Lesson(s) Learned

Timing is Everything. (Christmas Season 2012) For many things in this life, timing is absolutely everything. Take this morning, for example: Mom and my sister Rosie decided (against my advice-giving) to go to WalMart. Not just any WalMart though. The one on Normandy Blvd on the Westside of Jax. Pretty sketchy. and risky, if you ask me. Questionable in the daytime. Not-an-option past sundown. Not even ten minutes into their trip, Rosie texted me to say she overheard some man, who happened to track down a stranger-woman he previously saw at a yard sale, ask if he could buy some artwork off of the woman. The woman's response? "No. I don't even know who you are." The man's response? "Yeah, but I remember you. You bought the painting I wanted at that yard sale!" I love that story. Rosie and I laughed for a while about it. But then, this thought came to mind: Timing. Is. Everything. And isn't that the truth? If that guy had been at the yard sale ea...

This note is coming straight from one work in progress (me) to another (you). I don't know about you and your mom, but my mom likes to pop impromptu life lessons upon me unawares - like in the car ride to the credit union today.  Today's words of advice? the 11th commandment. "Be ye content." Although, if you know my mom, this is pretty funny, the subject of contentment itself really isn't all that hilarious. It's sobering. and sometimes even painful. What is contentment? I'm glad you asked. I actually googled the definition of it and got a slew of synonyms…. Ready? Contentment.  Satisfaction.  Joy.  Happiness.  Ease of mind. Peace. Yup, that's (in a nutshell) what contentment is. Being satisfied or conTENT with the CONtents of your life. (notice the pronunciation difference #grammargeek) Everyone wants that. Some seemingly "attain" it at certain seasons of their lives. Others outwardly "obtain" it through one venue or atta...

The Israelites crack me up. Actually, no they don't. They sadden me. a lot. They're just so very dumb that it borderline annoys me. If the Old Testament were split into tracks instead of chapters, it would pretty much go like this: 1. God provides. 2. Israelites screw up. 3. God provides more. 4. Israelites screw up more. 5. God continues to provide exactly what the Israelites need. 6. Israelites complain that the provision of God isn't what they wanted. 7. God provides exactly what the Israelites wanted. 8. The Israelites still choose to be miserable. with a capital M. I mean, seriously, what's up with that?! I'm currently going through a Bible study surrounding the Israelites and all lesser things and gods they sought after apart from (and in place of) God Himself. No wonder they were so miserable, right? Well, today, I stumbled upon a verse that not only caught my eye, but it also caught all of my heart's attention. It's in Psalm 106:15, and it read...

Fish Bowl Christianity Unlike many people, I never had a "family pet" as I was growing up. Never, ever. My mom was (and very-much-so still is) allergic to everything under the sun. Aaaand I had more siblings than your average American family, but without quite reaching Dugger-family-status. (or coming anywhere even close, whew!… side note: could you even imagine?!) These factors, added in with the fact that my parents spent every extra dime they had on private education for all five of us kids, really just weren't all-that-conducive to including a family pet of any sort. But don't feel sorry for me. I don't feel like I was jipped or anything. I love my family, and the memories I can still recall from my childhood are nothing short of classic. Pet or no pet. When I "grew up" and moved to Lynchburg about four years ago, I tossed around the idea of getting a pet. You know, just to see what it would be like. Nothing huge or fancy or gross or high-mainte...

Why are people so afraid of the truth? We live in a day and age where people are plain-out scared of the truth.  Scared to speak it (for fear the of other people's response).  Scared to hear it (for fear of how our lives must change as a result of it).  Scared even to watch it being spoken on behalf of the lives of others. (Really, what's up with that?!) I think Satan loves nothing better than lackadaisical Christians who lay around in lounge chairs of lies. While we church-goers may not be prone to wear an infamous blue-and-white visitor's sticker that reads "Hello, my name is …. pathological liar," our lives (in a very subtle way) sometimes suggest this much is true.  Before you get your feathers ruffled, listen to me when I say this: A liar isn't just someone who tells lies. A liar could be a person who simply neglects to speak the truth.  Why no, I'm not prone to lie about people, make up stories about them, or add faulty details...

Free Up Some Space So  I just bought a Mac computer a couple months ago and finally (with the help of my brother) figured out how to transfer all my iTunes from my PC to my Mac. Then came my next feat. Syncing all that music to my Iphone, so my ringtone would stop being that embarrassing marimba sound. What is a marimba, by the way? By the sound of it, I'm thinking some kind of xylophone. Anyway, all of that to say, as I was syncing up my iTunes with my iPhone, I realized something. I've got way too much music on my computer. So much in fact that I may have to free up some space for other things if some more is added. Speaking of freeing up some space…. If you took inventory of your life right now, what is it that you'd need to free your life from so you'd have space for the things that matter more? For the things that matter most. Think about it, free up that space, add things more important than the marimba ringtone, and sync yourself up with what matters the mo...

What ever happened to Orpah? No, I'm not talking about Oprah. The television talk show goddess. That so many women (ahem, people) adore and talk their socks off about. I'm sure if someone really wanted to know about her, they could Google her, or Facebook her, or follow her on Twitter, or buy her magazine, or join her book club, or something… But the woman I'm referring to Orpah. The girl mentioned in the Bible in the book of Ruth. And it's  100% doubtful that if the Bible doesn't tell us where exactly she went and what exactly happened to her, then we won't be able to find out the hard-and-fast truth of her whereabouts. At least not one with a Holy Spirit backing,stamp, seal, and inspiration packaged around it. At first glance, you may be like I was. You think Orpah's just a supporting character. She's in the shadow of the spotlight. She's on the sidelines, riding the bench during the most exciting parts of the game. She's the back-up singer ...

Quite a few years ago, I wrote a list of "things I'm learning…" It contained advice, quotes, and sheer observations about the life I was living and the life that was carrying on all around me. Well, today, I thought about that list for the first time (in a very, very long time) and thought perhaps I should re-create it, in a sense, based on where I find myself in life right now. at this very moment. Nothing came from quote websites or the like… it's all fresh from my little Rosemary brain. Hope you enjoy it, and it brings some encouragement and comfort and COURAGE your way - no matter where you find yourself along life's journey today. :) Things I'm learning... 1. Assume that everything has nothing to do with you, until directly told otherwise. Even then, know that you can't possibly know the full story. There's always something going on behind the scenes. 2. Don't try to please people. Please God. He'll deal with the people. 3. Sometimes k...

Dollar Stores, Deals, and a Deeper Understanding of Resiliency Today, I went into the dollar store to pick up some toys for my kids' treasure box at school. And the sights I saw are probably much of the same you experience when you visit the dollar store. Let's see if our lists can compare: Half-homeless-looking man sitting shirtless out front? Check. Stressed-out mom with a handful of barefooted kids screaming at the top of their little lungs for lollipops that she simply can't afford? Check. Store clerk who looks like they've never given a smile in their lives and (if they were to receive one) absolutely wouldn't know what to do with one? Check. As you can see, all of the regularities about a dollar store experience were ever-present  for me today. Though today's dollar store experience was much the same as ones before it, it was also quite different. Today, as I walked down the toy aisle, I began to understand a part about life that I'd never qui...

Love makes black and white go color, Love doesn't make things dim. Whitewash makes picket fences look whiter, but what's underneath all the trim? Some things aren't alway surface-level. Real things in life go deep. Remember this in the valleys low. Remember this on the steppes. Some days you'll wake up wondering, what else you could have done. Ah, but one day, Oh, one day you'll wake up knowing, Knowing if it's "the One." Don't go looking for perfection In the end, it can't be found. Look for a man who loves Jesus More than anything else around. Sometimes "these things take time," So be patient. Take heart. Within the time you're waiting, Don't get lost in games of the heart. Rather, become the girl, woman, lady Whose life simply can't be the same. You know His heart, you see His face, you know more than just His name. God's plan for you is all-consuming He's the end, the su...

“Don’t pick me last!” September 16, 2011 Friday morning. 7:55a.m.  As I’m preparing for a school day full of kids, tests, and running noses, I’m writing because it’s on my heart. And quite heavily on my heart, might I add. The desire of every person. Is. To want to be wanted. To be chosen. To be picked out from the rest. And those who deny it are just wanting the attention from not wanting to be wanted. Not only is "don't pick me last!" the universal internal cry of kids on playgrounds, may I dare say it’s the universal eternal cry of people everywhere? Sometimes, when you look around at the blessings and moving-ons of others, do you ever experience that nagging feeling that God has forgotten you? Your ship has yet to arrive? Or worse yet, your train has already made it to the last destination along your life’s journey? It’s absurd, really. That idea that says the God of the universe Who brought you here, to this point, in this section of life’s journey, is ...

Helpers. They’re everywhere. From community helpers to classroom helpers to even Hamburger Helpers, a day’s routine can barely go without them, in some shape, form, or variety. Yes, they’re everywhere. But what are they there for? You know, helpers are those people who come alongside you and enable you to perform a job/task you could in NO POSSIBLE WAY do on YOUR OWN. They’re the people you call on throughout the day and thank at the end of the day. Helpers, of every kind, are sprinkled throughout society and littered throughout little elementary school classrooms. Taken to a Spiritual level, Scripture even speaks to the idea of “helpers,” as it mentions several times about our Helper from on High. God’s not just a helper. The Bible so matter-of-factly reminds us that He’s a VERY PRESENT help - especially in times of trouble. Interesting, isn’t it that Scripture doesn’t speak on the issue of helpers in reverse? Meaning, it never places God in the needy spot and us, as Christians, as th...

                Have you ever had a dream that seemed plain-out ridiculous? No, I’m not talking about the ones you have when you’re unconscious and are being chased by some make-believe monster (as a direct result of some goofy movie you watched or a spicy-something-or-‘nother from Taco Bell’s fourth quarter menu). Nor am I referring to the dreams that jumble people, situations, and facts from reality all into one big conglomerated messy situation. I’m not even thinking about the ones that seem so real that you wake up dazed and confused and wonder, “Did that really happen, or was it ‘just a dream’?”                 Everyone has those type of dreams.                 I’m questioning about the dreams that are far more important than our unconscious minds can concoct. ...

                As I sit here tonight (the night before the new school year starts), tons of questions are floating through my mind. Checklists with seemingly no end are reeling through my mind like the credits from a major motion picture, and the nervousness/excitement of what this year may hold is as real to me as the night-before-Christmas-jitters we all experienced as children. Though the results of this year’s relationships, the educational successes, and the individual struggles are yet to be written, the expectations are there. The goals have been set. The plans and prayers are in place to achieve everything we (my students and I) set out to do.                 Despite everything that’s couch-potatoeing in the forefront of my mind right now with simple and menial concerns of my first-world mindset, I can’t help but revert back to wh...

Fences. They take a long time to build, but they always serve a purpose. They keep important things in. They keep harmful things out. They serve to protect, to guard, and oftentimes, to make one feel safe. Though they all perform the same basic functions, no two fences look alike. And maybe they shouldn't. Some match buildings or houses, others divide vast amounts of landscape. Some are new and fresh and beautiful. Others are old, worn out, yet still in place for a purpose. No two fences are the same. Some are small, some are large. Some are just plain old all-natural wood. Others are painted and decorated-to-the-hilts. Some have latches and keys and various deviations of "keep out" signs, others don't. they're more friendly and inviting. Yet, they all still serve a purpose. Keep important things in. Keep harmful things out. No matter how big or how small or how plain or how decorated our "fences" in life may be, there's one thing to be said f...

I couldn't help it. I went out to Atlantic beach with my parents tonight to enjoy some fireworks, and it hit me. A distant memory flashed before me as if it just happened yesterday. Confession time: I was a strange child. I guess being the middle child of five requires you to go to extreme measures to stand out. To be unique. To get the attention every child (ahem, every person) likes and requires to feel significant. All that to say this: as one of my childhood quirks, I was scared of fireworks. That's right. As everyone else was enjoying the first-hand sights, I was overly fearful of the sound of fireworks. As a result, I'd go into my aunt's living room and shove pillows into my ears until the madness was over. I don't know when or how I eventually overcame this strange fear of mine, but tonight, as I sat on the beach with my parents, I realized how very glad I am that I no longer fear fireworks. Rather, I can now enjoy them as the sign of freedom that they are. Y...

I must confess. Yesterday, as I was driving home to Jacksonville from Lynchburg, I passed a church (Who am I kidding? I probably passed 140,000+ churches… traversing through the “Bible Belt” of the country and all…), and when I typically pass by churches on-the-side-of-the-road, what do you think I notice? Yes, I notice the amount (or lack of amount) of cars in the parking lot (…I’m such a Baptist. Eeee.).  That’s an obvious give-away. See it; count it. Don’t see it; don’t count it. Done and done. I also seemingly assume and assess the church’s community-friendliness based upon some non-essential (and probably very faulty) means. Like this one church. In South Carolina. Literally perched up right next to a palm reader’s palace. Had a “Revival: Thursday –Sunday” sign out front. I wondered if the palm reader had been invited to the revival. By a person, and not just a sign. See, those kinds of things are what I wonder about when I pass churches on my road trips. And , wh...

Though I couldn’t put my finger on what it was or why, I was having a sad day and just had a longing feeling that I needed God today more than ever. While I do praise Him for that ability to want Him and to long for Him on the sad days, these thoughts entered into my mind: Feasts and famines. Mountain tops and valleys. Ebbs and flows. Winters and Spring times. Ups and downs. Promised Lands and Desert Wastelands. Highs and lows. Scripture’s sprinkled with them. And, if we’re all honest about it, our lives are littered with them. Your life. My life. The guy-next-door ‘s life. Even the woman-living-down-the-street-in-the-cul-de-sac’s life is not immune to them. What I’m referring to are the sad times, the thrilling times, the confusing times, the tormenting times, the I’m-so-happy-I-have-sprinkles-on-my-ice-cream-cone times, and the run-of-the-mill, regular, in-between times of life. I guess part of It we could just label as (or write off as) “that’s life.” That’s the way ...

It's NO secret (Victoria's or otherwise) that before every Tuesday NIGHT women's Bible study comes a TuesDAY, filled with speed bumps, potholes, construction sites, and various detours in the daily routines of life that do an oh-so-good job of alluring me away from the simple reminder to acknowledge that "this is the day the LORD has made; therefore, I will REJOICE and be GLAD in it." Aaaand  it all started something like this... Today was markedly a strange day for me, no doubt. To start, when I woke up this morning, I had that “gut” feeling that I was going to be ill-prepared for the school day. [If you’re a teacher, you may very well know EXACTLY what feeling I’m talking about.] No amount of planning (or worrying) or effort on your own can ever fully prepare you for some of the things life hands you throughout the school day. [Thankfully, as Christians, we know it’s GOD who hands us each-and-every momentous event of our day…. And it’...