Happy Birthday to You....de-ja-vu

I just celebrated a birthday this week. I had a great day & ate b-day cake, my favorite dessert! Funny but true, for 8 months this past year I thought I was the wrong age! I told several people I was 47 when I was only 46. So this birthday was like de-ja-vu for me... after all I lived most of last year as 47. In my twisted way of thinking (see if you can follow this thought- it is challenging) I thought I would continue on with the wrong age until 49 and then fix it..... staying 49 for two years! I thought that was an awsome plan! However, when I explained this plan to Greg... well lets just say, he thought I really was suffering from dementia! So... 47 it is. (Proverbs 16:31)

The Easter Dress

I always loved seeing the little girls come to church on Easter, so proud of their pretty new dresses. We had a family in our church who had three daughters. Their mother always made them spectacular Easter dresses. You can imagine my joy when early one spring she came to me and wanted to bless me by making my daughter an Easter dress. This would become my all time favorite dress. With her help, a pattern was picked and material was decided upon. Alysse would occasionally go to their home for measurements. Initially this dress seemed like any other... that is until the very end. When others would have been done, and would of had a nice solid dress, this seamstress kept going. She added a special eyelet peek-a-boo slip, a matching hair bow, trimmed socks and even a matching purse with a little bunny! The collar was full of special details. This was no longer an ordinary dress, it was an extraordinary ensemble. What made this dress go from ordinary to extraordinary was all the little details added at the end. This concept continues to challenge me. I want to go from ordinary to extraordinary and I know it is in the details. The small stuff that adds up. The little extras that are performed when others finish their job. Jesus lived the life of an extraordinary example for us. Always going the extra mile, loving the unlovable, showing kindness to the ungrateful. Help me Lord not to be satisfied with the ordinary but to pursue the extraordinary! (Read: Matthew 5:38-48)

King Tut!

I recently went to the King Tut exhibit in Atlanta. I was in Awe! One thing that really stuck with me was the fact that as soon as a person became Pharaoh or King they began making preparations for their after-life. They would have miniature items of people & things prepared to be buried with them. They believed these items would come alive or magically become the appropriate size once they passed and would be of great use to them. They also had elaborate jewelry, golden masks, containers & jars and the list goes on and on. While I think their belief system was greatly flawed it does make me think! I can be so caught up in the here and now that I rarely think about the after-life. Am I truly preparing to live this eternal life I so greatly believe in? After all, I will only be on Earth 100 years, just a blip compared to eternity! Am I generous, faithful, forgiving, and full of grace? Help me Lord to store up true treasures. Matthew 19:21