One of A Kind

I absolutely love antiques and one of a kind items from years gone by! Even as a little girl, I loved to rummage through old barns and just stand in awe at all of the old "junk" and think on how someone  in a different time valued what now was thrown aside in a heap of dust. I especially love to find things that were handmade, for then I know they are one of a kind. I look at this red bottle with the make shift sprinkle cap on it, and think of the story that my friend told me. She is the same dear friend who has given me so many other old things that I cherish...she told me this bottle was her mother's and she used it to iron with. I picture in my mind  an older lady back at least 70 or even 80 years ago, leaning over an ironing board, sprinkling water on her clothes, with this bottle of water. It was at one time so useful to that woman to help her get the wrinkles out of her family's clothes, and now here it sits upon my shelf to bring me pleasure just in the sheer looking at it! Amazing!

I am also a valued "ONE OF A KIND" person! Sometimes in my life I have not realized the full value of my life due to the way others have taken advantage of me and mistreated me; therefore, I began to believe the lies that I would never be as good as someone else, or that maybe everyone else was so much better, and deserved so much more than me; so I should just settle for whatever came to me...Bad idea! After a lot of soul searching, I know that this insecurity in the first place, was the root of my relationship problems. Dont' ever let anyone make you to feel like you are no good or  "not as good as" someone else that you can never live up to!...God made me a "One of a kind" item and values me greatly!! I no longer allow for people to make me feel like I am ugly, or worthless, or not as good as the next. I have come to see that with the confidence of God in my life I don't need to feel insecure anymore! I no longer need to be held back by negativity. I value Life....both mine and other's!

Psalm139:14 "I am fearfully and wonderfully made...."

                                          Psalm139:17 " How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God"

Plant Your Garden

I suppose that it's warm somewhere right now...but here in the Northwoods it is still Winter! Not exactly time to plant a garden. I definitely have the room for a garden however I  have to confess it is not on the top of my favorite's list! I did try my hand at it a few years ago and planted some tomatoes, green peppers, and  zucchini. I even tried watermelon...that was a flop!  The zucchini were monsters though, and since I am not a true lover of the stuff I think there are probably are few freezer burned bags of it left in my deep freezer right now! I was so excited when I saw those little plants actually had taken root and were surviving my non- green thumb! I have observed over my fifty years of life that whatever you plant does eventually grow......that applies to what we plant in our lives and the lives of others as well. We've all heard the saying, "what goes around, comes around.." ...same principle. Whatever we plant is what is going to grow...duh! It's a hard lesson to learn..and I have no idea why it takes some people longer to learn it than others but I guess I am one of those slow learners...If you plant kindness you are going to reap  kindness eventually, and if you plant abuse and destruction in anothers' life, then that is what you will eventually reap.. it is just a law of nature. But  every single spring especially here in Wisconsin, farmers are busy at work clearing their fields and getting ready to start all over again and plant a brand new crop! So, I can decide to plant a new bunch of seeds in my life in order to reap a right kind of harvest for my tomorrow! Seeds of  love, joy, peace, gentleness, self-control. are all things I need to be planting so that I can reap a great harvest. Galatians 6:7-10 " A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature,from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

A Noteworthy Teacher

I was thinking about who I could honor today for a woman in history that was noteworthy. Of course teachers are close to my heart, because I have always loved being in the classroom, and love children. I have always believed that my students gave more to me than I ever could to them. So I began on my search for a famous noteworthy teacher; however the story of Christy by Catherine Marshall kept on coming to my mind. The story is so captivating. It tells of a well to do young girl that leaves her home to go to a mission in the mountains of Tennessee to teach. It is in a one room school house, to a bunch of very poor children, with very little materials or resources to help her. She had never taught before. This character of Christy was actually the author's mother, who is the one that really should get the honor. Her name is Leonora Whitaker Wood and she was around 19 years old when she decided against her parents wishes to go to the remote mission and teach. It was difficult from day one but she had sheer determination as she faced one obstacle and struggle after another. She retold her story to her daughter Catherine and that is how the novel Christy came into being, so some of the novel is imagination, but for the most part it was the recollection of memories of Leonora's adventures, struggles, and journey of faith in God. I learned a lot about her dedication to teaching from both the book and movie. What if our teachers today all had that same dedication and love for their students? She didn't have to worry about a union or a strike, or pay cut...she barely got paid! Anyway, her life is worthy of noting . Her daughter Catherine Marshall does indeed deserve honor for capturing her story so well; but I think we forget that under all of it there was a true hero that needs to be honored as a very determined, woman full of vim, vigor and stamina to live in those rugged, primitive mountains and teach for practically nothing, with hardly any books. Besides loving the character of Christy, my next favorite is Alice Henderson(also created after a real person-Mary Warren). She is probably partly responsible for many of the practical lessons that Leonora learned while living amongst those mountain people. Here is one of the quotes:"...wallowing in self condemnation or feeling sorry for yourself is worse than falling on your face in the first place~ ~So Thee is human." So you get my vote for Noteworthy Teacher Award.......Leonora Whitaker Wood....Teacher to Appalachian Children.