HE DID NOT CREATE US WITH LABELS

Unlabeled

The happy little dandelion

growing in the field

smiled toward heaven

all the while.

No one ever said

“you’re just a weed”

so he had no doubt

that he was loved.

Perhaps

there is a lesson

here for me?

by Martha L Shaw © 2015

WE ARE BORN WITH OPEN MINDS  AND LOVING HEARTS.

LET’S REMEMBER HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS!

 

LOVE . . . EXTINCT???

Christians, as well as any other “religious” groups I have heard of, are raised with clear values ESPECIALLY love!

HOW TRAGIC IT IS that our news broadcasts, paper and electronic communication seems CLEARLY to alert us that love has become ARCHAIC!

LET’S WORK TOGETHER AND SAVE LOVE FROM EXTINCTION!

S

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You Choose!

IN THIS LIFE . . .

Are we on a quest to DO what is right,

or to always BE right?

These two are rarely synonymous

and one is HOPELESSLY inefficient!

By Martha L Shaw – ©  2018

Say WHAT?

A voice from the next room called out in a loud voice “I be knackered!” Quite frankly, I was not sure whether to run for cover or to run for covers!

 

DE COLORES

. . . because life was not meant to be just black and white!

 Our individuality was meant for blessing, not distressing!

 

By Martha L Shaw © 2015

 

 

THE REAL PROBLEM!

We fix one symptom, pat ourselves on the back, put our feet up, and nap . . . never facing up to the REAL problem.  Why, then, do we complain that “nothing ever changes” and “nobody cares!”

A LIFE CHANGER!

Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself.

– Mohsin Hamid –

MIRROR OF SINCERITY

We say we are sincere, but are we?

True sincerity, like the mirror on the wall, speaks non-verbally.

We communicate it heart to heart!

By Matha L Shaw ©2016

TINY TEACHER . . . “STILL A BEAR!”

We often shake out heads and mutter “oh, the world today . . . ”  or the other phrase, “these kids today . . . ”  I think,and the Bible urges, that we MUST be like the children to positively change the world . . .

Grandma read a book to her littlest granddaughter, then this conversation started:

Child: Grandma. I’m beige.
Grandma: I guess so.
Child: You’re beige too.
Grandma: Yep
Child: Grandpa is dark beige.
Grandma: Yep. People come in all different colors.
Child: Like bears. Right?
Grandma: Right.
Child: But they’re still all bears.
Grandma: Yes they are.

Thanks, Grandma Gerrie!

DOES YOUR ATTITUDE NEED WEEDING?

 

Pull Weeds – Cultivate Joy?  Psalm 30:5 tells us that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”  Oh, joy!  Sure.  You know, sometimes life deals us moments of spectacular and sometimes not so much.  It seems to me that it’s easier to hold onto the “not so much” than it is to hold onto the joy.  Why is that?  It seems simple enough to understand that some of the things that make us weep, and these relate to the Psalmist’s words here, are anger, hurt, and discouragement.  We may not wish to admit to our tears, and we may try to hide them, but they do come.  These things certainly would make us “weep for a night.”  Why, then do we tend to hold onto these negative feelings and worse yet share them so eagerly?  Why, also, does joy seem to be so fleeting?  Why do we tend to jealously keep it to ourselves rather than share it? 

These questions bring us back to the initial question of why we seem to be more able to hold onto our “not so much” feelings and less able to hold onto our joy.  When we’re happy we tend to feel much more independent, don’t we?  I do.  Happiness and joy make me feel like “I’ve got it” and “it’s all under control.”  When I’m hurt, angry and discouraged, I am far more likely to share those feelings with those around me.  I guess on some level we feel as though if we share our feelings, it’ll “get better” but when it comes to the negative ones, that’s not how it works.  How often do you go about your day and encounter comments like “I hate it when . . . “ or “did you see what he just did?” or “that’s not fair!” or “I have such a headache” to name a few, but how often in your typical day do you hear “wow, I am so full of joy today!”  It sounds rather trite, but it’s true that our attitudes are contagious.  What we share with the person next to us, they pass on to another.   

Joy, on the other hand,  is fleeting and like a garden, it needs to be cultivated.  Complaining, like weeds, grows easily and quickly consumes not just our little garden patch, but soon overtakes the entire yard and then spreads to neighboring gardens as well.  Complaining is habitual.  Negativity.  We  hold onto it.  We allow it, like the untended weeds, to spread.  It’s easier that way, but is it better?  I don’t think so.  Words have power in them.  In the book of Genesis we learn this in a wonderful way.  Genesis 1:3 tells us, “and God said “let there be light,” and there was light.”  Those four simple words yielded power and a wonderful world was created yet; words can also destroy.  Proverbs 10:11 makes this clear, telling us “the mouth of the righteous man is a well of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.”  God lives in us.  We reflect God outwardly to the world around us.  We want to be good disciples.  We need to pull those weeds of anger, discouragement, and hurt out of our gardens even though it’s hard work sometimes.  We need to cultivate joy.  As we are told in 1 John 4:12, “when I walk in love, God is present.”  Glory be to God!