty special as I am totally deaf and have only 25% vision in my left eye and about 90% vision in my eye but it did not stop me from enjoying life. I was a happy puppy. I was born on Alabama but moved with my mom and her human daughter to Iowa when I was about 6.
I am a Harlequin Great Dane but mostly all white except for a few spots on my right side. I stand about waist high to my mom, weigh about 185 lbs and love sitting in my mom’s lap. My favorite game is the cup toss. My mom loves the frozen cola drink ICEE that you get at the gas stations in the south. She always saves the last swallow for me and once I finish it then I have a fun toy, until of course I tear it to shreds and mom takes it away from me. But that’s OK because I know she will bring me another in a day or so. The cup toss game is a game I made up where I take the cup and throw it up in the air with my mouth and then I race around this big bush in the yard and zoom by picking the cup up as I fly by. Some of us Danes really like to run. You know we are part grey hound so its natural part of us. My mom has written a book about me and all her other dogs she had when growing up. She hopes to get it published and if she does she will let you know where to find it. Other pictures have been added for you to see so enjoy. Its been nice talking to you. Have a great weekend as it is coming, and cooler weather is too. Need to get out my sweater.
Me and momSnow in LA(Lower Ala) weird right?Me and first grandchild, he was tiny.
Mimi monitoring the foot traffic along the sidewalk
You will notice the box at the corner of the house and front sidewalk, that’s my mailbox. Mailman refuses to deliver mail to house do to ferocious dog. See exhibit B
the queen
Have you ever looked at the backside of a leaf or flower.
In continuation of the can of worms I opened yesterday, I would like to proceed just a little more. If you did not read my post yesterday, this may or may not make sense although I think in all of us have, somewhere, in the back of our closet, is a can of worms we prefer to keep tightly closed.
Lets backup just a bit to make a statement that sometimes the cans of worms we grew up with in our families may or may not influence the cans of worms that get created when the next generation of family is created. Sometime cans of worms just get created.
OK, enough about worms. The whole purpose of this is driven from a statement made to me that I should really get some help opening all the doors of my past so that I can process them correctly. I looked at speaker, who does not have the same belief system as I do and calmly said -“If God wanted me to remember that pain, he would bring it to the front”. The brain is an incredible piece of work that we have only scratched the surface of in trying to understand how it works. It has the uncanny ability to block out the painful or scary parts of our past which is a protective mechanism to make us forget those memories that would forever break our heart every time we think about them. For example – a woman giving birth. Why would women go through that pain if they remembered what it was like. I did it three time so there is evidently some truth in that thought. So why would you want to open those doors of pain. Only then to have to go to therapy, spend money you don’t want to spend, learning coping mechanisms to deal with the pain and disillusions that previously your brain in its own protective mode had already done for you. It makes no sense to me.
Now, I will say that deep down, this “damage” created from these memories may have influenced some of the decisions made later in life and those I think you need to get help from because those you can remember and analyze the why of and learn from. Like for instance marrying the same man twice expecting a different result the second time. Some of us a slower learners than the others…or just hopeless believers in what could be.
This morning before heading to Bible study, I read Laurie ‘s post on her healing process for running. She made some very profound statements about life as it is ever changing around us and that we need to do mental inventory to make sure our wants, needs and emotions are being met so that we can then assess what needs to be done to make our run with life smoother. I suggest you head over there as it was a very good read.
In Bible study this morning the question was asked as where is your focus and does it need reevaluating. Are we so lost in what has happened to us that we quit? Are so so angered about what happened that we have become bitter?
When I analyze my past, there are a lot of missing childhood memories but there are some good memories as well. In my married life, there were a lot of rough seas but some beautiful calm waters as well. I don’t think you can go through this life with everything calm and beautiful. Its the rough seas that shape us into the beautiful people we can be if we allow ourselves to be draped in the silver lining that gets produced from trials.
It is my firm belief that God provides that lining and if we are willing, he will show us how to use it to bless others. We have got to be willing to let God walk besides us (periodically carry us) to withstand the trials of this life. I remember standing at the back of my son’s dorm and looking up at the window he broke out during a nightmare, seeing all the glass that was scattered on the ground, and I remember crying as I stared up at that window, 3 floors up, how very gracious my God was as that my son had no broken bones, only cuts from the glass as he dove out the window. God will carry you and he angels will catch you. I stake my and my children life on it, literally.
One day I will write a post on how I believe angels are working overtime for me and my children as we go through this process of learning that we call life.
And as I remind myself and others who read my scribbles, always be kind. Your kindness may not change the world but it may change the world of that one ‘being’.
Do we get any release from understanding the things happened to us as we grow from one season to the next. I myself am on the fence having been through both the tough love of confrontation meetings with all the affected people and the ignoring aspect with those who sweep everything under the rug as though it never happened. I am going to post a few of my thoughts on this subject, would love your feedback…gently please.
Being born in the 50s from a very comfortable family as far as money goes, society at that time was much into social drinking as a means of networking friends, family and business. It was very acceptable for there to be a liquor cabinet in the house for access by… anyone if they chose. It was an era where the lasting results of alcoholism was not understood or several years and no one really understood how these accepted practices would affect the next generation. Do I have the truths or cures about any of this…No. But I do have a one sided opinion of a child, me, that grew up in that era and watched countless other young people come to grips with this disease because that was the end result of that social acceptance, alcoholism and the damage it caused.
My parents were never physically abusive but in today’s understanding that is only one small part of the many forms of abuse. Did I ever feel abused, never – fearful a times – yes. There were four of us children, I was the baby. When our house was built in the late 40s it had more doors and windows than any house should have. My room which originally had been the master suite had 3 entrance doors 2 closet doors and 3 windows. I promise, that room was not that big. One door was an entrance from foyer(offset from the living room) at the front door, one entrance was from the hallway that led to the other bedroom and again another way to the living room and one entrance went into a dressing room which led into the bathroom which also led into the second bedroom. The point I am trying to make is that section of the house was all in a circle. And if you know anything about quail you will understand my next statement. When the yelling and dish breaking would start in the kitchen, the four kids would scatter like quail to any available door depending on where they were and you would hear the doors close click, click, click, click. Batten down the hatches boys. Bumpy seas ahead.
Consequently we all learned to recognize the signs and get out of its way. With me being the youngest, I was protected by my older siblings a lot but none of us escaped this disease unscathed, we all have our issues that we deal with, some to this very day. But my purpose in this post is not to tell of my pitiful self( as I am not at all) but to shed light on the two different ways this situation was handled and why neither of them worked and in my opinion why they were wrong.
For years the problems were swept under the rug, ignored, like they don’t exist. All this does is make them grow. If you don’t address a problem, with LOVE, understanding and kindness, it never goes away or gets fixed. We all have problems and they all need fixing but you have to communicate to do that. And communication MUST accompany love.
The other path of recognition of a problem is the tough love confrontation by all parties included, a gauntlet of criticism as it were. After my father died from cancer, my mother’s drinking got worse and it was the well meaning oldest child that felt this method needed to be done to save mother but in my opinion it crushed her. A couple years later I apologized to her. It was the trend of the time to help. Each child had a different experience due to the time in their lives depending on where the drinking level was in mother’s life. It seemed cruel to me then and it seems cruel now. Not that the method is a useful tool, it just was not handled properly.
Now I was then the only Christian in my family. Now they all went to church during Christmas and at Easter but none believed as I do that there is a relationship built between a person and Christ that helps one navigate hard times and smile in the good times. So the tough love confrontation did nothing but hurt my mother as it was done accusingly not lovingly as Christ would have done.
Chapter 5 of Galatians list the fruits of the spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. It is the spirit of God that gives the abilities to use these gifts and He give them to us to use them freely.
So when you face a confrontation, remember Jesus. Remember His teaching but most of all remember HIS LOVE. He has so much love to give us and we are to spread it wherever we go. Do any of us have all the answers? I don’t think so but if any situation is approached in the right frame of mind, good will come from it.
Over the next few posts, I will explore more of why I believe things happened in my family, my reaction to them, my reaction because of them and the consequences of it all. Maybe someone will agree, disagree but can offer a different preservative of this thing we call life.
For the Love of 