Seeds of Kindness vs Seeds of Hatred

Pa, Ma, and Junior were sitting on the front porch after a hard day on the farm.  There were just relaxing when a car drove up and a man got out. He walked up to them and asked, “What kind of town is this? We’re moving because the town we left is full of hateful and spiteful people.” Pa looked at the man for a second and replied, “Well, I’m afraid you’ll find the same kind of people live here.” The man –muttered under his breath and stomped away.

Soon another car drove up and a man walked to the porch. “What kind of people live in this town? The town we just left has the most caring, kindest people we have ever known.” Pa looked at him for a second and smiled. “You will find the same kind of people live here.” The man smiled as he walked back his car and drove away.

“Pa, why did you tell the first man this town is full of hateful people, but you told the second man the town is full of kind people?” I don’t understand.”

Pa smiled and looked at Junior. “Well son, you see the first man has a heart full of hate and it is bubbling out of him and spilling over onto everyone around him.  The second man has a heart filled with love and it too is spilling over onto everyone around him.  You see, son, whatever is in your heart will show up on the outside.”

I read this story a few years ago and it has stayed with me.  I don’t know who wrote it and apologize to the writer if I have slaughtered it too badly. The point is we see this story being lived out every day in this country. There are so many hate-filled people. They are letting their hatred bubble over and are trying to stomp out and eliminate any goodness and kindness they see.

Radical groups like BLM, Antifa, White Supremacists and Neo Nazis are rioting and killing each other and innocent people. We saw this is Charlottesville, VA. If you don’t believe the same way or say what they want you to say—you have no right to live. Meanwhile the media is quick to jump on the bandwagon and tell us what they want us to know and how to think.  The heart of the media is so evil they cannot stand the thought of anyone that dares to call them out on it.  It has gotten so bad that media and celebrities are criticizing and berating an eleven year old boy just because of who his father is.

The average American cannot feel safe any longer. If we support our President, we are white supremacists and racists by default and have no right to live.  The hatred in this country is in epidemic proportions and must stop.  We are all Americans no matter the color of our skin. That is what makes this country so great. We should learn from each other’s views and not insist we all think alike.  

With the radical groups today, it is hard to find the kind compassionate people that are still here.  I know we still have them but the hatred spewed by the hate-mongers are drowning out the message we are trying to spread across the land.  As Martin Luther King Jr. said. “Hate cannot drive out hate only love can drive out hate.”

College kids are fighting and do not know why or what they are fighting against. They believe what their liberal professors tell them and do not know enough American history to show enough intelligence to decide for themselves what to think.  College is supposed to teach students how to make intelligent decisions and think for themselves and today colleges are failing our students in a big way.I do pity these kids when they graduate from college but do not know how to make a living or survive in the world.

I want to tell all the kindhearted compassionate people that are left in this great country—don’t give up the fight. Stay strong and endure until the end and we will prevail. By sowing our seeds of kindness, we can rest assured that we will have our rewards.  God is in control and no matter what the hate-mongers try to tell us He will never leave us.  Although the evil one is sowing seeds of hatred, our seeds of kindness will prevail and one day we will win the fight.

I love what St. Francis of Assisi said so long ago.

Lord,

Make me an instrument of your peace

Where there is hatred…let me sow love

Where there is injury…pardon

Where there is doubt….faith

Where there is despair…hope

Where there is sadness…joy.

Father, we ask you with humble hearts to guide us and protect our leaders.  Give our President the wisdom and strength he needs to lead this great country back to you.  be with your people and continue to bless us.  You have shown great mercy to the United States and continue to be merciful to us.  The father of lies is deceiving so many people today and leading so many to rebel against what is good and right.  Your word tells us he is already defeated and the victory is already ours. Give us the strength to stand firm in our faith. Each day you show us in your wonderful creation how blessed we are to have you as our Father. 

Thank you Father for loving us so much.

Get Off the Pity Pot

Unless you have living under a rock you have seen the riots in our city streets over the recent elections.  I have heard many people say that protest is good and is guaranteed under the Constitution of the United States.  I agree.  However, instead of peacefully protesting, these people (thugs) are destroying property, endangering lives and over all making nuisances of themselves.  A washed up singer recently said that America is the laughingstock of the rest of the world.  I won’t mention any names if that’s alright with you, Madonna.  Well, honey, what do you think you were when you offered to perform sex for a vote for Hillary.  We have been the joke of the rest of the world for the past 8 years under Obama.

When I see the “Snowflakes” crying and wringing their hands because they are “offended” by people that do not agree with them, it really offends me.  Oh, excuse me, I can’t be offended because I am not a liberal.  Let me see if I have this straight—I do want to be politically correct. HA!   Conservatives offend but can’t be offended while Liberals can’t offend but are offended.  OK.  Gotcha!

I went to college in the 70’s.  It might surprise the “enlightened” kids (yeah kids they are not acting like grown-ups) of today’s college campuses but we actuall6y learned from listening to the differing views and opinions of our classmates.  This was during the Viet Nam war era and classes were filled with a wide diversity of students—from the fresh out of high school students, older more mature students and *gasp* even veterans.  We did not run out of the room crying if someone voiced an opinion that differed from ours.  We discussed the opinions and each student was able to take a little bit of knowledge out of that room.  We did not curse or brow beat each other.  The college did not offer safe spaces, play doh or cute little puppies to salve our wounded egos and hurt feelings.  The only safety pins we wore were to hold a hem up or mend out clothes until there was time to mend the clothes the way they should be mended.

If you plan to prosper and flourish in this world, you need to realize LIFE IS NOT FAIR and the world does not revolve around you and your feelings.  You might be offended when the bank tells you to make your house payment or you will lose the house.  Your feeling might be hurt when your boss tells you to do something you do not want to do.  You will find that no one will provide a safe space for you when the real world hits you in the face and you have kids to feed and clothe and bills to pay and you can’t stretch that paycheck far enough.

So SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP, face life and GET OFF THE PITY POT.

I know this is a post from a few months ago but it appears to be getting more relevant as each day goes by.  I read an article that the University of Missouri is paying the price of catering to the millenial snowflakes.  Enrollment is down, dorms are empty and jobs have been lost.  So I must say again—GET OFF THE PITY POT!!!

Eclipse

As everyone knows God gave us all a view of His wonder in the sky on Monday.  Parts of the U.S were treated tp a partial solar eclipse while other parts were treated to a total solar eclipse.  This morning while taking my kids to school, we were talking about how we felt when we witnessed this wonderful event.  The kids said it was “awesome” and “beautiful”.  Suddenly, I found myself telling them that one good thing about it was “People were so busy looking up they didn’t have time to look down on anybody.”  Alyssa said, “I like that, Nanny.  Where did you hear that?”  All I could say was “just now.”  It came into my head and out of my mouth.  All I can say is God gave me those words to speak.  I have been often accused of speaking without thinking.  This was one of those times but I thank God that I spoke words He gave me to say.  My God does truly speak to us if we only listen.

My God is awesome.

Un-American

Our country was founded on principles that all men are created equal.  Our founding fathers were visionaries and sought to assure all citizens the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  However, today we have groups that will deny others the right to life, deny others their liberty, and only think they themselves should be able to pursue happiness.

Friends, so much of what I see in our country today crushes these values America was built upon.

When a senator can shed tears on the senate floor because there is a policy to vet refugees from terror sponsored countries but remains dry eyed when millions of innocent babies are murdered in the womb—that is In-American.

When our homeless go hungry while illegal aliens can come into this count5ry and receive food stamps, welfare and shelter—that is Un-American

When our elderly much choose between eating or buying their medications while abortions and transgender surgeries are paid for with tax payer money—that is Un-American.

When our troops go without proper equipment while celebrities and athletes protest our country and national anthem—that is un-American.

When our veterans go without benefits that were promised but billions of dollars are given to countries that hate us—that is Un-American.

When Christian companies are forced to compromise their faith and values by serving same sex weddings while other businesses can say, “if you support traditional marriage, don’t shop here.”—that is Un-American.

When radical groups like BLM and antifa can riot, burn cities and kill or injure people but citizens are prosecuted and persecuted for speaking out against them that is Un-American.

When a black criminal disobeys law enforcement and is shot by police and there is a public outcry while police officers are shot everyday for doing their jobs and media is silent—that is Un-American.

When the media takes it upon itself to slant the news and tell us what to think instead of reporting the news and trusting us to decide for ourselves what to think—that is Un-American.

Friends, I have been told that, as a Christian, I should not be political.  I am not a political person but what I see goes beyond politics.  It is now about our survival as a country and the fabric of our way of life.  I once read “All it takes for evil to spread is for good men to do nothing.”  I am only trying to do my small part to stop the spread of evil.  You can agree with me or not.  That is your right and I respect you for it but it is my right to say it and all I am asking is for your respect in my right.

Clearing the Clutter

We all make New Year’s Resolutions that are supposed to make us better people.  Recently I decided to clear the clutter from my life and tried every diet and self improvement program I could find.  Some of these programs kept my interest longer than others but none of them fulfilled me in the way I had hoped.  The weight did not come off as easily as it went on and my attitude did not see much improvement either.   In fact, my family told me that I really needed a total attitude adjustment.  Some days I did not seem to see any good in anybody or anything.  It was then that I discovered Donna Par tow's book, Becoming the Woman I Want to Be:  A 90 Day Journey to Renewing Spirit, Soul, and Body.

When I read the book I began to realize that our homes are not the only things that can become cluttered with unnecessary things.  Our lives can become so cluttered that we go through life with burdens that we are not meant to bear.  I then made a vow to rid my life of these burdens so that I could really enjoy life and family and friends to the fullest.

The first thing I decided to discard was an old cracked jar that was filled with stones of various shapes and sizes.  The was my jar of troubles that had really slowed my growth and enjoyment of life.  The stones were different sizes because my troubles were different sizes.  Some were so minor that the solutions came with no major work on my part.  Others were the size of boulders because I had been so overwhelmed by them that I was literally crippled by the weight.  Under these troubles I had been forced to my knees.  Although God had promised to bear these burdens for me I had not let Him.  Instead I had insisted on holding onto them and not given Him control of my life.

The next thing I threw in the discard pile was  a rusty old bucket.  This bucket held  tears that had fallen throughout my life.  This bucket is extremely heavy and its weight has made by back become stooped and bent.  Again at times few tears fell into the bucket and at other times I did not think the bucket would hold them  all.  Again I remembered God’s promise that He will wipe the tears from our eyes and bear all our troubles.  I had insisted on handling these situations myself instead of giving them to Him.

I then looked into a box that was falling apart at the seams.  In this box I found grudges that I had held against other people in my life.  Although I had professed to forgive these people I held onto the grudges.  I admit that these grudges were very difficult to let go and I knew that I must release them in order to clear out the clutter that was taking over my life.  I definitely needed to place this box in the discard pile.  I realized that when I failed to totally forgive others and carried these grudges with me I was only hurting myself.  The person that needed the forgiveness was not harmed by these grudges.  I was being harmed by packing this box with me wherever I went.  The box was so heavy that my legs and back were beginning to ache with the weight.  The people I failed to truly forgive did not have this weight to carry.  Again I heard God whisper, “I paid the penalty for your sins and have forgiven you.  Why do you think you are justified in not forgiving others?

I then looked into a ragged suitcase and found regrets stuffed in there.   Regrets for the things I did not say to others  who needed encouragement. Regrets for times I could've helped someone else but because of my selfishness and unconcern neglected to.   I found  regrets for the times I was  “too busy"  or "preoccupied"  to spend time with my kids because of my misplaced priorities.  I could not bear to look into the suitcase any longer  so I slammed the lid shut and locked  these regrets in  so I would not have to think about them any longer.  it was a tremendous relief to  put the suitcase into the discard pile.   God tells us not to live in the past but look to the future.   I knew that without these regrets my future looks brighter and my load was already lighter. 

I looked in the corner of the room  of my mind and saw an old cracked mirror  that made my features  distorted and ugly.   I did not look like that did I?    I did not like this reflection of myself.   This image was the result of years of self-pity and self-doubt.  My  face was so ugly in this mirror  I could not stand to look into it  so I threw it on the discard pile and  watched it shatter.

I also saw a giant tapestry that displayed a spirit of pride. I have been able to accomplish goals  and felt that I had been able to do this on my own with no help from anyone.  I  sometimes looked down on someone not as educated or as capable as I thought myself to be.   I had put on an air of superiority  when I had accomplished something that I felt was important to the world.  My spirit of self-importance  had  hindered my testimony  and witness for my Savior and had caused some people to fall by the wayside.   Suddenly,  a feeling of shame came over me.  I began to see that without the help of my family and friends  I could not have accomplished anything at all.  this was the moment that God had whispered in my ear," Remember your favorite verse in Philippians  –  I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength ."  without me you can not do anything .  I threw the tapestry in the discard pile with a silent prayer of thanks to God .  " Thank you God for giving me the strength and knowledge  to accomplish what you have set before me to do.”

After I had thrown all the mental and spiritual clutter that had accumulated in my life throughout the years, I feel down on my knees to thank God and ask him to help me keep control of the thoughts  that I let in my mind and the feelings that lived in my heart .   He lovingly said to me , " I have waited for you to ask. You have attempted  to live life on your own terms. I have been waiting here for you to surrender all the clutter so that I can  fill your heart and soul with good things.  I want you to experience life to the fullest.  I will now fill you with joy,  love, compassion,  and encouragement .   I have a purpose in mind for your life  and those plans are to bring you happiness and prosperity .  They are not plans to harm or cause hurt to you." 

After clearing the clutter, I found I had room in my mind and life for the good things that God had for me. I do realize that this clearing was not a one-time only job but is a job that must be done regularly to ensure that I will have room for God's blessing

Stop the Bullying

Bullying is painful and can be fatal. I had a personal experience with a child I know and love being bullied last school year and it hurt more people than the bullied child. Sometimes bullies think they need to bully to feel better themselves or to impress someone. But friends, bullying is never OK. Stop for a minute and think how you would feel if you were the one bullied. If more people followed the Golden Rule how much better this world would be. THINK ABOUT IT.

Special request to all you kids returning to school in August : If you see someone who is struggling to make friends or being bullied because he/she doesn't have many friends or because they are shy or not as pretty or not dressed in the most "in" clothes -- PLEASE step up. Say hi or at least smile at them in the hallway. You never know what that person might be facing outside of school. Your kindness might just make a BIG difference in someone's life! PARENTS and GRANDPARENT'S SHOULD RE-POST THIS

My Lord and I

One day I felt overwhelmed with work and worry.  I could not quiet my mind and relax.  I began to call out to God for help.  This is the prayer I prayed.

Lord, when my life seems to be spinning out of control, help me to stop and smell the roses.  Help me to savor each moment and not rush through the moments on my way to some other time or place.  Help me to take the time to see—really see—all your blessings and to truly feel your love in my heart.  Help me to be still and hear your small still voice.

When I paused and asked Him for help, here is what He said to me:

“My child, I love you and want to enjoy your company.  Just come and sit with me and tell me about your day.  I am here for you.  All you need to do is to slow down and enjoy being with me.  There is nothing you do that does not interest me.  Remember you are my child and I am your father.  I love you.  Come to me and rest.”

I then turned off my computer, went into the living room and just sat there.  I felt the peace of His love as He encircled me in His loving arms.  My worries left and we just sat there with our arms around each other—my Lord and I.