Be the Glitter Glamour Grandma and Groupie for God

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Well I don’t know about you, but I have lived with glitter peacefully my whole life. Or we could say piece-fully, because every piece of glitter is a speck just as brilliant as a whole bottle.

Likewise, we could look at every day, just like a whole year, just like a whole life. Each moment might glitter sparkle to catch your eye in vision or be annoying to catch your eye in debris. (That would be my only complaint about glitter is when it gets stuck in your eye…)

Each moment is up or down. Each day has ups and downs Each year has many seasons. Yet each life is more than all the moments tabulated, each life is the exponential growth of experiences times infinite view points, too many facets to numerically understand – and too many opinions to listen to them all or even just one… in other words, you just have to live your life, the way you live your life.

I ran into a very skeptical grandma who was put off by both the concepts of slime and glitter, and we (the kids at the trunk or treat and me) were diving into them both at the same time. I said that’s why we’re outside. I knew that the slime would absorb every piece of glitter. I knew it was a very controlled situation. And I marveled that the kids themselves were the ones who said, how do I pick up this glitter? I said, just add a pinch, or you could use a stick or spoon to measure. The kids were as good as gold and then some…

And those kids who always seem to hang around at the end of an event because their parents are doing their other activities, and clean up, well they were as good as gold hit records, playing with the slime making again and again and again, which is fine, because I had plenty, because they kept themselves busy on one side of the table (now being slime experts), and because I still worked with the new kids. And wouldn’t you know, it’s such a JOY when the more experienced kids want to start teaching the new kids. I marvel whenever I get to be eye to eye level with kids…

I’ll choose to be that glitter glamour grandma to groups…

and I choose to be a glitter groupie of God. Some don’t like the sparkle shine that seems artificial, but God sees us good as gold…

Some kids need reassurance making slime, “is this enough of this or that?”, they would ask. Some kids try to figure it out themselves. And some kids run away or just look from a distance.

Those different kinds of kids are not just slime makers, those descriptions are ALSO for us and how we relate to the Lord God. Some need reassurance. Some try to figure out it themselves. Some run away. Some are looking from a distance. And some are ALL IN having experienced a taste of understanding and want more.

Maybe that we need to pre prepare possible times of experiencing God, like pre-making slime glue cups, having extra, sharing in time… the Word doesn’t dry up, but our glue in the situations does. We won’t be around for evet, but glitter surely will, and the Lord surely IS.

God IS.

Let us glitter Him everywhere…

Amen

(OK, time to repackage my glitter stockpiles, outside, ready for next time…)

The Forget-me-nots of Mother’s Day

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It is a blessing to come up north for Mother’s day weekend to celebrate my mom, to absorb the spring again (40 degrees rain became 60 plus sunshine), and to get some projects done! Yeah, my mom doesn’t sit very long, we get up and go! (Saturday was first 9am cleanup session at preparing the camp for special needs kids for summer programs, it’s a camp my family has helped with for 50 plus years – beautiful in the rolling hills. )

(I’ll be traveling south later today for home, and my kids to have dinner with me! )

This repeat spring for me (there’s like a 3 week difference in our seasons and temperatures) meant I was getting a chance to revisit my favorite flower in forget-me-nots, as seen in my family’s backyard under the redbuds, as well as smell the lilacs, which are much more prominent up here. I missed the whole season in home south. I caught it up here! Mmmm…

These are forget-me-nots of the seasons. And these are times to remember the forget-me-nots of mother’s day and forget-me-nots of the Lord as our Shepherd gathering us but also letting us wander. Our mom’s sacrifice in love to bear us, raise us, keep track of us, inspire us and keep important memories alive. Moms also let us go do our own thing – cutting apron strings but keeping the kitchen open. My mom reminds us of our good times and the sacrifices seem obvious.

The Lord? The Lord never wants us to “be independent”, He does want us to both “forget-me-not” in His previous care and forget-me-not in everything in front of us. The Lord will continue to sacrifice and Shepherd. The Lord raises us as children not to be forgetful but to be trusting. TRUST – that is the TRUTH of motherhood too – trusting children to be OK. Thanks mom – thanks Lord…

May we love our moms and our Lord today, and BE THANKFUL!!!

AMEN


Psalm 126 NKJV

A Joyful Return to Zion – A Song of Ascents.
When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion,
We were like those who dream.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
And we are glad.

Bring back our captivity, O Lord,
As the streams in the South.

Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.