Spiritual Midwife

There can be no greater joy as a Christian than to share your faith with someone who wants to become a member of God's family as well.  To watch the miracle of spiritual birth take place before your eyes is a miracle in itself that I cannot begin to articulate.  The best I can do is say, "Thank You, Lord."  Not only did I witness a miracle, the miracle occurred-something only God can do.

Congratulations

Heartiest congrats to the Benham brothers.  No, I've never met them, but I admire them for standing up to the bullies who got them taken off the new HGTV show that was scheduled to start soon.  Until that happened, I was an avid fan of HGTV.

However, since the channel hasn't gotten the news that bullies are NEVER satisfied, they caved.  And they lost me as a viewer.  SunTrust bank came close to losing us as customers for the same reason, but the outcry kept them from doing the same thing.

The amazing thing that causes me to say congratulations to the Benham's is their beautiful attitude.  They were all smiles when they were interviewed on Fox News yesterday and had nothing but good things to say about HGTV because the channel has forked over money to help those who were on board for the show.

That's true Christianity.  They give all glory to God and I am grateful for them.  To the bullies, God always gets the last laugh.

A World Apart

"It takes so much time," my friend complained about the social media.  She wasn't talking about learning her way around the Internet.  She's quite good at it, as a matter of fact.  She was talking about the time consumed just interacting with friends she's made online.

For all our technical savvy, I wonder if we've lost the ability to really care. How can you be compassionate in 140-160 characters?  Relationships take nurturing.  Over long periods of time.  Recently, Eric on "The Five" (FNC) said of a very popular TV show, "It's all about relationships and that's why the show is so popular." He's so right.  How can I have a relationship with hundreds of people on line?  People I'll probably never meet face to face.

Businesses are even worse.  "Visit our website at www.who cares?  Or www.get lost.  I called a business this morning, looking for answers to questions I had before making a purchase.  The one who answered the phone admitted she had no idea what as I was talking about and was quite sanctimonious is letting me know I didn't know what I was talking about when I was reading from the ad she knew nothing about.  The web site couldn't answer my questions and she couldn't be bothered.  She lost the sale.  If my questions revealed inadequacy in their ad and her attitude revealed lousy customer relations, why should I buy their product?

Then, too, there's the companies who hire people in foreign countries to answer questions.  HA!  They don't speak English well enough for me to understand and they don't understand American culture.  They lose the sale and unfortunately, I usually lose my temper.

I began to wonder about all this social media and technology stuff as I listened to a friend pour out her tale of woe this morning.  I did the same thing yesterday and a couple of days before that.  I am privileged that friends trust me enough to open up.  That's how we did it way back when.  We had a lot less depression and a lot less anger way back then, too.  So, is getting caught up in the excitement of meeting new friends and hopefully, catching up with old ones worth the time that might cost a face-to-face talk that someone needs? Hugs just don't do Skype or Fact time well.   I feel like I'm in a different world.  Can I learn to balance the best of both worlds?  I hope so.

Reasonable?

II Peter 3:11 says "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?  You ought to live holy and godly lives."  (NIV)   Verse 14 says, "So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him." (NIV)

As I read those words, I was reminded again of why I wrote "Color of the Roses."  The church has been called a hospital for sinners instead of a museum for saints.  I agree, but if the churched aren't living any differently than the unchurched, how will people get the help they're seeking?  Where will they find peace with God?  It's been said that Christians can be more a part of the problem than a part of the solution.  It troubles me.

The Pro-life ministry, unbeknownst to many, is a place of refuge for the hurting seeking help.  It's not only for saving babies.  I believe if  the mother understands how much you love her and want to help her, she'll make the right choice.

Going back to the Scriptures quoted, I realize they're about the end times.  The principle is the same.  We are always to live as though this is the last day of our lives.  Dr. David Jeremiah says that one of the crowns Christians will receive in heaven and cast at Jesus' feet is the crown of victory-which is given for self-discipline. Where's the self-discipline of Christians, when our churches are filled with couples living together outside marriage, affairs, child-molestation, multiple divorces and remarriage?

Job, in Chapter 31, talks about the ways he disciplined himself never to look lustfully at a woman.  In verse 12 he states that adultery is "a fire that burns to Destruction."

Granted, that's not the only sin that weakens the church, but after spending several years in the Pro-life ministry, my heart is broken at our lack of recognition that all sin is against God.  In Psalm 51:4, David said, "Against You and You only have I sinned.."  In Genesis 39:9, Joseph told Potiphar's wife that he couldn't "do such a wicked thing and sin against God."

If I sound preachy, please understand I preach because I love.  "Color of the Roses," due out in a few months, is not preachy.  It's a story of a man who lost his way and a woman who didn't.  One of my editor friends said she liked the characters because they are so pure.

I liked that.  Whenever I read a book or watch a movie, I'm always disappointed if the main characters are not living a lifestyle that encourages me to be the Christian I claim to be.  Purity may be an unpopular subject in today's world. However, isn't it about time we Christians live what we claim to believe?  Am I being reasonable?

And I thought I was doing so well...

OK.  Here we go again.  Tried to send a message on Facebook-don't know how to get in!  And I'm supposed to be smart!  Thank the Lord I have a wonderful granddaughter, a very good friend, and a terrific husband who are all smarter than I am.  This would be a lost cause without them.

And thank you to all those wonderful people who've looked at my blog, agreed to be my friend on Facebook, joined me in Linked In.  I'm beginning to see the advantage of social media.  Don't understand it, but already it's given me wonderful people to contact, get to know and feel better about this crazy, upside down world.

May you all have a safe, happy, blessed 4th.  If I knew how to add a picture, I'd do it, but you get it.

What Century Am I In?

God bless our grandchildren who can figure out these crazy machines.  I'm still in the late 1800's, I think.  There are reasons for that.  For one thing, we didn't have a TV in our home until I was 19 and a sophomore in college.  Mom always said they were too expensive.  When they got down to 50 cents, she'd buy one.

She made that comment to my brother one day and he shot back with, "I know where you can get one for $6.25."  His mother-in-law had a black white tube type.  Every 6 months, the vertical tube would blow and she'd have to buy a new one.  She got tired of that and left the black and white in the repair shop and upgraded to a new one.  Mom and Dad bought that one, dragged it home to Pittsburgh from Allentown and for a year or two, that was the TV.  Until then, while all my friends were watching the classics that had been made into movies on TV or at the movies, my nose was buried in a book.

Come to think of it, I wasn't allowed to attend movies until I was 19, either.

Burying my nose in a book was about my only entertainment.  I was reading 300 page books by the time I was 10.  No genius, mind you.  Just looking for a little excitement.  Like Debbie Macomber, stories were always running through my mind.  Stories of Prince Charming and Damsels in Distress.  My favorite author at the time was Grace Livingston Hill-another reason I feel like I'm at least a century behind.  Most of her books were written in the very late 1800's or the early 1900's.  Her heroines were so pure and so long suffering in their purity, I spent most of my teens daydreaming of my Prince Charming who would rescue my from a world I found vastly different..

Because I was the youngest of 3, and my brothers were on their own by the time I reached my teens, any socializing my parents included me.  Socializing was done in someone's home.  People older than me who'd been in their homes for a long time.  In those days, the living rooms (called parlors) were quite small.  There was no TV, or it was off while we visited.  Instead, we sat around a large dining room table, ate, and talked.  Looking back, almost every home we went to had a dining room that was the largest room in the house.

However, here I am in the 21st century, still believing love conquers all, bonding is done person-to-person, and food is a large part of that bonding process.  Rip Van Winkle's got nothing on me.

Enter granddaughter.  She called last night, in spite of being very sick.  I mentioned if she was better, she could come down and help her goofy grandma figure out these crazy social network things that have made me crazy for the past week.  (Until then, I refused to participate)

Part of my problem with my blog site (http://underthenettlestree.blogspot.com) is that I was putting the @ in. Wrong.  Can't do that.  Then, too, I had not one, but three sites, all with the same name.  How I did that is beyond me.  Tonight, she hopes to get me on Pinterest and give me a tutorial on it.

Guess it's time to get rid of my bustle and high top, button up shoes.  

Chicago

When I tell someone my husband and I've moved 33 times in 50 years of marriage, there are usually remarks of astonishment, followed by, "Well then, you must be used to it."

No, you never get used to it.  When the boys were small, we'd go from a warm climate to cold, meaning a new wardrobe.  It would usually happen between the months of September and December, meaning a change of schools.  The Christmas gifts I put on layaway would have to be packed in the car along with clothes, boys, and dog.  I'm quite sure truckers all across the country could hear me shouting, "Keep away from that blanket!"  or "No, that's not a bicycle!" in an effort to surprise the boys on Christmas morning.

Culturally, things could be different across the street, especially in Chicago where neighborhoods are still pretty much divided ethnically.  Cicero is or was about all Italian.  Forest Park had a large German population.  Oak Park was about the only truly mixed community.  Rich, poor, racial diversity was all in the mix.

Of course, bumping up against those cultural differences always caused a problem.  For example, about every bank we've used everywhere but Chicago has no problem with wire transfers of money.  When we sold our house in Tennessee, the proceeds were wired to our bank account in Cicero and they were most unhappy about it.  It seems they have places in Chicago that do wire transfers, loan money against a future pay check, and do money orders.   The banks don't.  Oops.  Each time I make a cultural mistake, I vow I'll never make that one again.  I don't because it never comes up again.  It's always something new.  I've learned a lot through my mistakes.

Driving in Chicago can be a big challenge.  Many of the streets will allow traffic in the right lane, until a stop light.  Across the intersection, the right lane becomes parking.  Chicagoans love to pull up to the light in the right lane, then race you across the intersection to cut you off.  A taxi driver and I tried to make a 2 lane bridge into 3, with a bus coming the other direction.  I yielded on that one.  Another time, a woman cut me off and I honked at her.  She flipped me a bird.  Oh well, losing twice in four years isn't bad.