Inspiration for your Life Link

Someone on my facebook page ( thanks John ), posted this link about being authentic in life. I have read variations of this before , this one is equally inspiring. Please read it and be blessed.

Included a few pic of me and Macy. This was taken the day after she was born. I do not see her very much, as her sweet mom lives with her parents about an hour from here. But I did get to see her the other evening, and she is precious as babies are.  She smells wonderful, new baby smell.

Enjoy the link below....

http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/10/23/say-before-you-die/

Bless someone close today,

Gina

The JOY of Watching my Son play BASEBALL

I think in life, we all have activities,  especially activities watching someone we love , be young, energetic....

and cool. That bring us joy. Our son is on some travel teams, not so much fun as it has been 100 degrees and 90 % humidity at these games, but I never, ever , tire of seeing him and his cute buddies in their uniforms go out there and play a game of baseball.

As anyone who goes to see these late Summer HOT as blazes games knows...we get to see our little loves bat...

Hit and run hopefully--strike outs are no fun to watch. I can barely follow the game anyway, I am not one of those professional crazed baseball moms who know every detail about baseball rules and such, , who get a bit vicious and dogged out there as well.  I am one of those mildly ditzy ( about baseball plus the heat makes me worse ), moms who just loves to see how cute my son is when he plays. I think I am few and far between as so many of the moms know what in the heck is going on all of the time out there. I just look out and see youth, wonderful youth...all over these baseball fields. 

I am old enough to know this time in their lives is fleeting, precious.

I like to watch him play first base best, plus he pitches well. Here is playing third base, not his favorite position to play and I usually can't see him as well here either.His buddy beside him has the same first name, so the coaches scream out their name and they always both turn around.

Still cute as a pickle. A 10 year old joy.

 Serious.

 He has a whippy side arm pitch, I couldn't capture it to save my life that day.

 My husband on the other hand, is a pacing, anxious, irritated or happy--depending on the game status---dad who when he looks out there, he sees an extension of himself. Most of the dads are like that . Their boys are themselves, but much younger,full of athletic promise and hope.

I have to calm him down, whenever he happens to get near me during these games, which is not much as he is a member of the pacing-anxious-dad's club.

This is where being a ditz at baseball pays off, I can relax more.
I am the water girl for my son, and my husband seems to be the ball boy for the team. He always gets balls that stray from other fields or our own game.

 I felt that way with my daughters ( about being anxious during plays, pageants, some sports they were in), but not my sons. I just think they're cute, and have enjoyed my oldest son's soccer games when he was young through high school, as much as my youngest son's baseball games now.

 Of course I like when he does something great, a big hit, a great catch, striking out batters...but I like this best of all....

A smile for his mom, lucky me.

Of course there always seems it be an injury, scraped leg, torn pants, scraped up arms...but in the end, when you get the team together for a picture...

You get a bunch of happy faces, lots of dirt and sweaty kids combined. My cutie patootie is back by one of the coaches near the tree.

I hope you all enjoy your children, whatever age they are. I hope you remember being young today.

Blessings,

Gina

The Ever GROWING Tastelessness of Our World

My son looking out on Charleston's harbor at dusk

I will start this out by saying there are things and factors in this world that get me riled up, angry, heartsick..and anxious for our children and our families.

And for you.

I was going to write about our Edisto short day trip, but instead will jump up on the biggest soap box I have , and unburden my heart about the ever growing, ever polluting fact of tastelessness and crassness, crudeness that has invaded our lives through the media, television, movies, magazines, books , and of course the internet.


I do not like to watch TV, consider it boring ,a major growth-inhibitor in every way...but I had it turned on to listen to music on there the other day when I was cleaning upstairs..and what I saw when I flipped the channels..at 1 PM in the afternoon, was a naked woman with a thong on having computer sex with some guy on a murder mystery.
1 PM in the afternoon. Basic cable channel, no Playboy network, no HBO or Cinemax here. Right there on regular TV.
Acceptable now.
My son and his friend were in the next room playing dinosaurs.

I have also seen ads and commercials with extreme sexual suggestiveness and dress, or also very crude...in prime time and earlier...getting worse every year.
Right there when my son sits to go over the baseball scores or watch a cartoon.
All , smack in his young face.

Hyper-sexuality with it's accompanying images of what the porn industry , media, or music industry wants us to believe is what makes a woman beautiful or desirable ...is destroying the average beauty of a woman from outwardly to her very soul.
But that is another blog entry I will do.

I want you to also know about me, that I am very far from a Bible-thumping prude , Suzie-Q-Perfect Christian woman. I would fit closer to the chief of all sinners if there were categories. I am so far from perfect in my own behavior and past , that I almost feel disqualified for even broaching this subject.

But I will.
I ache inside over this.

It appears the new acceptable , and I seem to see this more accepted in the under 40 crowd, not all...please do not think I am saying all of the under 40...plenty of over 40 too. But I believe it is partially what that age group has grown up with as examples.

It seems to not faze many people to throw profanity ( sort of like a 11 year old peppering their conversation with curse words  to be cool ) , lewdness, crassness, sexual innuendo , sexy images...whatever...in their conversations at work, on their blogs, in their Twittering -facebooking-My spacing, out in public, and in their own homes with their children listening to every coarse or suggestive word they say.
Their children see them laugh or leer at images or dialogue on TV or in the movies.  At things that are in extreme poor taste.
Many people are oblivious to the impact they are making.

But I am not only writing about this for their sakes...your children, but for your very own sake.

We have 4 children, 3 grown..and one at home being a fun 9 year old.

I am MUCH more careful what I say in front of him, what I allow him to watch, than I was  with my first 3 who are 12 years older than him. I kept thinking, back then, that most of this ' stuff' is over their heads. They hear it at school, in the movies, on TV, but they will be OK.
We also had our own struggles at work and in our marriage...that I believe now caused me to be neglectful in that area.

I was wrong.

I have come to realize, that was an erroneous assumption on my part. Most likely laziness  and , and ignorance.

What we see, or allow in our vision..in our world...what we hear, what we listen to ...how we speak...can promote truth, true beauty, and goodness, righteousness.

Or we can promote more polluted homes, families, and souls.

Protect your children , stand up for what is wrong...stop allowing utter tastelessness to keep rearing it's very ugly head in your lives and speak up against it when you can.
Monitor what comes into your home or out of your mouth. Monitor your words and actions.

One person can make a difference, remember that.

I am also not of the leaning , " Well, a little bit of crudeness , a little bit of lewdness, etc..that's just how the world is. "

I'm also not excusing the sexes, men in particular, because that is their general leaning. The leaning toward their physical needs or desires overwhelms them. Riiiggghhhttt.  Boys will be boys is a cop-out excuse for what men do or say. Men need to be men... grow up and act honorable . Get carried away with your own wife and not images of others. Put your foot down about the language your children use, your own language, how they dress , what you allow to be watched in your home or work, etc. Men know what is right and what is wrong . I don't want to seem like this is strictly man-bashing time.  I am also not  excusing women for our own physical desires, our own emotions which carry us places we shouldn't go. Women need to know their value , stop doing wrong things to get attention or love. Stop being a stepping stone for further hyper-sexuality in our world by monitoring your words,  and your images. Stop allowing yourself to be used.




All the crass and lewd images  everywhere undermine our best intentions...and it is getting worse.  I sit and wonder, How much worse can this get ? It truly frightens me for my children and future generations. I am shocked and angered about what I see , and again...I really want you to know I am not an uptight Christian chick. I am very, very far off from that. I keep saying that as I want you to know I have not been perfect and do not want you to think you can not relate to what I am saying because I must be really good.
I am not really good..I struggle with being good. 
More than I like.

But I know I am right, and I know that you know I am.

We are all cheating ourselves, under-estimating our own discernment to think that is just they way things are...that we cannot do anything about it . Thinking like that, looking at tasteless images, or words cheats you of appreciating the really excellent , glorious things that are in this world.

The devil is having a hey-day with this.

Real beauty , real satisfaction is what you are missing.

What you are doing is denying yourself by settling for cheap imitations of everything.
Looking for a quick fix to sate you.
Problem is, crass, crude and lewd never , ever satisfy for long. It just makes people look for more and different versions of it . It will not, cannot satisfy you ...the deepest part of you inside. It is a surface distraction that will eat away at the best you can be .
Our world , our societies are inwardly combusting. We are sinking deeper in the mire.


We are living in an age of revolving , escalating tastelessness.

Selling art, and being an art lover...I know that taste in art is subjective. I also know that once you see enough of the truly authentic GOOD and GREAT art, that you will be unsatisfied with imitations and poor quality in artwork.

That is what has happened to me more, but it is God's presence in my life that has changed me concerning my outlook on life. When you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit resides in you. He is pure and holy, set apart.

The tastes of this world become less appealing , less attractive...and He allows you to really SEE what beauty and goodness, and light are.
What happens is beauty in it's authentic form appeals to you...like a real woman compared to a surgically-enhanced  moaning actress young woman on the internet or in a movie.
Like when a good old-fashioned comedy comes on , compared to a crass, bathroom- humored, teen- sexuality comedy comes on.
Like when you turn off the TV, Internet, altogether...and go outside and see the beauty of nature.
When you look at your children and stand amazed at their beauty and purity. When you realize that your actions and words can pollute their lives or enrich them.
Step back into the light of reality and truth.

Light ALWAYS prevails over darkness.

It is stronger, it is more powerful...and I believe most souls lean towards the brightness of good.

No matter how much the dark entices them , the pull of goodness is the beacon towards an abundant life. 
It ultimately is more powerful , and it will illuminate your world to reveal true beauty . It will help you see what is excellent and not simply momentarily amusing or exciting .
Good taste in all things is never crude, crass, lewd , rude or showy.

 Me and my husband at dusk in Charleston at the harbor

I will jump down from my soapbox now..I am sure I have stepped on some people's toes , I may have made you think I am a ranting Christian-do-gooder woman.
You are partially right...I am a Christian , I do rant about topics sometimes...and I do want to do good.
That does not make me a better person than someone else, only one very concerned for a better moral atmosphere on this earth.
I know it's not sexy , hip or cool to admit that...don't care. I do care deeply about this topic.




Fight the good fight,


Gina

" Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them. For they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe to the wicked ! it shall be ill with him. " Isiah 3:10-11

I Got My GARDEN Feelings HURT....

I was out front fighting with my hose and sprinkler last week, when a nice lady walked up to me...she was the daughter of a elderly  neighbor on the corner. She asked me if my electricity was off, a power crew was down the street working on something.

I said , " Yes, but it should be back on soon. " 

She then stood there in my front yard, and we introduced ourselves to each other. She was a quintessential Southern lady, who's ancestors went back to General Lee probably.

I on the other hand am a Texas-born transplant dragged here to the Deep South, South Carolina, when I was a few weeks shy of 10 years old. My Texas heritage goes back about 5 generations or so, so I am more the brash-bold Texas style woman , living in the land of Steel Magnolias.

There is a point to me bringing that up, stay with me here...

Somehow we got onto the topic of her husband passing away from cancer at 55 yrs. old, I then told her about my mother dying of a heart attack 2 1/2 years ago at 65 years old.

We both commiserated and verbally discussed how you need to tell the people you love, while they are still alive...that you care , love and appreciate them.

You may not get a second chance.

She told me her husband was a landscape designer.

She then explained she was the president of a garden Club, and they were having a tea on Sunday would I like to come ?

I sort of froze a bit, it would be alot of Southern ladies , sipping tea and talking about everyone they knew, and I did  not know if I would feel out of place.

Actually , I DID know I would feel out of place...but I told her I may be able to come.

Then Mrs. Bright Idea said, " Would you like to come in the back and see my garden ?"

She said , " Yes, " and I took her down the drive in the side gate.

This is what she saw from that angle.

This..no wait, it was more this,

Here she stood, we both stood here about 5 feet apart.

This is how it went..

or how it didn't go really.

I looked at her,

she looked at  the garden,

she never moved,

she had a sort of smile on her face..

I became uncomfortable as she did not say ANYTHING about my garden !
This went on for about 5 minutes ( felt like 50 minutes ), I kept looking at her...and nothing.

I felt like a little kid showing my kindergarten masterpiece to my teacher , and all they did was stand there !

I was really getting my garden feelings hurt...then ...she finally spoke,

This is what she said..she pointed to a large old Camellia bush, past it's bloom time..and she goes, 

" I see you have some big Camellias back here. "

I looked at the Camellias, which by the way I did NOT plant as they have been here a good 50 + years, and said , " Yes, they've always been here. "

I waited again, she just kept looking around and saying NOTHING.

Then I said through my hurt garden feelings, " I need to finish this path, I need to fix my mulch, I need to sweep up, rake up..." etc. blah-blah I went about everything that I then could see was wrong with my garden and yard.
It all became magnified to me.

She listened to me some and then said with much smiling...I actually got my hopes up that she saw SOMETHING she liked.

She goes, " You know, you would like so and so's garden as she likes to find stuff and use it in her garden too."

My hopes were squashed and I felt like she had said, " Her garden looks like the city dump like yours does. "

Really, I swear I was allowing this garden club President to diminish my view of my own garden.

To change my perception of my little creation of plants and flowers and found bricks .

She never even moved from her spot, as this is the view I wish she could have seen, the way I planted it to look from the windows of the house.
Probably wouldn't have made her say anything anyway.

She then had to go, and I told her I may come to the tea if I could. She was very pleasant, and I said bye-bye.

I then went back into my garden and looked at it again, and again became very critical of what I saw. Then got mad at myself for allowing this sweet Southern Steel magnolia of a garden club President  to make me feel like that.

There is a sort of happy , unusual ending to this...I will write about it in my next post...

Stay tuned,

Oh !

Don't let anyone else's UN-REACTIONS to your gardens steal your joy.
Oh, and another thing...if someone takes you back to their garden..say SOMETHING nice about it. I say something nice about everyone's gardens that I see. Even if it is just a container of flowers on the front porch.

My lesson for the day,

Bless you !

Gina

" All things bright and beautiful , All things great and small, All things wise and wonderful ; Our Father made them all. 
Each little flower that opens, Each little bird that sings;
He made their glowing colors, He made their little wings.."

Old Hymn by Cecil Alexander 1800's
All Things Bright and Beautiful 

For WOMEN Only: BE More GENTLE w/ YOURSELF

Starting off the New Year I decided to write about some advice that an older friend of mine gave to a small Bible Study group I was in a few years ago. We were all sitting around , discussing problems, our feeble solutions, our frustrations with ourselves, our spouses, our lives...and she was sitting in her chair , listening to us and about to give us some very sage advice.

Her name was Marjorie , she had four sons...her husband left her when they were all under 5 years old. She worked hard all her life, and she was a very knowledgeable Christian and happy person to be around in general .
She would be 70 years old that year.

She waited until we were all through talking,  leaned forward in her chair...and said these words,

" I have lived longer than most of you, and what I have learned is what you all need to learn, Be more gentle with yourself. "

I remember that really struck me, as I am pretty hard on myself..especially in the " Not-being a good enough Christian" department, but also the

Not being a good enough wife department

Not being a good enough Mother department

Definitely not being a great housekeeper department

Not being a good enough friend department

Daughter

Sister

Community volunteer

School volunteer

Church volunteer

I could go on and on.

I think that women , even more than men, try to measure up to a standard of beauty, righteousness, domesticity, graciousness, intelligence, servant hood, self-sacrifice...and we end up falling so short of our goals or our ideals for ourselves ( and that society expects of us ), that we then can come down very

HARD on ourselves.  

What Marjorie was trying to teach us women, and there were women in their 20's, 30', 40's and 50's in that room...was when we focus on being tough with ourselves...we end up sapping our strength from what we ARE

doing a good job at in life.

I believe the devil is always working on us to shift our focus on us and our weaknesses, our sins...and robbing us of our JOY in our special selves that God created.

If we focus on what we are not good at...we lose sight of God and how He can use us , at what we ARE good at doing. 

I have actually told many young women , in their 20's, to be more gentle with themselves, because that is where it starts...being hard on yourself when you are young.
No one ever told me to be gentle with myself until Marjorie did that day.

Women need to be more gentle with themselves physically , mentally and emotionally.

I hope your New Year begins with gentleness towards yourself...I think how to learn to do that more is pretend you are a friend that is doing whatever you are doing that causes stress or excess energy to drain from your life...and what would you tell that friend ( which is you ), what advice would you give her ?

I'll bet is is different than what you tell yourself most times.

Remember how very important you are to God today,

Bless you,

Gina

" Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. " Matthew 11:29

EXPENSIVE Shoes Do NOT a Happy WOMAN Make

During this mad rush during the last days of shopping before Christmas...I had a recollection back of a vacation I had in New York city, courtesy of my Mom , who had taken me there for three days of Metropolitan Museum of Art Gawking...and also fancy lunches and dinners and a play.

Oh...

She also had to shop for some shoes for my daughter's wedding which was coming up in a few months.

We stayed in a very nice hotel, a block off of Fifth avenue, with easy access for me to walk the two miles to the Met daily. 

What happened the first day we arrived has always left me with an impression, a deep profound impression.

EXPENSIVE shoes do not a Happy woman make.

We had checked into our hotel, decided to walk around 5th avenue to check out some stores.

Me and my Mom in the hotel lobby about to go to dinner

I had no idea what sights I would see !

My mom has always been a big shopper, she loves it...I only like shopping for antique paintings...clothes and shoes are wayyyy down on my list. I'm more like a man in that respect, get in the store, find what I need, and get out as quickly as possible. I hate even trying on clothes or shoes.

But the women I saw in these stores , made up for my lack of enthusiasm over high-priced designer label items.

These women were spoiled rotten.

They may have been nice, I have no idea.

But I do know they were spoiled rotten, at least materially.

AFFLUENZA was rampant.

We first went into Bergdorf Goodman, a expensive store with multiple, never ending floors of designer fashion. Most of the clerks were dressed better than I was that day, but let me tell you when we hit the shoe department,

I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.

Let me describe it for you...racks and displays of expensive...and I mean EXPENSIVE designer shoes all around. At least 30 or so women milling about, some holding up shoes, some bossing around the shoe salesmen ( and they were ALL men ), and some sitting trying on shoes with boxes stacked beside them.

I walked around while my Mom was looking, picked up a sandal that was cute, may have had 4 pieces of leather total that created it...and it was 850.00 ! And that was one of the cheaper shoes there for sale.

I know I gasped ( which caused me to receive a few raised brows ), put it down, giggled, asked my Mom if she had any idea how expensive these shoes were ?

She says, " Of course, we're in BERGDORF GOODMAN !", like I should know what that meant.

 

I then glanced around and watched as women who were buying 1200.00, and 2500. a pair shoes, with boxes that were in the 'Yes' pile, I watched how they seemed.

They all seemed unhappy.

Bored.

I meandered through them and the salesmen, no one was smiling.

Now I am not one of those very friendly , happy always smiling people ( my husband is ). But I would walk around and mildly smile at the women.

NOTHING in return.

Now you may say, " You're in New York. " That's why. No, I met plenty of nice people in New York city. 

But not the shoppers, not the women.

We then went to Prada, Chanel, and then to Nordstroms. I told my Mom I was being tortured at that point, I could go see 4 galleries of paintings, but not 4 expensive designer stores.

This was about to kill me.

She on the other hand was just warming up.

At Nordtroms, a larger shoe department  was full of women on a full scale mission of over-dressing their feet.

Credit cards would be smoking soon.

I walked around, it was really kind of fun to pick up a shoe , see  the exorbitant cost ( do you know how many antique paintings I could buy for that price ? ), and then go pick up another one.

It became a game to me.

Pick up a shoe,

1200. ON SALE

799.

850.

2800.

695.

CRAZINESS.

 

Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Gucci, Chanel, too may names, mostly Italian shoes.

But still, no happy faces ( except mine being tickled at the prices), no smiles from the women.

No joy.

Then when I tired of my game of watching these women and the harried salesmen , I told my Mom I couldn't do this anymore.

I left, went back to the hotel but my little Mom ( she was only 5'3 ), kept shopping for another 2 hours.

She was a professional shopper.

The next day as I made my long trek to The Met, straight down Fifth Avenue again.I had on my jeans, Timberland boots, vest and jacket.  Not chic for New York standards...but I was happy, going to see my beloved favorite art museum ( The Met). I encountered woman after woman, all ages, mostly 20's-60's, dressed to the nines.

Expensive jewelry, expensive boots, expensive coats, expensive handbags, expensive haircuts , these women were over the top spoiled rotten , or spoiling themselves rotten with THINGS.

No one was smiling.

I never in three days saw any woman smile that was wearing terribly expensive anything.

Not one.

I entertained myself walking the two miles to the Met and the two miles back by seeing if I could get one of them to smile.

Not a chance.

Not a hint of a smile.

Not a glimmer in an eye of a smile.

Not one.

It made me realize even more than I ever did, that THINGS, material things do not bring you joy.

They were carrying lots of boxes too.

These lovely, beautiful women...were searching in shoe boxes for happiness, for worth, for attention.

But with each successive purchase, with each pulling out of the credit card, with each brand new bag with boxes full of leather and special shoe protective covers, it only made them happy for a short while...until the emptiness returned and more shoes were needed.

Or jewelry,

or clothes,

or handbags,

or hair salon trips,

or vacations, 

or cars,

or room make-overs,

always 

MORE.

My fun, sweet Mom died suddenly of a heart attack...unexpectedly and tragically,  a month and a half after we came back from New York. It was the last trip I had with her, she spoiled me with all she could there.

But what brought me the greatest joy was simply her presence.

Simply BEING with the ones you love , brings true joy...plus the knowledge of God loving us with an everlasting, eternal love. 

He will never leave you or forsake you.

God gives us people, nature, love...to bring us true, lasting joy.

I hope this season you realize that God longs to bless you everyday, longs to hold and love you...everyday.

And fill your life with TRUE joy.

Merry Christmas & Blessings,

Gina

" These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." John 15:11