Tsunami Pain To Living Water Peace

I have always heard and read the expression "pain that takes your breath away" but truly I didn't understand  the literalness of that  phrase.

 It sounds poetic on paper.. sounds sadly romantic in novels.

 It is neither poetic or romantic.

It is excruciating.

It is a pain that, for me, takes on the characteristics of water. A tsunami of pain that wells up in my abdomen and with increasing fury crests upward through my stomach and crashes where my heart is. It takes my emotions and hurls them in a swirling underwater grip. It threatens to drown  me. I am forced to hold my breath to avoid swallowing deep gulps of  that agony until I can thread my way through the pounding waters to the surface where faith is the lifeline that I grab onto to keep afloat till the next wave comes. Any water I do swallow exits my body through the tears I cry. It is a re-occurring tidal wave that I endure every time I think about my Dad now.

My Dad, my hero, my example, my friend, my strong tower was diagnosed with ALS - better known as Lou Gehrigs Disease. It is terminal...and here comes that wave of pain again! I have not been able to talk about it. Hard enough to bear that tsunami without verbalizing it. This is my attempt to accept it and to talk about it now.

Isn't it funny how something so mundane, so ordinary as the idea of water can not only be used to describe pain but to also be means of remembering so many important events or lessons. Just as a calm lake reflects the mural of nature around it, water, in it's various forms, can reflect cherished memories throughout my life.

The ocean;
 Pismo Beach, a place where Dad has gone since he was a boy, where he took us so often that the tent at the campsite felt like our second home. Family pictures under the old eucalyptus tree and Dad's  trademark disgusted smirk at how long it always took yet a big ol' smile for the picture.  Dad and dutch oven meals that tasted soo good! "Eureka! I found some!" Family around campfires, laughing, telling stories, reminiscing  and always Dad bearing his testimony and sharing  his love for all  of us.
 Dad loading up the rubber raft with  as many as would fit then pulling us out deep enough so that the sun drenched waves would send us bouncing back to shore. Dad- needing a wee bit bigger wetsuit each year and finally happy to sit on his beach chair under the umbrella, like a king on his throne, making himself available for the grandkids that run back and forth  from the water to his chair, just to see him.

Rivers and lakes -
Yellowstone and the God awful river rafting  that lasted 8 hours for SOME of us.
Big Stump hiking to the lake. Dad giving me his love of hiking and of the great outdoors. Dad hiking or walking no matter what, in woods, in deserts, in neighborhoods, in mountains, along rivers, in suburbs.

Big Stump and the camping,  exploring, us  kids getting lost and knowing dad would come find us and he did! Family pictures on top of massive tree stumps so big and tall dad would have to lift us up so we could climb atop. Dad's trademark disgusted smirk cuz it would take so long yet a big ol' smile when he saw those photo's later.

Tule River behind our house where we fished, jumped in off a rope swing, The Tule River house where we learned to build as we helped dad put additions on the house, learned to paint when we helped dad paint the outside of the house. Learned the importance of food storage when food and not us kids were the occupants of the neatest biggest wooden playhouse  we had ever seen. The Tule River House where we had horses and I got to go horseback riding with my dad. Tule River house where getting good reception on the TV was interupted everytime mom used a kitchen appliance so I learned Star Trek was more important then mom making dinner. Then later having no TV because dad realized family was more important then Star Trek.Where I learned that beating dad at Risk meant having to pick up all the little squares that when flying when dad threw the board off the table! Boy, could I roll those double sixes.

Hose and Sprinklers

I have a love of gardening, of growing things, an appreciation of  the peace that comes from being outside from my dad. My earliest memories include dad and  him watering something! I learned to work and work hard. If it wasnt our own garden and vines, it was church welfare farms.  I learned the contentment of  enjoying  the gentle sway of a glider swing and doing nothing  but  being apart of the landscape as it changed magically from hour to hour; the gift of sunrises and sunsets. Waiting  the 20 minutes then moving the hose to the next row to water various veggies and fruits. Weeding.. and dad's trademark disgusted smirk at how Adam had caused all the noxious weeds yet the big ol' smile when his gardens and flowers were pristine. Like my dad. I can always be found outside somewhere, weeding, hiking, sitting on my glider swing, feeding critters or simply absorbing the peace that nature brings.

Glass of water-

 I learned to respect my dad because of my Mom. Whenever Dad was working outside doing anything you could be guarenteed to hear my mom request one of us, usually me, to take dad a cold glass of water. She would mention how hot  or thirsty he would be , how hard he was working and how much it would mean that  we thought about him. She has always hidden special treats  that dad likes the best in his drawer. She would tell us how much it meant  to a man that never even received a birthday card from his family growing up. She always made every effort to think about dad and expected and taught us to also think about dad, to show our love.  She always demanded we respect him and respect him we did. I valued and cared about my dad because I saw my mom value and care about him first and it all began with, " Your dad is probably hot and thirsty, why don't you take him a cold glass of water." That example  and the way I feel about dad has helped me honor and respect my husband who also gets a cold drink when he is working outside because of that lesson in honoring and showing love to my dad.

Tears

Knowing my dad wasn't too proud to cry over us, in front of us, because of us. To  see his tears accompany testimony, or teary eyes when we made him proud. Tears when asking for forgiveness, or the best kind for me, tears because I make him laugh so hard!

The sacramental bread and water
The bread and water that represents the greatest legacy dad left to all of us.
It is the way he implemented the greatest gift given to all of us: the atonement. Being the eldest of all the siblings I had a first hand knowledge and front row seat to Dad's ability to utilize the atonement. The Dad I grew up with  was a different man then the one my younger siblings grew up with. I, like all of you, learned  and witnessed many lessons about  the atonement from Dad.

Humility: It takes a broken heart and contrite spirit to look inside ones soul, to see faults, qualities that need refining mistakes to be corrected. It takes humility to ask God to show us these weaknesses so that in turn he can make them strengths as promised in the scriptures. Dad started out with a wee too much pride, a sin that from time to time plagues  us all. YEt, because of his quest to be more Christlike, to be a better husband, father, friend, disciple- he taught us humility because of the atonement.

Courage:  It is one thing to acknowledge our weaknesses but quite another to do anything about them. To do something about them takes a special brand of courage that only the atonement can provide. Dad never used well worn excuses or shirked responsibility for his actions, his words or  his deeds. He didnt throw his hands in the air and say well it is too late to change. WHat he did was have the courage to give up a business and return to school some 20 years from graduating High school. He had the courage to sell our  home on 20 acres and move into town to take classes specific to the areas he wanted to improve in.He had courage to move to Utah to graduate from an University. HE had the courage to  rewire his thought processes, to realign his actions to be a better husband, father, friend ,disciple. He taught us courage because of the atonement.

Faith- The courage couldn't have been possible without Faith in the atonement. Faith that  Christ's gift to him and to us could indeed wipe away the sins and errors he  lamented over. Faith that CHrists gift to him and to us could indeed give us the power to overcome all, not some,  but all of the weaknesses  that weigh us down. Faith in the knowledge that because of the atonement  CHrist could heal hearts, mend spirits, give strength and comfort when tears flow freely, when hearts are breaking, when bodies are wounded. Dad had  Faith in the atonement  that he would live again! He had Faith that he could be a better husband, father, friend ,disciple. He taught us Faith in the atonement.
When we take the sacrament, when we partake of the bread and drink the water,I hope dad's humility, courage and faith in the Atonement of Christ increases our own. and that we also will want ot be better husbands and wives, fathers and mothers friends and disciples of Christ.

 Lastly...

Living Water-

 My dad taught me  about Jesus, bread of life, living water. He taught me  the gospel; taught me about faith, prayer,committment, covenants and his example of the atonement in his life taught me I can change! It is never too late to come unto Christ. It is that knowledge and testimony that now sustains me in this  great pain. The faith  and hope I have in my Savior  that Dad will be my dad forever. Because of God's  promise of Eternal life and eternal families, the flood of pain might  buffet me, toss me, threaten to suffocate me but it will not drown me. The total belief and testimony I have anchors me safely. If I flounder it is  Christs's hand that reaches down to pull me up for air. That He loves and comforts me, is a life preserver keeping me afloat.

  I did not want my dad to die. I do not want to finish my time on earth without my rock. But I know it is merely a momentary separation.

 It is Christ's promises that help me to  find peace and solace that, as this disease took control, denying my dad of  the use of his limbs, of his voice, of swallowing and other ravages,  it will only have a little while to do so. It's temporary victory will be swallowed up in the resurrection that comes to all ,from that infinite atonement. Dad will bear testimony again, laugh again, display his trademark disgusted smirk again. He will hike again, work again, garden again and when I, at last, go and join him in our heavenly home, I will, once more, bring him a cold glass of water.

In the name of Jesus Christ amen

Mother-To- Be Lament

I don't  know what to do! Where did the nine months go??
There are lots of things about babies that I just don't know!
I've never had a babe in arms or dealt with baby tears...
that, in part, my little one, is why I have these fears.

            Will I bathe you properly?
             Handle crying tenderly
             Daddy says most probably
             But I just don't know!

I don't know what to do! These nine months went so fast!!
I thought I'd have time to prepare but 9 months now are past.
I've never been 'round lots of kids, I've never babysat,
Now you'll be here any day, what do you think of that??
  
              Doctor checkup's have been unnerving
              Which car seat is most deserving?
              OH! My courage is retreating!
              I just don't know!

I don't know the in and out's, like which diaper is the best,
or how long I should let you sleep when your down to rest.
how 'bout colic and the croup, what happens should you get these?
I don't have ready answers and would like them if you please.

                Will my life change drastically?
                 or will it change most magically?
                 Dad says it  will change perfectly-
                 But I just don't know!

So you've decided to come today; my labors almost done.
Your Daddy and I wonder if you're a daughter or a son.
At last they see your little head and then comes all the rest.
They've cleaned you up, swaddled you and laid you gently on my chest.
             
                   You look at me so trustingly
                    I clasp you to me lovingly
                    I'm ready to Mother fearlessly;
                             Because,
                           all at once,
                             I know!
                                                                   JDB
 
  ☻Do not reproduce or copy without permission

Prayer of the Future? Heaven help us! No.. literally!

. 1. A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that sought to stop Gov. Rick Perry from sponsoring a national day of Christian prayer and fasting, ruling Thursday that the group of atheists and agnostics did not have legal standing to sue. "The governor has done nothing more than invite others who are willing to do so to pray," Miller said. "...said Kay Staley, one of five Texas residents named as plaintiffs in the suit, "I think the governor needs to keep his religion out of his official duties."


2. A group of atheists has filed a lawsuit claiming the display of the World Trade Center cross at the 9/11 memorial in lower Manhattan is unconstitutional, calling it a "mingling of church and state." The cross, which consists of two intersecting steel beams that were found intact in the rubble at Ground Zero, was initially constructed on a side of a church in lower Manhattan. The cross was then placed inside the 9/11 Memorial Museum during a ceremony over the weekend.


3.Texas Lawmaker Calls for Congressional Probe Into Ban of Christian Prayers at Military Funerals


A Texas lawmaker is calling for a congressional investigation of the Houston National Cemetery after he went undercover and determined that cemetery officials are still preventing Christian prayers at the funerals of military veterans.
“The Obama administration continues to try to prevent the word ‘God’ from being used at the funerals of our heroes,” said. Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas).


The cemetery is already the focus of a lawsuit filed on behalf of the VFW, an American Legion post and Houston’s National Memorial Ladies. They claim the VA banned members of the organizations from using the words “God” or “Jesus” at burial services. Controversy first surfaced nationally at the cemetery during a Memorial Day event when a Houston pastor was ordered by the VA to remove the name of Jesus from his prayer.

Google religious freedom, prayers or Christianity and read for yourself the scores of news reports that have chronicled the demise of religious freedom for Christians while at the same time lauding more religious tolerance and freedom for other religions or groups.  From removing nativity scenes, prayer from schools, federal funding for any public school allowing religious groups to meet  therein after school hours,  these are just a few of the pages of stories  you will find across our nation that  try to subdue the Christian spirit.The list goes on and on.

Why aren't we as Christians, just as vocal, just as committed in preserving our right to display, wear, pray as  symbols and symbolic attributes of Christians, as the liberals and atheists are to their cause of deleting God from the vocabulary of our lives??
 Can one search the hallway of history and not see  door after door slamming shut, closing us off from  what  was once a given- an expectation to acknowledge God's hand and,  in humility, seek His guidance? Behind those closed doorways are bookshelves lined with journals, rulings, writings, examples of good men & women admitting the spirit of God inspiring, guiding and  directing them; from Christopher Columbus to the founding Fathers.. from presidents to  religious leaders; from hero's, whose names we know to the unnamed Christians who acting with courage in their beliefs molded this country. Those  shelves are lined with inarguable facts that God  was and should still be, an integral part of this country and it's people; from the pledge to patriotic songs, from our money to our flags- the truth is there and all the advocates for abolishing God can't destroy the evidence. Hide it- yes! Try to rewrite history- yes! Make is increasingly harder to  teach and seek the truth- yes! Howevere, the truth is still  there to be found if we look hard enough and carre deep enough ot find it. Athesists would  have us believe that man created God and by doing so can destroy Him, when in truth, God created man and has the power to destroy us in our wickedness.

How can we be so complacent about  our  being robbed of our religious rights ? How have we let  the brainwashing under the guise of tolerance and political correctness guilt us into accepting less and less  leeway to obey and to worship as God expects?  Will our homes be the last refuge for worship when the goverment and groups that would destroy our rights, keep passing laws that will dictate what can be said or taught in our churches?

The separation of church and state has morphed from a simple idea  that allowed for  religious freedom undisturbed by government into a government that controls religion- a monster that devours every semblance of worship!

How  will our prayers  sound if we don't fight for our rights to practise Christianity. Perhaps I can offer a sample:

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
I have hidden in my closet where no one can  slap an injunction upon me for  speaking  to thee. I thank thee dear Lor.. I mean Sir, for the many blessings thou may or may not have seen fit to bless me with. Help me to live as Thou would have me live  all while trying to accommodate all those who are bothered or inconvenienced by my beliefs in thy doctrine and in thy word.

I would plead for thee to  help and guide our politically leaders through the  tough decisions they must make for our people and our country but that would violate the separation of church and state.

 Help me to love  the person  but eschew the sin, even though it is now popular to accept sin as life choices, faults of parents, mental or emotions hang ups. Though I have tried  to be compassionate and understanding  help me to forgive those who call me names, or slander my beliefs. 

Help me  Heavenly... being ... who might have created  heavens and earth or else watched as  all the Cosmo's came together in a scientific bang...avoid   the temptations placed  before me unlike so may of our elected officials who, because they shouldn't mix religion with their political duties, fail to live up to the morals they claim to believe in.

Please forgive me for not being able to sing about Thy son at Christmas time during the school's "Winter Concert" that used to be Christmas concert.. and I fought  the subdivision committee again but lost so, no nativity scene in the yard again  ( thought to spite them I set it up discreetly in the backyard) and did you notice that I whispered  "under God" during the pledge even though I wasn't suppose to?  Felt  like a rebel and it felt good!

Well I guess I better close for now.. I say all this in the ONE who shall not be named, thy Son,
Amen

Satirical or  are  we just about forced  to  have this be our reality?

 I am  scared and angry by the advances Satan has made  to truly be the Lord over this world and making us miserable like he is, by making a mockery of Religion, by using organizations like ACLU and other like minded groups,  to move against any and  all religious strongholds and expression.  However, I am not so scared that I shrink from bearing testimony and more importantly, in living my beliefs!

 I know God lives! I know His commandments are just that , commandments not suggestions. I know that God's laws do not  fluctuate with times and do not mold themselves to fit around  a person's desires to live contrary to His laws. I know His Hand is upon us and if we don't start fighting  for Him and our rights to worship Him as we see fit, His hand will be stayed from blessing  us and this land!!

I know He has a Son, His only begotten Son who is Christ, my Lord and Savior. He  suffered in Gethsemane for my sins that I might, through His grace and my repentance, be made whole and sinless at the last day. He died on the cross that I might live again. He has restored His priesthood ,that worthy men might once more, act in God's name to,as Peter did, seal on earth and in heaven. I know with no doubt He loves me, He knows me by name.

 He lived, He LIVES and HE will come again. I testify that no matter how hard  or how temporarily  successful the world may be  in curtailing the Christian predominance in this nation, a nation founded by and with His help, that the world will see the fulfillment of the prophesy as told in the scriptures: That EVERY knee will bow, and EVERY tongue confess that He is the Christ. My faith in firm and I will not apologise for my  unshakable belief in  God! I need God more then I need the approval of the world!

Now I don't care if you believe or not.  You don't have to. Whether you believe in Christ, Buddha, Allah, whether you are Muslim, Hindu or any other group,  Religious Freedom is just that: the freedom to worship as you see fit! All I ask  is that it  be true for Christians too!
Stop trying to take away my rights!

I will worship
I will pray
I will read Holy scriptures
I will  testify
I will sing
I will praise
I will teach
I am a Christian  and I  won't allow my testimony to be placed on  those bookshelves behind locked doors gathering dust.
I am a Christian and no matter how many laws the men of the world pass I will remain so and will worship as such!

Legacy of Letters

There  is a treasure each of us possesses in some quantity. It is a treasure we keep safe. One that might be bundled and tied with a ribbon. A special treasure that we might keep in a special box in a special drawer.
It is a rare treasure that we keep in it's original "wrapping" and never loses it's value though yellowed and faded. A treasure we all possess that is so dear, that often before we peruse it  for the hundredth time, we press it to our hearts for a brief second, close our eyes and sigh.
The treasure common to us all is  the legacy of letters.

 It is a singularly unique treasure for  it can send us back in time or  encourage us in our future, feel arms around us from love ones long gone or invite new embraces to be discovered. It can pierce the heart in sudden pain or burst the heart in joy and pride.

The treasure can have many givers:
A parent's loveletter to their child, a lovers declaration to their  matching soul,
a friends cry for help or a friend's lifesaving reply,
 a son in a battlefield, a daughter homesick at college,
announcements of births, of deaths, of engagements, of divorce  and back to births again making a mommy a grandma,
crayon drawings from grandchildren,
 a schools acceptance  or a publishers rejection, for even  the harshest letters have formed who we are and marked decisions for our lives.
Givers of treasures can be anyone at all! The giver is half of the worth, the words on the page the rest.

Reflect with me, in your bundle of letters, which have meant something to you?
Who was the author?
How does it stir the heart to see the handwriting of someone dear?
Which of your treasures molded your person, your future?
Where do you keep them?
How often have you taken them out and re-read them?
Why do you cherish them?

 May I suggest some reasons why we cherish these treasured letters?

"Letters are the doors by which the soul's intimacies walk through and present themselves." JDB
"Letters are not only snapshots of life and times but are the reflections of heart and mind. "   JDB
"The pen is  the tongue of the mind."  Horace
"Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them."
 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"More then kisses, letters mingle souls." John Donne

There is no substitution, despite all the technological advances, for the excitement of running to the mailbox to find a letter addressed to us and finding a quiet place to  devour the contents. There is no greater stretching of the soul then to sit in a quiet place and compose a letter, putting pen to blank page.
"You cannot see the tear stains of joy or heartache on an email." (jdb)

Facebook, emails, tweeting , to me they are  the readers digest condensed version of letter writing.They only  leave one  unsatisfied and yearning for more! They have their place  as does cotton candy at  the fair grounds. But  both are momentary pleasures of empty nourishment. Imagine if all the letters the Apostle Paul wrote  to the early saints were tweets! Corinthians..do the right thing! Hebrews: faith is powerful!
 you get the idea! Imagine Thomas Jefferson on facebook: Hey thought of a great way to govern! If you agree then "like" this!

How sad! How unacceptable that  this generation and the generation after, might,  because of societies laziness and  acceptance of that cotton candy correspondence, have no legacy of letters to treasure!  No thick bundles of envelopes tied with ribbon.
 How repulsive the idea is to me that we value family and friends so little that we do not give each other the gift of our time to take  the hours if necessary to share our hearts and lives with them through  treasures of letters. No special  letters kept in a special box in a special drawer!
How empty without new letters to offer snapshots of life and times or reflections of heart and minds.
Nothing  to press against  their hearts for a brief moment, with their eyes closed and an offered sigh.

May I beg any reading this to write a letter!!  Decide on a worthy recipient, then find a good pen, a flat surface, a sticky stamp and write them. " Fill your paper with  the breathing's of your heart" William Wordsworth
 I vow, in return to write any and all who will leave me their addresses in an email: Jbrad1960@gmail.com

For, if we don't continue the legacy of letters, no one will and  the world will have lost a treasure without equal. Let us leave an inheritance more valuable then money or goods.. let us leave an inheritance of love that letters will verify and guard as truth!
Julianna

The Worth of Weeds

Every morning  I go for my walk around the back side of a abandoned sub division. Growing along the perimeter of the curbs, like spectators at a parade are numerous weeds. Like spectators at a parade, the weeds vary in size, type and kinds. They grow unchecked. I've often thought  how ugly they are, how useless,  grateful they didn't invade my yard! Then, after awhile  I didn't think of them at all. I was so used to seeing them that they in essence became invisible to me.

Until two days ago, when walking my route, my eyes spotted a brilliant purple something! I was admittedly confused. What was that purple doing here and what was it? I quickened my steps to hurry toward that eye catching color. It was a blossom! The weed had sprouted a blossom so brilliant, so gorgeous! I was shocked at how such an ugly noxious weed could have that kind of beauty within it's power! Then I noticed more purple. Again , I saw a unique royal purple flower atop a different weed and then again!!! Three different wonderfully lovely flowers atop 3 different ugly prickly weeds.

          As I marveled at this unlikely miracle of the Flowering of the Weeds, the spirit spoke to me as He tends to do when wanting to teach me humility and a life lesson. The thought came to me that  while I had written off these weeds as nothing more then growth to be mowed down, the Lord still sent the sun  to nourish them, sent the rain to quench their thirst and winds to strengthen their roots. The lord knew what I failed to appreciate all along: that inside these weeds laying dormant  was the potential for beauty. He knew  something I didn't allow myself to  contemplate: that in each ugly, prickly, sticker weed there lived a totally unique flower special to that  specific weed.

 At that point I could almost hear the Lord whisper, " How many people  have you looked at as weeds? How many sisters or brothers have you discounted because of their prickly natures, or ugly appearances?"

 It hit me so hard that I had to stop in my tracks.  As tears streamed, I saw faces of individuals that,  passing them for so long, had become invisible to me. I heard my inner judgements based on what I thought of their worth. I marveled that I could be so self- righteous as to  withhold the light of Christ to nourish them. That in my ignorance I failed to share with them  knowledge of the living waters to quench their thirst! That I failed to help them stand tall in the winds of adversity. All because I thought  or rather, didn't think they had  the power within them to blossom into something  beautiful.  That each person could blossom in such a way that they would catch my eye and take my breath away!

I began to see, I began to notice along this route in the early  July morning how all the weeds of every kind had somehow  unfolded within their ugliness some blossom!! Each had a bit of  beauty! 

Maybe when the Lord told Adam "... cursed is the ground  for thy sake...thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee..."   maybe,  just maybe,  the  " for your sake " was the lesson we can learn from the weeds. Perhaps they remind us  that "... the worth of souls is great in the sight of God"

It is a lesson I needed and one I will take to heart.

When the piano is silenced...

    There are all kinds of sounds I hear within  my home. The quiet humming of the ceiling fan, the concerts the songbirds give each day outside my windows, the dishwasher chugging, music from I-Tunes playing over speakers, the phone ringing, the dog barking, cat meowing, the loud motors of trucks passing by on  the road out front and many more.  By far my favorite sound is when Justine plays her piano.
      I am regaled with a variety of music all so expertly played!! In the mornings, if there is enough time before catching  the bus, I am delighted by the playing of favorite hymns. I catch myself singing along and find my mornings so much more pleasant even after the echos recede.  Sometimes I hear the sound of our favorite Final Fantasy music. "Eyes On Me". It is so beautiful!   I hear the many pieces she loves and desires to play; pieces she will research, buy sheet music for and work long and tedious hours to  learn. 
        She composes her own music and has created a song that rivals any I have heard. Her piece  is of such meloncholy beauty, it makes me cry! It does more then tug at the heartstrings, it brands it with the searing fire of emotion.  Unless she is gone overnight at a friends or at camp.. there isnt a day that goes by that  the most anticipated sounds  I wait for is her piano music.
       The piano itself is such an old thing! An antique!  Some of the keys don't work, the petals don't work, but it was free and it is hers. She has a gift! She is a keymaster! She makes that old broken piano sing! She coaxes from it excellence! Any spare minute she has, she will be found at her beloved piano plucking the keys, each key itself unlocking a world of music that invokes so many emotions! And I no matter where I am in the house when I hear her, I smile as I listen and soak up the songs she plays.
        One day she will be off to college. I'll be left with the quiet humming of the ceiling fan, the concerts the songbirds give each day outside my windows, the dishwasher chugging, music from I-Tunes playing over speakers, the phone ringing, the dog barking, cat meowing, the loud motors of trucks passing by on  the road out front and many more sounds.
     But when her piano is silenced, there will be a silence none of those daily noises can fill. It will be a silence so profound and deep that my heart will ache. Until  that day comes, play for me daughter of mine! Play for me!

...as God is, Man may become.....

{The subject I am about to embark on  is true  on many levels with  the other gender but I want to focus on this particular point} 

For a long time now I've noticed a prevalent theme in so many of the ads on TV, a theme that has outraged me and I find that I can no longer sit back and fume about it  but must speak out!
It is the depiction of men, in their roles as a man,  a husband and  a father, as being complete idiots.

Let me set up the commercial I witnessed last night  for TIDE laundry cleaner as merely ONE of countless that has demeaned or devalued man.

On the laundry line hanging to  dry is a very short, immodestly so, white skirt. The dad  wants to stop his daughter from wearing  it so he gets his hands filthy  in grease or dirt  (I didn't catch that) then wipes his dirty hands on the apparel in hopes it would be ruined and hides it down deep in the laundry basket where his  teenage daughter finds it  and in distress goes to her mother. The mom then uses Tides stain fight power to clean the garment.  We then see the daughter ready to leave the house for the night in her inappropriate and immodest  outfit including  said skirt. Both the mother and daughter look at the poor bemused father sitting in his lazy boy with looks of triumph mixed with disdain.

I tried to find  a link to this commercial to  allow viewing but couldn't find it.

IN this particular ad, we see a lack of leadership; a sneaking about to exert his wishes for a more modest outfit to be chosen. We see his being treated as a fool by wife and daughter who have outsmarted him again!  and further that the mom is "cooler"  because she aids in the desired planned outfit.
However,  this is the theme repeated over and over in car commercials, cell phone commercials computer commercials, food commercials... and many many more!

 Why if I  had to base my opinion of man by ads alone I would think they were hopeless, helpless, ignorant, mindless,spineless and totally dependant on a woman for any common sense. (well -that last part may be partly true)

In a society where most of the children are growing up with no Fathers in the home and  the experts are agreeing across the board that it is the major contributing factor to, oh my heavens- a whole list and litany of ills, ( I do not have the room to enumerate all of them) how can society expect  boys- teens- young men- men, to feel confident in that important role they play when  their roles are mocked, devalued and in short, made cartoonish by the advertising media.

How can we expect girls- teens- young ladies- women, to respect  men in their roles as providers, leaders and  protectors when they see  this erroneous depiction played out over and over. A subliminal message repeated time and time again that men have no idea what they are doing and are in fact, according to the implications of these ads, complete buffoons.

This offends me greatly as a woman who honors her husband for  the very values these ads are eliminating. A man who leads, a man of faith, of character, who is intelligent, wise, loving and a man I respect with all my heart. 
This offends me greatly as a woman who honors her father for the very  values  these ads mock. A father who leads his family, a man of faith, of character, whose example has been a light to me. A man who is loving
and a man I respect with all my heart.
This offends me greatly as a woman who honors her God for the very attributes these ads insult. A God who leads His people, who rewards our faith, who shapes our character. A God whose intelligence created all things and rules all things. A God who is loving, sacrificial, stern  yet "..His arms are outstretched still." A God whose pronoun is HE, HIS, HIM, masculine. A God I love with all my heart.

Let us never forget that God created MEN (and women) in HIS image.  In men, as well as women, HE  has placed  a part of His divinity, and, for all  men that accept it, has entrusted His power and authority through His priesthood.
If God has put that much time, love, hope, value, trust and  expectations in His Spiritual sons
how can we dare to do differently!
The Family: A Proclamation to the World

Please check out my related Song highlight and quote.  The song as a interesting  background story. It is available on I- tunes and is very worth listening to! "Lead Me" by Sanctus Real