Have You Been There?

Recently in our Sunday School class we were studying Luke 7:36 – 48

In our discussion of the subject there were many good points brought out.

The one thing that came to my mind is that many are so quick to judge.

This woman was evidently a prostitute and here she came into the house full

Of those who would not dare to be seen around here. She comes to Jesus with a jar of expensive perfume. She then begins to weep at the feet of Jesus, washing his feet in her tears and wiping them dry with her hair. She truly repented.

Who are we to think ourselves any better than this woman? Who of us is without any sin? Does not our sin, no matter what it is send us straight to hell, if we do not repent, ask forgiveness, change our ways?

Have you ever felt like you were on the outside looking in? Have you ever felt like the one with a ‘mark’? Have your friends, peers, colleagues, family or even other Christians made you feel like you were not good enough? Have you ever made a mistake or fell into unfortunate circumstances only to have your so call ‘friends’ turn their back on you because you didn’t do things the way THEY felt you should?

I’ve been there before, only to have some that I trusted the most to turn their back on me because they did not agree with my choices. At some of the lowest times of my life, my support system was gone. I began to ask myself ‘who are these people to judge me? What makes these people any better than me?” At times I would even doubt the whole Christianity thing. But God spoke to my heart and helped me to understand that these people that are judging me will one day be judged themselves. I was to do what I know was the best for me, to serve my Lord Jesus with my head held high, because in the sight of my Lord, I was no lower than anyone else. These people that judged me were no higher than I was. I stuck to my guns. I did what I knew was right. I held my tongue for many years. In my actions I would come to prove those who judged me wrong.

So I as the question once again… Who are we to think we are any better than this woman at the feet of Jesus? Oh to have the courage and the heart to seek Him no matter what.

No matter what other’s thought. WHO are we to think ourselves any better than she?

Luke 7:36 – 48

³⁶Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. ³⁷When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, ³⁸and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

³⁹When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner."

⁴⁰Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said.

⁴¹"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,^[d] and the other fifty. ⁴²Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

⁴³Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

⁴⁴Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. ⁴⁷Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

⁴⁸Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

Peter Piper

I sometimes get in these moods where I become FULL of questions, all sorts of questions, sometimes I get the answers rather simply, other times I have to search them out. Well this evening I was in one of those moods. Well I found the answer to one of my questions to have a very interesting answer and I thought it worthy of sharing.... So I was thinkin to myself this evening....... How many pecks of pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick? And I had NO earthly idea... sooo I asked my trusty little google and here is what I found Answer:

Peter Piper didn't pick any pecks of pickled peppers 'cause pickled peppers aren't pickled when they are picked.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. "if Peter Piper picked a PECK of pickled peppers..."

BUT... if Peter Piper could pack pickled peppers in a peck,

and Peter's peck was packed in a bushel to promote proper packing,

then Peter Piper would have to poney up 4 pecks to fill the bushel.

If Peter Piper ground said pickled peppers and produced a fine pickled powder,

then Peter Piper would have 537.6 cubic inches of piquant powder.

Unless poor Peter lived across the pond where Imperial takes precedence,

then Peter's peck would probably be 554.8 cubic inches of pickled pepper powder.

Let's pray this prickly problem is now properly planted.

Lessons From the Pecan Tree

Lessons from the Pecan Tree

Ahh, hasn’t the weather been beautiful lately (well for the most part).  It’s warming up!

Doesn’t if feel great?  Those rays of sunshine are beginning to stay with us a bit longer.

I love it!  I'm a sunshine sort of person, so the longer the daylight, the better I like it. (That’s another blog I will share at another time).  So back to the subject… if you spend anytime outside or traveling in you vehicle you will notice its looks like spring is popping up everywhere.  Redbud Trees and even some Dogwood trees are brightening up our landscapes with their beautiful blossoms.  You can even see some Azaleas beginning to bloom.  In fact we spread some wildflower seed last summer, and some of the little gals are pushing their way through the soil and showing their smiling little faces. All this is wonderful, and many will think:  “Yahoo, spring is here”.  But don’t be fooled my friends. Take a lesson from the wise Pecan Tree!

Years ago, Granddaddy (Wilbur Nobles) told me when we planted a Pecan tree: “now Bert, you keep an eye on this Pecan tree and it will always tell you when winter is over and spring is here, don’t be fooled by the other trees you see around”.  He continued: “you see, the Pecan tree will not open its leaves until the last freeze of winter is over”.

Well of course I was a bit leery of some of Granddaddy stories cuz he used to tell us some whoppers! (All of which were very entertaining… I have fond memories of Granddaddy)  Back to the story:  So I decided to put that Pecan to the test, as the years went by; one by one that Pecan tree NEVER let me down.  It’s been over 30 years since Granddaddy told me that story and to this day it stands true. 

Don’t be fooled by an imposter, rely on the real thing!!!

This story reminds me of the following scripture:

1 John 4:1-3

¹Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.

Enjoy the weather!

They Call Me Gracie!

They Call Me Gracie!

Hmmm grace, yet one more reason I live in the Grace Space: when I was in massage school I once was walking across a large room where the entire class sat on the floor in a circle. We did that a lot in ‘herbal gerbil’ school (that by the way is my pet name for massage school and most things related to it).  The fact is most of the classes were held sitting on the floor of one room or another.  This wasn’t all bad though, except after lunch, it was oh so tempting to lay your head down and snooze off to sleep.  Here I was with a group of herbal gerbil students of which most I was old enough to be their mother. This was a wonderful experience for me; however I do admit there were some sti-raaange people there.

Back to my thought; as I was walking across the circle and I tripped, probably over a speck on the floor or some imaginary painted line… there I was creating a new dance step that would make Fred Astaire proud.  And so I came to a graceful stop landing one hand and one foot on the ground with the other hand and foot in the air and somewhere in between, my back-side brought applause. Yes, such elegance, such grace, so it was that point I was dubbed by a dear young herbal gerbil with a new name “Gracie”.  From that point on, most of my class called me Gracie and many of the teachers did also.  It’s wonderful to be loved!

BTW for any of you younger readers, who do not know who Fred Astaire is, click the link below to get a peek and enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxPgplMujzQ   

Froggie went a jumping!

I was reading my friend Becky’s blog the other day about frogs and it reminded me of the demise of one little green tree frog that began a lift time of little green tree frog terminations. Those of you who live in good ole Florida are probably familiar with our small green, cold, slimy feeling tree frogs. They love to climb up the outside of your house and sit under the ease of you roof and sing their non stop green tree frog song. By the way if you are new to Florida I suggest you search far and wide to experience the song of this wild little beast. After you have done that, you might want to remember this little story. Years ago, Jay (my first husband) and I were lying in bed. The sun was beginning to peek up over the trees and gently shine through our bedroom window. Ahh it was a beautiful moment. The windows were open and a slight breeze was ruffling the curtains. Another day set before us, the birds were chirping the bees were buzzing and the tree frogs were singing at the top of their little voices welcoming the new day! As I lay there enjoying the moment, the sound of God’s creatures creating such a beautiful melody, my dear husband also lay there singing his song of the new day. His mouth wide open and the sounds of his snoring echoed through the air. Ah yes, such wonders, such melodic notes filling the air, although I must admit I couldn’t sleep for all the noise. So I decided to close my eyes one more time and try to catch a few more Zzzzzzs. When all of a sudden Jay jumps up out of the bed, spitting and coughing running through the house clad only in his birthday suit with his hand cupped tightly. He threw open the carport door with such urgency there he stood in all his glory with his hand lifted high into the air and then SPLAT! There on the carport floor laid the lifeless body of one little green tree frog. From that moment on until his death bed Jay hunted those little green cold slimy feeling creatures and each one would meet his Creator sooner than expected. You see that little green tree frog jumped right into Jay’s mouth and learned a lesson a very important lesson hard way that I’m sure is echoed throughout the tree frog kingdom to this day, NEVER jump in the mouth of a sleeping human being; it is a very unwelcomed event. I suppose if there were a moral to this story for those of us of the human nature it would be “Look before you leap”, or accept the outcome of which you choose.

I ask why?

I Ask Why?

Well here I am, thinking to myself; “self why on earth are you doing this?” and myself answers:  “well what the heck, why not?”  And so it begins but no telling how long it will last.  “Living in the Grace Space & Other Stuff”

I tend to write the way I talk, and I tend to talk the way my brain spits things out.  The typical mind of a woman, I may be on one subject and skip right to another and back again to the original thought (that is if I can remember what I was talking about) (which jogs my memory to share w/ you yet another idea of the Grace Space)… Ahhh but back to my original thought, but what was it?  Oh yeah, I tend to write the way I talk and I tend to talk the way my brain spits things out and there you have the perfect example of what you have to look forward to!

Grace by definition is: Grace

Noun

1. A state of sanctification by God.

2. Elegance and beauty of movement or expression.

3. A sense of propriety and consideration for others.

4. A disposition to kindness and compassion; benign good will: "the victor's grace in treating the vanquished".

5. (Greek mythology) one of three sisters who were the givers of beauty and charm; a favorite subject for sculptors.

6. A short prayer of thanks before a meal.

7. Free and unmerited favor or beneficence of God: "there but for the grace of God go I".

Verb

1. Make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.; "Decorate the room for the party"; "beautify yourself for the special day".

2. Be beautiful to look at; "Flowers adorned the tables everywhere".

I find I live in a state of Grace, forgiven by my Heavenly Father through my confession of sins to Him, believing He is the one and only true God, that He sent His Son Jesus Christ who was born of the Virgin Mary, lived, was crucified, dead, buried and rose from the dead to be alive for evermore.

Grace, yup that’s where I live in a constant state of Grace.  I sure don’t deserve it but I'm sure thankful that I received it!  What a great gift.