How Mr. Rogers Changed My Life

      Click, click, click. The sound that the dial on our old black and white TV with the big antennas on top made as it was turned to channel 12.  Channel 12 helped to mold me. I learned through watching Big Bird to never tell a lie. Ernie taught me that even the littlest things in life can be amazing. I learned to sound out words watching The Electric company, but it was Mr. Rogers who had the biggest impact. Fred Rogers taught me not just to be compassionate but to be empathetic. 

     I couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old when in an episode of Mr. Rogers, he looked up into the sky at an airplane and started talking about the people on the plane. He wondered aloud if there might be a happy family going on vacation, a sad lady going to visit her sick mother, or a soldier returning after a long time away from home.  I remember later that day watching an airplane fly by and wondering the same thing. Before long I found myself wondering about the people in the cars on the road around us, a family laughing in the park, and even about a lady that looked sad while she stood in line at the store. Because of my crazy and creative streak I would make up stories to go along with the people. I had a story for everyone on the airplane. Sometimes the people in the cars were happy and on their way to dinner, but sometimes if I saw angry faces Daddy and Mommy were yelling at the kids in the back seat and they were turning around and going back home. 

   

     I wish that everyone had had the chance to see that episode because I strongly believe that if we all took his simple idea, "to wonder about the people in the plane", that the world would be a much kinder place.

That red car that just cut me off stops being just a car. My day being ruined turns into our day. Now there is a lady in the car; a lady that yes, may just be being rude, but maybe she has had a terrible day, maybe she didn't see me, maybe someone she loves is sick. 

     When everything stops being about me and becomes about us the feelings change, the behaviors change. Just imagine what driving would be like if we all took the time to consider all of the others drivers not just as a hazard to us but as people with their own set of problems and stressors. Imagine if everyone did that for you. How about at the grocery store... how would it be if everyone there suddenly started considering your feelings. I think we would hear an onslaught of polite phrases. A whole lot of please, thank you and excuse me from every direction. I think trash would disappear from the roadsides because we would be considering those who have to come clean it up. People would never listen to their music loud enough to bother the neighbors, mean hurtful comments spewed out in a fit of anger would be a thing of the past. 

   I don't have my head in the sand. I know we live in a sinful world so I will have to wait for Heaven to see the world like this, but I just thought it might be nice to suggest that we all try to take Mr. Rogers advice and wonder about the people around us. 

Why do you have to push your belief onto others?

      Why do you have to push your beliefs on others. Believe what you want and keep it to yourself. I've had more than one person say this to me. So I have a question, if you had a suspicion that your house had a gas leak would you do everything in your power to keep people from going in and lighting a match? Why? Can you see the leak, can you hear the leak, or can you smell a very faint oder that you think might be a gas leak.
 

 My belief in Jesus Christ and the validity of the Bible is more than a suspicion. I am positive that this is true. The Bible says that if you don't accept Christ as your savior you will go to hell. I believe this and guess what, I don't want you to go to hell. I want everyone to be able to spend eternity in Heaven rejoicing with Jesus Christ. Even before death I want everyone to have the chance to feel the assurance that you are loved no matter what you look like, whether you're fat or thin, are bald, or have no teeth. You can stutter, have anger issues, struggle with jealousy and Jesus Christ will still love you and be there every minute of everyday to support you.
     I admit I have been blessed. I have a really good life, but I've had my struggles, I've been stabbed in the back by the people who are supposed to love me, I am constantly on a roller coaster of losing and gaining weight, I've been poor, I've been sick, I've watched my children suffer, but ALL of these things were and are easier for me because I have JESUS by side. I know without a doubt that He loves me and always will.
     So when I see you if I bug you by talking about Jesus it is because I care. If my FB posts are annoying it is because the thought of those I love missing out on this amazing life breaks my heart.
     I pray you will open you heart to His love. He died to pay the penalty for your sins and mine. Accept His gift and live a life that is full and will last forever.

This Little Light of Mine

           A friend of mine recently modeled for a fashion show. She was talking about the young woman who did her hair and it turned out that the woman was my own hairdresser. 

          I like my hairdresser a lot. She is very talented, but I found that I was reticent about mentioning that she was my hairdresser. God did not choose to give me thick hair nor very much of it. I don't know which hairstyles best suit my face and although I take time to fix my hair every morning I rarely look at it through the day. I didn't want to mention my connection with the hairdresser because I wasn't sure my hair would be positive advertisement of her abilities. 

         These thought like so many others that I have swirled and swished their way down the rabbit trails that are my brain. Somewhere in my swishing and swirling I jumped trails and started to wonder if my life is a good advertisement of God. Do my words and actions make people want to seek Him out or will they be sure to steer clear of Him after getting to know me? 

Loving the Sinner

     The story of the woman at the well is one that I have heard for years. John 4:1-40 tell the story. Jesus was in Judah. The pharisees were getting disgruntled so he told his disciples it was time to leave and that they would be going to Galilee. Now to get to Galilee from Judah one has to pass through the town of Samaria, and who lives in Samaria? Samaritans. In all the years of listening to this story no one ever really explained why the Samaritans were so awful so I decided to find out. My research took me back to 900 BC. Solomon was dying and his son Rehoboam was going to become
the king. Two of the Twelve tribes of Israel were thrilled to see him become king, but Ten of the tribes, the tribes to the North wanted nothing to do with him and decided that they would choose their own king.  In Judea (the 2 southern tribes) Jerusalem was the capital city as well as the city where the temple was located. In Israel (the 10 northern tribes) Samaria was the capital and the city where they worshiped. Now fast forward about 200 years and we see the Big bad Assyrians trying and doing quite well at conquering much of the known world. Next on their list of victims was Israel (10 northern tribes). Sadly Israel didn't fair well and the Assyrians quickly took control. Most of the people of Israel were scattered throughout the Assyrian Empire, but some were left to try to survive in their homeland. It was not easy for them for once the Assyrians conquered a land they sent many of their faithful subjects to live there. Soon the Assyrians living in Samaria married the Jews who were living there. Zoom 500 years later and Jesus and his disciples come to Jacob's well located in Samaria. Jesus is hot and tired and tells his disciples to go on ahead to get some food and bring it back to the well. While Jesus is sitting there a woman comes to fetch water.  Ding, Ding. I found another important point here. Women went to the well early in the morning before their families were awake for two reasons, 1 it was the coolest part of the day and 2 they would have water to prepare breakfast and complete chores through the day. Another thing that I learned is that the women would go to the well in groups as it was much safer. Here in this story we find this Samaritan woman at the well in the middle of the day alone. So the story continues and Jesus asks the woman for a drink. The woman is shocked that Jesus spoke to her. A man would not speak to a woman he didn't know and and a Jewish man would never speak to any Samaritan and Jesus didn't just say hello, he asked for a drink. Meaning he would touch something of hers and ingest water that she had drawn. This was simply unheard-of!  Jesus continues to speak to her telling her that if she had any idea who He was she would ask him for a drink instead, and that the water He would give would be Living Water. If she drank His water she would never thirst again. My sunday school teachers always spent most of there teaching time on this aspect of the story. They were correct that it is very important, but I think they missed out on so many lessons. After Jesus talks about the Living Water he tells the woman to get her husband. The conversation continues and Jesus tells her that he knows that she has been married 5 times and that she is currently living with a man to whom she is not married. The woman is amazed at what he knows about her and starts to realize that he is the Messiah that she has been waiting for. I have to wonder why Jesus let her know that he knew all about her past. Was it so that she would see Him perform a miracle or was there more to it? Was he letting her know that not only did he know she was a Samaritan woman, but he knew all about her. He knew why she didn't come to the well with the other women, why she felt she had to come alone. Jesus knew who she was and what she was and still offered her the Living water. So while I sat amazed at the beautiful way that Jesus chose to show this woman that it didn't matter where she came from or what she had done He still wanted to offer her His gift of Living water I was convicted. There are people who I avoid because the cultural difference make me uncomfortable. REALLY? I am missing out on a chance to share Christ's love with someone because they make me uncomfortable. I know people who have made some choices that I find absolutely reprehensible. Guess what, I'm sure Jesus thought that this woman's actions were pretty reprehensible, but he still loved her enough to share the Living water. And on that note, I'm sure that Jesus has found and continues to find much of what I do reprehensible.  We throw around the phrase, Hate the sin Love the sinner, but do we really follow that ideal? Do we, do I love the people who flew our plains into the towers? Do I love the girls at the clinic about to kill their unborn babies? Do I love the people around the world who are persecuting and killing Christians? So much to think about, to pray about. I think it is time I get uncomfortable and share His amazing love.