it was gaudy, it was flashy, it was flamboyant, it was showy, it was shiny, it was green, it was bright green, it was practically glowing green – it was St. Patrick’s Day and it was a gift – a gift of kindness, a gift of generosity, a gift of inclusion, a gift of good will, a gift of friendship bestowed freely upon me in the moment (seeing as how I was dressed in just jeans with browns and tans the only colors on me) she obviously saw that I was in need of some sprucing up on this St. Patrick’s Day Sunday morning at church.

and so I wore this precious gift around my neck and hanging down for the entire service, even when I went up front to sing; my pleasure at being the recipient of her kindness far outweighing any imagined embarrassment I might feel at sporting such an eye-catching accessory.  It was itchy and it was cumbersome but I fought against every urge to remove it prematurely; such a small sacrifice on my part compared to the joy with which she bestowed the gift and the grateful surprise with which I received it.

and so, dear readers, that’s the whole of the story – the small act of kindness that impacted my day for the better today.  the pebble has been thrown upon the still water, now let the ripples roll, let me reach out to those around me – with gifts of kindness, inclusion and generosity.

“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)

sincerely,        Grace Day

 

 

 

” . . . ‘Look!  I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”  (Daniel 3:25)

It was You in the furnace, You were there all along –  it was You by my side, when everything went wrong.

It was You called Abraham, to follow You and believe – You led him to the Promised Land, Your blessings he received.

It was You rescued Joseph from the pit of his brothers’ evil plan – it was You put him in Egypt, to rule over Pharaoh’s land.

It was You in the bush, burning so bright – it was You in my darkness, You are the Light.

It was You at the Red Sea, You are the Way – it was You in the desert, leading them each day.

You were the manna, You were water from the rock – You were their Shepherd, Israel, Your flock.

It was You called out to Samuel, it was You in Daniel’s den – it was You at the walls of Jericho, assuring they would win.

It was You with shepherd David, when he faced the giant tall – with only stones and a slingshot, he saw that giant fall.

It was You on the road, making Paul’s eyes blind – helping him to see, Your identity to find.

It was You at creation, when the earth was born – it was You in the manger, when salvation took form.

It was You before beginnings, it is You in this moment now – it will be You in the ending, when before Your throne I bow.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  (Hebrews 13:8)

“Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”  (Matthew 10:42)   I have a cup of soup friend (well, actually she is a full service friend, a friend for all seasons, if you will – but lately she has been my cup of soup friend.)

And let me tell you, a cup of hot soup in winter, IS the proverbial cup of cold water in summer that Jesus was talking about in Matthew.  It renews and refreshes the soul just like water in the desert does.  This is what my friend has been doing for me, one cup of kindness at a time.  It may seem a small thing, this sharing of a cup of soup, but it is the small things that often have the biggest impact.  One of life’s many paradoxes to be sure.  (besides, this is homemade soup, so it is really good!)

Her gift of a cup of soup is her thoughtfulness, caring, and generosity put into practice, a tangible expression of my friend’s caring for me and for others as God would have each of us to do.  Now I don’t have my friend’s culinary skills, not even close.  So I have to figure out what my cup of soup is that I can share generously with others to show them God’s love and care.

How do I show kindness to others?  Then I thought of Proverbs 16:24 which tells me, “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” My cup of soup could be a cup of kind words spoken/given to others throughout the day, especially to those who are otherwise invisible, overlooked and unappreciated as they go quietly about their day.  I may not be aware of who it is that I come in contact with each day, who is literally starving for a cup of kind words.

So I need to share as many cups of kindness as I can, no need to be stingy with words of affirmation and encouragement.  Because Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death,”   I want to help with my words, not harm.

My cup of soup friend has reminded me that kindness can be best served a cup at a time, to one person at a time, one day at a time.  This is how she is changing, this is how I can change, this is how we change our world for the better – one cup of soup at a time.

“A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”  (Proverbs 25:11)

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

as I cheered and cried my way through my favorite old basketball movie (no, surprisingly, not Hoosiers) for what must be the millionth time, (like I don’t know how it’s going to turn out) I noticed something.  Something not important to the true story that this movie portrays, something random and irrelevant, but something interesting if not curious, nonetheless.  And that something is this; the cheerleaders’ skirts were so long while the players’ shorts were so short.  Just the opposite of what we see today.

So what happened?  Is there a connection between these two things?  I googled some pictures of cheerleaders in the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s etc. and sure enough there was a gradual but unmistakable shortening and tightening of the skirts over time, with the dramatic end result that we see today. During this very same time period men’s basketball shorts were becoming longer and looser.  The cheerleaders were showing more leg, the basketball players less.

What could this mean?  Was there only so much material to go around?  only  so much money in the budget?  So that what was taken from the cheerleaders was given to the players?  Was this a right-wing conspiracy?  a left-wing conspiracy?  a conspiracy with no wings that never got off the ground?  There was definitely a correlation.  As cheerleaders skirts got shorter each decade, men’s basketball shorts got longer in equal proportions.

But correlation, as any good researcher knows, does not mean cause and effect are at work in the equation necessarily.  It could be just totally random coincidence.  or could it?  hence the mystery of this mundane musing.  No need for all the conspiracy theories and speculation.  Other variables could be at work here.  Maybe spectators just prefer seeing more of the cheerleaders’ legs and less of the players’ legs.  That seems reason enough right there.

Cheerleading has become more and more athletic over the years, requiring uniforms that allow more flexibility of movement.  Makes sense, but does that mean that the basketball players are becoming less athletic in their movements as their shorts get longer?  this is one mundane musing destined to remain a mystery because the answer doesn’t really matter.  it’s just that inquiring minds sometimes want to know the why, the unseen answer to the seen reality.

Because some mysteries do matter.  such as, what happens to us when we leave this earthly life?  “Listen, I tell you a mystery:  We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.”  (1 Corinthians 15:5153)

or where will I spend eternity?  Jesus answered that one saying,  “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God; trust also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.”  (John 14:1-3)

when I am looking for answers to the mysteries that surround me, I recall these words in Jeremiah 33:2-3, “This is what the Lord says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it – the Lord is His name:  Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

that’s more than good enough for me!

sincerely,     Grace Day

 

 

The butterflies are happy because Christ is on His throne.  Birds fly by without a care, they know God supplies their home.

Fish swim oh so merrily, while woodland creatures sing.  Trees make music in the wind, they know that Christ is King!

The flowers bloom so freely, the squirrels are always at play.  God’s creations have no worries, for He provides each day.

Yes, all nature knows the secret that man has failed to see.  They know who their Creator  is, and they live for His glory!

They live to sing His praises, Hosanna to His name – Jesus the eternal King, from age to age the same.

They know their Maker’s plan for them, they know of His infinite love – they know all’s well in the universe while Jesus reigns above.

All nature sings of His greatness, He meets their deepest needs – His miracles are daily, fine forests spring from seeds.

Oh, that we would join the chorus!  That is the Master’s plan, for all His works shall praise Him, and His mightiest work is man!

“You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.”  (Psalm 145:16)

“All the earth bows down to You; they sing praise to You, they sing praise to Your name.”  (Psalm 66:4)

sincerely,        Grace Day

 

I sat in the halls of Justice, where Freedom once did ring – I heard there deadly silence, where patriots once did sing.

I sat in the halls of Justice, and listened for the Truth – “the law is dead”, I heard instead, “society is the proof”.

I walked the halls of Justice, where once the Law prevailed – tempered by time, yet still intact, her honor unassailed.

I walked the halls of Justice, beheld tears in Mercy’s eyes – how she did weep for her dead friend!  “who dares the Law despise?”

I sat in the halls of Justice, where once Liberty lived secure – but only while the Law was king, could Liberty’s reign endure.

I walked the halls of Justice, seeking something yet alive – for if Freedom is to ring again, the Law, she must survive.

Yes, those who would destroy the Law or bend her to their need – remove the foundation our fathers built, our country’s faith and creed.

for if the Law cannot hold one, then she cannot hold all – then Liberty, Justice, Mercy – are surely doomed to fall.

I sat in the halls of Justice, and heard Freedom’s  faint refrain – “the law yet lives in spite of man, the Truth she will sustain.”

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.  The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.  The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.  The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”(Psalm 19:7-8)

“Oh, how I love Your law!  I meditate on it all day long.” (Psalm 119:97)

“Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for Your law is not obeyed.” (Psalm 119:136)

“So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.” (Romans 7:12)

sincerely,     Grace Day

 

 

 

let me treasure you for a little while, for the road ahead is long – and I so often need your smile, to cheer me as I go on.

let me treasure you for a little while, let us talk of birds and flowers – or hidden houses in the trees, a pleasant way to pass the hours.

let me treasure you for a little while, there will be time for other things – for fame and fortune to be found, when you have gone on angel wings.

let me treasure you while the day is new, while the sun yet shines on high – while on the grass still lies the dew, which come the night will light the sky.

let me treasure you while you are here, sharing these moments with me – let me treasure you now just as you are, for I shall need the memory.

sincerely,        Grace Day

How sweet are beginnings, the first of anything – how sad are the endings, beginnings always bring.

The first snowfall, the first sun’s rays, the early days of spring – the violet’s first appearance, is cause enough to sing!

Yet soon brown leaves must fall to earth, revealing trees with branches bare – while loved ones leave for other lands, their unfilled spaces bring despair.

With the first notes of a symphony, wings of joy seize my heart!  with the last flickers of the campfire, I know that we will part.

and so are mixed my joy and pain as on the cycle goes – the joy when flowers first appear, the dying of a rose.

One couldn’t be without the other, now you must surely see – in endings each, new life begins, so goes the mystery.

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

sincerely,       Grace Day

Today was just a day like any other day, and he was just a boy like any other boy.

He knew today would be like yesterday and like tomorrow.  For him there was no difference in the days.  He did not see how the golden leaves moved against the blue sky.  He did not feel the autumn sun.  He did not hear the robin singing.  For him the days were made of loneliness and pain.

She was just an old lady, walking slowly along like any other old lady on the street. He watched her anyway.  There was nothing else for him to do.  He thought how slowly she moved and how heavy her bag of groceries must be.  But he did not move.

She did not see how the golden leaves moved against the blue sky.  She did not feel the autumn sun.  She did not hear the robin singing.  For her the days were made of loneliness and pain.

He saw them before she did – the boys on their bicycles, heading straight for her, circling her, riding too close, until she fell and her groceries scattered.

He watched the boys ride away laughing, looking for someone else to entertain them. He thought how their only laughter came from someone else’s pain.

He watched the old lady slowly gathering up her belongings.  He thought how mean the boys were and he hated them for their meanness.  But he did not move.

He watched her.  There was nothing else for him to do.  He did not hear the robin singing.

Then he was beside her, putting her things carefully into the bag, handing her the purse she had dropped.  It was then he looked at her and saw for the first time her face.  It was familiar to him – not strange at all.  What the boy saw in her face, he knew very well.

Neither of them spoke a word.  He handed her the refilled bag.  She smiled at him and reached out her hand to touch his shoulder.  For a moment the loneliness was gone from her eyes and from his.

It was just a moment of kindness and connection that passed between them, amid their days of loneliness and isolation.  But it is this moment they each will remember when they think of this day, not the meanness of the boys.  Because a kind moment shines in the memory becoming brighter and warmer with the passage of time.  A moment of kindness dims those more painful memories with its’ sheer brilliance.

She moved slowly away.  As she did, she saw how the golden leaves moved against the blue sky and she felt the autumn sun.  She heard the robin singing as if for the first time.

He watched her go.  He saw how the golden leaves moved against the blue sky and he felt the autumn sun.

It was just a moment of kindness in a world of pain.  Yet they each knew the secret truth – that this moment could sustain, indeed would sustain, the heart.

He watched her go as he listened to the robin singing.

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  (Ephesians 4:32)

sincerely,          Grace Day

if I could paint your portrait, what colors would I choose?  How can anyone color love?  perhaps in rainbow’s hues?

a rainbow’s spectrum is complete, the prism shows its’ glory – white light holds all earthly hues, maybe these will paint your story.

yet who would paint a still life when your life is never still –  but flows like springs of water, with love our lives to fill.

who could paint your spirit of silently flowing grace?  no brush could capture with its’ strokes, the beauty in your face.

and so these love lines are for you – they’re all I have to give; such a small reward for one who taught me how to live.

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”  (Exodus 20:12)

sincerely,          Grace Day