Divided ALLEGIANCES...GOD Says CHOOSE

       

Going to a major league baseball game is FUN. I absolutely love going to these games . I only went to my first one about 2 1/2 years ago, our little boy is a Atlanta Braves fan and my husband is a die-hard New York Yankees fan ( since the days of Mickey Mantle...wayyy back ).

We went this Summer to the series between the Braves and the Yankees, we were really looking forward to it.

Boy, am I one DUMB woman.

On one hand I have my precious little 8 year old boy, our little slugger who loves Chipper Jones , and loves the Braves. On the other hand I have my husband who has not seen the Yankees play in person for a good 40 years, and has always been a Yankee's big-time fan. 

They were both very excited.

The first game was great, I wear my Yankees shirt and Braves cap the first game, the Braves win ! Our little boy was on cloud nine ! I was cheering for both teams during the game , for Derek Jeter who my husband loves, Chipper who my little boy loves...and I love to see A-Rod hit.

My husband is always a good sport, so he was fine with the Yankees losing the first game ( sort-of ).

     

Then, the second game rolled around...we were all in a good mood. Unfortunately for me and my son...our next seats were in the middle of some LOUD Yankees fans...and the Yankees beat the Braves the second night pretty bad. I had to sit there, with my husband thrilled HIS team was winning and playing well ( which made me happy for him ) ...and then look down and see tears rolling down my little boy's face. I gave every Yankee's fan a dirty look when they got too obnoxious...I know they thought I was crazy as I had a Yankees cap on and a Braves shirt that night.

Bad night , with a sad boy and a happy/sad husband as he doesn't like to see his slugger like that either.

Third night..I was so stressed out by the last and final night of the series ( hoping secretly the Braves  would win ), and of course we get smack in the middle of another bunch of loud Yankee's fans again. Which of course if we were just at a Yankee's game , and no Braves...all would be fine.

But...

I had serious DIVIDED Allegiances.

  

The game ended with the Braves losing...when I was out getting ice-cream for everyone , I could hear the Yankees score over and over...and my heart was sinking. I went back to our seats, my husband looked up at me...happy and sad all at once in his eyes. Our little boy , very sad..more tears.

It was TORTURE.

When we left, some Yankee fans were high-fiving everyone who had a Yankees shirt or hat on...they high-fived my husband, started to high-five my little boy...then withdrew...and said' Oh, sorry little buddy" , when they saw his Atlanta cap and shirt. Then saw me and raised their hands...looked at me to join them...and I just shook my head and put my arm around my little boy. They looked at my different shirt and cap , then at him and me and said,

" Oh, Sorry...DIVIDED Allegiance huh...good Mom. "

It all made me think of how we all are...God tells us to Choose...He gives us this day...CHOOSE. ( "  I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live ; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may cling to Him, for He is your  life and the length of your days..." Deuteronomy 30:18,19 ).

I felt like I could NOT choose.  I wanted BOTH teams to win...impossible in reality. I think that is how most of us feel during some serious times of either judgment calls, moral lapses, emotional lapses , or physical lapses . Paralyzed, feeling unable to choose. Wanting both sides of something to continue.
Flip-flopping.

Wishy-washy.

God tells us to choose, but most of us try to hold onto divided allegiances, one foot on both sides of the line. Not committing completely to one way or the other.

Holding on tight.
To both.

One foot in the world...one foot in God's kingdom.

Holding on, a balancing act that will eventually cause us to fall , as it cannot be maintained forever. We cannot be strong enough to maintain duplicity, it weakens our core.

CHOOSE.

I know what I SHOULD do in these circumstances.

Get off the fence , put both feet firmly on one side of an issue that is testing me. Close up those options we always try to leave open...just in case.

CHOOSE.

I have not mastered this yet , but awareness of a problem is the beginning of the solution , right ?

I pray that all of us can choose for the truer purpose...for what God sees is best for us, for HIS glory above all.

CHOOSE.

Bless you and your choices,

Gina

" Never tire of doing what is right. " 2 Thessalonians 3:13

A Short GUIDE to ART MUSEUMS in the DEEP South, USA

I was having a short discussion with my husband and our little boy on the way to church a week ago , telling my husband if I was driving them we would have been at church already . Somehow that led to the topic of what does makes me slow down ? My little boy chimes in from the back seat and says, " I know !'

I said, " Really, what's that ? " He says " PAINTINGS ! ANYWHERE there is a painting. "

I absolutely agreed. I truly become almost paralyzed at times when I see paintings, mostly antique oil paintings ( also other original oil paintings) , from the unbelievable talent displayed with the meticulous details, the vivid colors, the obvious effort and time involved , the obvious evidence of God in someone's work. I personally feel there is no other talent that compares to a great artist's talent ( that is not that I believe ALL talents are not of great value ), art is just MY personal favorite.  Some people may disagree and say a musical composition , a literary masterpiece , a fabulous singing voice....but I am knocked out by old oil paintings over them all.

Oh...

There is ONE other thing that slows me down, it is at the bottom of this entry... don't bother scrolling down as it is not really that exciting or interesting.

But I have discovered it REALLY slows me down.

Alright, here is a very short guide to some great art museums in the Deep South of the United States, not from the perspective of an art historian or art expert...just from a woman that LOVES antique paintings.

Here they are :

Bob Jones University and Art Museum

Greenville, South Carolina

This is to me , hands down the very best art museum I have seen that has an astounding collection of Renaissance, Baroque,  Italian, French, Flemish, Gothic and all are Religious art. This art museum is on the Bob Jones' University campus, the only problem I had with it , is that the hours are only 2-5 . You can go to Greenville's Art Museum before ( which did not impress me nearly as much ), but Bob Jones collection will exhaust you visually and is worth very hour that it is open. It is very dark inside the galleries, a bit too dark for me...but the beauty of the paintings makes you forget that. In each of the galleries they have young University students standing around guarding the paintings, and chatting with each other when you walk away. Only if you love old religious Renaissance art will you enjoy this museum, if Modern or Contemporary art is your ' bag ', then this will not be the museum for you.
Here is the link:

http://www.bjumg.org/ 

Telfair Museums

Savannah, Georgia

This is my second favorite art museum in the South, located in downtown historic Savannah , Georgia...it actually has three museums in close proximity but the Telfair Academy in an old Neo-classical mansion was by far my favorite. So charming , housed in an old Southern mansion, with rooms full of spectacular antique paintings. The other larger art museum, the Jepson center, was not for me as it is full of contemporary and abstact art.

Not my thang.

Going to visit Savannah is also a pleasure in itself, so be sure to combine an overnight stay if you can.

Here is the link for all the info:

http://telfair.org/visit/telfair-academy/overview/

High Museum of Art

Atlanta, Georgia

This was a little further down on my list as it was soooo difficult to find in downtown Atlanta's traffic, then maneuvering through the parking situation, then finally getting inside. I felt like the exhibitions are very nice, but too much wall space is left between the paintings often, for such a large building I thought there would be more Art. Still has a very good collection. Lots of modern, Impressionists, Old masters, abstract, contemporary. Also has a good selection of marble sculptures in the museum. This museum will take you probably 2-3 hours plus to go through.

 http://www.high.org/ 

 

Columbia Museum of Art

Columbia, South Carolina

Now this is my local art museum, easy to find in downtown Columbia. Not open on Mondays or Tuesdays though. It has a very nice collection of High Renaissance art and Baroque artwork. It is layed out by posted time periods in each room. This is a mid-size museum , so it will still satisfy your artistic appetites for a day. Check out their website for additional info:

http://www.columbiamuseum.org/visit/ 

Gibbes Art Museum

Charleston, South Carolina

This was a bit further down on my list as the collection is not nearly as spectacular as you would  imagine for such an historic city. VERY easy to find in downtown Charleston. You can walk to this from most hotels here. It has a nice collection of miniatures , and some interesting local portraits of famous Charlestonians. You can get through this small museum in about an hour or and hour and a half. The gift shop at the front is very nice with lots of books on Charleston. I am a Charleston nut, so I would always include it in my list for someone else. You can go here and then enjoy the beautiful neighborhoods of Charleston.

Now for the one other thing that I have discovered slows me way down.

My cowboy boots

I was born in Austin, Texas...so even all the way over here in the Deep South with all the Southern belles around...I like to wear my boots. But ONLY every now and then , as I CANNOT walk fast in them to save my life. I feel like I'm wearing snowshoes in Alaska...every pair I own  I can't walk faster than an ole' cowpoke. But they make me feel like a cowgirl , so I wear them.

So old oil paintings and cowboy boots slow me down.

My secret is out.

I hope you get to some of these art museums and give your eyes a feast.

Many blessings,

Gina 

 

" For while we do not look at the things which are seen , but at the things which are not seen . For the things which are seen are temporary , but the things which are not seen are eternal. " 2 Corinthians 4:18

 

Watch OUT When You ask GOD to Let You Be a BLESSING...

Here again I go with a lesson I learned on one of my walks. I start off early each morning, have my headphones on, moving fast. Usually though,  I pray for the first 1/2 mile or mile , so no sound until I get further down my route . On this morning I concluded my prayers by asking God to let me be a blessing to someone today. Then I take off full force , ready to walk my big hills , ready to do all the important ,( not ), tasks that I had planned for my day.

Then , coming down a hill...I see HER.

It was an elderly woman I had met many years ago ,( you know the neighbors that don't know who you are when they get very old), I  only  see her every now and then anymore...and she is not doing very well in the mental sharpness category right now. She is across a wide expanse of the street, cars are coming and going in the early morning commute between us.

I keep walking fast, still glancing at her to my far right...and heaven forbid...looks like she needs something.

Drats to my busy day. I then start to rationalize that she is just roaming around the street like she likes to do, that I don't really need to stop and talk to her. So I raise my arm to wave hello and goodbye all at once...then double-drats...I see she is coming STRAIGHT at me.

( When I retold this story to my husband he is saying at this point , " GINA ! " )

I stop for her, turn off my headphones and she comes across the street, and at this point I see she needs me.

She has her gray hair all piled in a large bun, her cane, her robe on...and a large  envelope in her hand. She reaches me and I smile at her ,  a smile of ' Hurry up , I want to keep moving.'  When she is right beside me she starts telling me about how she can't hear anything because her hearing aid batteries went dead, people have been calling her on the phone, she can't hear them...she is quite distraught. She then asks me if I can change her batteries in her hearing aid for her ? I know I looked down in my hands when she took it out of her ear ...dropped it there , and then thrust the large envelope in my hands with the extra batteries, and I froze for a few moments.

I have never HELD a hearing aid, seen one up close, I had NO CLUE what to do with one or how to change the battery. So I then did what I knew I had to do.

I prayed hard.

I looked down at that worn hearing aid in my hand, opened the envelope and got a battery...and then said to God , " I do not know how to do this, please help me do this for her." 

At this point  she is half standing in the road, I am fumbling around on the sidewalk, cars going past , and I get to work. Amazingly, I got the old battery out, got the new one in...and handed it to her. She put it back in her ear, I then changed the battery of the other hearing aid she had...and she was thanking me. She could hear again ! At this time, one of her direct  neighbors came over and got her, took her back across the street and took her to her home...she was leaning on her arm,  telling the neighbor the story of how she couldn't hear and then came outside looking for help.

And found me.

My bug collector w/ his tiny bug

It made me realize as I continued my walk that morning, that I asked God to let me be a blessing...and He did. Not that I passed any great test of being wonderful to that woman , I feel like I failed in the " willingness " department or ' putting others first ' department...but I did accomplish the task He needed me to do for her.

I also realized that could easily be me one day, all of us. 

Everyday we all have those SMALL annoyances and inconveniences that we do not understand are moments to bless someone. We all think we have to do something really grand, or time-consuming to demonstrate God's love to someone else. I am learning that it is the smaller gestures of life , like opening a door for someone, helping a neighbor by pulling a large limb off their yard when you walk by, throwing their paper closer to the front door, letting some num-chuck driver get ahead of us in line without getting angry , smiling at someone in your office that is having a bad time in their lives right now. There are endless possibilities to bless in small ways.

I am sure there is more that we could do for people , but we skip over the small things in life ...always rushing , always trying to get to where we need to be.

The problem is where we need to be , is WHERE WE ARE AT THAT MOMENT.

There God can USE you for something small , that can change someone's day.

Lesson learned for this terribly imperfect Christian woman on a sunny morning

in the Deep South.

I think God probably scored me with a C- on that one.

Bless someone in a small way today , I know you can,

Gina

" The commandments...are summed up in this one rule; Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to it's neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. " Romans 13:9-10

A Woman's WORTH

I always have had such strange encounters out on my power walks , that I almost named this blog, The Walking Woman. 

What happened to me on a Summer's morning , at a crossroads in my neighborhood...heading home...has caused me to think about a woman's worth in today's world, and most especially in her own heart...and how far it is from the truth.

It was about 8 AM in the morning,I was coming back from my walk , and when I came to an intersection of the road, I crossed paths with a young woman in her 20's coming a different way. 

She stood out in the bright sunshine of the morning because she was walking barefoot in a short cocktail dress, she had her rhinestone high-heel sandals in her hand, she had smudged mascara under her eyes , and her lovely hair was disheveled and obviously hastily put up. I knew immediately what she had done the night before , as I had walked in her footsteps myself when I was young.

She looked briefly at me , I smiled...but my heart was breaking for her as I KNEW she did not have any idea how valuable she is , her worth in this world...and especially her worth in God's eyes. It also made me think of  my two blonde daughters about her age ... I saw all women , walking some paths they should not.

She looked mildly embarrassed , her white cocktail dress with it's sparkling beads looked very odd in the bright sunshine of the day. She passed me, I knew she had come from the large house on the corner where all the college and young adults live. There is usually about 4-6 cars outside of the house, it is a rental house with attractive young men and women coming and going from there all the time. Lots of different boyfriends and girlfriends, or even worse yet , the new ' friends with benefits ( sexual)' with no attachments or strings. I have seen young women leaving there with their hair wet from their early morning shower , the young men taking them home. The ' worth ' of these young women is very evident in the eyes and actions of these men.

I wanted that morning to take that young beautiful woman at the crossroads by her shoulders, shake them and say, " Do you have ANY idea how valuable you are ? " Women of all ages have been brainwashed by our culture in the last 50-60 years to believe our worth is solely in the eyes of a man. If we are attractive enough, fit enough, sexy enough , happy enough , pleasant enough then we are more valuable ...of more worth.We also have added on the additional burden to ourselves to be successful...and so when we fall short of the mark in any of these areas we believe our worth is plummeting.

I wanted this young woman to know deep in her soul that God wants her to have high respect for herself . To consider herself , her very essence and person MORE valuable than gold , jewelry, great material riches , even a  priceless masterpiece . To not allow the reflection of herself in a man's eyes be her judge of her worth , but to KNOW she is of such high value to GOD that it makes any other reflection from this world of her worth...meaningless , that it pales in comparison.

My two beautiful daughters

Once she can grasp her own true worth , then she will become more beautiful than she ever could imagine...not just physically...but in her spirit. I did not tell this young woman that message that day , but God spoke to me very strongly to try somehow to relay that to young women in any way that I can possibly do it. I have tried , I need to do more...and I do not believe this is only a message for young women. 
I do not completely understand my own worth , I have been sufficiently brainwashed myself between movies, television ,  magazines, ads and the media. I almost did not write this as I have not ' arrived ' myself 100 % at this truth.

But I believe if we all wait for that " Aha ! Now I understand completely !' moment , when we know that something is true...then we procrastinate until our convictions lose their power and strength. So I write this with the hope that if even ONE woman stops and considers her worth in God's eyes and not man's eyes, then it will be sufficient in helping someone who is already

beautiful.

Many , many blessings to you today,

Gina

  " For you have formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise YOU, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made . " Psalm 139:13-14

The BATTERY Area & Sights of CHARLESTON, South Carolina

In this short guide of historic Charleston , South Carolina ...I decided to start this one from the Battery area, instead of St. Philip's church like I always do as it is one of the most if not THE most popular tourist spot in Charleston . That is the reason wealthy homeowners built their homes here to catch the breezes from the water in this hot  ,( it was 75 degrees in late October ) , and humid area of the Deep South.

Let's look around,

Here is the view from the long walkway made of large slate blocks and concrete, looking towards the mansions that were built here. This walkway goes all around the battery area, towards White Point park, and then to the building where the Coast Guard is located. That is my youngest daughter, Sarah, to the far left of the picture. This is typically always full of tourists and joggers. Those large slate slabs ' move' when you walk on them !

a

Another view of the slate slabs and walkway

Here was one of the many carriage that do tours around the historic areas of Charleston. I will tell you that if you do this in the Summer, bring some water as it is very hot , and I recall being on one of these a few times when my son was very young..and he fell asleep on me. A 100 degree day, a child asleep on your lap for an hour, on a crowded carriage ride. I was drenched when I got up to leave that ride...still remember it , and he wakes up and goes, " Let's go again ! "

No way.

Here is a shot of a true Charleston wrought iron bench in White Points Garden. I would have loved to have gotten some shots of the large gazebo that they do weddings in here, but they have dismantled it for renovations. Will get you a shot when it gets back. This park is seen right off the walkway of the Battery, and it has numerous cannons and statues about the War of 1812.
Plus lots of pigeons that my son used to call ducks ...are roaming around waiting for someone to throw them some bread.

Here was an original authentic horse-tie stand that was outside of a house.

Close up of the horse.

Marble entry steps leading to front door. This is a common sight , especially among the mansions on the Battery. I guess people with money all liked marble steps then !

Here was beautiful rose garden off the side of one of the homes. They all have large side piazza or porches to catch the sea breezes.

Many of the homes also have ivy-covered steps leading to the front doors.

  

Ivy seems to be growing on everything here, this was a view of a large cement antique urn in a garden.

Here was a beautiful circular garden at a Bed and Breakfast , in the back, that had the most beautiful antique cement statue I have seen here.

Close-up.

 

She was about my size, and if you saw her you would want her too in your garden.

More beautiful than my photos can show. 

I felt she represented the essence of a woman in her garden.

Typical view of some mansions ivy-covered steps with their dogs lounging around on the porches .
Lucky, lucky dogs.

  A shot of the Calhoun mansions, a wedding gift a very wealthy man named George Williams built for his daughter while she was on a year long honeymoon with her husband in Europe. Hard to believe anyone had that much money to be able to spoil yourself rotten for a year.
Daddy's girl I guess.

When you come to Charleston , you will see street after street of some of these large mansions amidst some that are not quite so large.This one is called the Chisholm mansion off of Tradd St. , a block off of the Battery area. It is called the Charleston Greek revival style, primarily because of the massive columns. This is one of my very favorite homes to walk past, every trip here.
 

Front wrought iron gates of Chisholm mansion. My daughter was with me , she says, " Hey the gates open..go in and take a picture. "
Did not, very tempted and definitely considered it for too long.
Darned open gate-tempter.

Last view in this guide, this was the front of the Dock Street Theatre , the oldest theater in the United States. It is on Church St., a block down from St. Philip's church. It is located at 135 Church St. and was built in the early 1700's. They have been renovating this going on two years now. I have many guides about the historic neighborhoods of Charleston in my September archives, check them out if you have time.
I hope your day is a really, really good one, Blessings,
Gina
" It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High , to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night. " psalm 92:1-2

GOD's got MY Back

I had an experience last night when we took our little boy Trick or Treating that was a scary and yet spirit-enriching reminder to me , about how God always protects us . Our son ended up trick-or-treating by himself this year , instead of with a neighborhood friend...and he was down and disappointed when we started off as he wanted his buddy with him. So guess who ended up being his buddy...yep, me.

We went from door to door throughout our neighborhood , it was a very dark and humid Halloween night here in the Deep South. It was 78 degrees ! We meandered through yards and driveways with my flashlight in tow, lots of candy and compliments on his scary Phantom costume cheered him up. My husband was usually out on the street with our looney-tooney black lab waiting for us after each house.

Our Phantom w/ his red glowing eyes

Well  , our last street we went down before home was the one with a family that loves to go all out for Halloween, and I mean ALL-OUT.  We stood at the end of the driveway looking at a yard full of at least 60 or more tombstones, spiders in all the trees, skeletons as well. Halloween lights, more monsters and ghouls lifesize, posed around the yard. At the front porch were three ghouls, I believe older college age kids waiting for us. 

I looked at our little Phantom, and said, " Let's go. "

We started to walk up the driveway, and about halfway there, I had this weird feeling...turned abruptly around and came face to face with a BIG monster , a man about 6'3 or 6'4 ins .tall with a huge hooded cape , arms outstretched, and one of those horrible rubber masks that had fake blood, scars, all kinds of scary yuckiness abounding.

No screaming from me though, he was about 1 foot from me , and yes I was scared..BUT...the protective she-tiger Mom came out in me and NO ONE was going to scare my kid.

So, I gathered all 5'6 ins. of me and reached towards this big monster, pulled on the bottom of his rubber-gory chin...and said...

" If you think you're going to scare him, you have to go through ME FIRST. "

This big guy was now about 6 ins. from my face, stood there a minute...and let me tell you, honestly I was scared..I do not like scary anything... and this big guy was dressed up like scary EVERYTHING.

But in a few seconds, he backs off, I did too, but before I did, I patted his gory mask and told him he looked horrible...which he liked. He then went back to sit in the bushes , on a concrete wall to wait to scare someone else.

Now what I did not know, as my husband was watching this from the street, was that our little boy behind me had simultaneously raised his 3 foot plastic sword and was standing about 3 feet behind me while I was talking, and had it up in the air while this was going on.

Phantom and his weapon

When I asked my son  later, was he protecting me ? He says, " No way, I was protecting ME !" I laughed , his dad fussed at him to learn to protect his Mom too. But to me the big lesson was, that is how God is with us. He is the one who stands between us and our ' monsters'  whatever they may be in our lives , and He protects us, if we let Him . God always has my back. But our son also taught me something, him holding that sword up to that ' monster' was what we are supposed to do with the sword of the Spirit ( Ephesians 6:17 " ..And take the helmet of salvation , and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.." ). We have a part in fighting the monsters of our lives, God expects us to use what His Word ( The Bible ) teaches us about how to fight our addictions, weaknesses , problems, trails, temptations...our sins.

He enables us...but He ALWAYS has our backs.  

That fact comforts me and I hope you too.

Many blessings to you,

Gina

" For He Himself said, " I will never leave you nor forsake you. " So we may boldly say: " The LORD is my helper ; I will not fear. What can man do to me ?" Hebrews 13:5-6