if you visited me in my home right now, you would think you had entered some kind of time warp.  You would know something is not right, even if you couldn’t put your finger on just what that was.  You would find yourself checking your phone, not for missed calls or for the time, but to verify the date.  Why?  because you would be confused by what you are seeing in my home.

You would notice the nativity or manger scene still on display in the family room. And you would think to yourself, “doesn’t she know Christmas is over?”  Perhaps you would be too polite to say anything or maybe you yourself are one of those people I have heard about who leave their Christmas trees up all year long, in which case you would not think twice about my nativity scene still being on display.  It would seem perfectly normal to you, not even getting your attention. You would not know that Procrastination has become my new middle name.

But then you would see the heart shaped valentine placemats and valentine candles on the kitchen table and perhaps say to yourself, “does she think it’s still February?  Why hasn’t she moved on?”  Then adding to your confusion, you would discover that there was a fairly large construction paper Easter bunny, big ears and all, displayed prominently on the mantle.  (courtesy of my son when he was in preschool )

“Well, at least she got that right”, you might think to yourself, seeing as how Easter is only a couple of days away.  And so you would be witness to the mingling of the seasons inside my home, which didn’t happen until now, when procrastination became my middle name.  (and may soon become my new first name)

But this got me to thinking . . . (usually a good thing)  How appropriate to have my nativity still out at Easter time, more accurately called Resurrection Sunday. Why? Because that baby in the manger grew up to become the Christ on the cross. That’s why He came in the first place.  What better way to remind myself of that truth than to display the symbols of both holidays simultaneously?

And then there are those heart placemats, so visible in my kitchen, the heart of any home.  Valentine’s is a holiday of the heart.  And that’s why Jesus came; He came to win our hearts, to heal our hearts, to renew our hearts, to give us new hearts, hearts of flesh and not of stone, hearts that He can write His law upon, hearts that only He can make clean and new and totally His.  Jesus came to give us each a heart transplant, so that we might have eternal life.

My heart placemats are also reminding me tonight and this Easter of Jesus’ love for me.  Jesus showed me His love by dying on that cross in my place to pay for my sin, and then He conquered death by rising on the third day.    That’s why I celebrate Resurrection Sunday.  Jesus lives and because He does, I can too.  My heart has hope because He lives.

So I guess my mingling of the seasons has some sense behind it, even though it wasn’t intentional.  Who knows?  maybe I’ll start a new decorating trend! Anyway, happy Christmas, Valentine’s and Easter to you all, dear readers!

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of  flesh.”   (Ezekiel 36:26)

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”  (Matthew 1:21)

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

a whole new world, yes I have been introduced to the wonderful world of pickleball.  I have entered in and my life will never be the same.  What a game!  It’s like tennis light, ping-pong on steroids, with a bit of backyard badminton thrown in for good measure.  So a little something for everyone.  And it’s fun, which a game should be or what’s the point, right?  But  I think what I like best about pickleball is its’ name.  Although the ball is not shaped like a pickle, (because then it would not be a ball) it is green.  Maybe pickleball will become an Olympic sport?  After all, curling is an Olympic sport.  Enough said.  I rest my case.  Also, badminton and table tennis are already in the Olympics, so pickleball is a logical addition.  At any rate, I give a shout out to my new found friends in the pickleball community, and especially to my pickleball mentor (you know who you are) thanks for taking me in!  Long live pickleball!

sincerely,         Grace Day

time stands still, time flies by;   I behold both but am powerless to alter either —- I cannot speed her up, I cannot slow her down though I desire to do both, depending on the circumstance;

time takes from me those I love, she marches on,  leaving the form of her footprints on my face and hollows in the holes of my heart, the places where the glaciers form, frozen in time,  unaware that she has moved on or just unwilling to acknowledge her passing

time is the keeper of my moments, the stealer of my days;  she stores up my memories for me, all the while running out on me —-   she drags on or slips away unnoticed,  as suits her mood in the moment,  or is it my mood in that moment she gives deference to?

I race against time constantly, calling her by her more common name, the clock; lamenting to no one in particular and to everyone I meet, that there is not enough of her, enough to meet my needs, enough to satisfy that which I seek

she is a formidable adversary, time — I must find a way to make her my ally, to win her over, that she might serve me, rather than I serving her —- “serving time” with all that it implies,  there are so many kinds of prison . . .

like the tide, time takes what she will, in return leaves unexpected gifts behind for me to discover, while she marches on —-  to return in predictable pattern, she scours the contours of my very being with each ebb and flow of her tide, moment by moment, with her “sands “, and like the pebbles on the beach, once rough, now smooth and beautiful,  time’s handiwork displayed for anyone who would take notice,  my rough edges are disappearing as time travels on taking me with her whether I wish to go or not . . .

time takes my youth, leaves me wisdom in her wake;  she brings me a new perspective, a view I have not seen before, a view not possible to behold until time takes me there and gives me new eyes with which to view what she would show;   another of her secret gifts,  “time will tell” we say,  and we are more right than we know,  time shares her secrets with me when she is ready,  on her own timetable and no one else’s, “in due time” as we are so fond of saying —

time marches to her own drummer,  I have my own drummer too,  we do not seem to be in sync, time and I;  I will the sunset to linger longer,  I pray the storm passes quickly ——   neither heed my powerless command,  time is the sovereign that they serve,    their ticking taskmaster, turning moments into days, days into months, months into years, years into lifetimes, lifetimes into the history that marks our past and shapes our future.

Time takes her toll and gives her gifts;  her gift of hindsight comes wrapped in the wisdom gained simply by surviving her test, we call it “the test of time.”  It’s one we all take, no exceptions.  When time takes those I love she leaves rich memory behind to keep me company in their place.   She is not altogether cruel.

time will cease to be one day,  there will be no clocks on heaven’s walls, no expiration dates, no deadlines, no due dates,  . . .     eternity will swallow her up into timelessness;  time will not run out on me in heaven,  she will not be in short supply —   eternity is full of time — timeful, if you will;  infinite, unending time,  so filled up and overflowing with time as to be timeless.

In eternity I will rest from time,  she will no longer determine the measure of my days

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:”  (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

“All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”  (Psalm 139:16)

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”  (Revelation 22:13)

“Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.  . . .    For a thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.”  (Psalm 90:2,4)

sincerely,     Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Could be just a semantic distinction, as a fine line separates the two.  Hoarding is a distinctly western if not exclusively American phenomenon.  Hoarding is so pervasive in our culture as to inspire a TV series by that name; so prevalent as to be a threat to even the most austere among us.

We don’t become hoarders overnight.  It’s a long, slow process which can go unnoticed until the results are staring us in the face or, more to the point, surrounding us on a daily basis.  We can become comfortable with our clutter if we’re not careful.  It’s familiar, we get used to it.

Why is hoarding a distinctly American problem?  Because you have to have an abundance in order to store up extra stuff that you are not currently using.  Third world peoples do not have this problem of “too much stuff” taking up space in their homes (if they have homes) and their lives.  Just watching an episode of “Hoarders, Buried Alive” on TV is enough to remind anyone that abundance can be a blessing or a burden.  It seems to me what makes the difference between the two is whether we share or hang onto what we have.

After watching some episodes of “Hoarders” it seems to me that people will save/hoard anything from trash to treasure.  And to some there is no difference or distinction between the two.  For some, maybe life is filled with so much loss that they just can’t bear to lose another thing.  So they hang on to what they can and lose their own lives in the process, or at least the quality of their lives for sure.

For others it may be they feel the loss of control in their lives, so hanging on to things gives the illusion of control, until our things began controlling us and our lives.  It is then we realize that we didn’t gain control, we actually lost it.  Hoarders hang their hopes on holding on to their stuff.  People may come and go but the stuff stays.

Hoarding interferes with relationships.  Our stuff prevents people from entering our homes and our lives.  It is one of life’s ironies that in other countries their problems stem from a lack, a lack of food or water or shelter or medicine or clothing; while here problems stem from an abundance, our over abundance; over shopping, overspending, debt, greed, stealing to acquire more things, always wanting more, not being thankful for what we do have, abundance can be a blessing or a curse.

James said something interesting about this, “Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?”  (James 2:5)  The intangible things (like faith, hope, love, joy) are more valuable than the tangible things we spend so much effort seeking after here.

2 Corinthians 4:18 affirms this saying, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

” . . . give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.  Otherwise, I may have too much and disown You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of  my God.”  (Proverbs 30:8-9)

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

Good advice for us all in this age of abundance.  Let’s not be held prisoner by our possessions but “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”  (Hebrews 12:1)

sincerely,        Grace Day

every day IS truly a gift from God and every person God allows into my life is also truly a gift from my Heavenly Father.  This being said, there are some days and there are some people that I wish came complete with a gift receipt so that I could return or exchange these particular gifts.   I guess that’s where my faith and trust get put to the test  (a test I’m still taking, by the way)

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”  (James 1:17)

” ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ ”  (Jeremiah 29:11)

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”  (Romans 8:28)

“And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:19)

maybe God doesn’t give out gift receipts with His gifts because He doesn’t want me to use them and in so doing to miss any of what He will use to grow me into the person He created me to be in Christ  . . .

” . . . though now for a while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”  (1 Peter 1:6-7)

sincerely,         Grace Day

 

that’s the only explanation I can come up with . . .  and Target apparently was targeted.  I’m a Target shopper and Target was one of the first to switch to chip readers.  Along with that switch from swipe card to insert card came the signal (or more accurately labeled the alarm) instructing me to remove my card.  This signal was a strident, persistent, repetitive, annoying buzzer sound that did not stop until my card was removed from the chip reader.

Now this is a good thing because no one wants to leave the store without their credit card, including me.  Of course, back when we swiped our cards, this alarm wasn’t necessary because our card never left our hands.  Anyway, someone must have complained about this loud, jarring buzzer sound because now when I check out at Target the signal for me to remove my card is a soft, melodic, chiming sound, which repeats itself, much to my delight.  This sound is so beautiful that I actually want to hear it again.  Truth be told, I have been known to leave my card in a moment or two longer than necessary just to continue listening to this harmonious, soothing sound.

Target may want to rethink this, if the chimes are slowing things down too much at checkout.  Come to think of it, I bet it was the cashiers who complained about the buzzer sound.  After all, they are the ones who have to listen all day long to one sound or the other.

The previous loud buzzer sound produced in me a sense of alarm, even urgency. The current chiming sound invites me to take a breath, to relax, to enjoy the moment.  Of course, the buzzer sound is doing its’ job.  I should be alarmed at the prospect of leaving my card behind in the store and I should be quick to retrieve my card.  (I’m sure all those waiting in line behind me would agree with that last statement)  Although acting quickly is probably more a function of just wanting that loud buzzing noise to stop, than of anything else.

The blaring buzzer sound says in effect, “danger, danger, your card is in imminent danger, please rescue or retrieve it immediately before it is lost, mangled beyond recognition or eaten by the evil chip reader.”    On the other hand, the chimes sing sweetly, “There’s no hurry to remove your card.  In fact, you can leave your card with us if you like.  We’ll take good care of it and keep it safe for you until your next visit”.  (kinda reminds me of the Sirens from the Odyssey, come to think of it)

That same week there was a fire drill at school.  But I did not recognize it as a fire drill.  There was no blaring, deafening, buzzer sounding repeatedly.  Instead there was a faint bell, sounding intermittently.  There was nothing urgent nor alarming about the signal.  But this signal was significantly easier on my ears.  The old fire drill alarm was literally painful to hear, it hurt my ears.  I wanted to get away from that sound as soon as possible.  But who am I to question such a change?  such progress?

The old signal was a demand, a requirement; uncomfortable and incessant, it drove us out of the building, burning or not.  Its’ replacement is more of a suggestion to exit the building if you feel like it.  And by the way, feel free to do so in your own time and at your own pace, it adds.  Danger can’t be that imminent, the faint tone reassures us.  There is no need for you to hurry.

Sometimes I think we live our lives as if all the warning signals are gone and in their place are sweet sounding reassurances and popular mantras such as “there will always be more time”, or “it doesn’t really matter what you do” or “just this once” or “do your own thing”, “have it your way”, “go with your gut” or “you don’t have to make a decision, you don’t need to leave the comfort of where you are now”, “you should do what you want to do or what seems right to you” or “it’s not really that  bad/harmful/dangerous/wrong/unkind”.  But I wonder  . . .

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”  (Proverbs 14:12)

Am I fooling myself?  Am I not heeding the warning signals God sends my way to protect me?  Or have I allowed these signals to be replaced with more agreeable and comfortable ways of thinking —  something that “sounds” more pleasing to me, just as the chimes do.  And so I wonder  . . .

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ ”   (Psalm 14:1)

“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator –who is forever praised.  Amen.”  (Romans 1:25)

“But God said to him, ‘Fool!  Tonight you die.  Then who will get it all?’ ”  (Luke 12:20)

” . . . then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,  . . .  But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  (Joshua 24:15)

I have to make that choice everyday, who will I serve?  God is still in the business of saving us from ourselves, if we want to be rescued.  Our culture may be replacing God’s alarms or warnings with its’ own sweeter sounding mantras — but God’s word still stands, speaking truth and life into our lives today.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  (John 8:32)

“I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”  (2 Cor. 6:2)

God’s word is both a warning and an invitation;  a warning to the wise and an invitation to “whosoever will”.   His word is both buzzer and chime.

sincerely,                    Grace Day