Morning Thoughts

Good Tuesday morning! How was your Monday? Mine was eventful. My sister and I went by to see out mom yesterday and it was pedicure day. We used to try to make sure she was getting regular ones from the beauty shop, but she is 90 with a pretty good case of Alzheimer’s and doesn’t like other people touching her. She’s not crazy about me touching her. So while my sister does her manicure, which is no small job, I soak her feet and rub off the dead skin and cut her toenails. And Yesterday, I soaked and rubbed her feet and legs for nearly an hour to gently rub off all the dead skin. I had to switch feet every now and again because she would yell and want me to stop on that one.   When we were finished we rubbed lotion all over the pink feet and legs and my sister painted her toes. And then, I had to have a little fuss with her about putting back on the same socks—the ones that I’d taken off that were full of all that dead skin and yuck. Because they didn’t “look dirty” on the outside s...

Good Monday morning! Are we ready to start this week? I may be a little tired today—I had a busy. but awesome time Saturday with some really great ladies in Clarksville,AR. And I started showing my house yesterday—and that’s a whole thing, thank you HGTV!  Today is Georgia Caroline’s birthday! My baby girl. My blessing baby, the miracle. The one that God sent to me when I was about to lose my Daddy (George) in a tragic accident. As if God said “Yes, it’s time for me to call GT home but I’m sending you a comfort, the best gift I have for you,” and that tiny, blue eyed, blond-headed, sweet little girl who loves Jesús with all her heart has been one of the greatest delights of my life.  “Don’t you see that children are GOD ’s best gift? the fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Like a warrior’s fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth. Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children! Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you; you’ll sweep th...

Good Sabbath day to you. I hope this day finds you well and ready to worship the Lord our God. This day I am thinking about how great our God is and how marvelous His works are. Do you ever look back on your life and trace God’s hand of wisdom? Do you ever see how even though you didn’t necessarily care about Him, He was always caring about you and making sure of the path for your life? And even if you can’t see it, you can rest assured that He was watching over you and mapping out the plan He has in store for you. It amazes me how He so carefully guides each and every one of us. And maybe along the way we made a few poor choices, but He was there to help us, and anytime we needed Him, He would hold our hand and show us how to get back on track, just like you might do with a toddler.  “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.” Psalm‬ ‭147:4-5‬ ‭ It humbles me that as great and flawless...

Good Saturday to you from Clarksville, AR. Is it wet where you are? Last night Georgia, Casey and I drove down and it rained all the way. At one point it was very difficult to see the lines in the highway so Casey tried to just tuck in behind another vehicle but alas, in the dark and the rain it was impossible to know that vehicle was exiting until we exited right along with them.  In a dark, sometimes rainy and often scary world, you have to know you are following the right leader. The leader who will take you where you want to go. A leader who is of sound doctrine that knows the way home, that will will help you run the race, keep the faith, finish the course and find the crown waiting for you. So many times we see folks diligently following, following with their hearts, an easy way because it looks good, but they are following a car that’s getting off at the wrong exit. “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, ...

Happy Friday. Can you believe we have hit another week’s end? So how was yours? It’s a lot easier to measure the success of something when it’s over than before it starts, isn’t it? Today, I’m headed to Clarksville, AR to speak in the morning. I don’t have anyway to measure the success of it today, before I do it. After it’s over, I can tell you how it went.  Once when Bob was in Bible College, we went to a service at a Jewish Synagogue and afterward we were given a tour. In the back and in the halls, there are plates on the walls, each with a name and a light by the name but less than 10 percent of them were lit. The Rabbi explained to us that these plaques were in memory of those who had passed and the light came on in the month of their death. He said “When a child is born, you have no idea what kind of a person that child will become, but when a person dies, you know what kind of a life they lived. Now, you can celebrate those who lived good lives!” I’m not so sure that’s a ba...

Happy Thursday. How are you doing? If you live close to me I just have one question for you, “Are you sick of this weather yet?” Mercy. We are going to go see my dentist Dr. Reagan this morning if he can get us in. Ton lost half of his back tooth that was cracked and it is giving him fits. Isn’t it amazing how something so very small can cause such a big, tough guy so much pain? It’s not any bigger than a sunflower seed, but it is nearly debilitating for him.  Sometimes I think we believe that about sin. It’s just this one little thing. How could it possibly hurt anything? And compare that to the rest of me, it’s hardly even worth mentioning, right? But...it can literally take you to your knees. Seriously, take you all the way down. To the point you can’t think of anything else and it has consumed you because it hurts so stinking bad. Even though it was just this one little piece of one little tooth.  “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:...

Happy Wednesday to you. How are your week been going? Here, we are in the middle of what promises to be the first of our spring floods. We’ve had a steady rain for the last couple of days and last night it turned to a wintry mix. I hear in Tulsa and Kansas City it’s been a blanket of ice since yesterday and in other places not terrible far away, it’s a balmy 77. Alas, the winter-spring transition. As one of my kids said one time, winter and spring are fighting and some days winter wins and some days spring wins. And I think we all like it much better when spring wins, like last Thursday when it was 78 and we ditched the coats and pulled out the tee-shirts!  I think it’s like that in our spiritual lives too. Winter and spring fight a lot—well more like good battles evil. I think sometimes I can almost hear the fight taking place and I’ve got to choose which side I’m going to take. There’s a part of me that wants to side with the little red guy on my left shoulder that says “awh wha...

Happy Tuesday to you. How are things going for you this week? Well, it’s official, my house is listed on Zillow. We still have a few things to continue to pray over but it’s done. I’m going this morning to begin the official process of starting my new house. It’s closing one door and putting my hand on the knob of the next one.  Big life changes. Isn’t it funny how some we expect and some hit us out of left field? Marriages, Babies, Moves, New Jobs, Retirements, Deaths...Life Changes. They hit you and you adjust. Sometimes kicking and crying, but we get through it. One thing I’ve learned in refitting myself for life’s big changes, I’m not always equipped. And I’m not always excited and I’m not always strong enough to do this on my own. But it’s amazing what God does for you and when you just stare and a pile and don’t know what to do, here comes a a highly equipped, super skilled team to take over for you! It’s amazing how when you feel like your tool bag is empty He surrounds you ...

Good Monday to you! And how are you doing this Presidents Day? Did you hear a good sermon yesterday? I sure did. I heard one on Matthew 9:35-38 when Jesús was awakened to the crowds and was moved by compassion for them. Sometimes I like to think I’m pretty compassionate but if I’m honest, I’m not sure I really am. I think my compassion is pretty limited. I’m soft hearted only if something is of no fault of your own—you know? I tend to be a little judge mental. But Jesús didn’t even care how people got there. He just noticed their hardships, their weaknesses and His response is compassion. He wants the gospel to be shared with them and He asks us to pray for more workers for the harvest. You know, doesn’t it amaze you that instead of looking at the crowds and saying something like “Well, you got yourself in this mess, you’re going to have to get yourself out” which is exactly what I’m inclined to say, Jesús was moved with compassion. It completely blows me away.  But I suppose if w...

Happy Friday to you. Last night Casey, Gracie, and Cooper spent the night with me and we watched Sweet Home Alabama. In the movie there is a line where one of Melanie’s friends is chastising her for running off to New York and saying to her that when she left she “didn’t only leave Jake, but you left behind all of us too!” It points to the fact that our lives are three dimensional—we are interconnected and our actions have consequences that have effects on other people even when we don’t realize it.  So often we hear “who is it gonna hurt” or “it’s a victimless crime” or even “I’ll just be on my own” and the fact is none of us are really on our own. We are all connected to some degree and inter-related with our actions.  “Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to th...

Have you been watching the Olympics? Lots of people love the figure skating, which is nice, but me? I love that snowboarding. That seems to me to take not just talent, but a huge dose of fearlessness. Those kids are nuts with that little flat board on all that ice! It is completely incredible what the athletes have been able to conquer—flipping 3, 4, and more turns upside down, sideways, or all ways...crazy! And when one of them has that perfect run...wow...they just seem to be completely free with that little board—free from fear, from the natural laws of gravity, and almost just from this earth itself.  It reminds me of a couple of things.First, how we should feel as we worship the Lord our God—in great freedom and abandonment. Just giving it all we’ve got. And secondly, the freedom that we are able to experience because Christ has made us free indeed. We are no longer under the law but we have been given our freedom. A freedom that Paul warns the church at Galatia they can forfe...

Happy Tuesday. I am on day three of a headache. So, I’m not thinking very well. However, God in His omnipotence prompted a friend to send this devotion to me yesterday. So with a couple of editorial notes, and one paragraph, here you go. (Thank you Julia!) Love you dear one, Pam Successful people have leaned to deal with their moods. (Today, mine is not good!).When you find yourself dealing with an emotion that’s holding you back, you’ve got two options: You either change it, or you direct it. Some emotions are so destructive, so damaging, so hurtful, so non-effective, the only thing you can do is change it. You’ve got to change what you’re feeling. Philippians 2:5 says, “Your attitude should be the kind that was shown us by Jesus Christ”  Your attitude includes your emotions, so what you’re feeling should be the same as that of Jesus. You need to ask yourself, “How would Jesus feel in this situation? Would Jesus get irritated with this waitress? No. Would Jesus yell at that pers...

Happy Monday. How was your weekend? Mine was cold! We even had a little plumbing issue from all the cold here at Carla’s, but after a visit from a not-so-nice plumber (I’m sure the ice and the cold had him a bit on edge), we are once again washing clothes.  Does anyone but me think the best thing at McDonald’s are the fries? In fact, that’s all I eat there. Fries and ice tea. But i love me some of those fries let me tell you what! Sometimes, I’ll just eat a large fries for lunch (I did that last Friday in fact). Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not recommending it. It’s not a good idea. Fries are like the most unhealthy food you can possibly eat and the calorie count is ridiculous. But they just taste so stinkin’ good—which is why I’m so tempted by them.  I’m tempted by other things that aren’t good for me, too. Actually, if I’m going to honest with you, there’s lots of things that call my name and sometimes...sometimes I answer. I know right? That never happens to you, but that’s...

Happy Sunday! Are you iced in? We certainly are. There is a thick coat of ice here on everything. It is slick! Cars are crashing, people are falling, it’s a mess! I’m doing my best to stay safe and not fall. I’ve done well to avoid surgery on my shoulder for a year now and I don’t want to go and mess that all up because I fall on the ice.  I don’t like to be cut on. When the scalpel cuts on you, it hurts. And it cuts straight through skin, muscle, nerves, vessels, and whatever else gets in its way. It makes a clean cut, but a cut none the less. And cuts are painful. And they take time to heal.  Sometimes when I’m reading God’s Word, I hit something that hits me right where I live and have weaknesses. It cuts me. It hurts. And I realize once again that I need help to live a life worthy of His calling, “God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and ...

Happy Saturday to you. I hope you had a great week. I’m in Springfield this weekend and we woke up to promises of a winter storm with ice and a wintry mix for today and tonight as did a good portion of the Midwest. I don’t know about you but I’m about over this winter stuff and I’m ready to move right on to summer. I saw a FB post that said “You know the best thing about winter? Nothing!” And I am pretty much agreed. Just FYI it’s going to be 80 today in Key West with a low of 73.  Isn’t it amazing how the weather changes everything from our plans to our moods? A nice, sunshiny day can make all of us in a great mood and ready to tackle any project. And conversely, a gloomy, cold day makes us want to curl up on the couch with a blanket and do nothing. And days like today just stop us in our tracks. Tomorrow? Who knows? Springfield could come to a halt for a few hours.  When you look at a storm do you ever think of the power that Jesus exerted when he just spoke to the wind and ...

Well it is Friday and not only have I survived working for 5 days in a row, but the engineers, surveyors, GIS guys, and materials testers at this place that I’ve driven nuts all week have survived as well. One guy brought a document to me and said “I need to fax this.” He tried to use the postage machine and Itried to use the hole puncher then I said “I’d find a secretary if I were you. Oh, wait, that’s me! Let’s see if we can find an engineer that can help us with this.” It’s been fun for me; maybe not so much for them.  You know, some of us are simply very good at some things and others excellent at other things. I don’t do office machines very well even though I worked in an office for many years. I can make a computer pretty much do anything I want, but don’t tell me to use the giant printer to fax, scan and do the salsa. It’s probably not gonna happen. I can answer phones, but I end up talking to whom ever is on the line. About anything, the weather, what they had for lunch, ...

Happy Thursday to you! Is the week going well for you? This  is my car the day we bought it. For the past few days I’ve been hearing a scraping when I turned my wheel. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what it was. Back up a week. Tal had just had new rotors, brakes and tires put on my car. So...I wondered if after a few days if something had loosened up and uugghhh I needed to call Les and find out if he did something wrong, because surely it wasn’t the way I was driving! But I could not imagine that he had because anyone who knows Les knows he doesn’t make mistakes with our cars!  So I do what anyone in my place would do, and I asked my son-in -law Aaron to check it out for me but I’d forgotten until about 7:00 (after dark when it’s -50 degrees). And bless his heart, he said “of course”. He came back in in approximately 3.4 seconds and said “What did you hit?” And bless MY heart, I couldn’t think of a thing! I’m an almost average driver! I don’t hit things. But t...

Happy Wednesday! Well, did everyone watch the largest ever rocket launch? The rocket with 23,000 kilonewtons of thrust which is more than twice the worlds current heaviest rocket. The Falcon Heavy was propelling a red roadster with a mannequin strapped in playing David Bowie in the background. And he was making sure It was quite the sight.  At first glance it really looked like to me it was a case of a super rich guy playing scientist with a flair for drama. However after reading a little bid, I found out that the guy is a marketing genius. His Tesla company jumped from $100bn to $650bn through this little bit of showmanship.  I don’t know Mr. Musks’s heart, and I certainly don’t know his intentions, but all I could think of as I watched rocket and the burn up of all that fuel were the words of King Solomon.  ““Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!”...Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his co...

Happy Tuesday. If you happen to need to call Anderson Engineering in Joplin this week, just go ahead and say “Hi Pam!” because that’s me on the other end of the phone for the next 4 days. Aren’t they a brave company to put me at the front desk? I’m out of my comfort zone just a bit, but I’m having a great time and so far, I’ve only misplaced a couple of callers.  Before I left last night, one of my bosses told me I’d done a good job and he’d see me tomorrow. I was pretty excited my first day wasn’t my last. And I thought of Paul when he addressed the Romans in chapter 15.   “Personally, I’ve been completely satisfied with who you are and what you are doing. You seem to me to be well-motivated and well-instructed, quite capable of guiding and advising one another. So, my dear friends, don’t take my rather bold and blunt language as criticism. It’s not criticism. I’m simply underlining how very much I need your help in carrying out this highly focused assignment God gave me, th...

Yesterday in church we sang a song that has such profound lyrics that it left me in tears and I just want to share them with you. (The Reckless Love of God https://youtu.be/6xx0d3R2LoU) Before I spoke a word You were singing over me You have been so, so Good to me Before I took a breath You breathed Your life in me You have been so, so Kind to me Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine I couldn't earn it I don't deserve it Still You give yourself another  Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God When I was your foe, still Your love fought for me You have been so, so Good to me When I felt no worth You paid it all for me You have been so, so Kind to me Everyone of us have a testimony of God’s reckless love chasing us down and fighting for our soul, don’t we? And at the time when we were at our very lowest, at the time when we thought we were totally a mess and worthless,...

Happy Lord’s Day! Don’t you love worshipping with other believers? There is just something special about being with God’s people. There was a song we used to sing that said “I love the thrill that I feel when I get together with God’s wonderful people. What a sight just to see all the happy faces, praising God in heavenly places..” And it is a great opportunity we are afforded to come together as believers to worship our King.  I got tickled a couple of weeks ago with my son-in-law Aaron when between services I caught him talking with one of his friends sharing a cup of coffee. As I watched them I couldn’t help but notice they had the same look—same shirts, same pants, same haircuts, same beards, same height—they looked like very close brothers. I made them pose for a picture. (They loved it!) When I look at that picture though, it makes me think that all of us should begin to resemble one another if we all are growing in our walk with Jesús. All of us as brothers and sisters in Ch...

Happy Friday! How are you this day? Have you met with the Lord yet? In Bible Study last night I caught a statement that has stuck with me. “If we completely understood all the ways of God, we would be equal to God.” But how very many times have people said to you that they just didn’t understand what God was thinking! How on earth could a good God do whatever or why would God take this person and leave this person? And other sorts of statements when they were frustrated with the turn of events or horrible tragedies. Believe me, I’ve said it myself more times than you can count. Haven’t you? But the truth is, we aren’t God. And our ways are not His ways. And we don’t understand Him and we will never understand Him. We are NOT equal to Him. I think the real truth is, we don’t want to be equal to God, do we? We want our God on His Throne in the place we can worship him. We want him above us, in a position to care over us and be stronger than we are —strong enough to carry those loads we c...

Happy Thursday. How are you doing today? I hope your week has been productive and you have been able to make headway on projects or tasks you had set aside for yourself. Casey and Georgia are coming over today to help me with some major projects on my house. You know, these begotten daughters of mine made a decision to come to help their mother, not because they were forced to do so or because they were blood-born, but because over the years, they have developed their relationship with me and love me. They are my daughters not only by birth, but also by choice.   “The Life-Light was the real thing: Every person entering Life he brings into Light. He was in the world, the world was there through him, and yet the world didn’t even notice. He came to his own people, but they didn’t want him. But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves. These are the God-begotten, not blood-begotten...