The Parables of Luke 15 and Accepting a Challenge

During Bible class this week, my daughter and I tackled the parables of Luke 15:  The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin & The Prodigal Son.

Something I had never realized before struck me as I read those parables:  

     

The shepherd goes off in search of the lost sheep that 

BELONGS TO HIM!

     The woman hunts for HER lost coin.

     The father welcomes his son BACK HOME!

What I realized, or learned afresh, is that we belong to God.  We were NEVER created for life in the world in its current state, but rather we were initially created to live in peace, in blissful contentment in communion with God in paradise!

Knowing that, is it any wonder we are all miserable and stay that way so long as we try to fill our lives with anything other than a relationship with our Creator. 

Thinking we can live apart the Lord makes as much sense as cutting down a tree, expecting it to still be able to survive once separated from its roots!

I've been a Christian, at least in name, for a long time.  I've known for a while that Jesus Christ is the shepherd, the woman, and the father of the parables in Luke 15.  And He never gives up on the lost because they belong to Him.

These parables were prompted by the murmurings of the scribes and Pharisees about Jesus consorting with tax collectors and other notorious sinners.

Reading those parables this week left me feeling convicted.

Are we not called, as Christians, to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ?  How long have I neglected the lost sheep, priding myself on the 99 safe ones?  How long have I settled for the 9 coins I have, never giving a thought for the lost coin?  Finally, how many times have I behaved as the "brother who stayed," complaining about the love and grace heaped upon the "brother who strayed?"

This will not do.

For me, IT STOPS NOW!

On Monday, I'll let you know what I'm going to do about it.

If you're ready for an adventure, check back on Monday for a challenge you can take to bust yourself out of your own comfort zone and begin living a radical new walk.  

A walk that is no longer ALL ABOUT YOU!

Thank You for Your Indulgence,

Patty

P.S.  If you are interested in checking out the parables we've been working through, you can hop over to http://www.padfield.com/downloads/ntbooks.html.  In the first section on the page, entitled New Testament Survey Books, the 5th link - A Study of the Parables of Jesus - is the study we are doing.  It's great to work through if you are unfamiliar with the parables, want to learn more about them, or have kids you'd like to teach the parables.

My Missing Post from Yesterday and How it Has Helped Me Figure Out What to Say Today

So, I fully intended to post something yesterday.  I was out and about last night, had my iPad with me, and typed and typed and typed something that I was going to email to myself, so that I could post it on here.


It was a "Winds-day" themed blog dedicated to how my body is changing and how it's driving me crazy.  For the longest time, if I couldn't get around to eating before my stomach started growling, I would get very grumpy.  It was so bad, that I took a quote from "The Incredible Hulk" and tweaked it a bit to fit the way I felt during those times:  "You wouldn't like me I'm hungry."  It was a standing joke for the longest time.


Well, all that has changed, and it is now no longer a joke, as now it is rare that I feel hungry before I get grumpy.  It seems that if I don't eat nearly every 2 hours, I get grumpy.  I can't focus my eyes very well on what I'm doing, and I can't think straight.  There are times when I'm so angry I just want to hit things.  And do not look at me cross-eyed, or else.  It takes nothing to spin me up.  I feel quite shameful about it.  It's been going on for about 3-6 months now, I guess (it's hard to remember when it started), and the grumpiness still catches me off guard, which really is inexcusable since I am at home, WITH MY FOOD, nearly all day!  You'd think I'd have learned by now.


Well, that was the state I was in last night when I typed what I was thinking about posting for yesterday's Winds-day posting.  I was only going to post about how maddening this particular post was, but looking back over what I wrote, it was pretty caustic.  That notwithstanding, I was in my van, running some errands with my husband for our live-in pseudo-adopted 4th, and oldest, child that were taking longer than they should have (in my hunger-induced opinion).  And all I had was an empty water bottle, a full bladder (b/c my water bottle was empty), and a mini-bag of pretzels.  The plan was to drop our oldest 2 children off at their weekly pre-Navy-bootcamp meetings and then go eat.  But because the errands took too long, the boys missed all but the last few minutes of their meeting (which was "almost done" when we showed up, but still lasted another hour).  I even passed up the change to go get coffee at the Starbucks in the same strip mall because the meeting was "almost over."  So, I was a little steamed while I wrote that post.  To say that it was passionate would be an understatement, but it definitely would not be something that I would be proud to have on this page in  a clear state of mind.  


So, that's why I'm not blogging about it until today.  Today is Thoughtful Thursday and my thoughtful act for today was to reconsider posting what I typed yesterday and to opt for this post instead.  


Thankfully, God is a God of second chances, and His mercies are new every morning.  With the way my body's been behaving lately, I think I can honestly say that they are new every few hours or so, because as soon as I eat, my whole outlook brightens.  It's weird and amazing and quite gracious!  How humbling it is to know that God loves me just as much ugly as He does beautiful.  Even more humbling is knowing that He loved me so much when I was ugly that He sent His Only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for me, to bear all my ugliness when He had none of His own, just so that I could have the chance to be reconciled with my Creator!  Thank you Lord!!!


And thank you for second chances!


Again, thanks for your indulgence,
Patty

The Plan, The Plan

So, precious readers, though I don't know who you are, I do know that you are there because I have looked at my "Stats" page and I am impressed.  I am not surprised that some folks from the United States have read my posts, what did impress me was that I have readers in Germany, and even 1 in Latvia.  SWEET!

Yesterday, I posted that I have a plan.  I got the line-up figured out.  This is what you all have to look forward to.

First:  Mondays are for Motivating or Get Moving Mondays
     Mondays, I will be posting ways to stay motivated, quotes that move and inspire me, or various exercises that I'm doing, going to try, or are interested in trying.  Feel free to chime in with your own suggestions.

Second:  Grati-Tuesdays, Check Your Atti-Tuesday, or AltiTuesday (depending on what mood I'm in).
     Grati-Tuesdays will be about things for which I have to be grateful, or what it means to be grateful.  There are so many things in this world to be grateful for, I think they ought to be mentioned.
     Check Your Atti-Tuesdays.  From time to time, everyone needs an attitude adjustment.  I will be posting those things that have been helpful in keeping me in check.  Be ready for some "ouch" factor.
     Alti-Tuesday.  When I think of altitude, I think of the heights:  mountain tops, birds on the wing, moments that have left me feeling high as a kite, or have left me wanting more and more of God and what He wants for my life (which, by default, has to mean less of my own way).

Third:  Worshipful Wednesday, or "Winds-Day" (since the blog is called "Breezes" and Blooms)
     Worshipful Wednesdays are going to be dedicated to the hymns I grew up listening to and singing in my Papaw's church, New Liberty Presbyterian Church, in Simpson, IL.  They have a great group of people there, and the hymns they sing, though I thought they were boring when I was younger, have come to mean a great deal to me, now that I'm older and I understand what they really mean.
     Winds-Days will be about the winds of change and how they blow into our lives; sometimes coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb, sometimes, blowing and swirling around us to the point that we think we will be caught up and carried away.  However, we have a refuge, a place to go during the stormy times, where we know we can be sheltered.  These posts will be about finding shelter in the cleft of The Rock (and I don't mean Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson).

Fourth:  Thoughtful Thursdays, Thirsty Thursdays, or Thrifty Thursdays
     Thoughtful Thursdays - take some time to think about people you don't see everyday.  Those people who are a part of your life, but not everyday.  Call them up, let them know you were thinking about them.  Reconnect with old friends.  Call up your Great Aunt Suzie.  Thoughtful Thursdays will be dedicated to reminiscing about the people who have helped shape me into the person that I am today.  And, hopefully, to getting you to do the same thing.
     Thirsty Thursdays - Think John 4:14.  "...but whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."  Or else, it will be about drink recipes that I have found that I would like to try, recipes for mixes you can make and give as gifts, or drinks to share with friends with whom you really ought to spend more time.
     Thrifty Thursdays will bring budget tips, recipes that will help you stretch your grocery dollar, and various time/money saving projects you can tackle yourself, all designed to help you feel more like the mom you always thought you'd like to be, or want to be and thought you didn't have time to be.  In this section, I will also include profiles of various friends who have developed their own handy ways of homemaking/money-saving/consignment sale shopping, etc., as well as different websites from which you can borrow tips and tricks to help you in your attempts to live on your own budget.

Fifth:  Fret Not Fridays, Friendly Fridays, or (since I like to travel) Frommer's Fridays
     Finally - we come to Friday!  Gotta love Fridays!
     Fret Not Fridays boil down to one saying:  "If you pray, why worry?  If you worry, why pray?"
     Friendly Fridays - think "Random Acts of Kindness" - Things you can do to make someone else's day a little brighter, anonymously, or otherwise.  And why it's important.
     And probably one of my favorites will be Frommer's Fridays.  Everyone likes to dream about the places they'd like to go.  I know there are plenty of places in the world I'd like to see, and I am thoroughly convinced that I can find something of beauty everywhere I go, if I just take the time to look for it!  That's what this post will be about.  Also, I will include snippets from a book that I bought and like to flip through occasionally, called:  "Frommer's 500 Places Where You Can Make a Difference"  Then, if you can't make it to any of the places high-lighted, I'll drop links to sites that will direct you to places you can volunteer in your own area, so you can begin to implement your own plan to better the world you live in!  Remember, we all have the responsibility to leave the world a little better than it was when we found it.


NOW - Since it is Tuesday.  I am going to talk about gratitude and what I'm grateful for.  Sorry, but this is going to be a bit of a cop-out.  Why do I say that?  Every thing that you just finished reading is what I am grateful for today.  I have needed a plan and have been trying to figure out what I wanted to do with this blog.  Now I've got it!!!  So, I am grateful for having a plan and at least some semblance of direction during a time of my life when things seem to be so "up-in-the-air."

So, once again, Thank you for your Indulgence,
Patty

Finally, A Plan!!

I have been wondering what to do with my blog in terms of posting, as I do not have any kind of schedule, and virtually no plan.  Nobody wants to read the meanderings and ramblings of a bored housewife who doesn't know what she wants to say.  So, there has to be a purpose.  This has been my goal since the start of the new year.  Of course, you can't really tell it by looking at the number of entries I've posted.

Well, now I finally have it.

Thanks to a Pinterest post based on the book One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp, the website aholyexperience.com and the website: http://onethousandgifts.com/gifts-for-youI will now be posting about my own 1000 Gifts and the impact they are having on my life.  Mine is not the only blog to do this I know.  I have seen many others, but have not, as yet, linked to theirs.  That is also in my plan.

Furthermore, I will begin to have different "days" - much like many other bloggers I've seen.  My goal is to make this something that people will want to check in on, rather than something they look at and say, "Oh..."  So, for now, all I am sure about is "What I'm Reading Wednesday."  Maybe, Inspirational Mondays.  I know, for a fact, that I do not have plans for Saturdays and Sundays, as those are family time and will not be interrupted by blogging.  Why be on the computer cataloging my days to people who don't live with me, when I can be spending that time with the people who do?

So, beginning today, the challenge is "3 things outside" that I am thankful for.

It's winter here in MD.  I love winter.  I can always put on enough clothes to get warm, but I can't always take off enough to cool off.  So bring on the cooler temperatures!

Today, what I found to be thankful for is:

frost covered grass, naked trees, the crossing guards that help our children cross the streets safely, a singular frost covered leaf glistening in the sunlight, and a pile of wood sitting outside our back door that my sons collected with my husband for family nights around the grill spent burning wood (because we like fire), roasting marshmallows, and grilling yummy food

More will follow..

Thanks for your indulgence,
Patty

It's amazing how quickly things can change!

All I can say is WOW!

On January 3, 2012, I posted that we were getting a house and would close on the 6th.  On the 4th, I found out there might be a complication.  On the 5th, it was confirmed!  Nope, no house.

The story is still progressing!  That's all I have to say for now!

New Things in store for 2012!

Man alive, what a year this is going to be.

First, we've got a new home!  Well, it's new to us.  We'll be closing on Friday.

I'm starting a book (the ideas are flowing) and I already have a working title that I adore.  I will not share it on
here as I am too suspicious, or superstitious, and do not want to jinx myself.  Research has begun.  I've nearly filled up one tablet already and I've only been working on this for a week.  Of course, I've been working on it nearly every waking hour for a week.  Every new idea I have leads to 5 or 6 more.  What's the best is that I've been telling "The Bug" about it and he's even coming up with ideas.  Bang up ideas too!!  I'm waiting until I get home to really get started b/c there are still some things I need to run by my man, i.e., I need maps drawn and am not altogether happy with what I've done so far.

My man will retire from the Navy, and begin a new job.  My oldest will graduate high school and join the Navy.  My only-est girl will get her driver's license.  Hopefully, my man and I will take a trip outside this country (a dream, I know, but a good one).  We'll be in charge of the Halloween thing at our church this year (for the first time).  You name it, it looks like we'll be into it.

I've also come up with a new idea for my hooded scarves (I've tweaked it a bit), and am going to be taking pics of it to post as I am so excited about how they look now!!  I love wearing them the way they look now, and have already had a few requests from family members for them b/c they like them so much.  Can't wait until I get home so that I can snap some shots and post them.

I've set up a Pinterest account and am now collecting plenty of pins for ideas for all kinds of things I want to try, in so many different areas that interest me.  I am SO excited for 2012.  Here's praying that I can look back on this year, a year from now, and say that it was as productive as it looked like it was going to be a year ago.

Happy New Year to you all!  Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other!

Sorry it's been so long.

I suppose I should feel bad that I've not been on here in a while, but I have been trying to do as my blog title admonishes - bloom where I am planted.  Actually, the problem is not that I have not bloomed, or need to.  The thing is:  there are plenty of blooms on the vine that is my life.  Some of them are more unruly than others and need so much taming that I have not the time to blog. Grad school full time (online, thank goodness) going from 2 teenagers to 3 (we had a "stray" move in), retiring husband, traveling for the holidays.  It seems most days my rest comes in the form of my 7-y.o. wanting to cuddle with me when he gets up first thing in the morning.  Thank goodness for sleepy, lazy mornings when nobody is awake but me and him!

Lots of changes are coming this way this new year, and not all of them are open to be shared, but I am going to be more diligent about posting and am going to start (hopefully) posting pics of the stuff I'm working on this year.  Seems that's the thing to do based on all the blogs that I follow!

In closing, I would like to wish everyone an early Merry Christmas since it is likely that I will not be on here much (if at all) before the beginning of 2012.  Take care everyone.

Mrs. Rabbit