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Let There Be Color!

color leaf

I love color! The world would be a dull and dreary place if all was gray scale. As an art teacher I share with my students the definition of color –
Color is the element of art that is produced when light, striking an object, is reflected back to the eye.

Think about it. Have you ever gotten to work or church and found that your socks are two different colors? Come on….

I looked down at my shoes half way through 1st period one day and found that I had one blue shoe and one blue patterned shoe on  – both the same style! It was dark in the bedroom as I got dressed and I did not see the difference because of the lack of light.

One of the BEST parts of being an art teacher is that people expect me to be a bit weird. I have no problem living up to that image. No one said a word to me – they probably thought I meant to dress that way.

Colors do look different in different light. I have picked out wall paint and begun to paint it on the wall only to realize with horror that it doesn’t look the way it did in the store. Sorry, Phil…

Light has everything to do with color. In a pitch black room no color is distinguishable. It takes light to reveal the ” true colors” that exist. The color is already there, just not perceived.

Can you just imagine the glory of creation when God said “let there be light” and in that instant, what had been dark burst forth in glorious color as the light shone forth? What a magnificent moment!

As women we often live our lives as if they were grayscale. We go from one day to the next, fulfilling our responsibilities, but something is missing. It feels dull and routine. We do the things that need to be done, or we do what we can because there is always more to be done. It is not dark, just colorless.

Where is the color?

In John 1:4-5  (NLT)  John refers to Jesus – the light of the world –

4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.

The light of the world is Jesus. If we lack beauty and meaning in our lives, we need the Light.

John 8:12 (NLT) says –

12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

Here Jesus tells us that we don’t need to walk in darkness – in a colorless, drab world – if we follow Jesus we will walk in the Light.

What a marvelous promise!

If I am experiencing a dull or gray period in my life right now I need to spend time with Jesus and follow Him. Practical ways to do this are prayer, Bible reading, and fellowship with other believers. This is nothing new. It is not a “magic formula”. Just as we turn on the lights to see what is in a room, God’s word will illuminate the dark corners of my life and bring light and color!

Let there be light – let there be color.

God will bring beauty into our lives.

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No New Year Resolutions.

Nana and Minions

I’ve been thinking lately about getting older. You have heard the phrase – “you are only as old as you feel”.

Not true.

When I got two Minion DVD’s for Christmas from grandsons, which by the way are really funny, I feel like one of the kids. Yet – I am still 63.

The reality is that I have been 63 for a week now and I ain’t no spring chicken.

  • I am the oldest (in age) faculty member at Smoky Mountain High School.
  • We opened presents starting with the oldest first – which was ME.
  • I got a senior discount when we went to see the Hobbit on Saturday night.
  • I fall asleep when I sit down and start to read in the evenings…and afternoon.
  • I was the last one up the hill on our family hike, but I enjoyed every minute.

The flip side of this aging coin is that I was also one of the younger individuals around when we visited my parents at their retirement community the week before Christmas. My father is 90 and my mother is 86, so 63 was inconsequential. It is a blessing to see these neighbors of my parents and hear about the activities they are involved in. My father has taught 7 people how to turn wooden bowls this year and both parents traveled to Brazil in September to promote an English language system with which my mother volunteers.

This thinking about age has led me to ask the question – “What next, Lord?”

It seems as though the previous stages of my life where relatively clearly laid out.

  • I went to school 13 years and graduated from high school.
  • I went to college and got a degree and teaching certification.
  • I got a job teaching.
  • I got married.
  • I had children.
  • I was able to stay home with our young children.
  • The children grew and I went to work part-time.
  • Our children became college age and I went to work full-time.
  • My active mothering role has ended – the children obtained jobs, some got married, some have their own children.

What next, Lord?

The above list leaves out the essential dynamic of the purpose of all those things I have done in my 63 years… I desire to live my life to bring glory to God.

In thinking about a New Year’s resolution, I realized that I did not need to think of something do to challenge myself to “improve”, “overcome something”, or “transform” my life.

I need to be faithful in the things that God has already given me to do.

Titus 2: 3-5 –

“3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.”

Those of us who are older women  have a clear mandate. I am so thankful for the faithful, godly women that have taught me over the years including my grandmothers, my mother, Sally Fesperman, Sue Makinson, Elizabeth Elliot and others.

May we all be faithful to be an example to the younger women God brings into our lives in 2015. God Bless you!

 

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Unplanned Pregnancy?

Abi and Caleb

Everywhere we look this season there are reminders of the birth of Jesus – the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

I love that.

It may be commercial and less than sincere at times, but I love the fact that Jesus is acknowledged and celebrated in front yards, in light displays, in store windows, and many public places. Stars reminiscent of the star over Bethlehem shine from the tops of trees, buildings, and mountains.

Yet for his earthly parents, Jesus conception created some very real concerns.

Mary did not plan her pregnancy – in fact the timing was very problematic. She was engaged to marry Joseph. How would he take this news? It took a visit to Joseph by an angel to validate the legitimacy of Mary’s pregnancy. She was also near the end of her pregnancy when her husband said that they must travel to Bethlehem. Before prenatal visits and ultrasounds Mary did not know her “due date”. Yet, God had it all prepared according to His plan. He knew just when and where His Son would be born. He had angels ready to announce it to the shepherds and placed an extraordinarily bright star to shine over the birthplace. Even though there was no room in the Inn, God chose a place that has allowed people from every tongue and nation to identify with the lowly birth of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings – Jesus.

In Luke 1: 46 -49 – Mary praises God for what the angel told her about her impending pregnancy.

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
My spirit rejoices in God my savior.
For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness;
behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”

Mary knew in her heart that God was in control of her life and her pregnancy. What a place of peace and rest! Mary did not know what the future held – but she knew He who held her future.

I had an “unplanned” pregnancy. Statistically, about 50% of the mothers reading this did as well. I would not change the birth of that precious child for anything in this world. God knew what He was doing and I am so thankful!

I learned something from a friend years ago. The Bob Bryan family had three older children and a gap of about 17 years and then another child. People often asked if this late-in-life baby was planned. Bob would answer “Yes, this baby was planned from the foundations of the world.” What a true and meaningful response!

Each baby is planned by God as stated in Jeremiah – “I knew you when you were formed in your mother’s womb.” There are no “accidents” in God’s plan for each life.

As we celebrate with our children and grandchildren this year, may we remember that each child was planned by God and each has immeasurable value because of that fact. May we all treasure these moments to celebrate Jesus birth together and as Ann Voskamp states –

“May God’s greatest gift be our greatest joy.”

Merry Christmas!

Angel Adahlyn