A is for... "not manipulating"

A


Adam, Asenath,  Absalom, Asa, -

Today for the letter “A”, I choose Absalom, third son of King David, a good looking but extremely manipulative man. "Now in all Israel there was no one as handsome as Absalom, so highly praised; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no defect in him." (II SAMUEL 14:25).

Yes, Absalom was good looking. He was particularly proud of his thick gorgeous curly hair. He was also extremely manipulative, pretending to care tremendously for his father’s subjects, when really all he wanted to do was be king in his father’s place.

He would sit at the palace gate and listen to the people’s problems. He would sympathize and then say something like “Oh if only I were in power, I could make things right in the kingdom.” Some of the people fell for this line of thinking and made him king. His own father, after years of running from King Saul, now began running from his own son. Eventually Absalom was killed; his long luxurious hair got caught in a tree during battle. Someone came along and finished the job by spearing him to death.

I have been thinking a lot about Absalom lately. I’ve been thinking of him because there have been opportunities in my own life recently where I have had to consciously choose Not to manipulate in order to get my way. It would have been easy, but it wouldn’t have been right.

There have only been a few books that have truly changed my life. One of these books is called “The Tale of Three Kings” by Gene Edwards. The three kings that are written about are Saul, David, and Absalom. Over and over again, David shows himself to be the righteous man, a man who trusts God to fight his battles. He never takes vengeance into his own hands even when the opportunity is handed to him. Both Saul and Absalom are abysmal kings, their actions only benefiting themselves and not their kingdoms or their God.



I want to be a David, not an Absalom. Please Lord, help me.


L

A-Z Here we come!

Okay, so, I'm really excited about the A-Z challenge. In the last few weeks my life has gotten extremely busy, but I'm going to go for it anyway!

I'm going to choose a Bible character for each day and just have a paragraph or two about why they fascinate me... Keep an eye out for some of the more unique people, stories, and questions that come to my mind!

I'm also quite proud that I figured out how to add the buttons that allow me to visit each of the 800 bloggers that are participating in this challenge! (I am very technically challenged! ) :)

Let's roll!

L

A Creative School Bus Conversation

Something really cool happened yesterday.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I drive a bus for our church's afterschool program. I pick up six children from one school and two more from another. As always the children were a little bit noisy on the ride back to church. I overheard one of them say "I know Ms. Bell really well". I heard a little boy comment that the phrase rhymed. I chimed in by saying that it sounded like the title to a book. All of a sudden, the children were asking if we could write a book together! I told them that we could brainstorm about it together tomorrow (as in today) if they really wanted to.

They didn't forget. They ran into the church today asking if I had time to help them write the book.
So we began.  We brainstormed for about half an hour and then began to write. We have a wonderful story started. I'm quite proud of them actually. They are so creative.

Tuesday, we illustrate.

The best part of the whole thing was how excited they were to create. I loved fanning that flame.

I'll have to ask them if I can share it with you when it's done.


:)

Two  conversations that took place today in Children's Church-


Conversation one:


Little boy: I'm thirsty
(teacher gets him a cup of water)
Little boy: Excuse me. What kind of water is this?
Teacher: Just regular water.
Little boy: hmmm (sips water)
Little boy: I forgot to tell you that I'm allergic to water. (boy starts to sneeze and continues to sneeze for about 5 minutes.)
Teacher number two: (Takes little boy to the back of the room) I think that your allergy should be about done. It's been awhile since you drank the water.
Little boy:  Yeah, I think so. Thank you Jesus!


Conversation Two: (actually it's a riddle that a boy told me and I forgot to find out the answer.)

a farmer had nine ears of corn. A little mouse was taking the corn away three ears  at a time. How long did it take him? (The answer is NOT three.)


L

A Dandelion By Any Other Name....

Last summer,  my daughter sat in the middle of our yard blowing thousands of dandelion fuzzies into the air. She did this on a regular basis for a few months. Every time she was outside, she would pick the flowers and blow until all that was left was a thin green stem with a tiny knob on top.

I sat with her one day and explained that the fuzzies that she was blowing were actually the seeds to the dandelions and that if she continued to do that, we would have a yard full of the yellow weeds in the spring.
She responded by telling me that she knew all of that and that she was doing it on purpose. Dandelions were her favorite flower.

Today, I glanced out the kitchen window. The entire back yard is carpeted with bright yellow dandelions. I'm sure my daughter is happy.


Did I mention that she is nineteen years old?  :)



L

Infinite wisdom from Pennsylvania that May Not Work Elsewhere

If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?  

Pilgrims!


That was a joke we grew up with in Pennsylvania. Of course in order to "get" it, you have to be familiar with New England history and grow up somewhere that Flowers bloom in May!

We live in Georgia now. Our flowers were blooming by the middle of February. Right now, we are in full blown spring. Daffodils, dandelions, pear tree blossoms, forsythia, crocuses (croci?)

So a rewrite for the saying?  How about:




"January showers bring February Flowers, but in hot July everybody glowers".

What do you think?  I'm open to suggestions!




Another "northern" saying when you are talking about March:
"In like a lion, out like a lamb".

In Pennsylvania, the beginning of March was still winter. It was cold and windy. You could still have a good snowstorm. By the end of March, things were starting to look springy. You could go outside without putting on four or five layers of clothing.

Here in Georgia, by the end of March we are contemplating opening up the pool!




So what about you? Do you have some regional sayings that only make sense in your part of the world? I'd love to hear them!


L