A Hodgepodge for all Seasons

Bible Study Fellowship begins today for me and this year we are studying the Book of Romans. It will be a great study and if you are interested, check out a study near you at https://www.bsfinternational.org/.

Hodgepodge Fun!

1. Is a picture worth a thousand words? Sometimes. Elaborate. Sometimes it just creates more questions.

2. Have you ever driven any part of the Pacific Coast Highway? If so what was your favorite stop? If not, is this sort of trip on your bucket list?

It has been on my wish list for the past few years. Many years ago I did the planning for my boss to take a trip there and ever since, I have longed to go. It just hasn’t happened.

3. How do the changing seasons affect you?

The cooler temperatures in the Fall give promise to many delightful things that follow, such as the changing of the colors of nature around us, a feeling of refreshment from the heat of summer, a more routine structure and the holidays.

 

A trip to the Arboretum with these dear ladies.

Leaves!!!

I also find that Spring brings promises of a different sort, everything coming back to life, enjoying that gentle caress of a Springtime breeze, summertime and vacations to look forward to, but along with that, wondering if I will be able to take the heat.

As the seasons change do you find yourself looking more forward or backward?

I think in the Fall, I remember the past events and the joy it brought, and it makes me a little melancholy. Now it comes with some confusion and some disappointment when things don't meet with expectations. There is relief that comes when it all works out anyway. (This entire answer about feelings has probably left you confused.)

Which season-season transition bothers you most?

Fall to winter.Why do you suppose that is?

Probably some of the disappointments mentioned above, but working hard on focusing on what really matters.

4. It's your birthday and you get to pick the dinner menu. What are we having?
Either pot roast with all the trimmings or a Farmer Brown supper of Pinto beans with cornbread, fried potatoes and onions, fresh tomatoes, (cottage cheese and ketchup are special additions to the Farmer Brown supper.)

Do you ever lie about your age?

No, it wouldn't change anything. When I was 18, I did borrow a friend’s ID to order a drink in a club where our office staff went for lunch. The waitress was a little too smart for me. When she looked at the ID I gave her, she asked me to tell her what year I was born! Haha!! Our Oklahoma driver’s license back then had no photo on them.

5. What's a life lesson you've learned recently?

What I learned about love and forgiveness from the pearl.

When I have trouble with something someone has said to offend, irritate or hurt me, I always have to refer to what the Bible teaches about forgiveness, and 1 Corinthians 13. The other day as I was reading, I learned something new about the oyster and the pearl. Maybe you paid more attention to how that works. But I had missed something about the process of how the pearl is formed. I read:

"A hurtful particle intrudes itself into its shell, and this vexes and grieves it. It cannot eject the evil, and what does it do but cover it with a precious substance extracted out of its own life, by which it turns the intruder into a pearl."

Now somehow before I had missed that the oyster extracts a substance out of its own life. And what I saw in that is that the Holy Spirit has shed abroad the love of God into my heart. God is love. And so if my heart is full of the love of the God, when I am hurt or offended or irritated in some way, I can extract that love inside of me to cover whatever the provocation. Love covers a multitude of sins and now, when hurt or offense comes, rather than letting it remain and fester, I can make a pearl. I remind myself I'm "making a pearl."

And the more I thought about it, I realize that's what Jesus did at the cross. All the rejection and hatred against Him, He being God, being Love itself, extracted that love from His heart to cover our sins.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

This weekend is my 50th high school reunion. I am excited about it and a little nervous at the same time. Crossing my fingers and hoping for a memorable time with old friends. 1967 seems like only yesterday and yet, it's so long past. Wow. 50 years. It went by in a flash. Lots of water under the bridge. So many clichés and ways to say, yikes! I never really believed I would be this old! I gives thanks to God for keeping watch care over me all these years. He has been good. He has been faithful.