Celebrating our Differences

Once upon a time I started making Waikiki (beef) meatballs for my little family of four from my beloved Betty Crocker cookbook that was given to me as a wedding gift. Here I am 53 years later, still using that treasured cookbook and you can see I haven’t been too careful while making the sauce.

What’s different this year about my recipe, is my “different” family members. This photo represents our “different” food choices. One group still wants beef meatballs, another no-red meat group, gets turkey balls, and we have another one this year – meatless “balls” for my one vegetarian – our 13-year-old Bryson, the animal-lover, who refuses to eat an animal that was once alive! I love this family so much. I want to give them what they prefer. Bryson even said “I can’t tell any difference from the meat ones” that he loved every year before now.

These, my people, are all different. “Different strokes for different folks” is a saying that means there are different ways of doing something. We are all different and we all have different needs and wants -- which is ALL okay! What an amazing God Who created us with so much incredible diversity and variety – just like my meatballs! And, to top it off, He gives HIS kids so many options to what we prefer in life.

I’m always amazed when I think of how God created a world of different kinds of colors, tastes, sounds, foods, scenery, animals, ideas, and the list just goes on and on. But one area that is especially intriguing is the variety of people He has created. In fact, everyone is different. There are no two of us alike. We are each, individually, special.

In spite of our great diversity, the Bible says that we were all created in the image of God so we all have some things in common. We all think, reason, make decisions, worship, communicate, create, appreciate beauty. Those are "image of God" traits and abilities. But every one of us is unique, a one-of-a-kind, special, limited edition! This uniqueness doesn’t happen by accident. It’s also part of God’s grand design and plan. He forms each one of us lovingly and intentionally. There’s purpose, planning, and design that led up to our existence. Whether our parents rejoiced when they received the news of our pending arrival, or regretted their decision to procreate and conceive, we are here nonetheless, because God wanted us here!

David became a voice for each of us, expressing gratitude to God for His creative involvement in making us: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:13-15.

When we become a Christian, God’s creative work in our lives begins again in a different way. God gives each of us spiritual gifts through the person of His Holy Spirit. And with those gifts comes the opportunity to "serve up" a variety of "meatballs" -- er, rather, a variety of love and care and concern for believers and unbelievers (I Corinthians 12:7). The more we "serve up" a big old plate of kindness and generosity.....the more we hunger for more opportunities to serve. Sometimes, God will even change our minds about our likes and dislikes so we can serve even more, even better than before. Sometimes He will even change our ministries as we mature. Just like changing our food preferences – like my family! So, be YOU -- the you that God created to flourish and to be His representative to the world He has you in right now -- in this season!

Oh, the Entertainment Value of God’s Creation

Change is in the air and change is in God’s creation. Austin’s Hill Country behind my children’s home is a display of God’s handiwork. Many of the trees are showing off their radiant, colored leaves and the evergreens are just that -- ever green. And there has been changes and additions to our family here. I sure get amused at us. I can only imagine how amused God must get at His creation. He certainly doesn’t need a TV for entertainment. Speaking of entertainment – I headed out to get the car washed and what did my wandering eyes would appear but all eight goats out of their corral. Seems Oreo, the black and white goat, fiesty one, has learned to open the latch of the stable! Fortunately, Bryson is their shepherd, or is it goat-herd and they know his voice and they follow him home.

Since my last visit to Austin, we have two new grand-puppies. Braden & Ruth, my oldest grandson and his wife, adopted a beautiful, white, 8-month-old Lab, Bella Mae (a southern name for a southern girl). "Lucky Lab Rescue" saved Bella Mae from an owner who had cruelly abused her and she was severely malnourished. She was put into a foster home and my kids adopted her. Now she is secure, happy, and the beloved pet of my grands. I love the love they have given her and the love she has given them. My second to the oldest grandson, Barrett aka Bear, at the same time, adopted a precious, 8-week-old Aussie-Doodle, Mayra, in Oklahoma. Yay! We have an Okie puppy at last. We are multi-state animal lovers. The Lab is from Texas, the Aussie Doodle, Oklahoma, the two back in Frisco, Buddy, the Australian Shepherd, is from Washington State, and Emma, the Yorkie, hails from Arkansas. And sweet and beloved, 10-year-old Bentley, the Havanese, is from Iowa and lives here with my youngest grands.

I read this scripture: "He is God of the living, “for to Him all are alive” (Luke 20:38). Oh, I know that scripture pertains to our life evermore, even after we die, but I thought about how God is everywhere in all of His living creation – the God of the living. He cares for all living things: the flowers, the birds, the grass. The Creator created everything for a purpose. He even uses them in describing how we should live. Colossians 1:16 says “….all things have been created through Him and FOR Him!” I just know this family of mine keeps Him entertained.

As cute, loveable, and adoring as my grand-dogs and my grand-farm animals are – it’s really their owners that I love the most – and I never take them for granted – it was them that gave me grandchildren and grandpets. Thanks, kids, for your contribution to my full of love and blessed life!

That's Onomatopoeia: POW, BOOM, BAM

My BFF from Tulsa came to see me on Thursday. We make every moment count when we’re together. We call ourselves “Ethel and Lucy” because we can sure have some hilarious (without even trying) times. We were in that mode at Hobby Lobby and then yesterday, just before she headed on her way to her destination, she thought she’d help me by tossing my newspaper to my porch, but her toss was less than exact. She threw it into a huge plant pot that was filled with water. LOL! Par for our course! But the best part of our friendship that truly makes us besties is our prayer times together. You know your friend is a BFF if they care enough about you to pray with and for you. That’s why we’re BFFs because we know enough about each other that we know the best of us is the Jesus in us…..and that’s what He would do if He had stopped by to see me and when He shows up, BOOM! That’s the word used for an explosion. And I like to think that it’s ZAPPING, SPLATTING, and SMASHING the enemy.

Sheila said, “Donna, I hear onomatopoeia coming from you!” She said that as I was praying I was OOHING and AWING. Onomatopoeia is the sound that a word makes and mimics the sound it describes. So when we say an onomatopoeic word, it sounds like the word we’re referring to. For example: “The CLANGING pots and pots woke the baby.” “The bacon SIZZLED in the pan.” “The race car driver REVVED the engine.” “She POPPED the balloon.” “The enemy CACKLES, GROWLS, and HISSES!” Say those words and you’ll actually hear the sounds of the object it is referring to.

So when Sheila said I was making the sound of OOH, AW and I later thought that I desire that my life be “onomatopoeia” – that my life has sound, expression, so that when others hear “Donna”, they are hearing the sound of joy, excitement, wonder, lightheartedness, life, liberated, cheer.”

I really want that. How about you? Don’t we want to be the most incredible version of ourselves throughout our lives? Don’t we want to have achieved our fullest potential and lived a life of relentless pursuit of God and His character? I know for a fact that I want to live my life in technicolor – not black and white. After all, God could have made all of His creation in black and white, but He said “Nah! I can do better than that!” Don’t you know that sound must have been a part of the creation process? BOOM – the skies were made. POW – the stars and the moon and sun brought light to the skies. KAPOW – trees, and vegetation appeared. SWISH – the waters flowed. CHIRP, BUZZ, MOO, NEIGH – and God created the animals.

I want to live my life with onomatopoeic expressions that say “I’m here, on purpose, to be and do and live and declare God lives in me big time, so this CLANGING and BUZZING and ROARING that comes from me is full of life, full of expression, full of determination to live a reckless abandoned life for God. I want my gravestone to say “SHE LIVED”! I want to leave my mark and my sound here. How about you?

They Leave the Nest -- But They'll Be Back

They Leave the Nest -- But They'll Be Back
For those who have followed the tales of my dove family who took up occupancy on my fireplace vent on my patio several weeks ago, I'm pleased to report the babies are on their own and have left the nest. I couldn't check on them until Monday morning since I had been away for a week and didn't get home until Sunday night. The nest was empty so I knew they had finally learned to fly and had left the nest. I saw the poop and debris left behind and determined to get out my super-powered cleaning solution and remove the nest and all the other gunk. But to my surprise, as I sat on my patio, I saw the "teenagers" (Yikes! I was surprised to see, how in just a week's time, they had grown so much!) come back home. I'm acting like a proud grandmother because I couldn't help but show you their photo! LOL! They must have remembered the kind homeowner who checked on them daily, and they were fine with my visit. I am unceasingly amazed at God’s creation.

Of course, the spiritual and natural connotations hit me in these tender moments. All of us develop, mature and become confident enough to leave the "nest" where we were nurtured and where we developed the sense of being able to make it in this world on our own. Maybe it was when we went to college or joined the armed forces, or got married, or were simply ready to tackle the world on our own. But, like those birds, many of us enjoy going back home for a while. We need that cozy, warm, safe place where we didn't have to make our own way. There were hugs and cheers and encouragement when we went home, and for many of us, we needed much more than just a short visit, we needed to stay a while and regroup and rethink where we'd go from here. We needed to get our confidence back.

Our relationship with God is similar to the birds AND us returning to our nests. Oftentimes, we're strong, making it just fine on our own, handling life and all that it throws at us. But then there are those times of disappointment, discouragement, fear and these strong spiritual beings find ourselves languishing and we need a pep talk and a shoulder to cry on and the familiarity of someone we love and trust to wrap their arms around us and tell us "Everything's gonna be alright!" We can count on our loving Father every time for that assurance, but after a little coddling, He gives us a nudge out the door (or the nest) to resume as the strong, determined, full-of-faith children He raised us to be. St. Paul said it like this: "When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things." 1 Corinthians 13:11

God gave us everything we need to be strong, mature, powerful and empowered overcomers in this life. He gave us every tool, every promise, every key we need for success through the cross of Christ and His Word. Romans 8:29 says "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." God lovingly welcomes us to return to His nest when we need a refresher on how much He loves and cares for us, but His Gospel message brings more than good news to us. It bids us to fly AND it gives us wings to do so!

If He Cares for the Little Sparrows……