Bagels, Donuts and Ending Well
Do you all eat anything 'lucky' on New Year’s Day? My mom used to serve us black-eyed peas. Ick! I ate them every year in the hopes that it would be my 'lucky' year. I recently saw a graphic in a magazine that listed "Nine Foods for a Lucky New Year”. Of course the nasty black-eyed peas were listed first, then some other gross things (in my opinion) like a whole roasted fish, cooked greens (collards, cabbage, chard), however, the one item that caught my eye was ring-shaped foods like bagels, donuts, and bundt cakes. NOW we are talkin’! I think I’ll be going with ring-shaped foods on New Year’s Day.
In this new beginning for us all, this clean slate, this fresh start, I want to talk about our endings. About ending well. I am a hospice volunteer and within this last week I said goodbye to a woman who ended well.
PERSPECTIVE
Did you happen to see the recent 60 Minutes segment where the focus group reflects the nation's dark mood ahead of election day? I highly recommend that you take the time to watch it. You can find it here. It was disturbing and eye-opening, yet, unfortunately, not so shocking. The mediator who has been doing these focus groups for many years was understandably upset by the groups’ behavior towards one another. Things got heated as the questions went on, and people got more and more rude to one another…talking over each other, not listening, not wanting to learn anything on which anyone else was giving their perspective.
This reminds me of these powerful verses: “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…” (2 Tim. 3:1-4)
The Flying W
It has been an exciting yet most difficult week here in the Robinson household. Our beloved Cubs made it to the World Series! What joy and excitement that has brought! Then, to watch the Indians out-play them has been like a punch in the gut. We are still trying to catch our breath. Like a balloon slowly losing its air, that is how we feel. After a 108-year championship drought for the Cubs, without some divine intervention it looks as though it will be at least 109. Even the Jews only had to wander the desert for 40 years! Ugh!!! And now the Cubs have rallied so it looks like we will remain on this roller coaster a few more days.
Yet, we all go thru these seasons in our lives, don’t we? The valleys and even the pits, where you don’t even have the energy to begin to climb up out of them. Yet, win or lose we must keep our eyes above these earthly woes and remind ourselves that as a follower of Christ, we already have the Victory, through Jesus, He is Victorious NOW!
Why Grace Thru Faith?
Back around 2005-2007 I had an idea to create a Christian clothing line called “Grace Thru Faith/Christian Couture.” As my pea-brain was trying to recall why I had chosen that name, I quickly rifled through my stack of papers searching for anything that I had saved from 9-10 years ago. I came across a weary looking piece of legal sized paper with these words at the top of the page, 'Have an idea folder'. Yes! What a great idea! Wonder where that folder is today?!
Then I see that I started to write down why I had perhaps chosen this particular name with the words, “Ephesians 2:8-10—look at the footnotes.” As I am looking back at the pink hi-lighted and multiple starred footnotes in my Bible, I read about how these verses explain that our salvation is a gift from God. We are saved through faith, not by our works, only by His grace and mercy.
Pause with me for a few moments to take in just how life-changing and awesome this gift is.
Father's Day 2016
God's Perfect Timing
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