++ Day Five ++

This "week" has grown into two, at least. No matter, though. It's definitely worth stretching out!

Here for day five is sunsets. This may seem like a no-brainer to those of us born and raised here in Nebraska. Living on the plains means that you can see EVERYTHING. FOR MILES. But spending a quarter of the year in Colorado for several years taught me the value of the brilliant Nebraska sunsets. They're simply
divine.

 

Late Summer over the mown grass... the descent is just beginning...

 

Late Summer '09 - this photo has not been edited, my friends. :) 

  

The view across the road on Thanksgiving day.

I have an announcement to make...

*ahem*

Contrary to everything you’ve heard, Valentine’s Day is not about diamonds. “I knew that,” you retort. “It’s about roses and chocolate.” Try again. “Kissing your sweetheart? A romantic evening? Giant teddy bears clutching hearts? Getting a dinner date?” Nope.

Let me help you out here. After all, it’s hard to hear a still, small voice while the world screams at you. It’s no wonder we’re so confused. Our heads are buried in media, while the truth lies hidden in the Word of God, sitting comfortably on a nearby shelf.

Today is not an annual contest to see who has the most flowers on their desk at work. Nor is it a day for attached women all over the globe to smirk at those lonely girls walking past them in the hallway. No, it’s not even an appointed night where God magically allows self-pity, tears, and misery for those who are still single “according to His will,” as they will tell you. They are simply ‘bearing their cross,’ they say, sniffling. Or are they victims of the commercialization of ‘love’?

The world, and it’s prince, would LOVE for you to feel that God is cruel in keeping you single. If you have *finally* found that someone that God was *hiding* from you in years past, beware the discontentment that will surely find you. The nagging comments and wagging heads that say, “What will he do for you? When will you see him? Has he sent you flowers yet? Do you have a ring???” And in between those questions is the undeniable, underlying message, strait from the prince of the power of the air himself: nobody loves you. Not even Him. Take this gray dot** and sulk your way home for another evening of nothing, boring, lonely and gray. Watch the freezing rain freeze on your windshield, and let your dreams go with it. In my eyes, you’ll never be anything without the accolades and flirtations of men. One is not enough. Words are not enough. Flowers are not enough. Believe you me ~ his message is loud and clear. I know you’ve heard it.

But I come to plead with you… there is a better LOVE. There is a love which is true, pure, simple and demonstrated to us centuries ago, as much as it is today, right now, at this moment. It does not buy diamonds, or flowers, or sparkling hallmark cards with witty, mushy poems inside. Nor does it drive you to the movies, buy you a venti chai latte, and spend the evening locking you in a dreamy gaze. His love paints the orange and purple sunsets in the summer evenings, grows whole fields of unique wildflowers in their time, lights up the night sky with brilliant stars, and sprinkles each unique snowflake to the ground. It grants me breath for another sunrise, gives me strength for another conflict, and numbers the hairs on my head. It was His love for me that sent His most beloved Son to redeem my wicked soul. And if I close my eyes, shut out the screams of the world, and listen, I can still hear…

“I have loved you with an everlasting love.

Therefore, I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”

                                                                      Jeremiah 31:3

You and I have a choice to make. We can believe the truth of the Word of God, and allow His peace to rule in our hearts, bringing contentment. OR, we can pout, flirt, wonder, hope, dramatize, and wish for some, any material demonstration of that which will earn us a gold star** in the eyes of the ‘competition’ around us.

At this point, I know what you’re thinking. “It’s not that simple! What about the lonely feelings? What about the desires I have that are still ungratified? Doesn’t He want me to look cool to my friends? Doesn’t He know that I won’t understand His love until I’m IN LOVE?? How cruel is God anyway?”

That is not the question before us today. What is Valentine’s Day truly about? Material goods, social acceptance, and lingerie? Or is it about our heart attitude before a holy God?

I’ve made my decision. Now, it’s your turn.

** The grey dot and the gold star references are made in reference to Max Lucado’s story, “You are Special,” in which the little wooden people give grey dots for bad things that happen, and gold stars for talent, accomplishment, etc. Republished from an original 2008 essay.

+++ Day Four +++

There's nothing like a hand-written letter. It's been said that, "In 40 years, no one will be saving bundles 

of emails." But those of us who have had the pleasure of knowing our dear friends through letters will still have those bundled and stored safely away. 

Hand-writing tells so much about a person. In a letter written by their hand, I can hear their tone and inflection speaking the words to me. 

No matter how much time goes by, and how much facebook threatens to re-define "friendship," letters will reign supreme as the elegant, personal way to communicate over the miles.

I am incredibly grateful for the bundles of letters I have received over the years. Each one is a special missive, unlike any other. Some have stamped seals, quotes from books, stickers and glitz, and poetry adorning the envelope. The inkblots and lines that strike through mis-spellings are what make them always and forever superior to electronic communication. They have personality and grace unmatched.

+++ Day Three +++

The week of gratitude continues!! I must confess, I'm enjoying this. It's very good for me to have to spend the whole day contemplating something that I am grateful for - something that's worthy of this list. I find that it keeps the mind and heart cheerfully occupied.. and when the sky is grey and Monday rolls around, there's nothing that can cure the blues like simple gratitude. 

So here's day three ~ Good books. Literature has a wonderful power. It can create an atmosphere where we enlarge our knowledge of the human experience - just by reading the pages in a book. I've spent many good hours in the world of Charlotte Bronte, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkein, and others. Not only does reading do wonders for your personal writing, spelling and composition skills, it's also a delightful way to pass the time. When I need to get out of my own skin, there's no better place to escape than a good book. My shelves are full of the ones that have become like friends to me. Some of those pages are excerpts from my life it seems... and when I read them, it helps me to see that I am part of something bigger. God has written the most dramatic, life-changing story of all time, and in love, He has allowed me to have a page here and there. Praise Him. 

Here's a taste of my favorite lines from recent reads: 

"And now those divine surgeons had me tied down and were at work. My anger protected me only for a short time; anger wearies itself out and truth comes in."    -- "Till We Have Faces," by C.S. Lewis, Pg. 266

"You will not find the warrior, the poet, the philosopher or the Christian by staring into his eyes as if he were your mistress:  better fight beside him, read with him, argue with him, pray with him." -- "The Four Loves," by C.S. Lewis, pg. 71

"No mockery in this world ever sounds to me so hollow as that of being told to cultivate happiness. What odes such advice mean? Happiness is not a potato, to be plated in mould, and tilled with manure. Happiness is a glory shining far down upon us out of Heaven. She is a divine dew which the soul, on certain of it's summer mornings, feels dropping upon it from the amaranth bloom and golden fruitage of Paradise." -- "Villette" by Charlotte Bronte, pg. 283

"True love is not simply an emotional response. It manifests itself in acts of kindness, generosity and those actions that produce the greatest benefit to the object loved." -- "Real Christianity," by William Wilberforce

" I believe in some blending of hope and sunshine sweetening the worst lots. I believe that this life is not all'; neither the beginning nor the end. I believe while I tremble; I trust while I weep." -- "Villette" by Charlotte Bronte, pg. 409

"Live and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget that until the day comes when God shall deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these words: Wait and Hope!"  -- "Count of Monte Christo," by Alexandre Dumas, pg. 508

+++ Day Two +++

Grandparents: no one can replace them, and there's nothing you can do to change the ones that you're given. They have a reputation for spoiling, fawning and loving more than you deserve, and mine are no exception. Growing up I took them for granted... but losing two of them has cured me of that. 

I am grateful for all of the times we've had together ~ and for the ones yet to come.

 

(top: Henry Sarkis Badeer, bottom left: Almeda Berkey and Marie Kassarjian Badeer - still living!)

+++ Welcome to the Week of Gratitude +++

I was challenged last Sunday (in church, of all places!). It's a rare thing to hear a message that penetrates the heart, and a visiting preacher at a small white church in Firth, NE managed to do it quite nicely. As a response to his challenge, I welcome you to my Week of Gratitude.

Everyday I will post something that I am thankful to God for ~ be it small, "normal" or something significant in the past year of life. At the end of the week, I hope to have gained a good start on thinking of the past in the proper light - gratitude.

DAY ONE  

Good friends, though far away. These are the kind of friends that say, "If there isn't enough snow, we'll BE the snowman!!"    

You drive hundreds of miles to see them ... and still believe firmly that it's worth it.  

When you start quoting your favorite poem, they finish it with a smile. 

If you think the best way to spend a day is visiting Mount Vernon, they'll gladly join you.

They even love you enough to put you in a silly satin dress for their wedding - and then drag you onto the dance floor. 

If you're on a NYC Cruise and you need a date, they oblige. 

What would I do without them??

THANKS be to GOD for them!

Noelle on {have a cute day}!

I am delighted to be on today's post over at {have a cute day} !!! I've been reading their cute little blog for a few months now, and truly appreciate their effort to encourage other ladies across the country to dress like LADIES - to have a cute day!

The picture is one of me in my cute-day apparel on Thanksgiving. Jeans under the dress made it easy to go from Thanksgiving dinner to skeet shooting in the back forty afterwards. I think you all should know that I do that - skeet shooting - and love it. What can I say? I'm a country girl at heart...