God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
"Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But, if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything."
---Muhammad Ali

"We are driven to create at this deep wordless level of the soul because we are all fashioned in the image of a God who is an Artist." - Michael Card, Scribbling in the Sand.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Good morning everyone! The sun is shining and we don’t have snow or ice today so it’s a wonderful day in the Neighborhood! Of course it’s only 15 degrees this morning.

I'm on a predisone burst right now so no achey joints, able to get out of bed without stubbling around. Wonderful feeling!!! Only problem is I can't get full, I had 2 dinners last night and I've already had a brownie and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich this morning :) LOL! I can't help it I'm starved!

Andrea saw your comments thank you girl I think she’s pretty special. And your little Rowan is growing so fast!

I want to wave Hi to all the awesome friends at The Scrapbook Site.

I belong to a group, 4 Scrappy Sisters; I’ll be a guest designer in May. And the owner Lisa does a Devotional every day. Today’s devotional really meant a lot to me so I thought I’d share a little of it with you today.

Misunderstood
By Wendy Pope

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:12 (NKJ)

Devotion:
Misunderstood: this word clearly describes how I have felt many times during my 15 years of marriage and if I am honest; my husband could make the same claim. I remember in our pre-martial counseling hearing the word communication and how important it is to a successful marriage. Keeping this in the forefront of my mind and having gone to great lengths to communicate, many times I still feel misunderstood.

My husband and I used to have "pillow talk." Well we still do, but not nearly as often. Pillow talk is honest, heart to heart talk, in the bed, in the dark. Not necessarily involving intimacy, just conversation. Somehow in the dark, you can shed light on how you are truly feeling about an issue.

Not long ago we had some pillow talk. I thought I was really making some headway in helping my man understand my needs. I shared my needs openly and honestly. He responded with a simple touch and a snuggle. At this point, I was feeling very understood. I fell asleep knowing that my thoughts were heard, appreciated and would be taken into great consideration the next time this issue came up.

A few days later, on the way to church I heard the following words coming through the speakers:

When we don't talk, when we don't touch, when it doesn't feel like we're even in love it matters to me.

When I don't know what to say, don't know what to do, don't know if it really even matters to you. How can I make you see it matters to me?

As I listened to the words I thought, "Faith Hill can say it better than me." I just knew my husband was pondering Faith's words as well, and recounting our pillow talk conversation. This is when I made the mistake. I said, "Did you understand what I was saying the other night?" I won't bother to give his response. Suffice it to say, he is a man not a woman.

Instead of getting upset that he was unable to recall our entire pillow-conversation, I recited a "reader's digest version" of it and we laughed. Then as God would have it, I heard the following words from Ricky Van Shelton coming through the speakers:

I don't know why you want to start with me, I ain't done-nothing far as I can see and I'm worn out from working too hard, why don't you give me a break. I know that lately things ain't been so good, I'll make it up just like I told you I would but I'm tired and I want to sit down, to ease this old backache.

You say you're having trouble figuring me, I don't believe I'm such a mystery. Baby what you get is what you see. I am a simple man. I want a job and a piece of land, three squares in my frying pan. Don't seem so hard for me to understand, I am a simple man.

I had to laugh. Misunderstood: husbands and wives feel it. Faith says it matters to her when there is no talking or touching. Ricky Van says I know things haven't been good lately but I am working as hard as I can, I am just a simple man.

If being misunderstood is the question, what is the answer? The answer is to be Jesus to my man. I am to offer respect when I feel wronged, show grace when I don't feel like grace is deserved, and demonstrate love when it seems I have no love to give.

Jesus offers all this, and more, to me everyday. Respect, grace, and love many times aren't easy to demonstrate. However, in God's economy you give a little and get a lot, maybe not the exact return you desire at that moment, but abundant blessings from your Heavenly Bridegroom.

Dear Lord, help me to demonstrate Your great respect, grace, and love even when it is not easy. Forgive me for wanting the focus to be on me. Help me to remember that life is not about me, but about making you known. In Jesus' Name, Amen


This really touched me today and I felt the need to share. I hope everyone has a wonderful day and enjoys the beginning of spring. Only one more day till we start the count down towards spring and summer.

God Bless,

Jane

6 comments:

LadySnow said...

How do you not have snow?! We got a lot last night...our front steps/sidewalk to the cars are like our very own skating rink. ;D

Til said...

Thank you Jane, this hit home more then you know.

Anonymous said...

thanks for sharing the devotional. very nice.

Linda said...

Thanks for sharing this Jane. I can really relate to this.

Dee said...

Awesome devotional. Thanks for posting it. Love your latest post with the flag card. What great work! Thanks for keeping up with my blog and leaving such kind comments for me. It means so much!

Von said...

Awesome, Jane! Thanks for taking the time to post this-really hit home for me this morning!