A WHISTLING Man BLESSING in Church

I am always amazed at the way God chooses to touch us. It is oftentimes in the smallest ways , not fancy , not ostentatious , but always effective. 

We were in church yesterday, had gotten there in one of those moods of ' Not too bad-Not too good ". The pressures of life and living , weighing on many in the building.

We go to the traditional service in our church...where old hymns are sung and everyone is dressed fairly nice. The contemporary service our church holds at 11:30, is much more laid back...jeans, shorts, whatever. But the old hymns are not usually sung ,and my husband and I still believe a church is a building that deserves some reverence when you come to worship. So we go to the fuddier-duddier service that we enjoy. 

We sat up top in the balcony, this time at the very edge where people walk by in front of us. While I was standing , singing a Christmas hymn with the congregation....right in front of me passed a blessing from God.

He was dressed a little oddly, he had a red velour jacket over pants, it was not quite zipped and his collar was askew. He was probably in his late 60's or so, and he had the most warm happy eyes.

He passed in front of us and went directly behind us, and then he started.

Whistling.

He started whistling to the hymn.

No singing, but every note, every word...was whistled.

I have been to this church for over 30 years, and I have NEVER heard anyone do that.

I turned to my husband, he turned and looked at me...I was smiling with delight over the whistling.

When we all finished, we have a' Turn and say Hi to someone' time at church. I turned around to the whistling man in his red velour jacket, he looked shy and sweet. I asked him if that was him whistling ? He says , " Yes."

I could tell that he must have had someone NOT like it before, or maybe just give him strange looks when he does it...by his manner.

I then told him I really liked it.

He had the sweetest smile come over his face...and then we all sat for the rest of the service.

During the rest of the hymns that were sung...I could hear his beautiful whistling, it had gotten drowned out a bit by some more people coming to sit near him...but it was still there...floating in the air to bless in his own special and unique way.

When the service was completely over , and we were leaving...I turned again to the man and took his hand in both of mine, and told him how much I enjoyed his whistling again.

I guess that time I blessed him, as his eyes were shining and he just nodded and smiled.

I left there appreciating so much the boldness of this shy man , of how he chooses to whistle...go against the norm...and give glory to God.

I thanked God for that small simple blessing of whistling, and I wish you all to have something really small and special touch you today from God. I also encourage you to touch someone for God today,

Gina

" When in our music God is glorified , And adoration leaves no room for pride , It is as tho' the whole creation cried, Alleluia, Alleluia ! " 

Old hymn by Fred Pratt Green mid 1900's

Who REALLY Sees The REAL You ?

Hunting Art

I had a funny recollection the other day of a time when someone saw the real me. The me that I really don't want anyone to see...the one we all hide from the world most of the time.

The one God always sees first.

I had come back from an early morning walk late this summer, was sitting at my computer doing some eBay work...when I heard the doorbell ring, I looked up...I had not heard a car...and saw my daughter's car out in the driveway. This was my oldest daughter's car, she had only been home every now and then as she was finishing off her last year at law school. I was so happy she had come over ! I ran to the door, opened it quickly and said " Well HI !!!", with a big smile.

But to my utter horror , and shock ( most men will not understand this but the women will ,so bear with me), it was NOT my daughter but a good friend who used to be my Broker-in-Charge when I sold real estate. He stops by to visit with me every now and then , he is always dressed perfectly, button up shirt, tie, dress slacks. Plus he has always seen me at the office in nice clothes ( when I was a Realtor) , MAKE-UP on, looking sharp, well- groomed so to speak.

NOT this time.

Let's get back to my front porch...I see that it is him ( found out he was driving one of his kid's car that day ), I realize I am in running shorts, tank shirt, tennis shoes, NO MAKE-UP ( my biggest upset ), and I react like Dracula does in the movies  when he is exposed to sunlight --by screaming,  and covering my face, as if the light was blinding me. I then ramble on that I have no make-up on, I had just gotten back from a walk, I would NEVER had opened the door if I knew it was him , still covering my face with my hands, on and off.

He just stands there like I had lost all my marbles.

I then go on and on ( AGAIN ) , about how I would not have even opened the door if I knew it was him ( bet that made him feel good ), and I thought he was my daughter.

He just keeps looking at me like I am NUTS , with his well-pressed clothes on and his squezzie red real estate ball in his hand that he had brought for me with his name on it.

I then bend over, cover up my face again... and start laughing like crazy.
At myself.

Bet I made his day.

He then tries to tell me he had just come by to say, " Hi "..and hands me his squeezie ball , chats for a bit and leaves.

I told my husband this story later that day and he told me that I look fine with no make-up, I never need to wear any, and I am goofy ( he is too kind ).
I talked to him , my ex-broker on the phone yesterday about this incident...he pauses for a long time, like he doesn't remember...then he goes, " Oh YEAH, when you pitched a fit on your porch. " 
Wow, what an impression I left him with , very accurate ( I truthfully had hoped he  had forgotten it).
Blew my cover.

We then discussed how people change themselves, change their masks, for whatever crowd they are in at that time.

The truth is we ALL wear different masks, different faces to various people we encounter in our lives.
Sometimes we are the person we want to be, kind...solicitous, concerned,friendly , ready to help. Then we are the aggressive, or assertive gung-ho person that we want to project to make someone believe we are on top of what ever needs to be on top of. Then we put on our charming , 'everything is great' mask.
I think we have a happy mask, a pouty mask, a mad mask, a sexy mask,  a righteous mask, a ' no-problem' mask , an intelligent mask, the successful mask, the perfect family man or woman mask, a religious mask...on and on with all our handy disguises.
I think it is the REAL you, the authentic, genuine you...that may be the hardest thing to reveal.
It makes you vulnerable.
It can show your weaknesses and your strengths.
It can be scary to you and others.
It can reveal what you are hiding.
It may be what you are really NOT...to others.
You may feel it is not enough.

God sees us, all of us...no make-up, no shaved faces and combed hair.
He sees our hearts, He sees our motives, our desires.
So after you take your shower, when you come up to the mirror and wipe away the steam from it...and you look at yourself...
What do you see ?
I am not talking about the surface vision, what do you see inside ?
If you are pleased with your inner reflection, then you must be doing something right. If you are not...ask God how to show you to be more genuine, more you...less show, less bravado, less fake,  and more
REAL.
Stop being who you think everyone wants you to be , and simply be YOU.

GOD created you for a purpose, you are wonderfully made , He treasures each of us. I do not think He can use us in this world if we are not who we really are.
No put-ons, no pretense , no more falseness.
No more phoney-baloney.

This all starts with honesty and prayer. Work on what you do not like in yourself, praise God for what you do...as it all is from Him that is good and fruitful.
I know that I have lived long enough now to know that many people are NOT what they appear to be, NOT what they pretend to be, and NOT what they really  project to their family, co-workers, church members, or world. They are made up of words and busy-ness , lots of ' fluff' and less of what their spirit, their inner core of who they really are , contains.

Noticing this, makes me in turn... want to be MORE real .
I believe that is the only way God can use us , if we really are who we appear to be.
The REAL deal.
Genuine.
Authentic.
The TRUE you.


God made you for a purpose...and He can only use the ORIGINAL you that He created.



Bless you today,
Gina

"All is Vanity. " Ecclesiastes 12:8

To Touch A Woman's HEART...It's Always the SMALL Things that WORK the BIGGEST

The gift

I decided to write a small entry about how to touch a woman's heart , and leave an imprint of your love there. This may apply to men as well, but I know it works for most women. I will admit it may not work for a woman that values clothes, jewelry, and new shoes above ALL else ( and I know women like this ), but for most women, this is a biggie.

But it always comes in small packages or gestures.

Take for instance my gift from my son a few days ago, pictured above. I was busy working on my computer, he had been playing outside...then he comes running in to where I am ( dirt on his shirt, pants, and shoes and face )...and stands there and looks at me. I stop what I'm doing, turn towards my little love-bug, and he thrusts this sad little past-it's -prime pink azalea blossom at me.

I look down at it , and of course it fills my heart, because it did not matter that it was perfect...but he took the time when he was chasing balls in the yard, to stop,  and picked it off the bush for me.

o

Hi tee-tiny bug in  jar

After I took it from him, thanked him profusely...he then walks away to go back out to play. I look down at the flower..smiling , look back up...and see he is watching me from the dining room doorway . I gave him a big smile , and thought , " How wonderful to have a gift from my  little boy , and appreciate it...and then he sees how much I do. "
My young son is not a momma's boy, he is probably more of a daddy's boy ( or maybe an even split) , as they play so much together...so when he does something like this , it really touches me. 
Out of all our children, he is the one that does not verbalize his love.
So instead, he gave it to me through a small blossom.

One of my mom's favorite things to say about men was that they weren't any good until they were over 50. I sometimes think they are not any good once they are over 11 ( JUST kidding-sorta).  But truthfully , men and women just get lazy about the small things that warm each other's hearts.We usually KNOW what small things ' thrill ' our spouses , but we are all so busy with all the important and then equally trivial moments of our lives that we become neglectful of each other.

Plus so many people these days are too busy twittering strangers, face-booking a new acquaintance , blackberrying their time away , to stop and remember who that time really needs to be allotted for. Hours and hours of triteness.

Wasted minutes and hours become wasted days and years.

Life is so very short.

 Small things are the flower blossom, or flowers in general...not expensive bouquets...simple. Maybe your wife likes to cook...get her a new cookbook. Maybe she is a runner...buy her some super cushiony socks. Maybe she has been wanting the newest best seller...buy it and put it on her pillow, surprise her. Write her a love note , most men are incapable of long sonnets...just something simple from your heart to hers. Make her cup of coffee for her one morning.

I think we all need to just stop , like my little boy that day did...with all his running around...he saw the blossom, thought of who would like it, and took the time to bring it to me.
I am going to try to do this much more myself for the people I love.

Love makes life really, really good.

I hope you have a day full of love,

Gina

" ..And now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. " 1 Corinthians 4:13

"

 

Two GREAT Hotels in Charleston, SC--INDIGO Inn & ANDREW Pinckney Inn

Me and my son on the third  floor of the INDIGO INN this Summer

Whenever we go to Charleston, South Carolina , we always stay at one of two places. There are many downtown hotels and bed and breakfasts , and we have stayed at about six different places here before. I am going to start with our very favorite, The Indigo Inn and then I will tell you about The Andrew Pinckney Inn. I will include their web site links by their photos for you to check them out that way too.

Indigo Inn
Link to the hotel: 

Here is the front of the Indigo Inn, it is a smaller hotel...so is the Andrew Pinckney. I do not like large hotels, charm wins out over ostentatious to me every time. There is a large parking lot directly in front that you have to pay 10-11.00 per night to park in, but that is standard here in Charleston as parking is at a premium here.

Center courtyard with atrium, and a fountain

The above center courtyard is where you take your breakfast to, after you get it inside, and relax or take it back to your room on a large silver tray. There was always plenty to eat, fresh cut fruit, cereals, pastries, bagels, ham biscuits, and more. Plus coffee and juices.

Other view of courtyard

When we have our breakfast here, little wrens come down to try to persuade us for some crumbs and we always oblige.

Original jostling , bouncing board

They have some original Southern Jostling boards downstairs by the courtyard for kids or adults to bounce on.

Outside your rooms are the original old wrought iron Charleston benches. 

There are only 40 rooms her, but it is in downtown Charleston and two blocks from the Market, restaurants, museums,and the harbor. The staff is always helpful , and the afternoon wine/beverages, dips, cheese & crackers, fruit, and more is above average in quality for most hotels. It is located at 1 Maiden Lane off of Meeting St. I have the website link at the top picture.

Now let me show you the Andrew Pinckney Inn, right down the street from this one.

Andrew Pinckney Inn
Andrew Pinckney link 

This hotel is also full of charm, most of the rooms are actually across the street from this in a old building. This is the original 1700's building here. They have more limited on site parking, at a fee, and there is a few places behind here to park, or you have to use the parking garage across the street. They have rooms laid out with period furniture, like the Indigo, and they have a terrace for their free breakfast they serve at the location across the street. They do not have wine and cheese in the afternoon, but they do have fresh cookies, coffee and lemonade all during the day in their office. This is a larger hotel than the Indigo, but it is also very charming and you are right in the middle of historic Charleston. You can walk to anywhere you want, no driving once you are here as this is so close to everything you will want to see.
Make sure you stop at the little brochure stands in each hotel as you can get discounts off almost anywhere you want to go , tours, and some local restaurants. 

Andrew Pinckney Inn

Remember when you come here in the Summer it is HOT and HUMID. I do not think many people realize the deep South's weather until they visit Charleston in The Summer. Spring and fall of course are not as bad, but the gardens in the historic neighborhoods are most lush in the Summer. You can go on walking tours or bus tours to see the entire area as well. There are numerous bed and breakfats and hotels in Charleston online, you may find a treasure yourself in one. The rates vary for these hotels, I recall 129.-220. a night, higher on the weekends and also remember you can get your Triple -A discount , military, etc. when you get rates.



Enjoy your day,
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

 

Mini- FIELD Trip to CONFEDERATE Soldiers Cemetery in COLUMBIA, SC

Entrance to Cemetery of Soldiers

My little boy had a half-day of school yesterday , so I decided to take him on a mini-field trip to a local cemetery in Columbia, South Carolina...the oldest cemetery here, and show him one of the oldest Confederate soldiers cemetery in the United States.

I had seen this cemetery when I drove through a few days ago, my mother is buried in this graveyard  ( it is a large graveyard with many acres of different cemeterys ),further down and I was planting pansies back there.I would say it is never very pleasant to go to a graveyard anyway, but Elmwood cemetery is beautiful as far as cemeterys can be. Huge old oak trees, many are live oaks, beautiful old antique monuments , and if I did not have my mother buried there , I would probably appreciate the surroundings even more.

It is in downtown Columbia, with the river running down aways beside it. Anyway, I took my little boy with me and on the way there I tried to explain to him about the civil war, Abraham Lincoln, Sherman burning most of Columbia down, and about the soldiers who died in the South...as we were the losing side of the war. I also told him this was on the National  Registry of Historic Places , trying to whip up some excitement in him in the backseat.

Then I told him I would get him a Happy meal at McDonald's when we were through.

That was the first smile I got out of him on the way there.

What I was surprised at was how small it was. We parked and got out to look around and take some pictures, it was an overcast...windy day.

Above is the entrance arbor above that says, " Confederate Soldiers 1861-1865 ". This graveyard was made during the civil war and used then and afterwords for the remaining civil war veterans.

This was the neat old granite memorial dedicated to the soldiers that says " This memorial is dedicated to confederate soldiers buried in unmarked graves in this cemetery. Some known by name , others by initials, twenty-five known but to God. " 
As history tells, the original records of the fallen soldiers was sent to a downtown church, that Sherman burnt down, and subsequently , all the original records of who all these men were and how they died was forever lost.

It was nice when people used to credit more to God on public markers than they do now , like they did on this one.

 The front view with the small grave markers

The markers barely reach to my knees, and there is a glorious gigantic oak beside the front of the graveyard, there is also a small platform behind me that they do memorial services once a year on.

That's my little boy running through, I think he expected to see guns or soldier's hats or something. He is also running because it was chilly but he WOULDN'T listen to his mom about bringing his jacket !

Most of the markers appear to be made of marble, which with time gets soft from the elements, so the inscriptions are hard to make out. If you are a civil war buff though, I'll bet you can figure out some of the regiments and what some of the initials mean. I am assuming troop numbers or rank or something.

One marker

One after another

We saw a few with small confederate flags in front.

He is still running around, but we decide to go check out the large monument in the center.

This seem to impress him the most, plus all the daddy long leg spiders everywhere.

Case in point, photo taken by my son

A large marble obelisk style monument in the center.
This is a large center monument  that the Ladies Memorial Association collected money from various towns in South Carolina to be able to purchase and erect for the fallen soldiers in 1899.

A large granite monument to the far right field of the cemetery.

This appears to be a monument erected by the Confederate women ( United Daughters of the Confederacy ) in honor of the soldiers who did not die in battle but went to a final years, or retirement home , and then passed away. Their names are all on here.

It kept getting breezier, and more overcast...and I was blocking a street as they are only one car width lanes through her, so we had to go.

I expected this to be much larger, but it only had 189 veterans buried there. So I would say this is a small graveyard , there is also one in Charleston, SC of civil war soldiers. I am including a link to the Elmwood cemetery graves of important soldiers that are marked here .Important graves of soldiers.
  You can find this little graveyard, open 365 days a year...daylight hours only and you can google Elmwood Cemetery Columbia, SC and get directions from wherever you are.

We hopped in the car and headed on our way to McDonalds...I was thinking how sad these young men died in the war, nameless markers...and my little boy was requesting a milkshake with his happy meal.

Such is life.

I hope you have a blessed day,

Gina

" Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. " Psalm 138:7

Of SPINNING Dogs & SELF-Discipline

I have a spinning dog named Maxine. She is an out of control, undisciplined, spinning dog.

She is a large black lab, my husband adores her, our son considers her his best friend/com padre'...and I am her baby-sitter-mom most days. When I take her for her walks, early evening usually...she takes the leash and runs in every yard for the first block....

and spins,

 

Taking the leash and spinning, out of control in circles... 2-3 minutes at a time

Getting ready for another spin

In our next door neighbor's yard...our little cowgirl dog

Neighbors comment and laugh at her, people driving by laugh at her, she looks like a rodeo cowgirl dog, spinning in circles...whipping her leash the entire time along with her.

Not only does she spin, she DRAGS me down the street, for blocks. Yes I do have a choke on her...and let me tell you, I use it. She is just so darned happy all the time, that she doesn't care. She probably only weighs about 20 lbs. less than me, and it is a major feat to control her. I am one of those people you see that the neighbors say, " Who's walking who ?" hahaha, NOT.

 

My son trying to hold her back

She not only spins and drags me, she also tries to fight any dog we run into...10 lbs. to 130 lbs., they are all the same to her. I usually have to choke her ( use the choker ), hold her back, apologize to people for her behavior, get physically on top of her & scold her, she COULD care less, she is happy being out of control and undisciplined.

Kind of like we all are, right ?

We all have areas we are undisciplined, mine are too numerous to name, I will just name the areas I AM disciplined to save time. I am disciplined about what I eat, and exercise.

That's it.

Everything else is a battle royale.

Food is not a huge deal to me, exercise is...so those are pretty easy areas for me.

 As another example , I am disciplined to a greater extent what I watch in the media, but I don't like TV, and am disappointed ( and fed up ) ,in what I see in movies lately...so it is easier being disciplined in something that really does not hold much interest to me.

It is way easier being disciplined about something that you do not really care about , or that you have come to a conclusion about personally that you do not struggle with anymore.

It is those OTHER areas, that test us.

I think we are tested with finances for some, shopping habits for some, saving habits for some , exercise habits for some, eating habits for some, worship habits, study habits, work habits & ethics, internal morality habits or integrity. I mean many of these are a piece of cake to many...and then they fail miserably in some other key areas of life.

I know I do.

 

Being dragged

I know that just being 'somewhat' disciplined in some areas, but not all the really important ones (like kindness, loving your neighbor, integrity, honesty, self-sacrifice, fearing God, tithing ,etc. ),   means failing in the self-control department.  Being a Christian means I need to be disciplined...GRATEFULLY disciplined in almost ALL areas.

God does not expect perfection from us, but He does expect us to strive for it. 

Otherwise we just get slack, start spinning out of control in areas of our lives that are our weak ones.

Obedience is HUGE to God , we do it out of respect for Him, and to demonstrate we understand the fear ( respect, reverence ), of Him.

He knows what is best for us, He loves us.

I love my crazy dog. I do what I do to protect her, to TRY to discipline her, I see what can happen to her if she does not behave...if she gets too out of control ( regularly), and if she misbehaves she can hurt herself or some other dog.

I see this, she does not. 

God sees the end result of our undisciplined, out of control lives before we even make the first mistake.

Cannot get the leash out of her mouth most of the time

I know God has given us the spirit of self-control ( self discipline ), but I think we all fail to use it in areas harder for us,  because it is easier ( or more fun ), to be undisciplined, do what we ' feel' like, do  ' whatever'  tomorrow instead of today, work on that bad habit ' soon', just basically slack off in the self-control department.

Especially in today's world, with all the temptations, all the excitements, all the 'newest things',  too many opportunities , we have a very hard time being disciplined about lots of things. Things that lead us away from God.

I also know that God tells us that if we have a relationship with Him, we will get the fruits of the spirit:

" But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, SELF-CONTROL. " Galatians 5:22

So if we want to develop it more, we have to grow more in our relationship with Him.

We have to listen to Him, come to the realization that He really DOES know what is best for us. That He has equipped us to stand firm against the world, against our own flesh ( our desires ). 

Again this is something very hard for me to come to grips with personally, I like to make my own decisions , come up with my own solutions to situations or problems. I don't want anyone to be my boss or my keeper.

Even God.

But I do know something more important than that.

I KNOW that I need God. I KNOW that He can equip me to do the right thing in all  circumstances. I KNOW He expects this of me.

I know I love Him and do not want to disappoint Him.

I just need to stop being more like my crazy black lab , spinning around oblivious to anyone else

and discipline myself in my weak areas...

for me,

my family ,and

my God .

 

I hope you have a great day, and have strength where you need it,

Gina

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