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I recently had the privilege
to go to Surfside Beach, SC for a little getaway. It was
actually Bike Week again and so we loaded up the Harley
and took off. We stayed with some friends that have a
house sitting right on a little waterway. I saved a
little bread from my sandwich to toss into the waterway
after I ate lunch. I was trying to feed the ducks or
even a few little fishies. I was amazed at what came up
to the surface to eat! There were turtles...LOTS of
turtles at least 17 of them! There were some that were
as small as a baseball and then some as large as a
basketball. What amazed me about these turtles is how
fast they were! Turtles are not known for their speed,
but when there is free bread falling from the sky, those
turtles were pretty quick!
They reminded me of something my Daddy told me in 1993.
I remember it because my Dad's Mom, Maude Brown died on
my Birthday in February 1993. Tim and I were dating at
the time. I lived in Catawba County and Tim was living
and working in Asheville. He had to work the day of the
funeral and I wasn't expecting him to make the one and a
half hour trip down the mountain. When he walked into my
house all decked out in a suit and tie to support me and
my family during this time of grief, well...it just made
me smile. I told my parents that I couldn't believe he
came down right after work and then would have to go
right back. My Daddy said, "When it comes right down to
it, people CAN do what they WANT to do." For some reason
that stuck with me and I always remember it when someone
does something extra nice.
You have an employee that is constantly 10-15 minutes
late for work every day. Yet when you tell them that
anybody who is on time can now earn an additional $25 a
week for the "On Time Bonus", I bet that person CAN
suddenly be at work on time everyday because they WANT
that extra $25! It's amazing how you can have church
members that are able-bodied and CAN go to church, but
for whatever reason they don't WANT to come! I'll be
honest here and give you another example. I used to
occasionally attend the Wednesday night worship service
and in reality, I could have attended most all of them.
I get off work early on Wednesdays and sometimes, it's
just nice to chill out at home. Then Brenning felt the
need to start a praise team. Well, when I knew that I
would get to see Wyatt play the guitar and sing with all
the other kids...immediately I WANTED to be there on
Wednesday nights. And to add to that incentive, Wyatt
loves participating with the Praise Team and he WANTS to
do it!
I am not trying to give anyone a guilt trip, because I
sure didn't hold anything back last month, but people
have to do things for their own reasons. As for me, I
can't help but remember that Jesus COULD HAVE saved
himself from being beaten, whipped and crucified...but
he WANTED to sacrifice himself for you and for me! He
loved us that much...WOW! Big Hugs, Sandy
You must each make up your own mind as to how much you
should give. Don't give reluctantly or in response to
pressure. For God loves the person who gives cheerfully.
~2 Corinthians 9:7 |
