Smokey the Bear reminds us of fire safety.  Common sense things like not to take burning sticks out of a fire, keep a bucket of water and shovel nearby, never leave a campfire unattended.  Watchful mothers tell their kids not to play with matches.  Observant husbands remind their wives to blow out the scented candles before retiring for the evening.

Nothing we didn’t already know just protective folks (and Bears) caring enough about us to see that we don’t get burned.

King Solomon even warns against the dangers of fire in Proverbs 6:27 “Can you carry fire against your chest without burning your clothes?”

Common sense tells us surely we would get burned carrying fire that close to our body.  King Solomon continues on with more warnings writing “don’t be tempted”, “don’t become trapped”, “whoever does it will suffer”.

Who in their right state of mind would run about life carrying fire close to their heart knowing full well the dangers and suffering involved?  Not only do you burn yourself but those who are close and dear to you feel the effects of burnt ashes.  There is something about fire that is mesmerizing for sure, but I would prefer to go about life using a little common sense.  I won’t play with fire for the fun of it; I won’t take the chance of permanently damaging my loved ones for some bewitching moment.  I’ll keep my fires at bay; being on guard; putting out the flame before it consumes me and my loved ones.

A little bit of common sense goes a long way.  Fire burns things and changes lives forever.

Keep your fires under control fore you cannot carry fire against your chest without burning your clothes.

Fire safety tips from Smokey the Bear along with King Solomon (and a little common sense).

Have a safe summer.

Mother Teresa often described herself as “just a pencil in God’s hand”.  Even though she left planet earth in 1997 she somehow still continues to do God’s work fifteen years later.

I find myself drawn to her in countless ways.  She is the statue whose candles remain lit nonstop in the back of our church.  She lived like a saint and those eyes bore into our conscience as her heart overflowed with love for all of mankind.

Her wisdom is ageless and her prayers are universal.  Her boldness even in today’s standards is astounding.  Someone who didn’t know anything about her once told me they found it hard to believe all she accomplished by looking at her.  I’ll agree her outside appearance was not the norm of a world leader but how she walked the talk captivated the world.

To think that all of this started because one day she decided to put her two hands together to pray; it was a prayer that changed the world.

“Just a pencil in God’s hand” she was known to say.

Some kind of “pencil”.   Some kind of “prayer”.

Time and time again I’m deeply moved by this saintly lady called Mother Teresa.

“All of our words will be useless unless they come from the bottom of our hearts.  Words which do not spread the light of Christ increase the darkness.” 

Mother Teresa

Taking care of one’s soul is one of the most important things we humans must do.  Do we even try?  Are we even somewhat aware where our soul is heading?

How are we doing out there?  Surviving?  To be a Soul Survivor takes a whole lot of work and complete trust.

Our Lord knows the whereabouts of our soul.  He knows the current condition; where it’s been; what it’s up to.

When something is just not right; when I’m on the path to no good I can feel it deep in my soul. These are the moments in life when it is so important to turn to our Lord for guidance.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Our soul is all we got and we’ve got to take care of it.  Someday our mind will become more forgetful then mindful; our body will take on a little less of a human form; our heart will skip a beat or two.  No matter what should happen if our soul survives we survive.

Are you a Soul Survivor?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart……….and soul.

Take care.

I know a father that has faith of steel.  His moral standards are so high one needs a ladder to view.  He doesn’t take lightly his job title.  He has given up time and effort for the greater cause of fatherhood.

If you are looking around for the likes of him ladies sorry but this guy is taken for life; he is my husband the father of our two children.  Through him our kids have a rock solid father figure of a man who will stand by them through thick and thin.  They know the moral principles he upholds and the love in his heart for them.  He is one of those dads who care more about them then the career he holds that supports our family.  He speaks the truth and nothing but the truth.

When trouble finds our family he has a saying that he lives and believes in word for word.   “First comes fear then comes faith.”  I know there have been times when I was ready to throw in the towel, to give up early in the game, but he would intervene by a certain look he has and repeat those words that have become so sacred to him.

First comes fear then comes faith.  Oh the faith he carries within is that which can move mountains that are hard to climb.  Faith that our forefather Abraham possessed and passed on to all generations.  Faith that withstands gale force winds; faith that melts troubles away; faith that builds up trust that no one can crush; faith that remains when all else fails; faith that stands nearby now and always.  Faith to live by!

It is the Faith of Our Fathers that do so much and mean so much to all of us.

So Happy Father’s Day to (you) and to all the great faithful fathers, dads, pops, papas, step-dads, uncles, grandfathers, granddads, fill in father figures who have made life so much better in their strong, caring ways about them.

Enjoy your day!

Summer has begun.  The long sought after season has finally arrived.  Time to put away the backpacks, take a break from music lessons, let the children sleep in, let the screen door slam shut, and find a good book to settle into for the next few months.

I love being surrounded by books and usually get caught up reading stacks at a time.  Depending upon my mood I like to pick and choose.  One particular book which is always in my ongoing reading pile is the Holy Bible.

With this book I can start at the beginning and read about the story of creation.   No matter how many times I’ve read the words I always wonder how this could possibly be done.  Realizing then it is only with God that all things are possible.

If I want I can randomly flip through the pages of this great book and meditate on a verse such as “I am the Lord, and I do not change.  And so you, the descendants of Jacob, are not yet completely lost.  You, like your ancestors before you, have turned away from my laws and have not kept them.  Turn back to me, and I will turn to you.” Malachi 3:6-7   I find hope just by chance.  What calming words to stumble upon.

If I truly want to be inspired I go to The Wisdom of Solomon.  Within the pages I read about the importance of virtue, the value of wisdom, how God is powerful and merciful.  It ends with a prayer “Lord, you have made your people great – glorious in all respects.  You have never neglected them.  You have given them help, always, everywhere.”  (Hope shows itself again.)

In the New Testament I find Jesus.  He becomes alive as I read His personal words spoken and follow along from His birth to death to His resurrection.  I get to know Him and as I do I know no fear.  (There’s that hope thing again.)

The bible from page one (In the beginning, when God created the universe…) to page thirteen hundred fifty six (May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone.) is filled with inspiration.

Next hot humid day when you find it is too hot to cook or clean and any type of yard work is out of the question and you just want to relax under some shade grab your blanket and take your Bible with you.

Open the pages and be inspired. Inspired by hope; inspired by chance; inspired by wisdom; inspired by God.

Enjoy the summer relaxing and reading.

June is the start of garage sale season.  Wherefore people bring up all kinds of things from their basement to place in their garage for a one of a kind sale.  You never know what you will find that was once lying around someone’s home and now for sale.  One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.

I’ve had my share of garage sales to clean up the junk piles in our home.  What I’m wondering about is the lying around going on inside.  All the little lies we told throughout our career in the game of life.  There they sit collecting dust; getting stale; taking up much needed space; doing no good; cluttering up our minds.

I like to pretend they all started out as simple white lies.  You know the kind we tell that has no harm; maybe even told to help another if that is really even possible!  Then we have the pile of gray lies that didn’t do a lot of damage, but are on the fence line leaning a little too close to the edge of so called helping others out.  I hate to even think of the next type of lies; those done on purpose; out of spite; told to bring us up a notch; push others down a peg.

Yeah inside we may find quite a mixture of junk lying around needing to be disposed of.  There is a place that takes just this type of junk and funny thing about it once it is dumped we can no longer go back and pick it up.

It’s no junk yard; this divine locale is found at the foot of the cross.  There Jesus waits and when we arrive tells us to give it all to Him.  Leave your problems; leave your burdens; leave your lies.

Once done Jesus proclaims: “Your sins are forgiven.  Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” 

That’s a treasure to cherish.

Peace be with you.

I married a list keeper and over the years have picked up on his habit.  You would be amazed at the lists we have in our household.  My favorite list to compile is one everyone should have of dreams and notions to carry out.  I have a lot of things I want to do.  Most are more personal than anything else.  Nothing dynamic that will set the world on fire or even make the local news.  My lists are made up of important stuff to do like roasting a marshmallow till you no longer can see any white just golden brown; go bike riding with my husband on a bike built for two in the rain where he will be in charge of pedaling and I will hold the umbrella over us; picking blueberries with my kids who have never had the pleasure of experiencing a blueberry picking outing!

Yes these are very important things I have on my list to get done someday soon.  Then there are things I should do like laundry, grocery shopping, etc.  Next are the things I must do like walking our dog, paying our electric bill and so on.

Before any of these lists were manifested though set in stone; written well before my time; still applicable today; is a list of ten things God tells us to do.  The Ten Commandments which by the way I heard we all are suppose to know and abide by.

Yikes on the word commandments.  I gather that means they are not just suggestions; good ideas; food for thought; negotiable rules; erasable words (they were written in stone); no they are strictly commandments and look Who is giving us them to follow.  How can we not take this serious?

The Ten Commandments

1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of slavery.  Worship no gods except Me.
2. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
3. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.
4. Honor your father and your mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not tell lies against your neighbor.
9. You shall not want to take your neighbor’s wife or husband.
10. You shall not want to take your neighbor’s possessions.

From Exodus 20:1-17

Quite a notable list there; good news is there is only ten plus they aren’t that terribly hard.  Right?  God isn’t asking us to do anything bad or out of the ordinary; in fact He is commanding the opposite.

I keep lots of lists.  This one is a keeper.  Keeping God in one’s heart requires keeping His Commandments.

God be with us as we set out to pursue His list of commands.

Lately I’ve been having a hard time telling the difference between real saints and sinners.  You would think telling them apart would be as easy as night and day.  I’m noticing there are lots of disguises out there and often confuse the two groups.

Daily we are bombarded with juicy gossip on an uprising celebrity or a well known citizen  seeking public office.  Someone we thought of as a role model lets us down as their true character comes to light.   Often I can’t even comprehend some of the inconceivable things we humans do to each other.  Like the moms who on the outside look so perfect and motherly abusing their own children; the husbands using their wives as punching bags without the slightest regret; the young kids picking on another kid till a breakdown happens.  Then the lies and the cover ups come out in full force.  Sadly a saint turns into a sinner.

Not a good judge of character at all I have also written off others because of how they looked or who they hung out with and what social status they held and later realized I was in the presence of a true saint.

A sinner is an evildoer who stirs up trouble and causes pain.  A saint is someone who is exceptional and holy and upright.

A sinner is just a fallen saint looking for a hand to help guide them up.

A saint can do just that.

Speaking of saints…this quote from Saint Francis of Assisi is sure to turn us all into modern day saints; all we have to do is heed the meaning.

“Preach the gospel at all times.  Use words if necessary.”

Sounds like a plan.  May the real saints come marching in!