COMPETITIVE SPIRIT

To say that my husband and I do a bit of competing, that wouldn't be quite right.  For one thing, he is tall and I am short, so there's no competition when it comes to walking; running?  Never gonna happen!  Lol!  He made 9th in the Nation his junior year of High School for cross country.

When it comes to driving, he's quite crafty; I'm not talking about speeding, just quick minded on how to maneuver.  So last week we met up in town as we do on occasions to do our weekly grocery shopping.  I actually made it out of the store first and in my car; of course he was still at the check-out and then loaded the car.  So I decided to get a head start.  I had parked in a better row, so I knew I could get out first.  I made it to the light in time, but he still wasn't far behind and made it also.  When  I had driven some ways, I was pleased to see that I still had the slight advantage.  Then I was coming up to the light where we make a turn as it was turning red and I remembered what my husband always did, he turned into the corner bank parking lot (always after hours) and saved time that way.  So I did likewise, only to realize that I had turned in too soon and it was actually another parking lot next to the bank with only one entrance/exit.  My husband smiled as he passed me and turned into the correct lot.  I now had to turn around and go back.

On the way home, I thought about how much that was like me and God.  Sometimes I think I can get to a place in my life more quickly if I can just lead the way myself.  I know God must be saying, "Lol!  Never gonna happen!"  But, I try anyways only to find that I have to backtrack and begin again.  He's always teaching me some new lesson in patience.

How did my shopping trip end?  Just like me and God; my husband made it home in plenty of time to unload all the groceries and turn on the outside lamppost so that I could see more clearly when I got there.  : )

#SampleSunday ~ BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAIN MORNING

I can't help but think of better weather on this dark cold rainy day.  I have to remind myself that this is just a passing season and that the sun will shine bright and warm again.  This week for #SampleSunday, I decided to post a poem that I wrote last July; hope it brightens your day.  : )

B L U E  R I D G E  M O U N T A I N  M O R N I N G

Misty covered mountains

Roll away with the dawn

The sun begins to rise

Now I stretch my arms and yawn

But the beauty holds me captive

As I stop to take a look

The view outside my window

Is worth writing in a book

To stop time frozen

For the beauty that I see

To hold onto this moment

It still amazes me

Green mountains rise up

Ridge upon ridge unfold

They stand firm and proud

And have since days of old

A bright red cardinal

Swoops down upon his prey

A caterpillar crawling

Who had come to greet the day

Now a black crow comes

And attempts to steal the prize

The cardinal is too quick

And away he swiftly flies

The butterflies and dragonflies

Are warming up their wings

They begin to circle my garden

Searching out tasty things

A brown rabbit slowly hops

From beneath a berry bower

He cannot resist the taste

Of a golden dandelion flower

As the sun warms the earth

A speckled fawn begins to play

His white tail mother joins him

And cautiously leads the way

They two enjoy a quiet moment

While the world is still asleep

They love my private garden

Where they find a safe retreat

It’s just a simple garden

With an archway painted white

Where oaks, maples, and pines

Encircle and keep it from sight

It’s a place I go to meditate

A place where I can be alone

I let go of needless worries

Sitting on my bench of stone

I thank my Creator

For the beauty He has made

I sing a happy tune

And there leave my troubles laid

On a morning such as this

There’s no place I’d rather be

Some do like the City life

But the Blue Ridge Mountains are for me

Sheri L. Swift

07/13/10

THE DREAMS OF A TEENAGER

I was very shy as a young person and you might say that I often escaped into stories that I had created.  It wasn't until Junior High that I began to put some of them to page with the help of a wonderful Creative Writing Teacher named Mrs. Perry.  It wasn't until I was 16 that I would begin a journey to creating my mermaid story.  I was encouraged by my English/Yearbook Teacher Mrs. Rose to go to the Yearbook Conference at the University of Hawaii that summer between my Sophomore and Junior year of High School.  I fell in love with the Hawaiian Islands and the people and their culture.  I went on to write my story at the age of 17.

After that, as many of you can relate, my life took a turn and although I would go on to write short stories and many poems, I always knew that my mermaid story was meant to be something more.  There were often days that I would feel a longing to begin rewriting my story and it was as though the Lord would tell me, "Not yet."  I guess that I knew it would take so much of me to write it and my four daughters needed me.  As my girls grew and each began to spread their wings and leave my nest, the longing would only intensify.  Again the Lord would tell me, "Not yet."  

Once my baby entered College, I began to feel a flood building up within me and finally I felt that it was time to write again.  You can imagine my shock when I was diagnosed with cancer and thought that I would never be able to pour out the stories that I had suppressed for so long.  Then the Lord spoke, "Now."  Even though it was a painful journey, my stories helped me to escape my reality; once again I was Lana exploring her underwater world.  Now I was able to put it to page so that not only my grandchildren would be able to share in the adventure, but anyone else that cared to read it as well.

I never discount the dreams of a young person; God has put them there and in time they will surface.  I love Max Lucado's CURE FOR THE COMMON LIFE.  Two of my favorite quotes are:

Look at Joseph.  At the age of seventeen, he interpreted dreams and envisioned himself as a leader (Genesis 37:5-10).  As an adult he interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh and led the nation of Egypt (Genesis 40-41). 

Young shepherd-boy David displayed two strengths: fighting and music.  He killed a lion and a bear (1 Samuel 17:34-37) and played the harp with skill (16:18).  what two activities dominated his adult years?  Fighting and music.  He killed tens of thousands in battle (1 Samuel 29:5), and do we not still sing his songs?

Thank You Father of Dreams that You allow them to take root and grow and blossom.  : )

TRYING TIMES

It seems to me that its the trying times that test our metal.  I tell my husband that its in these times that we find out who we really are.  We've been hit by the bad economy as well as anyone and my husband and I have endured some pretty rough times of illness over the last few years.  

Now our Church is going through its own kind of testing time; our Pastor fell ill on January 23rd and was rushed to the hospital.  We found out that he has pancreatitis and will be in the hospital for some time.  To say that this has put us all out of balance would be a gross understatement; it has literally rocked our world!  But, something else is occurring; I see love rising up as I've never seen it before.  This love seems to have no bounds.  Its the love for our Pastor and his family and even extended family.  Its the love that each one of us has for the other; a love for our Church as a whole family.  I've seen prayers that are quite literally coming from all over the world on behalf of our Pastor.

Yes, these are trying times.  God never promised that we wouldn't go through rough times, but He did promise that He'd be right there beside us walking through them with us.   : )

CHILD OF THE SUN

It's no wonder that I love to write about mermaids, islands and seashells; I am definitely a child of the sun!  Dark and dreary days can bring me down if I let them.  There are many dreary days in January here in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  On days like that, I slip under a blanket with a cup of hot coffee and begin to dream of warmer climates with blue water and sunny sandy beaches.  My husband will come home from work and ask me, "Did you talk to anyone today; I mean anyone real?"  Lol!  Yep, he's got it about right.  : )

MY JANUARY POEM

I originally wrote this poem for my brother Terry in 1996; it was one year after my family and I had moved from California to Virginia.  Things were very tight then and I couldn't afford to buy him a gift, in fact, I think that was the very first year that I wasn't able to give him one.  We had always been close; he was my only sibling and moving was very hard for me.  So, I decided to write a poem for him and I decoupaged it onto a piece of cardboard and I couldn't even afford to mail it to him until later in February of that year.  I consider it to be my January Poem and I hope you like it:

CHRISTMAS LIVES THROUGH US

Christmas comes and Christmas goes

Amid the rain and wintry snows

The bells are silent in the square

The wreaths are gone that hung everywhere

The lights that twinkled so brightly now are dim

The mangers of straw are put away that revealed Him

But His true love still rings across the land

It's a timeless love that will always stand

No one can silence the Angels as they sing

He is still Lord!  He is still King!

The earth is still in joyful song

From the babbling brooks and creeks; to rivers long

In the trees that rise skyward lifting arms in praise

Meadows with tall grass in the wind sways

The birds cannot contain their joy inside

The sun rises and its happy face it cannot hide

God's people are still gathering across this great land

Proclaiming aloud His love hand in hand

We can truly keep Christmas in our heart

Hidden so deeply inside it can never depart

God's Son still lives and deserves our praise

Let us never forget our voices to raise

He is the King of Glory and will ever be!

So Christmas will always live through you and me

Sheri L. Swift

01/31/96

The GOD Man

For hundreds of years the Prophets told of His coming.  God sent an Angel to tell Zacharias that his wife Elizabeth was to have a son (John) that would prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah; which that alone was no small miracle given the age of Zacharias and Elizabeth.  Once more, God sent an Angel (Gabriel) to a young virgin girl (Mary) who was engaged to a man named Joseph.  The Angel told her that she was chosen to bare the Son of God; she was to name him Jesus.  The Angel also told Mary that her cousin Elizabeth was now six months pregnant "For with God nothing will be impossible".

The amazing thing to me was that not only was Mary chosen to give birth to God's Son, but that she was willing to do such a thing.  She knew that her Fiance' might not take it so well.  She also knew that in those days, a woman could be stoned to death for being pregnant without a husband.  Yet, she was willing to risk her reputation and even the man she loved for God's will.  Mary decided to make a trip to visit her cousin Elizabeth and when she met her for the first time, Elizabeth's baby danced in her womb at the very presence of God's Son in Mary's womb. 

When the time came near, God wrote the birth announcement of His Son in the sky for the very wise and scholarly of men to read.  Then for even the lowest of poor men (Shepherds who basically lived outside), He sent a personal invitation in the very presence of an Angel who stood right there in front of them and said, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be the sign to you:  You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths living in a manger" (I can hear Linus saying this in the play *A Charlie Brown Christmas*).  Then the Bible tells us that the sky was filled with many Angels singing a song, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will toward men!"  Of course the Shepherds went to see this child and told Mary and Joseph of all they had heard from the Angels.

Can you just imagine it; God cared so much for the men of earth, that He made sure that all were invited.  I have always related to the Shepherds; to think that God would give us Plain folk an invitation is just so amazing to me that my heart can hardly contain it.  I can see how God provided an instant celebration!  God even made sure that two of His faithful servants weren't able to miss the birth of His Son either.  Simeon and Anna had waited in the Temple daily for Him to arrive; they both praised God for Him allowing them to see their future Savior when Mary and Joseph brought their baby Jesus to the Temple as was their custom to give an offering after a male child was born.

 There was also a sort of baby shower given later for God's Son.  Some very wise men of the East were anxious to greet this newborn King of the Jews.  They did their best to follow God's directions in the invitation that He wrote in the sky and they followed His star to Jerusalem.  They went to Herod the King and said, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him".  Of course Herod was none too happy to hear that the prophecy of this new King said that He would shepherd God's people and that these wise men actually wanted to recognize this baby of a King.  He basically told them to feel free to search Him out, but please come back and let me know too so that I might worship Him.  God continued to shine His star and the wise men were so happy to follow it once more to the house where Mary and Joseph were now living as it shined down over them.  They brought gifts of great wealth; gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  These gifts greatly helped Mary and Joseph to make a new life in Egypt for a time.  As you can imagine, God revealed to the wise men not to return to Herod and he became angry and commanded that all the male children who were born during the time of the star were to be killed (basically two years old and younger); such a terrible thing.  An Angel had warned Joseph to take his family to Egypt until the rule of Herod ended.

This was just the beginning of what this God Man would do.  Just think of it, God heard our heart's cry and decided to give us a Savior.  How amazing that His Son took on our humanness and the boundaries of this planet when He could have continued to enjoy all the privileges of His royal station in the Heavenly. But God was determined to not only tell us but to show us His love and mercy.

May you truly know the gift and meaning of this wonderful Season when we celebrate the birth of this God Man.  Merry Christmas and may God's peace reign in your hearts.

(If you'd like to read more about this miraculous event; I mostly took the scriptures of Luke and Matthew)