Toxicity

I learned today that hairspray is toxic. More toxic than Raid. It keeps hard to hold spiders stiff and in place. He was both flexible and shiny.

PATIENCE IS BETTER!

Several years ago I received (everyone got one) a free CD while attending a Gaither Homecoming concert. On the way home we popped it into the player ready for more great Gaither music. The first song was not one of the songs I had heard that night and it didn’t ‘do’ anything for me, so I skipped to the next one. That one wasn’t up-beat enough for me either. You get what you pay for, I thought (remember...it was free) as I, disappointedly, removed it and listened to other music as we drove home.

We have been attending Gaither concerts for close to 30 years. We took our young son when he was a preschooler and the first time I left my daughter in the care of someone else was to go to hear the Gaither Vocal Band at Carolina Coliseum. We had most of their music from vinyls, tapes, CD’s and even piano sheet music. The lullaby of choice for my babies was “There is Something About That Name” so we were connoisseurs of a sort.

Fast forward to June 2009… My now adult daughter and I were driving as she browsed through my CD case. She chose the above mentioned CD and I grimaced because I knew there was better music to be had. The first two songs played and really weren’t that bad. Better than I remembered. Much to my surprise next was one of my favorites, then another good one and before I knew I was enjoying the whole thing. How could it have changed so much? It got better while lying around unused? Or could it be me? Was I not as discriminating as before?

Well, I will tell you what happened, plain and simple. I had given up on it too soon. Before I listened to all of it, I had judged it unacceptable. I laughed at myself for missing out on some good music for several years. The sad thing is that if my daughter had not chosen it from the case, it would still be in there.

Isn’t that the way we treat many things in our fast paced world? If something isn’t fun or exciting we quickly move on to the next thing. We are too impatient to put the time into learning a new skill, nurturing a new friendship or a new marriage, or even playing a game with a child. The skill we thought we wanted was tedious so we put it aside. A friendship is developing too slowly and there are other potential friends up ahead. The marriage is struggling so we move on. And we took the child to a movie instead of investing an afternoon to monopoly. Then suddenly, it seems, we have nothing to show for a year of living, the friend is gone, the marriage is over and the child has grown up.

Is there an area in your life where you need to persevere?

“The end of a matter is better than its beginning,

and patience is better than pride.”
Ecclesiastes 7:8

And Only One Came Back

Remember the story of the 10 healed lepers in Luke? Ten healed and only one came back to give glory to God. (Luke 17:11-19 ASV) This scripture came to mind when I was thinking about the following:

All of the places listed below and more have visited PRAISE HIS NAME and only one has taken a few moments to take a photo of the name of Jesus.

United States
Brazil
Hilton Head, South Carolina
Ireland
Lexington, South Carolina
United Kingdom
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Belgium
South Africa
Colombia
Washington DC
India
La Grange, North Carolina
Italy
San Diego, California
Poland
Pullman, Washington
Mexico
Wallace, Michigan
Hanoi, Dac Lac, Vietnam
Kearny, New Jersey
Kingsport, Tennessee
Weslaco, Texas
Haysi, Virginia
Ellsworth, Maine

Cucumber?

I was gifted with a potted cucumber plant. I have never gardened on the porch but it might actually work!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!