Ah! Spring Break is here! There is time to relax and doodle away the hours. So I doodled (for the first time) a small watercolor painting on a note card to send to a sweet and very dear friend who is recuperating from major surgery. I hope the card will brighten a moment in her day and just knowing that I doodled a card for her may bring a smile to her face.
Watercolor painting has become a favorite hobby whenever time allows. I’m just a happy amateur having fun painting cards to give away. Here is a photo of a card painting I did last year for a friend. Or is it a doodle? I should add the following caption on at least one day of every month:
It is cold outside. The wind bites my face. The sky is gray.
We have Snow. This is the Season of New. Spring is the Season of New.
Job 37:6-7 (NLT)
He directs the snow to fall on the earth
and tells the rain to pour down. Then everyone stops working
so they can watch his power.
This is a new day. Warmed by the sun. It brightens the gray.
Buds break free. A drop of rain has a life of its own. This is the season of new.
Deuteronomy 32:1-2 (NLT)
Listen, O heavens, and I will speak! Hear, O earth, the words that I say!Let my teaching fall on you like rain; let my speech settle like dew.Let my words fall like rain on tender grass, like gentle showers on young plants.
The ground nurtures the seed. The roots grow deep. We wait for the harvest.
The tares will be tossed. There will be grain. This is the season of new.
John 4:35b (NLT)
But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting.
We honor you, oh God. You are the giver. You are the life.
The snow with its care. Our barns will be filled. God brings the season of new.
Proverbs 3:9-10
Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the best part of everything you produce.
Then he will fill your barns with grain
The snow covers the gray. A song bird sings. My soul is renewed.
My Savior redeems. He rescues me to live. Welcoming the season of new.
The Saturday Assortment is a collection of unrelated and random things that I find interesting, challenging, motivating and sometimes quite out of the ordinary. It’s an assortment of things that caught my attention throughout the week. I bet you will find them equally engaging. There are no affiliate links on this page. Read and Enjoy!
From a father to his daughters :: The most beautiful thing that I read on the internet this week
Remember how Peter warns: don’t get bogged down with trends and keeping up with fashion. Rather, keep up your spiritual beauty—cultivate and prune so the garden will grow. For what glows your countenance is a clear conscience and a pure heart. Worry and stress darken and drown.
Imbibe in the beauty of your youth. But always hold it loose—it flees and withers. If you let it define you then you’ll wither with it, on the inside.
Though your body dims and moves toward the grave, your soul thrives and moves towards eternity. It is like a deep red wine, it’s savory nature deepening over time.
Forget the legalists! They will try to hide all that’s good and beautiful and pure. But do not lash out at them, they, your weaker brothers and sisters. No, you instruct them in your grace and charm and in the stewardship of your beauty. ~by Timothy
The devotional begins Palm Sunday (March 24) through Easter Sunday (March 31.) A lovely and special way to focus on the self-giving love of our Savior.
To love to the uttermost is to love freely, without reserve or limit, and without flaw or failure. As we watch his arrest and trial and death unfold for eight days, we gaze on a God-man who begrudges no pain or reproach on his pathway to redeem lost sinners. This is the man who “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).
A good word for parents :: 1 Thing you need to give yourself immediately
If you’re a parent and you have young kids, don’t for a second be ashamed that you’re not working on a dream. You are. It’s called “kids.” You are raising humans. Do you understand how crazy that is? You don’t need to go kill yourself looking for a big new dream, you have one. You’re raising humans! ~Jon Acuff
Start conversations that end bullying :: Bully in a Box
It’s a sad and harsh reality that we need to address the problem of bullying, but here is a very helpful collection of iBooks to assist parents and children identify feelings and resolutions surrounding the situation. My daughter alerted me to this great resource (“Thank you, Leslie!”) The iBooks, written by a mother and daughter duo (Cheryl Tunno and Michelle Tunno Buelow) cover topics such as: respect, compassion, loyalty, confidence, honesty, fairness and more!
“As a retired Superintendent of Schools I am all too well aware of the issues posed by bullying and harassment among and between students. The Bully in a Box program provides young children with ways to recognize inappropriate behavior and the tools to manage the behavior.”
—Mother of 2, Grandmother of 2 with over 30 years in the NJ public school system ~via Bully in a Box
I remember when you were “just a bump” in your mommy’s tummy. Oh my goodness…I was ecstatic to be Gigi to another grandchild! I remember praying for you before I met you. I remember loving you many months before I looked into your beautiful brown eyes and after our eyes met, I knew that I loved you even more. There are a few things I want to say to you and perhaps you will read this many years later…
Remember this…
You are loved. Not by human standards of love, but by God’s unmeasurable standard of love. He loves you with a forever love and He will never leave you. You can trust God, no matter what. You are a child of the covenant.
Your parent’s love for you will never fail, even when you think they don’t understand what you are going through…trust me, they do! Dad and Mom understand everything, so don’t hide your fears and mistakes from them. They will be your best friend when you need a friend. Trust your Father and Mother.
Everyone is not nice. You will experience conflicts and ugliness. Unfortunately, there are mean kids at school. Remember that mean kids who bully other kids have a poor self-esteem and most likely they are not loved like you are. Remember, it is the darkness in them that is lashing out at the light in your life. Remain confident in who you are and pray for those kids to experience love and grace that can transform them. Remember to keep your strength and resolve yet have compassion for those that are weaker than you.
Remember to pray often and always.
Cut up your credit cards! Please, just use cash. If you don’t have cash to buy a new pair of shoes, then you don’t need a new pair of shoes. You are too young to know what stress is, but just wait until you have debt…then stress becomes the elephant in the room (I know!) Debt will overwhelm your life and prevent you from experiencing wonderful adventures and freedom.
Remember to take time to be still and quiet. To reflect on the experiences of the day. Remember to thank God for writing that day in another chapter in your life!
Remember to use your talents and creativity to better this world for the glory of God. It is your generation that will have the greatest impact in our nation and upon our culture. I pray with confidence that you will indeed make a difference in the community where you live, in the place where you work, and in the church where you serve.
Be generous. Give when you are able. Work for free just because you can. Remember, you can make a difference in one life or many lives with a heart of generosity.
Remember to plan for tomorrow so that you can enjoy the future.
Remember this…You are loved!
Linking up with everyone for Five Minute Friday, where a remarkably encouraging and loving community gathers to write for five minutes. This week’s prompt is: REMEMBER.
The sun is shining so warm and bright, with sunbeams cascading through the windows. I’ve always loved sitting in a sunbeam. When I was much younger, I would grab a big pillow, a blanket and a book…get comfortable on the carpet and soak up the sun shining through my bedroom window. I still enjoy doing that! In fact, today afforded a surprising treat with time to soak in the simple pleasure of enjoying a sunbeam from an oversized plush chair. This is just what I needed! I brewed a cup of tea, grabbed a Bible, motivational books and my iPad to scroll through Twitter and to look through my photo collection. I love rediscovering encouraging and notable voices!
Here are three fantastic passages of scripture that have encouraged me today, as well as a few notable voices that have inspired my faith, added fuel to a depleted “motivation tank,” and challenged me to have a right and correct attitude.
Here you go!
This is the day that the LORD has made; let us REJOICE and be GLAD in it. Psalm 118:24
By God’s GRACE, I am…
A child of the Father. Forever forgiven. Completely supplied. GRACE.
Fully accepted. Indwelt by the Spirit. Friend of the Savior. GRACE.
Loved with no ending. Viewed now as righteous. Sin cleansed and covered. GRACE.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
Roger Crawford, author of: How High Can You Bounce ❘ Turn Setbacks Into Comebacks was sixteen years old before he could tie his shoes, even then Velcro made it possible. But he excelled in other areas such as sports, becoming a star tennis player. You can look at Roger and see that he has a disability. As Roger explains it, however, most people’s disabilities cannot be seen, but they’re just as real and in many cases more pronounced than his. [1]
“I think it’s important for every young person whether they have a physical challenge or not to find something in their life that they can become passionate about.”
“People often ask me if I ever speak to groups of disabled people. And my answer is ‘Yes, every talk I give.’ The point is that disabilities come in different forms, including emotional and intellectual, but the most disabling of all is attitudinal.”
“We can control what we dwell on, and I think that is a vitally important principle no matter who we are or what we do. Having a better attitude is a daily choice, and how we think creates the window through which we see our life experience.”
Roger Crawford : Turning the Pessimism of “I can’t” Into the Unstoppable Power of “I Can!”
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9
My wish for you is to take time to sit in a sunbeam. Enjoy a good book. Close your eyes and mediate on God’s truth. Be inspired and encouraged. More Grace!
[1] Something to Smile About: Encouragement and Inspiration for Life’s Ups and Downs; Zig Ziglar, Tying Your Shoes, p. 13, Thomas Nelson publishers
I recently discovered a book at my parent’s house. My mother and I shared a common love of reading and she often encouraged me to take a book from the shelf. I needed a step stool to investigate the treasures on the very top shelf of the bookcase. I spied a very small book, with its frayed and worn cover from years of turning pages beckoning me to notice it. It was oddly placed, wedged between newer and larger books and would have gone years unnoticed if not for my curiosity. I pulled out the book and thumbed through the pages. I realized that I had discovered a small treasure giving me another glimpse into the mind and heart of my mother.
On the inside of the jacket she had written a note, “To Myself…a gift from God to answer my plea for power. October 12, 1979.” The margins of the pages are filled with her personal notes and quiet talks to God and nearly every page had a paragraph highlighted in pale yellow.
The book challenged her to not to be swept along with the crowd, but rather have a fixed purpose, resolutely settled upon, rooted away and down deep to follow Jesus absolutely, no matter what it may cost or where it may cut.
The little book is full of giant reminders that God is intimately aware of what we need for everyday common things. We need His power to be gracious, kind, to enjoy work, to be content, to be cheerful, to listen, to rest…and on and on.
Here is a one of those pale yellow highlighted paragraphs from the book:
“There is that mother, living in what would be reckoned a humble home, one of a thousand like it, but charged with the most sacred trust ever committed to human hands—the molding of precious lives. If there be hallowed ground anywhere surely it is there, in the life of that home. What patience and tirelessness, and love and tact and wisdom and wealth of resource does that woman not need?”
And this thought:
“I will send another Comforter, one who will be right by your side to help, sympathetic, experienced, strong; and he will stay with you all the time. In the kitchen, in the sitting room, the sick-room, with the children, when work piles up, when things jangle or threaten to, when the baby’s cross, and the patching and sweeping and baking…and all the rest of it seem endless, on the street, in the office, on the campus, in the store, when tempted—almost slipped, when opportunity opens for a quiet personal word, everywhere, every time…in every circumstance, one alongside to help…Is not that wonderful?”
I love reading the notes my mother wrote and discovering what was important to her. I may add my own quiet talks with God in the margins and begin to mark paragraphs with bright orange highlight. Perhaps one day, my children will discover it on my bookshelf.
I originally wrote this on June 1, 2010, two months following my mother’s homecoming on March 15, 2010. This is a repost in memory and in honor of my mom, Barbara Ann Newman Goodroe.
Quiet Talks on Power by S. D. Gordon
Free Amazon Kindle Edition
Linking up with everyone for Five Minute Friday, where a remarkably encouraging and loving community gathers to write for five minutes. This week’s prompt is: REST.
Don’t you wish breaking bad habits would be as easy as digging in your heel to stop and never doing it again? Aristotle had this to share about habits: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit. I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self.”
Thank you Taryn and Bethany for the photo!
Yes, we are what we repeatedly do and the hardest victory is over self. I wish it were simple, don’t you? Just stop doing whatever has repeatedly become a bad habit and victory over self is accomplished. Ta Da!
In our family, you will often hear us say to each other, “Stop It!” You’ll appreciate this comical skit from MadTV with Bob Newhart as Dr. Switzer, a psychologist with a simple theory on human behavior. The skit is hilarious and worth watching through the end!
For me, overcoming a bad habit is more complex than hearing the words, “Stop It!” I must make the deliberate effort towards changing a wrong behavior or I will forever be stuck with a burdensome yoke around my neck as, “The Bad Habit.”
Changing behavior must be intentional. It will require you to be introspective regarding your behavior and lifestyle. Study yourself in the fashion of looking through a binocular lens…but this lens is looking into your inner most being, studying what makes you tick, what brings you low or lifts you high. You want to get into your head and to know yourself really well!
Here are 4 ways I’ve found helpful to breaking a bad habit:
1. Identify the habit you want to change. (over eating, spending too much money, substance abuse, not exercising, etc.)
2.Use the binocular lens to identify the cue that triggers the behavior. (hungry, angry, lonely, tired, stress, insignificance, etc.)
3. Know yourself really well and understand the need the habit meets. (comfort, creativity, social stimulus, the high from spending cash, etc.)
4. Without changing the cue and reward, replace the routine with a new behavior.
Here are 3 ways I replace the routine with a new behavior:
1. A daily time with God. A lack of personal time with God will result in casualty! There are many options for you to use. I personally am using this method for a consistent time with God. (Four ways to make daily time with God a habit.) Currently, I am reading through the book of Nehemiah, a fascinating book detailing leadership, resolve, overcoming obstacles, trusting God, prayer…God’s Word is perfect at every stage of life and will meet the need at that moment.
2. Spending time with friends. I cannot possibly go for days without being with friends. The adage, “Laughter is the best medicine” is true. I need to laugh and I crave laughter! I need friends to keep me accountable. A good friend will encourage my soul to grow deeper into God’s truth while cheering me on to become the best at what God created me to be. A good friend will stay with me in the messy places.
3. Exercise. When boredom strikes or if I become agitated or fidgety, I slip on my running shoes and go for a fast walk around the block or in the parking lot where I work. Taking regular and routine 5 minute breaks throughout the day helps me regain focus. I work at staying in the habit of daily exercise, whether it be walking, running, lifting weights or jumping rope.
Real change and real transformation will take work. You can’t do it on your own, and you shouldn’t try to.
Donna Harris‑More Grace 