Teresa's Treasures

This morning I trimmed a huge line of shrubs (don't know what they're called...my brain is fried right now) that are to the right of our garage, beside the sidewalk that is between our house and the detached garage on Claiborne Court. Much to my lack of knowledge, they had been growing, unattended, for almost two years. As I usually hear His voice wherever I am, but particularly when my hands are literally touching His creation, these are the lessons trimming the shrub taught me this morning. When our lives require a lot of work...God's work...He has to deal with us slowly. I knew when I looked at the shrub that there was going to be a lot of pruning. I knew what the finished product was going to look like, but I also knew that that meant a lot of layers were going to have to come off before I could get there. With almost two years of "shrubs gone wild" I could not just cut off the top eight to ten inches of growth that I knew, ultimately, wou...

How can someone who has zero seasonal outdoor allergies, proven by allergy tests, get sick at the same time every year? Makes no sense to me, but I do. Even the bottoms of my feet hurt. Flu?  Not the flu. Just bronchitis, strep throat, and conjunctivitis all rolled up into one illness. Every. Year. Two doctor's visits. One steroid shot. Three bottles of cough syrup. One bottle of cough pills. One inhaler. One antihistamine. On day fourteen. With bronchitis lasting a minimum of three months, I only have two months and two weeks to go. Yay me! Yesterday I read that when someone asks how you are you are supposed to say, “I’m blessed." So today I’m saying I’m blessed. I’m truly blessed.  But may I add, please pray for me. I am tired and weary and far from well. I need rest when rest is all I’ve done for two weeks. “Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink . . .” "Rest. Rest. Where art though, Rest? When rest is all I've done." Breathing is shallow. V...

On November 21, 2016, my FB status read: "Day 33 with bronchitis. Three Dr's appointments, 2 cough meds, 1 steroid shot, 1 Z-Pak, 1 inhaler and 2 antihistamines. Please pray for me." Last night standing in my utility room doing laundry, breathing Purex laundry detergent, Downey UN-scented softener, Seventh Generation, Lavender scent detergent, that all-too-memorable tickling, drainage, and cough started again. I know the symptoms all too well, which means I know what is to come; and today it did. I am sick. Out of bed at 3:00 a.m. to cough, so Phil could stay asleep. To the recliner covered up with the electric throw like my momma had years ago. (God love her. How I miss her!)  Thermometer in mouth to see if flu instead. (No it isn't. Thank-you, Lord!) Two cups of Throat Coat. (Not bad for the first time trying it.) Leggings and sweatshirt on to add warmth to the gown, plus five-year-old houseshoes that I should have thrown away years ago. (I hate going barefoot. H...

Where was God in the late-night hours of October 1, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada? He was in the man who became a human shield to protect someone else in harm's way. He was in the man who opened the door to the freezer truck, who said to those fleeing, "It's safe, come in here." He was in the men who loaned their trucks to transport the injured to a nearby hospital. He was in the nurses and doctors who after working all day returned to work all night without complaining.  He was in the veterans who yelled out, "I'm a trained veteran, what can I do." He was in the person who compressed the leg of the complete stranger to keep him from bleeding out. He was in the medic who was off-duty but did CPR for eight minutes only to see the man die in his arms. He was in the hand of the man at Motel 6 who opened his door to those escaping Mandalay Bay with nowhere to go. He was in the one who grabbed an abandoned phone so if in case the owner call...

What can I say to you, a parent or a grandparent or a caregiver, to allay your fear of school shootings? 1) Know the plan of action at your child’s school. If you’re not satisfied with the plan, let it be known. Somehow, some way, determine if your child knows the plan; the age of the child obviously determines if you should even address the subject. If you choose to, pick the right time, place and approach. 2) Discuss your fear with other parents. The more you can vent the less you’ll feel burdened and alone. You need encouragement as much as your child needs encouragement from you. 3) Increase your faith. If you can’t trust God to protect your child, then why pray? “Say out loud, “God, I think I can handle this situation better than you can” and see if you feel any better. 4. Pray. God answers every prayer. Every one of them. He sees, he listens, and he cares. He may not answer with the answer you desire, but he answers every prayer. “God answers prayer the way I would answer prayer...

I made lots of mistakes as a young mom like disciplined in anger, made hasty decisions and had way too little fun. Phil left the decision to have children up to me. After six years of marriage, I said yes.  What do I know now that I wish I had known back then? 1. That two-year-olds act like a two-year-old should act. A very wise man at church, better known as Curd Thomas, once said, “God put the wiggle in a child, and we try to take it out.” He was right; I did. A two-year-old misbehaves in Bible class mainly because he is two years old. His actions do not reflect the parent's parenting skills; they simply reflect his age. 2. That discipline should not be carried out in anger and be proportionate to the offense. Spilling the Cheerios does not warrant punishment; deliberately spilling the Cheerios does. If he knowingly leaves coke cans in the yard, you take away his coke. If he intentionally abuses a privilege, you take away the privilege. There is a difference between inte...

In twelve days I'll be 61. These are the most life-changing lessons I've learned along the way.  1. You cannot feel a certain way unless you first think it. To feel sad, you must first think sad thoughts. To feel depressed, you must first think depressing thoughts. To feel happy, you must first think happy thoughts.  2. You cannot control how you feel but you can control the way you think. Paul tells us how in Philippians. 3. Feelings are neither right nor wrong. They are neutral. They occur as fast as flipping on a switch and the light coming on.  3. Three things I cannot change: the past, you, and the right answer. 4. You can only control your child to the point he will allow it. The child's compliance may be masking your own inability to parent the rebel. 5. Live in the present moment. Looking at the past brings regret and guilt. Looking at the future brings worry and anxiety. 100% of life is lived in the present moment. 6. Happiness is a res...

Facebook has been sharing memories with me, from years gone by, that frankly I wish I could tear out of my book called LIFE but can't. They were the most difficult days of my life, bar none. Everyone has had them at one time or another or, more than likely, will. Divorce. Cancer. Death of a loved one. Sickness. Injury. Jail. Accidents. Mistakes. Rebellion. Drugs. Miscarriages. Lack of money. Tragedy. Unemployment. Etc. At this time your world stops and your life that once started on the day you were born, from this time on starts here. It's at this time you want life to move on but you're stopped in your tracks. When you ask "why?" but have no answers. When you'd love to shout at God but feelings of guilt make you stop. For purposes of writing this article I'm calling them walls. Looking back thirty-two and seven years later, this is what I’ve learned from hitting a wall. Walls slow me down. I want to forge ahead but God says no, not yet. Only God know...

If you were to come to me and tell me you felt hopeless, this is what I'd say. 1) You're not. You cannot believe every thought that comes to your mind. Let it go. Hopelessness is a feeling, not a fact. 2) Because God IS love, God cannot NOT love you. You probably sang the same song I did as a child: "Jesus loves me this I know. For the Bible tells me so."  That Jesus loves you is a fact, not a feeling. 3) Nothing has EVER happened to you that hasn't first gone through God's sieve of approval. Whatever has caused you to feel hopeless, God was privy to before you and allowed it to happen. "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can endure it." 1 Cor. 10:13 4) Have faith in God, not faith in faith. Trusting your fears and believing your doubts produces hopelessness. Trusting God to o...

Yesterday I came home from Edmonton from visiting in an absolutely torrential downpour. Twice I pulled off the road because visibility was zero. Phil told me I was in a precarious position because someone could mistake me for a moving car a nd plaster me. Considering the conditions I saw I had no other choice but to sit there. A sitting duck, in my opinion, is much better than a dead one any day, of course, unless you hunt them. Fast forward about two hours and you have what happened that you see in this picture. Going around Phil's monstrous recliner that sits near the fireplace, I tripped over his phone charger cord, which is near the cord for the lighted garland that lays behind the figurines on the mantel that's been that way since Christmas. I felt if people have other lighted trees at their home year round that I could have lighted garland on my mantel surrounding my figurines year round. (The two angels Laura gave me, by the way, survived without injury.) Somehow I remai...

SUBMISSION: WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT IS NOT By: Doris Black This lesson is taken from a tape by Doris Black I transcribed over twenty years ago. Every bit of it is hers. I received permission to share this with my class from her by telephone. I hope it blesses your life as much as it has mine. The underlined capitalized words are words I have filled in that I leave out intentionally, when I teach this lesson, that I want to emphasize. Feel free to make copies. * There are 21 marriage commands which fall into 5 categories.                  To the husband:                1) leave and cleave                                                  2) love your wife as your own body  To the wife:           ...

My mom and dad are both in the same nursing home an hour away from where I live. I visit them every Thursday. This is what I was inspired to write after my visit with them yesterday. NURSING HOME I go I stay I see I leave Voices all around Not all I heed I wish when I left On Thursday morn I’d see smiling faces Instead of forlorn The shuffling feet The frozen stares Eyes grown dim Once bright Now glare. I’m sure they’re all different Since now they’ve grown old Than whom they remember In the stories they’ve told. “Where’s my room?” Hilly asks “You’re almost there.” Sarah speaks “Just ten more steps.” As he shuffles his feet. Bingo, breakfast, Moon pies and popcorn Trying to lift spirits Of the tired and the torn Angels on earth Just a small chosen few It takes a skilled hand To do what they do Lifting, stooping Re-positioning  heads Straightening clothes Changing the beds What nursin...

Last year I published a list of seven things to do to improve your life in 2012. This year I'm adding numbers eight and nine. 1) Pick out a specific place to pray for a specific person and pray for them every time you're there. For example, pray for someone while you're in the shower; pray for someone different at a stop light, at your kitchen sink, in your car, etc.. 2) Remember if you can't change the situation you have to change your attitude. If you're tied to a rock, learn to love the rock. Let the situation change you. 3) Realize acceptance does not always mean approval. There's just some things that have to be accepted in life, whether agreed with or not. 4) If you find yourself unable to get along with people, make a list of those people and then find the common denominator; most likely it's you. 5) Live in the present moment. One-hundred percent of every minute of every day is lived in the present moment. The past is only made up of memor...

A dear friend of ours lost his mom this past week from a stroke she suffered several months ago. On the day of her funeral his dad entered the hospital with a possible brain tumor. Yesterday, in a flash these words came to me and I had to write them down. They are my heartfelt words to my friend Scott Burton that  apply to all his brothers and sisters who are grieving too. TO SCOTT There’s nothing to say That hasn’t been said “It’ll be okay.” “Better days are ahead.” Words seem so empty So null, so void. Times they’re a changin’ For momma’s little boy. Where does he turn? What can we do? I wish there were more To help see you through. To say that we love you Doesn’t seem quite enough For what you’ve been through We know it’s been rough. Thank God for your mom Like her there’s no other. He planned in advance Whom you would call mother. The Savior beside you On Him you must lean He watches you weep He hears when you scream. Look to the left Look...

As someone who’s dealt with depression most of my life, here's what I know about hopelessness and thoughts of suicide which are so prevalent this time of year. There’s a difference between wanting to die and not wanting to live. Most people just want to get away from the pain and don’t know how; I didn’t. “Suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain.” http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/ . You are not responsible for another person’s actions. You can be around someone every day and still not know what’s going on in his head. It’s not your fault you don’t know. You cannot help a person if you don’t know he has a problem. You cannot help another person if he doesn't know he has a problem. You cannot help a person who won’t admit he has a problem. You cannot make someone talk. If someone believes depression is a sign of weakness she will be ashamed to share her depressed thinking. She probably doesn’t know she’s depressed, but k...

My favorite passage of scripture in the whole Bible is Hebrews 12:1-3: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses (the Hall of Faith people in Hebrews chapter 11), let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles (lack of faith), and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our fait...h, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” I remember where, when and why I memorized this passage. When I was in my thirties and forties I was criticized more than at any other time in my life. I was becoming a leader in a man’s world, better known as the church, and God was teaching me submission—“making the decision work when I didn't agree with it”; and there were many. He was hon...

Being a young mom is one of the hardest jobs I've ever known; being a dad is too. But since I'm a mom I want to speak from the heart of a mom who's been there and done that--to give hope to you who have children at home, little and big, wondering when will the rat-race end. Of the four stages of a woman's life, beginnings, blossoming, nurturing and harvesting, nurturing is the busiest and was for me the hardest. You experience the Mary/Martha Syndrome, trying to be both, struggling to be good at either. You wear many hats, more than at any other time in your life: wife, mom, lover, nurse, counselor, maid, teacher, taxi driver, cook, worker outside the home, Bible teacher, entertainer, friend, daughter-in-law, daughter just to name a few. Other people control your life leaving much needed "me time" non-existent. Right now, you get a glimpse of how Jesus must have felt when his cousin died, he tried to get away and the whole town came knocking at his door. You...

If you’ve ever been a parent of a teenager you can probably relate to the question a friend of mine posted on Facebook a few days ago: “I’d really like to hear from parents with grown children who survived the teenage years what you did to make it through!” which is her exact quote. Giving her the quickest response I could at the time, I recommended she buy the book “Parents in Pain” by John White that I had read when I had teenagers living at home. Today, however, after having some time to think, I’ve heard the Spirit’s voice who, I think, has inspired me to write. His message came quickly early Monday morning before daybreak. This is what I heard – not out loud – but inwardly when I was still enough to listen. God is not just like a father he is a father. Why not look at God and Jesus’ relationship starting from creation? 1) God created Adam who begat Cain – the murderer Cain – who killed his brother. Only two generations away from the Creator a murderer is born. The be...