Who doesn’t like walking down to the mailbox? Maybe yours is by your door and you don’t have to go far – or maybe yours is grouped with others and so sometimes its a meeting place…
I think the postal carrier smiles whenever she/he comes across an out of the ordinary, ‘look at me’, load me up mailbox…there are some creative boxes out there!
The sad thing is the art of letter writing or sending a note is becoming a thing of the past… My mother made me send a thank you note for everything someone did for me or gave to me. I, in turn, made my children do the same…
If someone has a birthday, an anniversary, graduates, buys a home, is sick, there’s a card for every occasion – and I don’t know for sure but I bet not many of those make it in the mail anymore. In some respects at forty-nine cents for postage I can understand. But getting a card in the mail is the b-e-s-t…just a simple ‘thank you’ or ‘I’m praying for you’ – brightens anyone’s day…
Now I can’t put down email and texts, I do plenty of that myself, but seriously – you can’t hold a text, sit it on your desk or counter, smile over it more than once…
I have a friend I haven’t seen in 20 years and she still writes me about a twice a year…I l-o-v-e getting her letters.
My poor hubby had to learn over many years that though I think flowers are nice and a gift is sweet, what really makes my heart beat is a note or card with words of love written in it from him.
I can tell a friend that I’m thinking of her, praying for her – but I can show her and give her something to look at for a little while if I write some thoughtful words and include a verse.
So go to the dollar store, load up on some note cards, some special occasion cards, some pretty paper – and even if its just a couple of lines, tell someone you’re thinking of them…
Oh, and maybe you could jazz-up your mailbox a little and give your neighbors and your postal carrier a smile…
Our good friend and pastor in California recalled the following story when his oldest daughter was six… His wife couldn’t pick her up from school and had asked Larry to get her. Realizing he was running late he got over to the school as fast as he could. The younger children wait behind a fenced area by their classrooms and as Larry got out of the car it was easy to tell no one was left. As he walked through the gate he spotted Kelsey sitting crosslegged by her classroom door. He thought to himself ‘She’ll never forgive me, I won’t get to walk her down the aisle, I’m a terrible dad’. As he got closer he could hear Kelsey singing. She jumped up when she saw her daddy, smiling and saying “Hi, daddy!”. Larry said “Oh, Kelsey, honey, I’m so sorry I’m late, please forgive me, were you scared?” Kelsey said “No daddy, I wasn’t scared I KNEW you would come for me.”
As God’s children we can have the same childlike faith, daily saying: “I KNOW He will come back for me’…
Max Lucado said in his book The Final Week of Jesus – “The story of the gospel: Jesus piercing His hands in order to prick our hearts.”
What a great word picture for us to ponder today, Good Friday. Sometimes I wonder how today got the name ‘Good’ when it seems that what happened about 2000 years ago was so horrible. But then I remember: what He did was definitely good for me and for you…and He did promise to come back for us.
When Easter is no longer just eggs and baskets, dresses and dinners – it becomes thankfulness and gratefulness…
These are lovely: grandmas in hats and little boys in bow ties – church and worship songs – jelly beans and chocolate – tables set and savory dishes passed around. But this is a remembrance – not just a ritual celebration. Remember Who it is about and what He did for us.
A rugged cross with nails – a crown of thorns – a bloodied man – a final breath… a reminder of a great love and the hope of eternity and all it promises…
Wishing you a thank-full, grace-filled, blessed Easter celebration – may the pierced hands always prick our hearts…
If you stopped by because you read my devotion today over at Encouragement Cafe, WELCOME! So glad you are here! Please stop by on Fridays as well, Paris Renae is new each Friday!
Time to throw open the windows and…breathe, don’t you think?
First day of spring, that’s today. Time for fresh air…
Changing seasons, changing us. Fresh air – like a cool, clear morning. A float down a lazy stream. A drive down a back road to…nowhere.
Fresh air – like toes in the sand and fresh ocean sea spray, hiking a mountain with blue skies above, a meadow bursting with wildflowers.
Spring with all its hopes and newness, has it become ordinary? But it isn’t – it’s still…miraculous. Baby birds, tiny lizards, new lambs, baby opossums. Green pushing up through warming soil, flowers dressed better than any fashion designer could dream.
How grand are the March winds giving way to April showers – how renewing the grass being mowed, soil being turned, the chatter of birds in migration.
Ordinary is us doing our day to day and missing it – until we don’t. Until we step out with kids in tow and breathe in fun. Barefoot and spinning in circles on the grass isn’t just for 4 year olds.
Inhale promise, exhale hope: the 13 year old inventor wowing men and women twice or more his age; the wrinkled face with glint in eyes remembering ‘back when’ but lives ‘here and now’ touching your soul…
Kissing the neck of the one you love, that oh so familiar, yet brand new scent. Walking in the cool of the day, exhaling serenity…
Fresh air – free for the taking, and for the sharing. Inhale His creation, no ordinary here…
Eighteen years ago I dug up a tiny sapling from beneath the huge tree in our front yard. I went to the back yard and gauged where I thought it should go (seriously I thought it was way far from the deck). Today it has reached that maturity point where it is producing a kajillion seeds. At the time I planted it, it seemed like a good idea. My vision: It will grow as big as it’s parent and provide some shade and separation from the neighbors. Reality: shade, separation, lots of leaves (twice a year) and now these feathery seed things…
Kajillion is a number I’m sure – it’s just not countable. So what does one do when a kajillion seed things are everywhere? My husband decided a drastic trimming was needed, I’m not so sure – but we shouldn’t have any seeds for a while…
When at Home Depot or the Dollar Store and they have those displays of seeds showcasing all the things you can grow, for eating or looking pretty, I have to stop to look at them. Sometimes I can’t help it – I buy a few. Sometimes I even get around to planting them…
I have had sunflowers grow from seeds, really cool. I have had carrots grow from seeds, strange (see pic to see what I mean). Marigolds are really good to grow from seeds, beware they actually throw their own seeds everywhere and marigolds come up no where near where they started – that’s ok, surprises are fun…
I’ve noticed that the seed I put in the dirt never looks anything like what grows up reaching for the sky. Like us – we start out in the secret place of our mother’s womb and emerge a little person. As we grow, change, and mature at some point we become what God means us to be. Along the way we shed many leaves (disbelief, unkindness, worry) and produce fruit (faith, love, patience).
Plant some sunflowers – they’re easy. Share them when they grow, spreading sunshine. Has someone caused you to grow in unexpected ways? Do you have a story that will encourage another’s growth? Leave a comment and spread a few Seeds of Wisdom with the rest of us (pictures are welcome too)…
If you stopped by because you read my devotion today over at Encouragement Cafe, WELCOME! So glad you are here! Click on the Living Braver link at the top, perhaps fear is an issue you would like to chat about…
Do you know these people? She always shows up with a baked goodie when she comes over. He always gets called upon for help with home repairs. She has an infectious laugh that warms your heart. He has a way of putting his arm around your shoulder and calling you friend. These people are…
I want to be one of those people, someone Living Out Valentines Everyday…
Each year about 1 billion Valentines Day cards are sent (2nd only to Christmas in card sales). That’s a lot of love circulating through the mail… Speaking of which…
A year ago on Valentines Day Paris Renae The Stories of Our Lives was launched with a sweet love story from yesteryear. Today, a brief story called: Lost Valentine…
Charlie was 19 in 1969. He and Carol had been dating for a little over six months. The first draft during the Vietnam War was broadcast on television for all to see – and Charlie’s number came up. The holidays were bittersweet as they spent as much time together as they could before he shipped out for bootcamp.
Carol clung to Charlie outside the bus station in the small town they lived in. She told him she would be waiting for him. He promised to write and told her to look for a Valentine from him. True to his word a beautiful valentine filled with loneliness arrived from Charlie right on time. The last line read, we will ship out for Vietnam immediately after bootcamp.
Carol never heard from Charlie again, he was listed Missing In Action in the spring of 1971. A year later Carol married and raised a family. Now a widow she spent most of her time volunteering at the local hospital and one particular nursing home where a lot of Vietnam vets resided.
Carol made a big deal of holidays for all those she visited making sure everyone got at least a card and candy cane at Christmas, a card and a chocolate on Valentines day, and so on. This year as she sat assembling her cards and chocolates for Valentines day, the doorbell rang…
A mail carrier stood with a letter encased in plastic and explained that when an old mail facility on the other side of town was recently prepared for demolition a bundle of mail had been found and this one had been addressed to her. They had tracked her down through town hall records for the year 1971 and matched it to her married name. The carrier handed it to her “Is this you, ma’am?”
Carol recognized the handwriting on the envelope and shakily took the card. “Yes, it’s me. Thank you.” Closing the door she sat by the window in the waning sun. The stamped post date was February 7, 1971. The letter was a handmade Valentine.
“My dearest, Carol, forgive me for not writing all these many months. It’s all pretty depressing over here and I could never figure out what to write. But Valentine’s day gave me a happy topic. I have covered this in hearts and each one is a kiss and hug from me. They say I will be allowed to come home in March for a month. If you can forgive me and haven’t moved on, I will look for you at the bus station. Love xoxoxo Charlie”
Carol folded the letter – how many other Valentines never returned back home to those that loved them? Many that did often returned home to ridicule. More determined than ever, she decided each card should have two chocolates this year…
Thank you for allowing me to share each week with you. I would love to hear from you, you can email by clicking on Contact on the website…
If you stopped by because you read my devotion today over at Encouragement Cafe, WELCOME! So glad you are here! Click on the Living Braver link at the top, perhaps fear is an issue you would like to chat about…
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Delight…
Posted on March 6, 2015 by Paris Renae
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Did you know its both a verb and a noun? Something you ‘do’ – and something you ‘get’. Sometimes we hold back and don’t describe things with fun words like this…
Homemade apple pie with vanilla ice cream and crunchy crust is delight-full. A blue sky spring day complete with birds chirping, a lawn mower going in the distance, and slight breeze is delight-full! A little toddler looking up from mud pie making with chubby toes and pleased smile is delight-full!
The next time a friend asks me to lunch I think I will say “Yes, that would be delight-full!” At the store when they say “It’s senior discount day, do you qualify for our 15% off?” instead of thinking ‘yuck, yes’ I will say “That would be delight-full!”
Finding a front parking space, getting to your appointment five minutes early, a hairdresser who hides all your gray, a $5 off coupon for eating out, the way a cat sleeps without a care in the world — these are all, you guessed it, DELIGHT-FULL…
Thinking… What about the verb part? How can we delight others? As in our smiles, words, thoughtful notes, phone calls, emails, encouragement, helping hand, teaching how to make something – with these and many more we can be delight-full to someone else…
I want to hear from you… What delights you? How have you been a delight lately? Join in, leave a comment, you never know – what you share just may delight another – for sure it will be a delight to hear from you…
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