Look Up

It's easy to forget to "look up", because there's so much right in front of us demanding our attention.

I was thinking about how long it's been since I've seen a "blue heart", and I started looking for one the other morning while Max and I were taking a walk. Guess what?

Maybe not a perfect heart but a heart, nonetheless.

We hadn't even made it halfway down the driveway before I saw what I was looking for, a blue heart. I thought about how I have to look up in order to see a blue heart etched in the sky. If I spend my time looking down, I'll never see one.

A friend and I have been trying to concentrate on being grateful this year. She's doing an excellent job. Nearly every time I hear from her, she is thanking God for something. She is finding much more to be thankful for now that she is looking for blessings.

It's easy to focus on what we wish was different. I imagine we all sometimes struggle with this bad habit, and so a gentle reminder from time to time to keep looking for blue hearts is good for us. Our brains may be wired to constantly be on the lookout for things we consider to be 'bad'. If that's the case; I think we need to call an electrician to rewire our brains.

We all know there's only one Electrician up to the task. Only the One who created our brains in the first place understands all the complications contained therein. He is able, through His word and Spirit, to help us think rightly. Our brains are extremely complicated, but some of the remedies needed for better mind health are quite simple.

When we look up, praise God, and thank Him sincerely for the many blessings we receive each day, we will find the burdens we carry are lightened and the difficulties of the challenges we face are lessened. This is not new news, but it is certainly good news that is worthy of repeating often to ourselves and to others.

I commend my friend for setting such a good example for me and others in her life. When I hear her praising and thanking God it lifts my spirit and reminds me to do the same. Words we speak are rarely neutral. Words hold much more power than we sometimes realize. Our words can lift the hearer and create beauty, or they can do the opposite.

Let's focus on giving praise and thanksgiving to God which will encourage others to do the same. Once again, counting blessings is a good thing, a very good thing to do.

Count Your Blessings

Johnson Oatman, Jr., pub.1897

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Refrain:

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your blessings, see what God has done!

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your many blessings, see what God has done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?

Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?

Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,

And you will keep singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,

Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold.

Count your many blessings - money cannot buy

Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,

Do not be discouraged, God is over all.

Count your many blessings, angels will attend,

Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Murphy enjoys his blessings.

And Max is thankful for a new toy.

Don't Overreact

Don't cry over spilled milk is a common expression. Last week I learned that don't overreact over spilled milk, is also good advice.

Mom's refrigerator has a cold spot near the back of the top shelf. Whatever gets shoved back there usually freezes. Maybe we need to change the temperature a little, but the rest of the fridge seems perfect, so we just leave it as is.

Somehow a nearly full gallon of milk got pushed too far back and about a third of it froze. When I got it out of the fridge, I instantly knew something was amiss. There was a tiny bit of whitish liquid on the shelf and the plastic jug felt wet. Rather than wiping it and the shelf and waiting to see if the jug was indeed leaking, I went into I have to fix this now mode.

I quickly washed a glass pitcher and poured in as much of the liquid milk as it would hold. Then I took the glass measuring cup out of the cabinet and filled it with milk. Next, I got a big glass and poured the rest of the liquid into it. I set the plastic milk jug containing the frozen milk on a plate and placed it near the front of the shelf. All the different containers of milk in the fridge looked strange, but I had acted quickly and saved the day, or at least the gallon of milk.

My plan was to let the rest of the milk thaw and then get it into another container so that it wouldn't leak out of the jug, since I assumed it must have a tiny slit somewhere. After wiping it I hadn't found any indication of a possible leak, but I was going on my assumption that there must be a problem needing to be fixed.

I wish I had taken a picture of all the milk stored in different containers. It was an interesting sight. After the remaining milk in the plastic jug melted and there was no sign of milk on the plate, I realized that I had once again jumped the gun. There was no need to pour the milk into containers. It would have been fine, if I had simply moved it to the front of the shelf.

Bobby often tells me to, "Just breathe." I'm learning, slowly as usual, to at least try to take a little time to think through my immediate reaction and plan of how to fix a perceived problem before jumping to action. Taking time to pray is also a good idea, actually the best idea of all.

There are times, of course, when immediate action is necessary, but thankfully those times are not the norm. Learning to stop, take a breath, pray, and wait for guidance is taking some time as indicated by a fridge with multiple containers of milk, but I am making progress.

The image of the milk jug on a plate, measuring cup, glass pitcher, and tall glass sitting awkwardly in the refrigerator is going to stick in my mind. It will be a good reminder to remain calm rather than overreact. Sometimes the silliest of things hold valuable lessons.

Don't overreact.

Take a breath.

Pray!!!

And as the Brits say, "Keep calm and carry on."

Max and Murphy know how to relax.

Happy birthday Clara! Ann, Kim, Clara Sue, Timmy, David, Ricky (behind)

Mom and Clara

Help

"I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2

Saturdays were pretty predictable when Clara and I were young (this was before Deidra was born, but things didn't change all that much after her arrival.) We watched Saturday morning cartoons while eating some sort of sugary breakfast. Mom was not big into healthy eating, and we never complained about the Krispy Kreme donuts fried in butter or bowls full of Lucky Charms.

Not being able to flip the TV to Cartoon Network or the Disney Channel at any time on any day made Saturday morning cartoon viewing very special. We loved Scooby-Doo, Josie and the Pussycats, The Flintstones, and Fat Albert. We also loved Land of the Lost which was a live-action show rather than a cartoon. Fat Albert was usually the last show we watched before getting in the car with Mom and heading out on our Saturday errands.

Clara and Kim ready to go shopping

First, we would go to the Gulf Station and Everrett, the owner, would pump the gas, clean the windshield, and check the oil before taking Mom's check into the store and returning with her change.

On the way to Blacksburg, we would discuss where we wanted to eat lunch, because Saturdays meant lunch in town. We loved Pizza Hut, Arthur Treacher's, Western Sizzlin', and especially Lindy's.

After lunch we would go to Gables Shopping Center. Sometimes Cactus Joe would be there with his train, and Mom would let us take ride with him and his giant mustache around the parking lot. She was probably happy when Cactus Joe was not there. I'm sure she didn't love standing on the sidewalk waiting for our ride on the silly little train to end, but she never said no and she never complained.

Leggett was our first shopping stop. We loved Leggett. Monthly Leggett bills could be a source of contention at home, but that didn't stop Mom from buying us and herself new clothes and shoes much more often than she probably should have. Janice Jones was a great help in the Children's clothing department. Mom really didn't have to do a thing but chat briefly with her, and then Janice would take over and soon we'd be leaving with bag in hand.

After Leggett we loved to browse through TG&Y. I don't think Mom cared much for that particular five and dime store, but again, she was very patient and let us look around as much as we wanted unless she had a hair appointment at Marguerite's. If she did have an appointment, and I think they were pretty much every week during the 'high-hair' period, Clara and I would go in and wait in the reception area while she had her hair done.

Mom (during the weekly visits to Marguerite's period), Timmy, and Clara Sue

Sometimes we went to High's for an ice cream cone before getting groceries. We loved sitting at the counter with the tall stools. I almost always got black cherry ice cream. It was very good. Butter brickle was also a good choice.

Mick or Mack was at the opposite end of the shopping center from High's Ice Cream. There was also an A&P, but we usually went to Mick or Mack unless we left Gables and went to Kroger or Radford Brothers. Our friend, Tracey, was with us one day. When she went home, she told her mother that, "Carolyn let Kim and Clara Sue put anything they wanted into the buggy." That was pretty much true.

Kim and Tracey

My trip down memory lane is taking too long but thank you for bearing with me.

There was also a Sydney's at Gables. It was a narrow store with what a child considered 'big fancy doors'. When Mom needed something for one of the monthly dances she and Dad attended at Castle Rock, when it was a private country club, we went to Sydney's. They had a room in the back of the store filled with choices appropriate for dressy occasions.

At last, we come to the actual point of this post. One of the women who worked there was helping Mom find something that suited her when Clara, or I, or both of us needed to use the restroom. She asked another lady to show us the restroom. This lady took us to the restroom, opened the door for us, and left. Everything was fine until we finished and tried to open the door. It was another big heavy door like the ones at the store entrance. We couldn't get it to budge.

Our plan was simple. We counted to three and then yelled 'Mommy' as loudly as we could. I don't remember if we had to yell again or if Mom made it to us after only one call for help. I'm guessing she was there before we got to three a second time.

As dependable as Mommy was to come when we called, God is even more dependable. There is no door He cannot open, and there is no distance He has to travel. Our all-powerful God is already with us.

We can't forget to include Deidra. What a cutie!!

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20