This Painting is Worth the Search

I spotted this painting in Larry’s office. It’s considered a treasure to he and Staci because Payton, their son, painted it for them years ago. In terms of value in dollars and cents, it might not have a high sticker price at the At Home store. But in terms of value in sentiment – priceless.

When Staci and Larry moved into their new town-home here in Frisco Square, Staci and I were on a mission to find items like accent pillows and rugs that would pull the living area together. This painting had the exact colors in it that we were looking for. We headed to the At Home store to find our accessories, toting the painting with us. I put the painting in the shopping cart and we began our search. Before long, we had what we needed, made our purchases and headed back to their home.

The next day, my lightning-fast mind didn’t remember the painting coming out of the car with our purchases. I realized that I must have left the painting in the shopping cart. I called the store and inquired about the painting. No one had seen it, but promised they’d watch for it. Mind you – it is on a canvas, very similar to their paintings. I couldn’t wait. I headed to the store -- spoke to a manager, but it had not shown up. Now, I was in high-energy prayer-mode. What is lost -- must be found! I saw a young man stocking in that area and asked if he had seen it. He said “No, ma’am, but if someone found it without a price on it and took it to check-out, they would probably set a price for it.” That was no comfort at all. Isn’t that just like the enemy who makes us quit believing – to come up with reasons that a relationship can’t be restored or keys or a precious treasure can’t be found?

I would not be denied. I slowly paced up and down the aisles – looking in all the stacks of canvas paintings, and if you know the At Home store, you know they have hundreds and hundreds of paintings. Now, I’m praying in my heavenly prayer language (tongues) – yes, I’m bilingual AND in English. I am interceding and I’m asking all my heavenly support team to intercede for divine intervention with me! God knew right where that painting was and I would not relent. After more than an hour of flipping through paintings, tightly squeezed in between two larger paintings was Payton’s painting. My heart was overcome with gratitude – so much so that tears began to flow. My young store clerk saw me and rejoiced with me. He took this photo that you can see my red, tear-stained face! Oh, happy day!

What once was lost – now was found. Like I said – the price tag would not have been very high to someone else – but it was priceless for us. Did you know that is how priceless we are to God? He paid a great price to redeem mankind. We use the term "priceless" today to illustrate that there is no amount of money on earth that could buy or purchase something "priceless." And, all the wealth of the earth couldn’t purchase man's redemption. It took something of far greater value to pay the price, so God sent the most valuable and precious gift He had, to pay the price for our salvation and that was His dear Son, Jesus. So, in God's eyes we are "priceless." Nothing on earth could purchase us but the value God saw in His Son is the value He sees in us. Thank you, Lord, for the incomparable price you paid for us. And, as for you and me, our Lord calls us "priceless" too, so we should start treating ourselves and others as treasures -- like God does!
"For you are bought with a great price. Glorify and bear God in your body." 1 Corinthians 6:20

The Perfect Date or BORING!!

Perfect Date -- being entirely without fault or defect : flawless; satisfying all requirements, accurate.

When my daughter and I were posing for this photo, we meant it to be funny, and it is, but I started giving it more thought. Here are two women with two men who don't see us or speak to us. What boring dates! LOL! On the other hand, some might say -- the PERFECT DATE -- we didn't need to dress up or put on make-up, and we could talk and talk without resistance.

I know there are many women AND men out there who live in that existence. Women feel like their husbands could care less about them, how they look and what they say. Those men stay glued to their computer or TV, with little thought for giving their wives or children attention. It's also the case for many men who feel that their wife gives more attention, concern and care to their children and others than to them.

That wasn't the case last Sunday when we arrived back from a 3-1/2 day retreat. Those husbands had been in charge of the family for those days we were away, and after the 11:30 am service, I could see husbands AND their children hugging and kissing Mama! I said to one couple who was holding on to each other for dear life "Okay, you need to get a room!" LOL!
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It’s easy to look back on my past and see all the things I could have done better. My life has been blessed, but it took the death of my sweet husband to realize just how blessed my life really was. That's why I sense such responsibility to pass along wisdom I’ve gained to tell all you husbands and wives to treasure the lives you have together. Treasure them by investing into it.

How many times do you argue with your spouse over the silliest things? The toothpaste lid, who makes dinner, the toilet seat being left up, telling each other how to drive? Trust me when I say, it's not worth it. It's a waste of time to spend time over pointless drama when you can be laughing and smiling at all the joy that surrounds you. Cultivate your relationship by deliberately setting aside time for quality communication, sweet moments of telling each other just how valuable they are to you and the family, and to really listen to each other. Protect your marriage by investing in it with intentional, deliberate times together.

For all the things I regret not knowing or doing before my husband’s death, what I don’t regret is my decision to live a full and passionate life after his death. I’ve promised myself I won't miss an adventure and I will laugh and live life with all the joy and happiness I can find. We can't go back and change the past, but we can all change our present, our future AND the memories we will have with our loved ones. We can learn from our mistakes and we can make sure we LOVE LARGE and we can make sure we live each day in the richest way we can -- in the moments!

The Pearl of Great Price

God is relentless in His pursuit of us. He speaks to us in a thousand different ways, endeavoring to get our attention. He is passionate in His love for us, and patient in His tolerance of us. And, just in case you ever doubt your self-worth, here is proof positive of how special and amazing you are:

In Matthew 13:45-46, Jesus told a simple little story about a merchant who was on a venture, trying to find expensive, beautiful gems. He was especially interested in finding pearls. Jesus said this man, looking for valuable pearls, found one pearl of great price. It was so exquisite, so beautiful, so rare, so valuable, he sold everything he had and he went and he bought that pearl.

YOU are the pearl of great price and God’s highest treasure. He searched far and wide for you, and He was overjoyed when He finally found you. You may have been covered with a little dirt when He first dug you up, but that didn’t matter to Him. He saw the beauty inside you, and He is committed to cleaning and polishing you until you glow with His radiance. Yes, you are His precious child who possesses the character and likeness of Him, the perfect Pearl. And doesn't that make us want to return His love by a relentess, consuming and passionate pursuit of Him?

Make Lots of Memories

I took Payton and Alexia to see their Great Granny today. When their home at Lake Keystone, OK was destroyed by a devastating tornado 24 years ago, my young son, who sold real estate at the time, found Mom & Dad a lovely home that backs to Page Belcher Golf Course. It's been a precious place of making many family memories. I remember Papaw (Great Granny’s husband – my sweet husband’s Dad), taking my oldest grandson out to the golf course with a little club to learn to hit the ball – at age two, we envisioned him being a pro-golfer one day – LOL. Of course, this is the only home that Payton and Alexia have ever known as Great Granny's, so it was so fun to watch them today, looking at the photos she has of them throughout her house.

And they were so pleased at how much they’ve grown, because they were able to guage their growth by being able to reach the chains on the ceiling fan or the doorway ceiling to her kitchen – which, now, is quite easy for Payton (Alexia still needs a couple more inches). And, of course, Granny gave them each $5. Her and Papaw were always known for giving a few dollars to the grandkids each time they came to visit.

I thought about the sweet memories we have all had of our precious loved ones, and those simple things -- the things that money can't buy -- that made them so valuable to us. The value of memories really does increase over time. I know it has for me. When we’re young and so busy raising our families, giving so much of our time to just making it through the days filled with so many activities and events, we don’t think about tomorrow! But, I promise you, you'll be so grateful that you savor the moments, embrace the details and cherish the times. How very quickly time goes by, and how very quickly our families grow up and out of our immediate attention. The trivial times in life become such priceless times, tomorrow. Embrace the times. Make lots of memories – tomorrow comes very quickly, and tomorrow what you did yesterday, will be the greatest treasure you own.