Simple Memories

 

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 114: Today, I am grateful for simple memories that make me smile. 

This is the kind of phone I grew up with. I remember getting a push button phone but these old, solid rotary phones were still around the house. They didn't fail. They worked long after the push button versions didn't. 

This is the phone that could ring on a party line so you knew if you should answer or let it ring on for the neighbors on your party line (the Corbin's and the Krueger's). 

This is the phone that might confuse youth today. It seems so obvious to those who know how it works. I wonder if these still work with today's technology? 

After yesterday's post, my first thought was how slow this technology would seem with today's modern devices. Of course, at that time we only used area codes for long distance calls. 4-2504 was Grandpa and Grandma. 4-2002 what Uncle Larry and Aunt Judy. 4-2607 was Aunt Mary and Uncle Mel. That was all we needed. So, it really didn't take long. 

Phone technology has changed so much over the past 30 years. Now, we carry it with us. I am not always sure that is a good thing. We are living out what only Star Trek dreamed of in the 1960's. 

What is easy is not always good. Technology, like many things, has its good and its bad features. We are the ones who choose if we use them or they use us.  

"“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many." -Matthew 7:13

What are the simple memories that make you smile today? Where can you choose simple today? 

Today, I am grateful for simple memories that make me smile. 

Unhurried

 

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 113: Today, I am grateful for unhurried moments. 

This poem is beautiful: 

I WILL NOT HURRY
I will not hurry through this day!
Lord, I will listen by the way,
To humming bees and singing birds,
To speaking trees and friendly words;
And for the moments in between
Seek glimpses of Thy great Unseen.
I will not hurry through this day;
I will take time to think and pray;
I will look up into the sky,
Where fleecy clouds and swallows fly;
And somewhere in the day, maybe
I will catch whispers, Lord, from Thee! 

-Ralph Spaulding Cushman 1879-1960

The unhurried moments are where we find some of the best things in the day. The cool scent of the morning before the day heats up, the scent of fresh coffee, the sun peeking at daybreak before it fully rises to light and warm the day are just a few of the moments I do not want to hurry.

Hurrying too often distracts us from what is important. 

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1

Today, I am grateful for unhurried moments. 

My Little Brother

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 112: Today, I am grateful for my little brother. 

My world changed on this day. It is the anniversary of  my baby brother's arrival. I was six years older and it was so fun to have a real baby of my own. Well, he wasn't exactly mine, but I bossed him around like a mom. We've often said it is a wonder he even likes me, let alone loves me. 

My side of the story is that it took all three of us... Mom, Dad, and me... to keep him alive. April was sometimes his keeper, and sometimes his partner in crime. We grew up running barefoot with plenty of sunshine. 

My first gray hairs likely came from him. I adore him! It is probably good that I was gone before his teen years. He walked at 7 months and climbed grain silos... alone... when he was two. 

He taught me to drive a stick shift when he was twelve and I was 17 after Dad tried and failed. Dad was mad. I was in tears. Matt said, "Let's go, Babe." It was not his usual name for me... but at that moment he was the big brother. 15 minutes later, I was on my way to perfecting the skill. 

I love his quick wit, common sense, and wisdom. I love that we laugh together and are touched by many of the same things. Who knew that he would grow up to be one of my best friends, too? I am grateful for the wife he chose and that she said yes. Laughing together is one of life's greatest pleasures. The time together is never long enough. Be it as two couples... or even better with all of our children (by birth and by blessing-in-love) ... it is always good to be together. 

He is a wonderful husband, dad, brother, uncle, and he loves the land just like Grandpa, Dad, and Uncle Mel. He is my brother, and I celebrate the gift of another year added to his count. 

“‘“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’ -Numbers 6:24-26

Today, I am grateful for my little brother. 

The Right Key

 

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 111: Today, I am grateful for the right key.

When I was younger, I used to glance at the front pages of the celebrities on the gossip newspapers like the National Enquirer while waiting to pay for groceries. The drama was always big and much of it false, but, curiosity kept my eye glued to the cover. Now, I see them and all I feel is sad. Fame and fortune leaves many of the celebrities broken and sad. 

If you grew up in the country or small town, you have likely been teased for it. Not the good type of teasing that I enjoyed from my friends who lived in the city and the burbs (I enjoyed it all and especially bringing you to one lane roads with no yellow lines that made you panic.). It was the arrogant superiority that really looked down on those who live more simply. 

Dad always called it "the accident of birth" when he referred to where you lived, the color of your skin, the color of your eyes or hair, or who your parents happen to be. He was a Gideon and believed in getting Bibles into the hands of those who might not know the gospel near and far away. Jail was his favorite place to take Bibles. We used to joke that it was a captive audience. He carried the truth. Some found freedom behind bars. It fueled his soul. 

As far as I can tell, extreme wealth, fame, and fortune more often than not, suck the goodness from life as there seems to be an addiction that comes with chasing more. More money, more fame, and more power. Some... often at the birth of children or a crisis moment, step away from the limelight and look for a quiet, often rural, existence. They seek the simple and the true. 

Happiness chased is fleeting; deep, frequent gratitude sparks joy daily. In seeking Jesus we find truth; the truth sets us free from the shame, the blame, and the broken. Gratitude is the key. 

"and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” -John 8:32

The bars are left behind and the chains are broken. Unlocked by truth, grace, gratitude, and the cancelled sin debt paid by a guy who spent his first night on earth in a manger.  

Today, I am grateful for the right key.  

Favorite Verses

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 110: Today, I am grateful for my favorite verses. 

I have so many, but there are certainly some that make the top 10 list... and I might be able to do a top five if pressed. This has been one since my teen years. It was highlighted well in my Bible (NIV). Even then, I recognized the power grab. 

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." -1 Corinthians 15:55-57

A great companion scripture is: 

"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! -Philippians 1:20-22

There is so much encouragement in these verses. They declare death a door with no reason to fear. In fact, there is an element of excitement in Paul's letters. His biggest concern is that he will have the courage to face whatever painful death might be ahead of him. He is confident of his destination. The scripture rings with victory and purpose. 

This passage is definitely in my top five. If we follow this simple instruction, we will get many things right. 

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." -Romans 12:15

Celebrate the joys. Share in the sorrows. 

Today, I am grateful for my favorite verses. 

Strength in Weakness

 

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 109: Today, I am grateful for the perfect strength born in weakness. 

We had a beautiful message today from our former Pastor and dear friend, Doane Brubaker. The message God placed on his heart was one of those "right word and the right time" sermons. The message was from one of Paul's letters later in his life. 

"So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." -2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Pride, independence, and stubbornness can keep us from submitting to the will and authority of God. We want to do things our way and in our time. Sometimes, He has other plans. We can fight it, (and I have) but his way is truly the best way. Too often, it is through the brokenness and trials that we finally say "not my will, but thy will be done." He waits. 

A story in the sermon reminded me of a print I love by one of my favorite artists. Mary Engelbreit shows a cracked hanging pot that has obviously leaked because below it beautiful flowers are blooming. I could not find the print, but I found an image of a cracked pot that resulted in flowers growing at the bottom of the crack. I think it is even more beautiful than if the pot was perfect. 

Life has plot twists. We can choose to lean into God's strength and rest, so that beauty can bloom in the broken places. 

Today, I am grateful for the perfect strength born in weakness.

Freshly Turned Dirt

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 108: Today, I am grateful for the smell of freshly turned dirt. 

The scent I am referring to is not petrichor. Petrichor requires rain. The scent of farmers and gardeners turning the soil over after the long, cold rest of winter is unique. Petrichor is a scent I seek out; the scent of freshly turned dirt is different. 

The smell of the soil being turned is one that I associate with the hope and promise of things to come. It is spring telling us that summer's glories are on the way. Perhaps, it is the smell of hope. 

That a hard, lifeless seed can be brought back to life with soil and water will forever be a mystery to me. I see God in every seed that produces a harvest. I see reminders that we were instructed to care for the earth. Avid gardeners... and I am not one... often say that we are closest to God when we are in a garden. 

The kids gave me a hydroponic garden for Christmas. It is all the wonder without the dirt. (It is time to replant it.) We've enjoyed sharing the "Farm Reports" as the seeds sprouted and grew. The arugula was probably my favorite harvest. It requires plant food to be added to the water. For the outside garden, the dirt works its magic of feeding the seeds. 

Walker and Amber are our family gardeners. The rest of us have tomatoes and perhaps a few other plants. Now is the time to turn the dirt. The rain is part of bringing the soil back to life. I walked back to our small garden bed last night that showed signs of Randy's work. The scent made me smile. 

Black dirt freshly turned is special. 

"And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so." -Genesis 1:11

And, it was good!

Today, I am grateful for the smell of freshly turned dirt.