The View from Here.....

Saturday, April 30, 2011

A Royal Affair..and a little respect!

Yesterday was the wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton. I was caught up in the fairy tale, but as the news replayed the day over and over again, I was struck by the overwhelming respect that everyone displayed. From a crowd of over 1 million, not one incident was reported. We in the US can hardly manage a Friday night High School football game without some sort of drama. I'm thinking, there is a real deficit in the US, and I don't mean in the budget. We lack respect, self respect, respect for authority, respect for other...it's quite sad really. It must sadden God too...

When you don't have self respect, how can you treat others with respect? How can you expect children who have not been taught respect to have it when they get to school? Yes, we do have some major problems in this county of excess....we are poor...poor role models, poor stewards of what we've been given and we have poor attitudes, so are we really a rich nation? In all the ways that count, we are poor, very poor. Maybe we don't know everything, maybe there's something to be said for tradition and protocol. Maybe we are not a nation of one. maybe we are the "greatest" nation on earth, but the greatest at what? Do we really want to be the greatest at disrespect? Just something to think about.....as for me in my little corner of the world, I think I'll have some tea and scones and try to recapture some of the pomp and circumstance of yesterday's wedding....

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Grace Revisited....

We'll be prisoners to our shame unless we experience grace. Grace reminds us to learn our lessons, accept God's forgiveness, and move on.

We'll be slaves to lists of do's and don'ts unless we embrace grace. Grace gives us freedom to do the right thing because we are so deeply loved.

We'll try to work our way to God unless we understand grace. Grace reminds us to trust our lives to Jesus, and not our own goodness.

We'll spend an eternity apart from God unless we accept God's offer of grace. Grace is our hope for forever in God's presence.

From Easter Message, Bon Air Baptist Church

4/24/11

Monday, April 25, 2011

Why I feel blessed!

young love, new love

love of a son

loving parents and some of my kids for church

Easter Morning....an empty tomb, a grateful heart, an inclination to forgive those that hurt me....on purpose, a prayerful heart for a difficult situation, and love....love pretty well sums it all up!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

I will rise.....

I can think of no better song to celebrate the sacrifice made for our benefit. Happy Easter!

Irritation....

This pretty well sums up part of my day.....all that yellow at the edge of the curb....POLLEN, and I was...well irritated, figuratively and literally.

I'm much better now thank you!

Training.....

On my way to get bagels for brunch with Dan & Jackie, I saw an odd sight. It was this elderly man with a quite rambunctious dog. Mind you it was still cloudy and misty, so the weather was not the best, and paws were muddy. This poor, but patient fellow was trying his best to train this dog to walk on a lead. The dog was everywhere...in front of the man, behind him, in the street, on top of the man...all the while, the man patiently, very patiently started all over again, and rewarded the pup with a treat for the smallest accomplishment. It was so tender that I pulled over in a parking lot to watch for a few minutes...finally, I guess out of desperation, the man picked the dog up and carried him to his destination, all the while talking calmly to the dog and promising a better outcome on the next outing...

Patient man on sidewalk, dog in the road.....

Looking for a treat

I thought to myself, there had to be a lesson in that...how like God...the patience, the calm, the love, and finally, picking up and carrying when the need arose...thank you Lord for being so patient with my training...