"My Incredible Memory Garden"

                                             

Today is not mothers day, but since we were celebrating memorial day at church, I was also reminded of my wonderful mother. She was so special to me, but I failed to tell her that. I did a lot of nice things for my mother, but if she was still here, I would do more. She has been gone for nineteen years, but it seems like only yesterday. I can still see her standing before the mirror making her beautiful face look more beautiful with the Cody and Max Factor make-up she used so often. She taught me to make her delicious yeast rolls and loafs of bread, but most of all she taught me to love everyone even when they were unlovable. I have lost many loved ones, and I have wonderful memories of them all.

Today was the day to especially remember all of those who fought for our freedom, and those who died for that cause. I can never thank them enough. My daily prayer is, “Lord help me to do more for all who are involved in keeping my country free. Bless them to the fullest.” I can’t do a lot with finances, but I can, and do give some. I help in several other ways, even if it is just a yard sign, or a telephone call to support those whom I believe in. I do a lot of writing, even if it may not be reaching a lot of people, and even though I am not a choice writer, I believe God’s word when He said, “My word shall not return to me void.” Among my incredible memory garden I have planted many words of everlasting truth. I believe that some day my memory garden will spring up and blossom from all the seeds I have planted, and my many loved ones and friends will be there to help me celebrate.

I want to share one of my favorite quotes from an American editor and critic. He taught at Yale for twenty years. Henry Seidel Canby.

“Good writing is always a breaking of the soil, clearing away prejudices, pulling up of sour weeds of crooked thinking, stripping the turf so as to get at what is fertile beneath. It would be amusing to carry the simile further. Those bulbs that flower in the sand and wither! The gay fiction annual that has to be planted again every year! Those experimental plants from Russia, France, and Greenwich Village that are always getting winter killed-----confound ‘em!----is it worth while planting them again? The stocky perennial that keeps coming up---so easy to grow and so ugly. Scarlet sage that gives a touch of fiery sin to the edge of the suburbanite’s concrete walk! And then the good flowers---as honest as they are beautiful! The well-ordered gar den! The climbing rose that escapes and is the most beautiful of all!

Henry Seidel Canby

Mr. Canby recognizes the mixture of God’s beautiful and ugly flowers. He also admits that all must be cared for in their own way. Some require much work, while others require little. Do we get to pick and choose which of God’s flowers we want in our flower garden? “God help us to love them all.”

“Every life is a flower in God’s bouquet.”

Myrtle Jean Sharp

　

　

　

　

"Love With The Love of God"

Charles and I were sitting out on our front porch enjoying the cool evening breeze. We were watching the sprinklers across the street shooting out long streams of water on the high school playing field. Graduation is Saturday night and as soon as the grass greens up on the practice field, the young boys will start playing flag football. This has been a habit of ours for forty- four years. That is how long we have lived in this house. All four of our children graduated from Perryton High School just a few steps from our house. Our roses and flowers have done exceptionally well this summer and we are so blessed to sit out and enjoy their beauty and sweet smell.

I know that some day this home will belong to someone else, but I thank God for all the years we have lived here. I thank Him for every child and grandchild He has blessed us with. If I keep my eyes upon Jesus I will not be dragged through the pits of hell that I believe is near to our nation. I am ready to trade this home for a better home on high.

It saddens me to know that many families have parted ways because of twisted thoughts that God could have straightened out if only the halo could have been removed. Blind eyes could not be opened because of an undiscerning spirit that the victim would not let go. First and foremost false pride had captured the, would-be lovely creature, God had chosen to bless. Sickness and death came too soon for that person of folly. I have personally known such persons I just spoke of, and I feel like I failed when trying to help them. Their hearts seemed made of stone, and nothing was going to change them. Some hate victims I have dealt with were healed after much exposure to the Word of God, but never doubt that it was a miracle of God.

A smile is part of the attire we should wear every day, but be informed that some smiles have a secret to them. Let us be true to our smile and bring a smile to others.



God bless all the lovers of humbleness.

Myrtle Jean Sharp

　

"Searching For Answers"

“Searching For Answers”

We just returned from Oklahoma City after laying another family member to rest. Delbert Lee Trammell was my youngest sister’s husband. He passed away May the 13 after a long battle with cancer. He was 67. His funeral service was attended by a large number of family and friends. Several beautiful floral arrangements adorned his casket. He was a man that words have not been found to properly describe him. A man of several personalities. He leaves a wife of 47 years, Shirley Ann Cope Trammell, five sons, 2 daughters, and several grandchildren and great grandchildren to grieve. Rev. Ronnie Cope, nephew of Shirley Trammell, conducted the service. Like he has done with several previous family funerals, he touched the grieving hearts with a special love that only God can give.

Many of us who are left to wait our turn to depart from this life should think seriously about how we have judged others. When God created man He had a plan and a purpose for each and every one. I don’t believe I am ready to tell God that any one of His created beings didn’t fulfill His plan for them. Life in this earthly body is short at best, but it holds many deeds of both good and bad which have to be acknowledged by God on that great and final day. At every funeral I have attended where Rev. Ronnie Cope has ministered he has emphasized the need to love and forgive. I saw an uniformed law officer standing at the back of the funeral chapel where my brother-in-law was entered for his final good-byes. I had never seen this before, but was aware that things have changed a lot in the past few years. Some good friends whom I have great respect was telling me about a family member of theirs where the funeral had to be conducted twice. A split family would not all attend the same service. It is so hard for me to imagine such a terrible strife among a family. I know there has been hate in this world ever since its beginning, but you and I don’t have to let it enter into our hearts; but if it does, work and pray very hard to get it out. Hate is death almost ready to strike.

I believe that an evil spirit dwells among us now more than ever. That spirit is growing stronger only because the Christians are growing weaker. Its much easier to turn our backs on acts of sin than to make it known to people. No one wants to hurt or insult anyone, but is that the way Jesus was? Absolutely not. He let people know when they were sinning. Does that mean Christians are the same as Jesus? Absolutely not, but it means Christians must quote God’s word day in and day out, even if it makes someone mad. We should never try to enforce God’s word, but always make it available. That is all God asks of us.

God bless

"A Place For Mom"

A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived two hundred miles away. As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong and she replied, “I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother, but I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars.” The man smiled and said, “Come on in with me. I’ll buy you a rose. He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mom’s flowers. As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, “ Yes, please! You can take me to my mother.” She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave. The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mothers house.

This is just one of the several things I heard today, Mother’s Day, that brought tears to my eyes. Our young pastor, in his prayer to God, was sure to let Him know that all of the wonderful things He had given a mother to raise her children by, was greatly appreciated by her children. For a few minutes I felt like a queen who had just been crowned. I believe every mother there felt the same way. Each mother as she entered the sanctuary was given a long stem chrysanthemum. Several bouquets were presented to mothers for children driving the farthest to see her, the mother with the oldest child, the mother with the youngest child, and several other honorable mentions. How good it feels to be a mother who is loved by her children, but I could not keep from thinking about all the little children who never had the love of a mother. For various reasons this is the case many times. Then I think of the little children who loved their mother even when she was taking their life. One little seven year old boy in particular, who watched his mother drown his four younger brothers and sisters in the bathtub. He tried desperately to escape, but all doors were locked with a key. When it was his turn to die he pleaded, “mother please forgive me. What have I done?” I would especially ask that all loving mothers remember to pray for the unloved children who love their mothers as much as yours love you.

Blessings to all mothers’

Myrtle Jean Sharp

"One Human Step is Like a Million Miles With God"

Tonight I called God to come and visit with me. He made one step and was here. That is how big God’s feet are. If you think God is too far away to invite Him to your home, just call Him and find out. When people quit putting limits on God’s ability to do anything they ask, then they shall have whatsoever they ask in Jesus’ name.

I knew God was with me within moments after I asked him to come. I told Him about my worries and how low I was feeling. He didn’t scold me for feeling sorry for myself, or tell me about all of His troubles. He just lifted me up and said, “ whenever you fall again, just give me a call.” How great and how wonderful it is to have God on my side. Oh! How I long so much to see many of my friends and loved ones come to the knowledge and understanding of how big God’s feet are, and how much He wants to come and visit them. The human imagination is just not clever enough to believe God’s word. There is a quote made by an unknown person that states, “The simple believe everything, but the clever consider their steps.” What does that mean to you? To me it means, I am simple enough to believe every word in the bible, while clever enough to ask God to explain it to me. I am dedicated enough to Him to accept His instructions no matter what they may be.

Family and friends are wonderful lean-posts, but God’s beam-post is the one and only that will not give in. It stands through out the ages for support to the weak eaglets we are. I think the famed Italian journalist, Italo Calvino, explains it correctly with his quote. “The unconscious is the ocean of the unsayable, of what has been expelled from the land of language, removed as a result of ancient prohibitions.” Do we really have to explain our problems to God? Certainly not. God already knows about our concerns, but we do have to ask him for help when we feel like we have forgotten the first letter of the alphabet.

I cannot close this comment without giving you a comment from Jesus. Luke 6: 35

“But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.”

God bless

Myrtle Jean Sharp

"God Bless Our Patio"

Today marked the completion of two weeks hard work remodeling our screened-in patio. My husband and I did all the work except for a few holes that had to be drilled into the cement. When I asked our wonderful neighbor, Doug, why we couldn’t get the bit to drill into the cement, he just said, “ because you are not using a hammer drill.” He quickly got out his big hammer drill and within minutes the screws were in the concrete. My 85 year old husband, Charles, and myself, 79, did all the rest, but not without nearly killing each other. It seemed as though his way of patching and repairing didn’t agree with my way of doing it. He was sure he knew and I was sure I knew. Like two kids neither wanted to give in to the other. Remember this was a patch up and piece together all kinds of different gadgets to put the large screened patio back together and in place, after 20 years of Panhandle wild blowing winds. My good neighbor walked up on us just about the time I was fixing to lower the boom on Charles. I said, “excuse me Dough, I’m sure glad I saw you in time. I’m sure you have never heard me yell at Charles.” Since there is just a 6’ fence between his yard and ours, he sheepishly grinned at me and answered, “huh, aye oh no.” I have to admit we both used strong words against each other, but every word had, “with all my love written on it.” This was the best scream match we have ever had. We loved every minute of fixing this patio. I only fell off the ladder once, and Charles really screamed then. I had to yell at him before he would let me go back up. Of course he was bared from the ladder. All of the wood has been painted white and there was a lot of trim since the whole patio is screened in. Even the cement floor has a new coat of grey paint. We will be painting the patio furniture tomorrow and I will be putting some pictures on my face book wall.

With a roof overhead, fly and mosquito proof screened walls, and a large charcoal grill setting by, we hope to feed many friends and family at our newly remodeled steakhouse. Come any time one and all. Not only will we feed you meat from the feet, but meat from the word of God.

God bless

Myrtle