Pink Rice

my precious granddaughter

"Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, lovely, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not to curse." (Phil. 4:8 The Message)

           When I asked my grandson, "Do you like white rice or wild rice - you know the kind with different colors", my rainbow-butterfly-and-make-believe granddaughter answered for him, "Well, he usually eats white rice, but sometimes he eats the pink kind."J

           Life truly is a matter of perspective - everything looks better from a godly eye view.

"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus." (Phil 2:3-5)

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Obedience: a Blossom of Love

Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will obey My commandments." (John 14:15)













             As is our tradition, when the grandkids left this morning, I asked them, "Are you going to obey your parents and keep loving Jesus?" They all answered, "Yes!", and then I hugged them and gave each a one dollar bill. 

             The questions should have been reversed because loving Jesus yields obedience to His commands to:

                                       obey parents 
                                or 
           be kind to others
                                            or 
                                       forgive others 
                                                               or 
                        love the unlovable 
                                            or
                                                   do not lie
                                            or
                 think of others more highly than yourself
                                                              or
                           do not be prideful
                                                or...

Are you loving Jesus today?
  
"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves." (James 1:22)

             

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Blessed Generations

The Blessed Dozen

"... I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him, for this is your life and the length of your days..." (Deut. 3-:19-20)

        As a young lad, my Phillip resolved to live life honoring God; and decades later, his family is reaping the blessings promised to a godly patriarch.

        Honor God. Choices made today impact tomorrows for you, your children, and your children's children.

"You must not bow down or worship idols; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the father's sin, to the 3rd and 4th generations... but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands." (Deut. 20:5-6)

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Freedom on the 4th of July

My kitchen table

I pledge allegiance

      to the flag of the 

United States of America

    and to the Republic 

for which is stands,

      one nation 

under God,

              indivisible,

with liberty and 

         justice

for all!






"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His own possession." (Psalm 33:12)

Thank You, Lord Jesus, United States military, and veterans for our freedom!!!





"It was for freedom that Christ set us free... " 
(Gal. 5:1)

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Our Staycation Day #2

"Then My people will live
in a peaceful habitation...
how blessed they will be,
you who sow beside all waters."
(Isa. 32:18,20)

And a fun time was had by all.

              Today, thank God for your family and enjoy your time together!

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name!" (Psalm 103:1)

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Our Staycation - Day #1

Grandkids in the swim spa

"Enjoy the blessing! Revel in the goodness... Your household will be like a vineyard, the children around your table as fresh and promising as young olive shoots. Stand in awe of God's YES. Oh, how He blesses the one who fears God!" (Psalm 128:2-4 The Message)

                 This summer, Phillip and I decided to forego the family vacation and planned a "staycation" instead. Wikipedia defines "staycation" as a period in which a family stays home and participates in leizure activities within driving distance, sleeping in their own beds at night. So, with free food, gas, and recreation, we lured our kids and grandkids to our stay-at-home-vacation.

Plan your own staycation and enjoy God's blessings at home!

Grandson chasing a frog

My granddaughter and "Oreo"

Our kids and grands

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Sweet Dreams

Our sweet babygrand

"How blessed is the man who finds wisdom... When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet." (Prov. 3:13,24)

Isn't he the sweetest, cutest thing ever!

"In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety." (Psalm 4:8)


          God's recipe for a good night's rest: walk in godly wisdom and have unshakable faith in Him.

           Need sleep? Follow the recipe!

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Serve One Another

My grands at their yard sale

                  "...serve one another through love." (Gal. 5:13)

             For my super-organized, neat-freak son-in-law's Father's Day gift (that was a mouth full), my daughter and the grands had the grandiose idea to follow a 10 day, step-by-step home decluttering and deep cleaning plan that ended with a yard sale and then to buy "dad" something special with their earnings. Now, that's what I call serving another through active love!

So what's your grandiose idea for serving someone through love in action?

                                             Coming Soon:

                                Serve Day, Saturday, July 12th

"Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth." (1 John 3:18)

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Happy Birthday, Bat Man!

My grandboy!

"... His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus continued to grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." (Luke 2:51-52)

Happy birthday, little man! I can't believe you're five years old!

Everyday, I pray that you will love the Lord with all your heart, obey His voice, hold fast to Him, and serve Him with a whole heart and willing mind all the days of your life. God has given you the special gift of worship. May you use it to bring glory and honor to Jesus forever and ever. 

As a boy, Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man. May you grow in like manner and become a mighty man of God - like your daddy and your granddaddy.

                                 I love you soooooooo much!
                                                 Memaw

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Deep Waters

Gulf of Mexico, Fort Morgan, Alabama

"And when they had let down their nets, they caught an enormous shoal of fish - so big that the nets began to tear... " (Luke 5:6)

             I'm grinning from ear to ear today. 

             This week, I signed a contract with Deep Sea Publishing in Herndon, Virginia for the publication of Hoot Owl Hollow. 

             A few months ago, after seeing Luke 5:4 five times in one week, I read the verse in context: 

"When Jesus had finished speaking, He said to Simon, 'Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch. Simon answered, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.' When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break." (Luke 5:4-6)

            Hmmmmm, I thought, wonder if the Lord's trying to tell me something about my books? So, just for the fun of it, I googled "Deep Water Publishing" and up popped "Deep Sea Publishing."

            So, I cast my little storybook into the Deep Sea and wait with enormous expectations.

            Are you listening? Are you obeying? Are you expecting God to do great things?

"He who calls you is utterly faithful, and He will finish what He set out to do."   (1 Thess. 5:24)

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Sour Face

Grandkids interpretation of "sour face"

"Let there be no more resentment, no more anger or temper, no more violent self-assertiveness, no more slander and no more malicious remarks. Be kind to each other; be understanding. Be as ready to forgive others as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you." (Eph. 3:30-31)


           At a restaurant yesterday, I saw a sour-faced woman demand to speak to the manager because the waiter had forgotten the to-go box she'd requested. It reminded me of a great line from the Erwin brothers' hilarious movie: "Mom's Night Out" when the restaurant hostess told the irate, young mother, "You're angry, and it's doing something ugly to your face."
           Witnessing that nasty behavior prompted me to pray: "O Lord, please help me to never be frustrated with anyone ever again in my whole life!" 
            But....
                            less than 24-hours later, 
      when a guy cut me off in traffic on hwy 280, 
                                             without blinking an eye,
                     I spouted, 

"You're being a jerk!"

          I'm so sorry, Lord. Without you, I can to nothing, but through You in me please let no more malicious remarks spew from my lips!

         So, dear friends, the moral of this story is: be kind to each other and understanding. It does something beautiful to your face!

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Sisters

N. Avondale small group
Front Row L-R: Marie, Evelyn, Barbara
Back Row L-R: me, Rachel, Jane, Bea

"Consider the incredible love that the Father has shown us in allowing us to be called "children of God"... Here and now we are [brothers and sisters], God's children." (1 John 3:1-2)

           Every year at our house, it was a Glassco-family tradition to watch the old classic: White Christmas while we decorated the Christmas tree. We never tired of watching Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney sing Irvin' Berlin's:

Sisters,

Sisters,

There were never such devoted sisters...

All kinds of weather

We stick together

The same in the rain or shine

Two diff'rent faces

But in tight places

We think and we act as one.

           Although I have two biological brothers and no sisters, in Christ, I have a bajillion siblings! Lord, today, I want to especially thank You for my sisters at N. Avondale. Every week, You bless me through them.

            Have you thanked God for your brothers and sisters today?

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What's in Your Hand?

The Schoolhouse and me

"The Lord said to him, 'What is that in your hand?'" (Ex. 4:2)

       Saturday, July 12th, Church of the Highlands will have our traditional "Serve Day" when thousands will go out into our communities and show the love of Christ in real and tangible ways. After asking the Lord how my small group can show His love this year, a devotion by Pastor Larry Stockstill inspired the idea of visiting residents at an assisted living facility and giving them copies of The Schoolhouse. Pastor Stockstill wrote: 

God's miracles always start with the question, What do you have? The little boy with five loaves and two fish provided the only resource for Jesus to bless and feed the five thousand. The widow who fed Elijah during the famine possessed only a little meal and a little oil as a resource. The common thread in both these miracles is that faith was mixed with a few small things offered to God... God asked Moses, 'What do you have in your hand?' (Ex. 4:2) and the rod became the means of Israel's deliverance from Egypt... "

          So, what's in your hand, and how can you use it to show  the  love of Jesus?

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Happy As a Doormat

My grandson and little friend
(Isn't he adorable! And the lamb's cute, too.)

Jesus said, "... do you love Me?... Tend My sheep" (John 21:16)

          At church, years ago, I got mad at some little, old ladies who were being unkind to some precious, little kids from a homeless shelter. I was "just a-fuming" as I ran through the rain to get something I'd left in my car, and my feet slipped out from under me. When I landed kersplat - right in the middle of a mud puddle, the Lord spoke to me, "Jill, I didn't send you to this church to be mad at those women. I sent you here to love those children and to love those little, old ladies, too."
         "Yes, Sir," I answered sheepishly. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

         In My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers said:

"If I love Jesus Christ personally and passionately, I can serve humanity, even though people may treat me like a "doormat." The secret of a disciple's life is devotion to Jesus Christ, and the characteristic of that life is its seeming insignificance, and its meekness. Yet it is like a grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies - it will spring up and change the entire landscape."

"We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also." (1 John 4:19-21)

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