Bountiful Blessings
July 14th, 2013
Good morning! Happy Sunday! Last week,
I talked about God making each of us special. I was whining, I mean,
discussing... my recent feelings of low self esteem. All in the context of
helping others realize that they are not alone in feelings of worthlessness.
Yea, that’s me, always looking out for everyone else. J Well,
I got to thinking. Yep. Uh oh. And I thought about some children that I know
(and love) and their struggles with low self esteem. Now I am not a big supporter
of the new self esteem building crap. I don’t think children should sleep in
the bed with you until they are like, ten, nor am I a fan of kids who can walk
around still breastfeeding. I know. I know. Studies show it is good for self
esteem. Sorry people, I have to be true to who I am and I am calling it crap.
EVERYONE has bouts of low self esteem occasionally. Everyone. It is the ones
that cannot rise out of the darkness that we should be concerned about. Oops. I
got on a soapbox and forgot to step down. Where was I? Oh yea, teenagers. The
formative years.
We forget how hard it was to be a
teenager or even younger. Would you want to go back to that age? Not me. Not
for one second. Even after all these years, I can remember the stress. Stress
at fifteen is just as real as stress at thirty or at fifty. Trying to fit in,
what clothes to wear, trying to get the
cute boy/girl to like you, curfews, alcohol, making the team, trying to get
good grades…. Its rough. So, what is my
point here? Don’t really have one. I just wanted to ask you this week to take a
moment to tell a teen in your life that you are proud of the decisions that
they are making. You may only find one or two good decisions. Focus on those.
Let them know that you are there for them. Teen years can be wonderful but they
can also suck. (Sorry Mom for my language).
I have a special teen in my life. I
tell him that I love him and he knows it. But I also kind of, well, fuss a
little at him. Legitimate things but still. I do not want him to take away only
the negative from our conversations. I want him to know how special he is and
that he is full of positive aspects. Let me give you an example. I asked him to
do something this weekend. Something he didn’t really want to do. And I was
leaving when I asked. He grumbled a little over the request and to be honest, I
wasn’t sure if he would do it after I left. But before I even got out of the
door, he was up and doing it. Simple? Yes. But it meant something to me. It
showed me that he did listen to me. He did have respect for my wishes. He was
honest and trustworthy, truly a really good guy. I love him and I am very proud
of him. Today I leave you with a poem
from my special man. It is both incredibly beautiful and talented and
overwhelmingly sad.
A school of mirrors Is a
school of one.
One who runs down the halls Imitating many.
He talks with the reflections As if they were
real.
And listens to teachers Made of
glass.
Who teach of conformity And fitting in.
When he waves goodbye to the reflections They wave back.
And he walks home All
alone.
In the city of mirrors That
is a city of one.
Bible verse for the week:
“God has chosen you and made you his
holy people. He loves you. So always do these things: Show mercy for others, be
kind, humble, gentle and patient. Get along with each other, and forgive each
other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord
forgave you. Do all these things; but most important, love each other. Love is
what holds you all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14
Bible fun for the week: (logic problem - this one is a
toughie)
We’re in heaven, and - wouldn’t you
know it? - five Bible characters brought pets. David brought a lamb. Daniel a
lion. Elijah brought a raven that fed him by the brook, and Moses brought the
snake that he lifted up in the wilderness. And of course, Balaam brought his
talking donkey.
But once they got there, they decided
to trade their pets so that none of them
ended up with the one he started with. And yes, each pet has been given a name.
From the clues provided, can you figure out which character ended up with each
pet, and what each pet was named?
1. The lamb and the snake have names that
begin with the same letter.
2. Elijah now has the pet named Hank.
3. Moses and Balaam have the pets that
are not four legged.
4. The lion and the lamb now belong to
two people whose names begin with the same letter.
5. If the pets names are listed in
alphabetical order, the ravens name would come immediately before the donkeys.
6. Felicia does not slither.
7. If the pet owners names were listed
alphabetically, Buddys owner would come immediately before Brenda’s.
8. The lion and the lamb have names with
the same number of letters as their owners names.
9. Roger is not the raven.
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