Query Family Christmases

My childhood Christmas memories were some of my fondest childhood memories. We were not well off financially but we always had a wonderful Christmastime. Our Christmas celebration was fairly traditional all except for one thing: we had it in the middle of the night! It was not until several years later that I realized that most people don’t have Christmas at 3:00 a.m.!

Our family Christmas card Circa 1961 or 1962. I’m sitting on my dad’s lap, Dennis standing next to me, and Doug on my mom’s lap. Standing in the back is Eldon, Joyce, and Ronnie.

Actually, my dad worked a second job as a musician. He played guitar 🎸 and got home around 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. So instead of him going straight to bed and having to wake up in a couple of hours, we’d all get up when he got home. By the time we were done opening presents, my mom would fix us a big breakfast and then she’d lay back down for a morning nap while we played with our new toys. Then it was off to my grandma’s for a visit and dinner. She would give each of her grandchildren a small gift or maybe just a dollar bill for Christmas, but the size of the gift didn’t matter to me. I loved my grandma and grandpa so much! After a day of food and fun playing with my cousins and siblings, we’d pile back into the car and fall asleep on the ride back home.

On my grandma’s stairway with my cousin Connie, and my brothers Dennis, Ronnie, and Doug, Circa late 1950’s or early 1960’s.

When I was old enough to shop for presents on my own, I remember going to K-Mart or Ayr-Way (later bought by Target) and getting all my Christmas shopping done in one day. I loved being able to do this, and really enjoyed buying my family handpicked gifts. It didn’t matter that they were from a discount store. I thought they were perfect gifts and I felt joy in giving gifts that I had bought on my own. In retrospect I believe this is when I first experienced the blessing of giving gifts.

It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35

Now many years later, with grown children and ever growing grandchildren, I still enjoy giving gifts at Christmastime, but it’s more about being together as a family and making memories that I cherish the most. Our Christmas gatherings have taken on a deeper meaning to this aging wife, mom, and grandmother. Lord willing, I’ll have many more Christmases and many more years here on earth but I know my days are numbered.

Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. James 4:14

As for man, his days are like grass: he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone … But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him. Psalm 103:15-17

One day God will take me home and in turn, I’ll be but a memory to my loved ones, and awaiting to see them again in heaven. In the meantime it’s my hope and prayer that each one of my loved ones will have personally received the most perfect gift ever:

The LORD Jesus Christ.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

Count your Blessings

In the early 2000s, a little before Thanksgiving time, I sat down and wrote out a detailed list of the blessings in my life. My salvation in Christ, my family, and God’s provisions topped the list, but I was deliberate to also include personal experiences and events that most people likely wouldn’t initially consider a blessing. Honestly, they probably didn’t seem like a blessing to me at the time either. I realized, in time however that many of my blessings and much of my spiritual growth has come from relying on God and His word during the difficult times in my life. In some cases, years after it occurred in my life, and now many of which I have included in my writings of my life story.

Romans 8:28 is still one of my favorite Bible verses:

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Over the years I’ve learned that being a Christian doesn’t make any of us immune to life’s trials and problems, but more importantly I’ve learned that those trials and problems often have a divine purpose.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” James 1:2-4

I primarily write about my life experiences combined with one or more aspects concerning my faith in Christ. Things like the sin nature we’re all born with, our need for repentance and forgiveness, God’s amazing mercy, and the undeserved grace that He gives freely to all who turn away from sin and turn to Him in repentance and faith.

I believe that forgiveness from God, besides being the one thing we need most from Him, is often the catalyst that leads us to forgive others.

And that forgiving others leads to blessings, and blessings lead to thankfulness; a thankfulness not necessarily based on the circumstance but rather in Him.

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

One of the most significant things I ever realized in my own life was that it was not until I received God’s forgiveness that I was able to actually forgive others. That forgiveness which I’ve extended to others has in turn blessed me in ways I would have never realized without first being forgiven by Christ.

And,

Forgiveness is like a two-way street.

“Forgiveness is setting the prisoner free, only to find out that the prisoner was me.” Corrie ten Boom

I suspect people who choose not to forgive others are setting up at least two traps for themselves.

One,

Missing out on the blessing of a mutual loving relationship, and

Two,

Having a questionable relationship with God.

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

The joy of knowing that God knows the worst of me and loves me anyway, is immeasurable. The blessing of being forgiven by Christ and the freedom of forgiving others also brings a joy to my life that is hard to describe. Words like peace, happiness, gratitude, thankfulness, and blessedness, probably come closest to describing this feeling.

After writing down that list of blessings, I’m ever thankful for my salvation in Him, my family, and His provisions. His amazing grace and providence in my life have been and continues to be truly amazing.

I’m also continually reminded that many times in life a blessing may not initially appear to be a blessing. It is with hope and faith in Him that we look to God for answers during times of trial, and in His perfect timing, we trust Him no matter what. In the meantime, we are to have a spirit of thankfulness in all things. We’re to continually count our blessings and never forget them as Johnson Oatman, Jr reminds us in his sweet hymn:

“Count your blessings,

name them one by one;

Count your blessings,

see what God hath done;

Count your blessings,

name them one by one;

Count your many blessings,

see what God hath done.”

And be thankful.

Knowin’ Where I’m Goin’

Travel has long been one of my favorite things to do. I enjoy everything about it, even the planning. I also enjoy the challenge of traveling as inexpensively as possible.

Thanks to my airline employee and retiree benefits, I’ve been able to travel inexpensively for many years. I also get discounts on hotels, car rentals, and cruises too. All of which I’m very thankful for.

So in October of 2022 I traveled to/from Indianapolis for my 50th high school reunion. I flew on a confirmed ticket there because I wanted to make sure I’d get there on the day I planned, and decided to use my airline travel benefits to standby for my return flight. I wasn’t sure if I’d be going back to Dallas or to Tampa, plus getting back on a certain day wasn’t as important as getting there, so standby travel was a good option for my return. I also booked my hotel using reward points and reserved a rental car with a discount rate. Everything was set. At least I thought it was.

I made a little mistake on my hotel. 😬

Well actually, kind of a big mistake.

I had booked the hotel several months out using my husband’s Wyndham Rewards points. I put IND in the hotel search bar as I generally prefer staying near the airport whenever I need a hotel. The search showed availability south of IND airport so I booked it. So far so good.

So I thought.

As I got closer to my travel date, I even pulled up the address of my old high school on my iPhone and noticed that the hotel was actually in Southport. I thought, “Oh, that’s close to my high school. That’ll work.”

Same hotel name. Wrong hotel.

Wrong.

So on Thursday morning I flew nonstop from DAL Dallas Love Field to IND on WN Southwest Airlines. I got my rental car. I drove to Frankfort to have lunch with my cousin, Jeri. We had a nice visit and then I drove by my grandparents old house and also by the graveyard.

Then I drove over to Lebanon where I met my 2nd cousin, Chrissy, for dinner. After a nice visit I put in the address for my hotel on my iPhone map and headed back toward Indianapolis around 10 p.m. It was dark when I exited I-465 on to US 31 South and I was shocked when the map told me to take an immediate right. I thought, Oh no! Not THAT hotel! I remembered THAT hotel from over 50 years ago.

Mercy.

It was late and I was tired. I thought, well maybe, just maybe, they’ve updated it and that everything would be ok.

Wrong again.

As I walked inside the lobby I saw a few attempts had been made to try to update the hotel, but as I opened the door to my room my heart sank. The carpet was torn, the door lock latch was bent and therefore did not work, the toilet paper holder was rusted, and the under sink area had exposed pipes that were rusty and dirty looking.

So I sat down exhausted and upset with myself. I’d been up since 3:30 a.m Dallas time. Why wasn’t I more careful about which hotel I booked? Why didn’t I take time to reconfirm my reservation and verify the location?! I closed my eyes and prayed, “Lord, what should I do? 🙏🏻

I called my husband and told him I made a BIG mistake. While on the phone I heard people out in the hallway which made me feel uncomfortable; unsafe actually. I decided right then that I needed to find another hotel. Then, while still on the phone with my husband I got a text from my cousin Connie, who I was planning visiting the next day. She asked me if I was at my hotel and if everything was ok.

Insert perfect timing and an answer to prayer here! 🙏🏻❤️

I was embarrassed to tell her that I’d made a mistake on my hotel reservation, plus it was so late, nearly 11:00 p.m. but she insisted I come on over to her house to stay instead of getting another hotel. I was so thankful 🙌🏻 and it was so nice to stay with her for three nights.

While in Indianapolis I visited my brother Ron, the graveyard where my parents and brother Eldon’s gravesites are, went to three different reunion events, and had a Sunday visit with my brother and sister-in-law, Dennis and Pam, at their new house in Westfield. We went to church, had brunch, a nice 3 mile walk on the Monon Trail, and a yummy dinner at home. The next morning I returned my rental car and flew standby on Delta IND x/ATL TPA.

It was a wonderful trip; all except my hotel mess-up. I realized:

• It was my own fault.

• I booked the wrong hotel.

• I assumed everything was ok, and

• I should have reconfirmed my hotel reservations and verified the location. As a seasoned traveler I should have known better.

Which made me think,

How much more we all need to make sure where our eternal destination is.

Years ago I used to listen to a Christian radio program hosted by Larry Burkett. He taught Christian principles concerning finances. He used to say, “Do your givin’ while your livin’, then you’re knowin’ where it’s goin’.” Good advice with a catchy country twang.

Thus the title, “Knowin’ Where I’m Goin’”

While “knowin’ where I’m goin’” is good advice concerning hotel reservations, it’s of eternal importance concerning where we’re going after we pass away.

It’s OK to make a mistake with a hotel reservation.

It’s not OK to make a mistake with our eternal destination.

• Have you admitted you’re a sinner in need of a Savior?

• Have you repented of your sin and placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone? Was there a change in your heart and in your life?

• Never “assume” you ’re going to heaven because you’re a “good person” or because you were baptized or because you go to church, or because of any “good works.”

• “Reconfirm your reservation” to heaven in “fear and trembling:

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Philippians 2:13)

And,

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. 2 Corinthians 13:5

Make sure Jesus is your Savior and Lord.

You must be born again. John 3:7

Then, rest in knowing that the Bible is clear that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

“By grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8

As the hymn writer, C.L. Bancroft (1863) reminds us, we’re not saved by anything we’ve done, we’re saved by a work done for us:

Because the sinless Savior died,

My sinful soul is counted free,

For God the just is satisfied,

To look on Him and pardon me.

The Great Exchange

In honor of my 50th high school class reunion planned for October 2022, I began searching for a song several weeks earlier to use for our class memorial video. I listened to several songs with the intent of picking only one, but decided instead to go with three different songs.

I believe they each have a story to tell:

• Temporary Home, by Carrie Underwood

• See You Again, by Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa

• The Great Exchange, by Bruce Carroll

1. “Temporary Home,” beautifully sung by Carrie Underwood was co-written by Carrie Underwood, Zac Maloy, and Luke Laird in 2009. The lyrics, set to country music, tell three stories about temporary homes:

• a young boy living in foster care,

• a young mother and her child living in a halfway house,

• and an old man in a hospital bed surrounded by his loved ones.

The refrain includes a Christian themed message:

“This is my temporary home,

it’s not where I belong

Windows and rooms

that I’m passing through.

This was just a stop

on the way to where I’m going

I’m not afraid because I know

This was my temporary home.”

The Bible tells us in the Book of Hebrews that this world is not our home and is just a precursor to the world that is to come. We are literal “strangers, sojourners, and aliens” who are mearly passing through.

“… admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” Hebrews 11:13-14

********************

2. “See You Again” is a popular contemporary song with a “sentimental, miss my friend” message. Sung by Charlie Puth (with Wiz Khalifa) for Furious 7, the seventh movie in The Fast and the Furious franchise movie series, which was released in 2015.

Charlie Puth co-wrote the lyrics, along with Justin Franks in 2014, in memory of The Fast and the Furious movie star Paul Walker after he died in a 2013 high speed car crash. Charlie Puth and Justin Franks reportedly co-wrote the lyrics drawing from their own personal emotions from each having had friends die in tragic accidents as well.

The emotional and secular lyrics include much about friendships, memories, and a hopeful themed refrain to “see you again,” however the song takes a couple of left turns with the lyrics, “Damn, who knew?” and “And any road you take will always lead you home.” Two misleading statements.

As,

The Bible clearly teaches that there is only one “road” to heaven and that road is through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

And death is inevitable, 10 out of 10 people die.

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment. Hebrews 9:27

**********************

3. “The Great Exchange” is a Christian contemporary song written in 1990 by Bruce Carroll and Barbara Kinnamon, and beautifully sung by Bruce Carroll. The lyrics creatively tell the gospel message:

Once upon a time,

upon a hill far away

An unfair proposition

before a righteous Man was made

Could’ve changed His situation

but instead chose to obey

At the great exchange.

An eternity He traveled

to be there at that place

The chosen destination

to show mankind God’s grace

His longing to redeem us

could only be explained

At the great exchange.

At the great exchange

Even then, He knew me

and He bore such pain

And He did it all for love

An undeserving servant

who’ll never be the same

Since the great exchange.

I walked that same hillside,

as I knelt down to pray

He showed me all the wrong I’d done

And the price He paid that day

And then I arose forgiven

His loss became my gain

At the great exchange.

Everything that mankind lost,

Jesus has reclaimed

The pathway to eternity

by His death arranged

And all of this, He offers

if you’ll meet Him today

At the great exchange.

At the great exchange

Even then, He knew you

and He bore such pain

And He did it all for love

An undeserving servant,

you’ll never be the same

Since the great exchange.

At the great exchange

Even then, He knew you

and He bore such pain

And He did it all for love

An undeserving servant,

you’ll never be the same

Since the great exchange

The great exchange.

YouTube links:

https://youtu.be/hX8nD5ltUbI Temporary Home

https://youtu.be/JNg9m5CaUKs See You Again

https://youtu.be/74RdwUVA11o The Great Exchange

Lost and Found

My first car was an old clunker. It was a light blue Chrysler and I’m not sure of the year (late 1950’s or early 1960’s) but it was definitely old. It had what I would describe as “wings” on each side at the rear of the car, and a convenient hole in the driver’s side floorboard where I could empty my soft drinks and coffee. Ha!

Strangely, it had an automatic transmission but no “P” for park; I had to put it in “N” for neutral and pull the parking brake. This would have been fine, except for the fact that the parking brake was broke. So, I had to open my door and throw a wood block under the front tire to chalk it in place. The real problem came when I’d miss the tire and have to hurry out of the car, get the block from wherever it landed, and wedge it under the tire before the car rolled too far. Good times! Ha!

Hey, I was 16 years old, it was 1970, and I was happy just to have my own car, even though it was a clunker.

It basically got me from point A to point B, and it had an AM radio, which was always tuned-in to either pop or rock music. 🎶

The problem was my sense of direction; it wasn’t very good. I was always getting lost. I remember crying on more than one occasion because I was lost. This was the point when I first began thinking how cool it would be if my radio could please just tell me where I was, and how to get to where I was going. I was on the edge of brilliance (😂) but somehow fell short of inventing GPS navigation.

Then,

In 1972, I got a major upgrade; a brand new 1972 Camaro Rally Sport in Mojave Gold, complete with rear spoiler, an AM/FM stereo radio 🎶 (woo-hoo!), an 8-Track Tape player, lots of pop and rock 8-Track Tapes.

Me and my Camaro, May 1972. (My dad gave me $1000 for the down payment, and I worked full-time my senior year of high school, paid my monthly payments weekly and got it paid it off within a year.)

Fast forward to today, I drive a 2019 Jeep Grande Cherokee. It has a beautiful Pearl Red exterior color, and my favorite interior feature: Car Play with access to my iPhone apps, media, contacts, maps, and more.

October 2017, at the Texas State Fair in the Car Pavilion. I told Harold I loved the color of this 2018 Jeep. He surprised me a little over a year later in December 2018 with a brand new Pearl Red 2019 Jeep Grande Cherokee!

Lots of changes.

Much for the good.

But,

Of all of these changes over the past 50 years I’d have to say that the greatest change has not been in my cars,

but in my heart,

and in that which I choose to feed it.

The change in my heart occurred in my mid twenties when I turned to Christ in repentance and faith. I became born again, but God still had a lot of work to do in me, and still does. What I choose to feed my heart has a lot to with the process of sanctification and in the recognition of God’s grace in my life. It has been in my Bible studies that I recognized within myself, similar weaknesses and defeats experienced by many of the hero’s of faith in the Bible. I realize that any good I have done for Christ is not the result of my strength or intellect or character, but because of God’s grace. His grace is amazing and it is by His grace that He is still doing a work in my life. I know it is the Lord who is keeping me standing day by day, and moment by moment.

A.W. Pink reminds us that “God suffers it to appear that the best of men are but men at the best. No matter how richly gifted they may be, how eminent in God’s service, how greatly honoured and used of Him, let His sustaining power be withdrawn from them for a moment and it will quickly be seen that they are ‘earthen vessels.’ No man stands any longer than he is supported by Divine grace. The most experienced saint, if left to himself, is immediately seen to be as weak as water and as timid as a mouse.”

“Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.” Psalm 25:4

So these days,

My favorite thing to do while driving is listen to Christian talk radio. My favorite station is AFR, a Christian Talk Radio Station out of Tupelo, Mississippi. That station, combined with my favorite pastors, Christian teachers, and podcasters on iPhone apps are such a blessing. Suffice it to say that I’m thankful for each one of them. They, along with Bible study and prayer, help me keep more “in tune” with God and less “in tune” with the world.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” Psalm 32:8

So, how cool is it, that my getting lost when I first started driving, and my desperate hope that the radio would tell me where I was and how to get to where I needed to go, has actually come true in my life,

And,

in more ways than one:

Thanks to my Car Play maps and navigation system, I no longer get lost.

Thanks to Christian Talk Radio and my favorite iPhone apps that help guide me in my walk with the Lord.

Cooler still,

Thanks to the Lord,

“I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.” #JohnNewton

By the grace of God,

I know who I am, (a sinner saved by grace).

I know where I am, (in Christ Jesus)

and,

I know where I’m going, (In the world but not of the world; on my way to heaven one day in God’s perfect timing.)

So,

“Pray that the LORD your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.” Jeremiah 42:3

And enjoy the ride along the way.

Impressed

Back in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s my sister Joyce and I used to go out to the airport to watch the airplanes take off and land. We also went inside the terminal just to walk around sometimes. I was in my early teens and this was before the days of increased airport security, back when we day-dreamed of flying somewhere, back when life was simpler, and back when the main airport in Indianapolis was simply known as Weir Cook.

So, one day while we were walking around Weir Cook, my sister recognized Bobby Gentry of “Ode to Billie Joe” 🎶 fame. She was standing near one of the counters and was obviously upset. The airline had lost her guitar and my sister talked with her for a few minutes about it. I didn’t recognized her at first, even with her signature poofy hair-do, but I could tell she was somebody famous by the way she looked. I just didn’t know who she was initially.

So as we walked away, Joyce explained to me who she was and I was both shocked and impressed! I remember thinking how cool it was to see someone famous. It was 1967 or 1968 and I was a young teenager, around 13 or 14 years old. Her song, “Ode to Billie Joe,” was a very popular song on the radio at this time. The song was basically a story put to music, about a boy who died jumping off a Mississippi bridge. The story included a girl who secretly loved him, some mysterious circumstances, and her family who spoke of his death with casual indifference while eating dinner.

So Bobby Gentry was my first encounter with someone famous. I have to admit I thought it was pretty exciting, but I was pretty young then too. I was easily impressed.

Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of meeting or talking with a variety of famous people. I think most everyone has as well.

Here’s some of mine:

• Actors Jerry Mathers and Tony Dowell of Leave it to Beaver fame at a dinner theater (Beef and Boards) meet-and-greet and photo op in Indianapolis.

• Singer Mel Torme (“Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”🎶) when he stood behind me at the America The Beautiful Circle-Vision 360° Movie at Walt Disney World in Florida.

• Actor Robert Ulrich (Dan Tanna in the crime drama series Vega$, and Spenser in Spenser for Hire) on a telephone call one day when I booked several flights for him and his family to/from Florida, while working for Delta Air Lines in Tampa.

• TV Show Host Gary Collins on a telephone call discussing his wife’s (Mary Ann Mobley) reservation, while I worked at Delta Air Lines in Los Angeles.

• Actor Ed Begley Jr. (Ghostbuster’s, St. Elsewhere) in a little store onboard a tour of The RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California.

• Actor Henry Winkler (The Fonz) photo op with my daughter Megan at a Dallas children’s hospital.

• Comedian Yakov Smirnoff (Soviet-Born comedian famous for the phrase “America: What a country!”) photo op with my daughter Mackenzie and me in Branson, Missouri.

• Artist Thomas Kincaid, “Painter of Light” photo op with Harold and me after we purchased a Hometown Morning Limited Edition Canvas in Longview, Texas at a Thomas Kincaid Gallery Event.

• TV Game Show Host Bob Barker when I was a contestant on The Price is Right TV show in Los Angeles in 2005.

• Comedian Jay Leno photo op at a Tonight Show taping in Burbank where my daughter Megan and I talked with him before the taping. He called us “The Dove girls.” 🕊

• Actor Ben Affleck at a Tonight Show taping with my daughters Michelle and Megan, where he came over to say, “Hello,” and to shake our hands.

• Singer Robin Thicke photo op at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, when he came over to speak with me and my daughter Megan after a show taping.

• Morning TV Show Host Robin Roberts photo op at NYC Times Square at a Good Morning America TV show taping.

• Singer Jason Mraz photo op in Los Angeles at an American Idol Finale with my daughter, Mackenzie.

• NASCAR drivers, Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Jr (with my grandson Landon), Danica Patrick, etc. photo ops at TMS (Texas Motor Speedway)

• Reality TV Personality Willie Robertson (Duck Dynasty) photo op at TMS.

• TV Spokesperson Marie Osmond when she and I spoke on the telephone on two scheduled QVC/Nutrisystem TV show call-in’s. She called me “girlfriend” and a “silver fox.” 😂

• Singer Meghan Linsey (from The Voice) at a Nutrisystem photo shoot at a Tampa advertising studio.

• And honorable mention to Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s travel agent. Ha! I talked with her one day back in 1990 about some problem’s with their booking while working in the Los Angeles Customer Service Department for Delta Air Lines.

So, out of the list above, how many of these people have you heard of or remember?!

If you’re around my age, maybe most of them, but if you’re young, there’s a good chance you haven’t heard of any of them.

Actually, I think it’s fairly likely that after a generation or two, most so called “famous” people eventually sink into obscurity along with everyone else.

In reality, we are all just people.

While being famous might make a person more recognizable than others, it doesn’t make a person any more special than anyone else.

While a famous person may be a great actor, artist, musician, or athlete, etc., in the eyes of God they are equal to people who cannot act, paint, sing, play an instrument, or play sports, etc.

Eventually no matter how famous a person may be during their lifetime, “this too will pass.”

And, the best of people are just people at best.

The Bible tells us that,

“God created man in his own image,”(Genesis 1:27) and “there is no partiality with God.” (Romans 2:11)

And,

Yet He is not partial to princes, Nor does He regard the rich more than the poor; For they are all the work of His hands. Job 34:19

Most importantly, the Bible warns us about holding idols (people, places, or things) in higher esteem than God. God is to be honored above all things and to be worshiped in “spirit and truth.” (John 4.23)

Those who regard worthless idols
Forsake their own mercy. Jonah 2:8

Specifically,

“You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3

So while it may be a pleasure to meet interesting and famous people along life’s highway, the Bible reminds us that we’re to keep it all in proper perspective.

We should look at everyone equally as individuals created in the image of God.

And we shouldn’t be overly impressed with anyone.

Except,

God.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! Psalm 115:1

Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. Revelation 4:11

Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,and he is to be feared above all gods. 1 Chronicles 16:23-25

The Tapestry

I have several quilts and woven tapestry throws that I hope to pass on to my daughters one day. In the meantime I keep some of them displayed around our home on quilt racks, beds, and couches.

Recently, I noticed a food stain on one of the tapestries throws that I keep on our living room couch, so I threw it in the washer along with a load of white towels. Big mistake. I forgot to set the water temperature to cold. My red and white tapestry throw became my red and pink tapestry throw. My white towels came out light pink as well. The towels were not a big deal but my tapestry throw was ruined. I re-washed it in cold water and it helped it a bit but not enough.

So I went on an eBay search to replace it using the key words, red, white, and tapestry. While searching through endless photos on eBay, the poem, “My Life is but a Weaving” by Corrie ten Boom came to mind:

My life is but a weaving
Between my God and me.
I cannot choose the colors
He weaveth steadily.

Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper
And I the underside.

Not ’til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas
And reveal the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned

He knows, He loves, He cares;
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those
Who leave the choice to Him.

#CorrieTenBoom

Corrie reminds us that while the underside of a tapestry appears to be a knotted and frayed mess of disconnected threads, the finished product is a beautiful weaving which is revealed on the topside. It’s the events in our life which we consider the “messy” or “dark” things, that are actually instruments of God’s providential care for us that leads to His will being done in our life.

I like the way that Alistair Begg explains it:

“Satan often wants us to stay focused on such seemingly jumbled and discouraging circumstances, doubting God and His good provision. We so easily forget that what appears to be a mess is just the back view of the tapestry God is weaving. One day, though, when we get the chance to see His handiwork from the front, all of those strange and dark threads will prove to have been part of His glorious pattern. Today, remember that “coincidences” are no such thing, that uncertainties and difficulties are opportunities to trust in God, and that behind all of them He is working out His plans to prosper His people in faith and godliness, and to bring them home.”

As I see it, we all have messy and dark circumstances in our lives, sorrows and situations that we may wish would never have happened, and some of which we may not even understand. But I think the key is found in our perspective; a Christian perspective.

A perspective that trusts that the “messy and the dark,” the “gold and silver” are all a part of God’s plan in our lives.

A perspective that He has a purpose for that which we consider as bad, rather as something good, if it has drawn us to Him.

A perspective that God is the Grand Weaver of our lives and of our story, our own personal story of salvation.

A Romans 8:28 kind of perspective:

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

By the way, in my search for a replacement tapestry throw, I found one that I like even more than the one I messed up!

Imagine that.

My red, white, and pink quilts and tapestry throws. I also have several others in a variety of colors.

The Sun ☀️

The sun is amazing. It provides light, warmth, energy, and natural vitamin D to support our immune system. These are all provisions that God has graciously made to benefit and sustain us. Without the sun, life as we know it would cease to exist.

I remember when I was in my early teens back in Indiana my friend, Penny, had the prettiest golden tan. Even though I was fair-complected, I figured that surely I could have a tan just like her if I would just lay out in the sun like she did. So, one day after we had spent the afternoon in my backyard sunbathing, and just as I was beginning to think I was getting some color, Penny’s mom came to pick her up and said to me, “Elaine, you need to get out in the sun more.”

Later that summer, I stayed out on the beach all day the first day of our family vacation. I walked up and down the Daytona Beach coastline thinking I was going to get such a good tan. Wrong. I was practically burned to a crisp, from head to toe. I spent the entire rest of our vacation sick in bed with sun poisoning. It was the absolute worst sunburn of my entire life. I remember I was sick to my stomach, dizzy for days, and would faint whenever I tried to stand up. It was awful. To make matters worse, after my skin was done peeling, my shoulders, arms, back, and chest were covered in freckles.

I did learn a lesson though: Too much of a good thing isn’t always good. So, ever since then, I’ve tried to avoid overexposure to the sun. I made a conscious choice to stop laying out in the sun and to seek shade if I was going to be outside in direct sun for very long.

I was in my 30s when I experienced my first basal cell skin cancer. I started thinking about the sun damage I got in my youth and started wearing sunscreen everyday.

In my 40s and 50s I experienced a couple more basal cell cancers. I found some skin care products that lightened some of the brown spots on my face, and I also increased my sunscreen SPF to 50.

In my 60s, I experienced a couple more basal cell cancers and a couple of squamous cell cancers as well. At the suggestion of my dermatologist, I started wearing sun bonnets as much as possible, as we lived and worked in both Texas and Florida.

However, the long-term effects of sun exposure, especially the severe sunburn at age 13, and all the years I did not wear sunscreen or a hat, took a toll on my skin.

While most of my skin cancers were removed with a snip and a stitch or two, I had one surgery that took a big chunk of skin from my left temple which required a few more stitches. However, it was my 2024 basal cell cancer, at age 69, and the subsequent Mohs surgery that took me by surprise. It required a bilobe flap reconstructive surgery by a plastic surgeon, and took several weeks to heal.

July and August 2024, Post Op Bi-Lobe Flap surgery.

The scars are permanent but faded fairly well within about a year and really, I try not to let it bother me. I’m really just thankful that it wasn’t any worse than it was.

In my early 70s, I’m currently dealing with routine follow-ups on a superficial skin cancer on my leg that was originally treated with a topical chemotherapy cream. I also pay frequent visits to my dermatologist to zap any questionable pre-cancers with a liquid nitrogen procedure called cryosurgery.

I’ve also cut seed oils out of my diet as much as possible because vegetable oils extracted from the seeds of plants, like canola, soybean and safflower, are now known to not only be unhealthy to consume, but they also increase the likelihood of getting sunburned. Some studies attribute inflammation, UV-induced oxidative skin damage, and a weakened skin barrier to the combination of consuming seed oils and being exposed to the sun. I wish I had known about seed oils earlier; however, at my current age of 71, I’m thankful for the overall good health that God has blessed me with so far, and hope to stay healthy as long as the good Lord sees fit.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases.” Psalms 103:2-3

Gilligan’s Island

What fun it was to watch Gilligan’s Island when I was a kid! I was 10 years old in 1964 when it first came out. It ran for 3 seasons and I suspect it’s been in re-run syndication somewhere in the world ever since.

As I’ve mentioned before in some of my earlier writings, I spent a lot of time watching TV when I was young. Probably too much. It kept me “busy,” a bit distracted from reality, but for the most part it entertained and kept me company.

🎼 “Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip, that started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship. The mate was a mighty sailor man, the skipper brave and sure. Five passengers set sail that day for a three-hour tour. A three-hour tour.” 🎶

It was all about a group of seven people who were stranded on a deserted island, and in which most of the episodes were centered around getting off the island. They also entertained themselves with crazy skits and just plain silliness.

The irony and endlessly frustrating thread throughout the series was that somehow other people came to the island but somehow always managed to get off the island. But, the seven castaways always failed to get off of the island! And invariably, it was Gilligan who sabotaged their attempts to escape the island.

Recently, I learned that the show’s creator, Sherwood Schwartz, was noted as saying that each of the “Gilligan’s Island” characters represented one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

For example,

1. The Professor was guilty of pride.

2. Mary Ann was envious of Ginger.

3. Ginger was lustful.

4. The Skipper was a glutton.

5. Mrs. Howell was angry often.

6. Mr. Howell was wealthy and greedy.

7. And last, but not least, Gilligan was the sloth.

Interestingly, I also found an article that deepened the plot. The plot twist being that Mrs. Howell was actually the sloth, that the Skipper had two sins, gluttony and anger, and that Gilligan represented the devil. The writer reasoned that since Gilligan always wore a red shirt, and sabotaged every attempt to get off the island, aka “hell,” that he represented the devil. Hmmm…..

I prefer the first theory over the second. I always liked Gilligan, but who knows. I could be wrong. So maybe Gilligan was the devil and he just acted likable? The Bible does warn us that Satan sometimes disguises himself as an angel of light. Maybe Gilligan’s sabotages were ultimately to keep them all there in their private hell, forever bound in their sin….

Wait!

it was just a TV show!

Anyway, I found it interesting that the inspiration behind the creator of Gilligan’s Island was based upon the theology of the Seven Deadly Sins.

While I’m not a Catholic, I do agree that sin is deadly, but more so because it’s a matter of life or death as it pertains to our salvation.

Because…..

The bad news is that we’re all sinners, (Romans 3:23.)

And, the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23a)

But the good news is,

…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,… 1 Timothy 1:15

….the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23b)

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

So,

Whoever stays in their sin and never comes to an authentic faith and relationship with Jesus Christ will “never get off that island” and will spend eternity separated from Him.

Sin is a snare of the devil. Don’t be fooled. Don’t “castaway” your life for the fleeting pleasures of sin.

Turn to Jesus today in repentance and faith; place your trust in Him alone.

And rest assured,

Christians not only make it “off the island” but have eternal life beginning here and now and forever into eternity with Jesus.

Deception

While in Paris on our honeymoon back in 1980, Harold and I walked by a bakery window and saw some delicious-looking pastries. So we went inside and picked out a couple of them along with some hot coffee, but…

We were so disappointed. They didn’t taste anything like they looked. They looked so good but they tasted awful.

I had a similar experience in 2011, once again while in a foreign country. It was at the Bolshoi Ballet and Opera Theatre in Moscow, Russia. It was intermission time and I decided to buy a dessert. I picked out a cute little cake that looked yummy, but as soon as I paid for it I realized it was way too expensive. I wondered why this dessert was so expensive. As I cut into the first slice I suddenly realized that the cake was topped with caviar. I discreetly set it down and left it there for anyone else who might be brave enough to eat it.

So the French pastries just didn’t taste very good, and the Russian cake was an expensive mistake on my part, but in both cases, my eyes deceived me. And now,

Living in today’s world, I think it’s safe to say that many of us have been noticing an increase in deception, and I’m not referring to French pastries or Russian desserts. No, I’m talking about…

Deception involving worldwide mainstream media in their silence and suppression of the truth concerning COVID-19 and the COVID-19 vaccine.

Deception involving world organizations such as the WEF, IMF, and the WHO, individual politicians, regardless of political party affiliation, and several of our three-letter government agencies, regarding privacy issues, misinformation, and questionable practices.

Deception involving the health and well-being of our entire nation concerning food contamination issues, the recommended childhood vaccination schedules, and questionable medical practices that promote profit over health. We also have widespread misappropriation of federal funds involving outright theft of U.S. tax dollars in programs that produced COVID-19 relief fraud, healthcare fraud, disability fraud, child feeding program fraud, and childcare fraud, to mention just a few.

Deception concerning our God-given gender and sexuality in the current worldwide indoctrination of young children into the transgender and homosexual agenda.

Deception involving the whereabouts of thousands of children that have gone missing in the past few years.

Deception concerning our climate and the so-called “climate change” initiative.

Worst of all, we have deception in progressive mainline churches throughout America; churches that declare that homosexuality is not a sin and that abortion is perfectly fine. These churches also allow women to preach to men, which is in direct defiance of God’s Word. These churches are full of progressive pastors who defile their Sunday-morning pulpits by drawing more attention to themselves than God. They seem to march in lockstep as they promote their social justice issues to a higher level of importance than the gospel itself as they simultaneously attempt to redefine what they believe it means to be a Christian. And this is all while they entertain their congregation with popular contemporary “Christian” music and stage productions as opposed to teaching and preaching the inerrant, infallible word of God.

Charles Spurgeon warned us about this very thing.

“A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, a church will have clowns entertaining the goats.”

The Bible talks quite a bit about deception in the Last Days. Do I think we’re there yet? No, not just yet, but based on the deception we’ve been seeing, we’re probably getting pretty close to it. Look what the Bible says:

“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.” 1 Timothy 4:1

“Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.” Matthew 24:11

“For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” Matthew 24:24

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4

“Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

The more corruption, falsehoods, and deception I see going on in the world today, the more I am reminded that this world is not my home.

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:20

So in the meantime,

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

And,

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

Treasure In Jars of Clay

My life story and journey of faith.

Query Family Christmases

Count your Blessings

Knowin’ Where I’m Goin’

The Great Exchange

Lost and Found

Impressed

The Tapestry

The Sun ☀️

Gilligan’s Island

Deception