Little Rules To Live By

~Little rules to live by~

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Treat each other with respect.

Crayons go back in the box.

Pray each day and change your socks.

Never swallow chewing gum.

Popsicles will numb your tongue.

Take care for surely you may be

the only Bible some may read.

Little rules to live by.

I found this little poem tucked away...not in a keepsake box, or an old book, or even in a drawer under a pile of owner's manuals...but in the hidden safety of my 2010 facebook timeline status updates. 

I know there are lots of ideas running wild in those busy brains out there in www land, home of the texters and the clickers and the scrollers and the flying fingers...ideas that involve more little rules to live by...

Send them in. Show us the insides of your minds. Submit the sweetness of your hearts. We want to read them...all your little rules to live by. 

Don't cry over spilled milk

It did not softly whisper. It didn't gently brush my cheek with little drops of sunshine. It didn't softly lay my robe across my shoulders and place a rose in my hand. No, after a week of vacation, Monday morning was cruel. It was bright.  It was blaring.  It was unrelenting.


And then I crawled out of bed.


And the pattern for my day was laid. 


At breakfast, after burned toast, spilled milk, which I almost cried over, and our dog, Nutmeg, stealing my sausage, the pattern for my day was indeed cut. No turning back now.


Spelling woes and a stuffy nose...annoying calls and lost baby dolls
careless math and mama's wrath...
tongue-burning noodle soup, cleaning icky dog poop
laundry piled high, oh me, oh my...


And then suddenly, in the midst of all my misfortunes, I just stopped. Except for the half-hearted request of blessings on the sausage right before it became dog-snatched and devoured, and except for that one time I called his name when the milk was heading for the floor, I hadn't even talked to God today. What could I say now? Thank You for this mess?


And that's exactly what I did. Outside. On my swing. Alone. Well, if I could ignore the pouty face of a bad doggy ogling me through the window. So, almost alone. And in the quiet stillness of a place so deep in my heart, this is what I heard.


They prevented me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay. 


Psalm 18:18. 


How beautiful are the words. How fitting and timely. I don't know who they were for David. Saul...other enemies...
But for me, they became everything about this day. 
What a calamity.
What a day.
What a they.
But....
What a Stay!!


And I did thank Him for the mess...for the children, for the dog leering at the window, for the constant ringing of the phone, for the milk, and for everything and everyone else that helped make it.


I'd be lying if I said that from that moment on my day was perfect, with roses and Prince Charming and happily ever afters. But my little girl did pick flowers for me from the backyard.  And my prince did come home and take his shoes off outside so as not to dirty my mopped floors. And at bedtime, with clean floors, school work finished, laundry done, and Nutmeg in her crate, I'd be truthful in saying my day of calamity ended happily...with the Lord as my stay.

Beyond My Thoughts

My brother Ben won the guitar competition at Renofest last month. It was a great accomplishment, and we were all very proud of him.  One of the songs he played was the Irish folk tune, "Danny Boy."  Or to some,"Londonderry Air." And still to others, "He Looked Beyond My Fault and Saw My Need," by Dottie Rambo. Lots of information there. You're very welcome.


And so the last couple times that we were in concert, my dad wanted Ben to relive the moment and perform the song. And, might I add, his playing it brings tears to my eyes every time. Simply beautiful.  My dad announced that Ben would be playing the song we all know, "He Looked Beyond My Thoughts and Saw My Needs."


The first time we all giggled. As a father's children (regardless of age) occasionally do.  The second time we all began to loud whisper down the stage, as bluegrass musicians occasionally do, "It's faauultsss, nnot thooouuuughtssss!".....


But then I started thinking, as I occasionally do...


He did look beyond my thoughts. 

When my children are sick, and the temps are climbing, and the dishes are piling, and the uncertainty is rising, and I'm thinking, I can do this on my own...He saw that I'd need comfort and peace, and He gave me His Word. 

When I'm being hard to get along with, and I'm not on the best-of-friend terms with any of my best of friends, and the silence is deafening, and I'm thinking that it's everybody's problem but my own...He saw that I'd need something to sooth my soul, and He gave me music.


When the night is long and dark and scary, and I've spent it tossing and turning, and thinking that I need an answer right now, He saw that I'd need to see the beauty in patience, and He lit up the sky with a breathtaking sunrise. 


My thinking of a great God in heaven, far away, but requiring my worship. And He came near, and showed me Himself.


My thinking of black or white, wrong or right, live the law.  And He came near, and showed me Grace.


Now don't get me wrong. I have a few faults that I wouldn't mind Him looking beyond. Really? 
This chocolate worshiping, 

Monday-morning slothful, 

mad-at-her-neighbor's-dog, 

all-you-can-eat-chinese-buffet glutton?  

Yes, yes, it's true. 

But I'm so glad He looked beyond my faults...and my thoughts...and saw my needs.






Isaiah 55:8-9

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.