Reflections

For many years an elderly lady in our neighborhood was noted for her beautiful tulip garden, Just passing by the colorful display made the heart want to sing; her garden represented earth_s beauty at its best. Next door to her was the unkept home of an old bachelor. His fence was battered and broken, weeds shot up everywhere, and the paint was peeling. Such extremes of appearance, it seems, could not coexist for long. Neighbors wondered why the elderly lady didn_t complain or make a phone call to city officials. Yet no confrontation ever occurred. The beautiful tulip garden and the messy yard remained the same year after year. But this spring an odd thing happened. As I drove down the street, I was surprised to see a few brilliantly colored rows of tulips in front of the old man_s house. The rest of the yard still looked like a disaster, but those new, gorgeous tulips stood out. Curious, I stopped my car and walked up to the lady_s home. She was outside weeding her flowers. "Hello...

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding the attacks on Sept. 11). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?" In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yours...

He maketh the barren woman to keep house, [and to be] a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD. Psalm 113:9 WHO IS MOTHER? Mother is half of the Father/Mother team, the one who gave birth to you as a child. When she first held you in her arms, she fell madly in love with you! She is the one that changed your diaper, gave you your bottle, bathed and dressed you. She is the one who tended to you when you were sick, wishes she could have bore your pain, but unable to even share it with you. There is none like a Mother. If you have children, then you know what it's like to be a Mother. Often, it's a tough job, with unruly children, and many heartaches before they are grown. Sometimes a Mother is lucky that she has well-disciplined children, but only because she has done her best in order for them to be well-adjusted teenagers and later adults. Mostly, Mother sits and worries that she hasn't done her best with her children, especially if they don't turn out as she tho...