The Daffodil Principle

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead "I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house, I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren. "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother." "Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her. "But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this." "Carolyn," I said sternly, "Please turn around." "It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, "Daffodil Garden." We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn. "Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio, we saw a poster.

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.

The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time.

When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world. "It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?" Use the Daffodil Principle.

Stop waiting.....

• Until your car or home is paid off
• Until you get a new car or home
• Until your kids leave the house
• Until you go back to school
• Until you finish school
• Until you clean the house
• Until you organize the garage
• Until you clean off your desk
• Until you lose 10 lbs. Until you gain 10 lbs.
• Until you get married Until you get a divorce
• Until you have kids Until the kids go to school
• Until you retire Until summer Until spring
• Until winter
• Until fall
• Until you die...

There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So work like you don't need money.Love like you've never been hurt, and, Dance like no one's watching. Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day!Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.

Author - Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards

Do you call yourself a Christian?

"The last thing the mission of Jesus Christ needs is more Christians.

Here is the brutal fact: 85 percent of the people in the United States call themselves Christians. Now, let’s pause long enough to realize that’s a whole lot of people – 247 million to be exact. But how are those 85 percent doing when it comes to accomplishing Jesus’ mission? Here is what the research tells us about people in North America who call themselves Christians:

• Those who call themselves Christians are no more likely to give assistance to a homeless person on the street than non-Christians.
• Those who call themselves Christians are not more likely that non-Christians to correct the mistake when a cashier give them too much change.
• A Christian is just as likely to have an elective abortion as a non-Christian.
• Christians divorce at the same rate as those who consider themselves non-Christians.
• Even though there are more big churches than ever before filled with people who proudly wear the title Christian, 50 percent of Christian churches didn’t help one single person find salvation."
  
  The Big Idea – Dave Ferguson
  

The message is convicting…Christians are not much different than non-Christians.

So, if I call myself a Christian, how am I different from the rest of the world? The word Christian is really being a Christ follower. Have I answered the call to follow Him? Follow Him where? Do I really know enough about who Christ was to know what was important to him?


"Jesus was not a Christian
He never asked anyone to become a Christian,
never built a steepled building,
never drew up a theological treatise,
never took an offering
never wore religious garments
never incorporated for tax purposes,
He simply called people to follow Him.
That’s it.
That, despite its simplicity, is it.
He called people to follow him…
It is never more
than Jesus’ call: “Follow me”
and a response : dropping familiar nets
and following, in faith,
this sandaled Jewish man.
It is never more than that.
Two thousand years of words can do nothing
To the simple, basic reality of Christianity.
Those first steps
taken by those two brothers.
Peter and Andrew’s theology
was as pure as it gets:
Jesus said, “Follow me.” And we did."

Jesus with Dirty Feet – Don Everts

Matthew 4:18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. NIV

The Message

2CORINTHIANS 5:16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

"Somehow we all must be made to understand that through the miracle of spiritual transformation in Christ, we, too, become the message. No matter what words we say or how we act, it is our deeds and our being that people will remember. Too many of us are trying to be like, look like, or sound like someone else. Yet God is calling each of us to find, and live, his or her authentic voice. You and I are the message. We are God's thoughts, God's hopes, God's dreams, God's passions, with skin on." Jesus, Life Coach

What a responsibility...to be the message of God. So...what does my life say? What do my actions say? Help me to be Jesus with skin.

Friendship

A long time friend died last week. I have known Sharyl since I was 16 years old. Although our friendship had it's ups and downs I always knew that Sharyl loved me and my family. I pray that she knew I loved her. Since her death I have been thinking a lot about friendship.

To Sharyl, my friend, you will be missed!

"Nothing in life takes the place of a true friend. A friend will be a rock you can cling to when the storms of life try to pull you under. A friend will share your joys. A friend adds glory to your victories and takes some of the sting out of your defeats. A friend brings out the nobility within you. A friend accepts your shortcomings and praises your strengths. And when you get too big for your britches, a true friend will remind you that humility is the best prescription for pride." 8 Critical Lifetime Decisions: Choices That Will Affect the Quality of Your Life. -Palmen

"Do not save your loving speeches

For your friends till they are dead;

Do not write them on their tombstones,

Speak them rather now instead."

- Anna Cummins

Popular Lincoln-Way Central teacher dies
March 16, 2007
By Patrick Ferrell Staff Writer

NEW LENOX -- On Wednesday, she was at the front of the classroom, guiding would-be actors and actresses at Lincoln-Way Central High School. On Thursday, students were mourning her loss.
Sharyl Griffin, the drama teacher at Lincoln-Way Central High School, who one student described as "an amazing director," passed away early Thursday morning. Students were told Griffin has been experiencing leg pain and that doctors believe a clot may have moved to her heart.
"It was a big shock," senior Chris Kochinsky said. "Everyone saw her yesterday. On my way out, I told her I would see her tomorrow and gave her a hug."
Griffin, 52, of New Lenox, directed 19 plays in her 10 years at Lincoln-Way Central. She spent 19 years working in education.
"She always knew when something was wrong," Matt Jones, another senior at Lincoln-Way, said. "She had a talent for dealing with you as a person. But when everybody got together, the production was great."
Griffin also wrote plays of her own, some of which were performed by Jubal Players for Chicago First Church of the Nazarene in Lemont, where Griffin served as drama director for the past 12 years.
Several of Griffin's current and former students have started plans to perform one of her plays in July.
"She loved plays, that's a good way to honor her," Jones said.
The group plans to use proceeds from the proposed production to fund a scholarship in Griffin's honor.
Griffin was nominated three times by students to be honored in Who's Who in American High School Teachers, and in 2004 Griffin was nominated as Teacher of the Year from the National Honor Society at Lincoln-Way Central. As a keynote speaker, she recited her original poem; "I Want to See You Fly" which reflected her philosophy as an educator.
Twice a year Griffin would take her students to the Sunny Hill Nursing Home in Joliet to put on a performance for its senior citizens, and during the summers Griffin would take her students on a tour of England and Ireland, exploring the homes of many poets and writers. She received a bachelor's degree in education from the College of St. Francis and earned her master's degree from Rockford University.
Griffin is survived by her husband, William Griffin, and three children, Craig, Chad, and Tina. Visitation will be from 2 to 9 p.m. Sunday at Chicago First Church of the Nazarene, 12725 Bell Road, in Lemont. Funeral services begin at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the church.

Contentment

Philippians 4: 11 "...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."

"The average American is exposed to about 300 advertisements a day...such bombardments do a number on us...there is a subliminal message that detonates deep down inside our heads - in a word, it is discontentment. Dissatisfaction. It creates (if we let it) a restless drive for more...or better...or bigger. Three hundred times a day it chips away at the dam that supports one of the last reservoirs of inner peace known to man - contentment."

I found myself watching a report yesterday on all the makeover shows on TV. I must admit that I love watching them. They stir the part of me that wants to be better, look better, improve. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be the best you can be - but at what price? Am I willing to sacrifice health or relationships for "improvement"? There are so many things we want - a new house, better furniture, different decorations, new clothes. How much is valid - how much is truly needed? To an individual in a 3rd world country we have been overly blessed with material goods and opportunities. In this culture, in suburban Chicagoland, I don't quite measure up. God, help me to filter out the things that cause discontentment...and help me to focus on the main thing...my relationship with Christ.

Soaring

"An eagle does not roost in a sparrows nest." Joseph Parker

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and His understanding no one can fathom. He give strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, thy will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 41:28-31.

"You and I, as born again believers, ought to be like the eagle, never content to roost in a sparrows nest. God has designed and empowered us to be like the eagle. Each day it is possible to reach another unknown height. Moment by moment, experiences of growth and adventure in walking by faith can be ours. Yet, it is evident that many Christians have settled into a sparrows nest...It is easier to talk about climbing than to climb. It is easier to "chew the fat" than to walk it off...We can climb onward and upward like the eagle...On the top of the mountain you will find those who are encouragers. It is so good to be on top of the mountain. The air is clear, the vision is great. That feeling of exhilaration surges through you when you know you have done everything possible to fulfill the potential God has given you." Think on These Things. - John Maxwell.

There are moments when it would be easy to quit...especially getting in shape physically. It is amazing how many people have something to say about our outward appearance...and yet not too many people seem concerned if we stop growing spiritually. I guess the physical is easy to see and to "judge," but only God truly knows the heart. It is easier to just go through life - to settle for roosting at the bottom - to even discourage those who want to reach the heights, or at least offer sympathy for those who find the climb too hard. I want more, and I want to challenge others to be more. I have a friend who pushed us as a church staff to exercise. We would go to a local toboggan slide and climb the stairs to get in shape. Give me that kind of determination to take others up the hill spiritually like she takes others up the hill physically.

"Finally we arrive at the top. It is less crowded now, but the caliber of those who make it is different. You have soared like the eagle. You have seen too much to be satisfied with less." Think on These Things. John Maxwell.

Forgiveness Cont.

"The trouble with our ideals is that if we live up to them, we become impossible to live with.

The tilted halo of the saved sinner is worn loosely and with easy grace. We have discovered that the cross accomplished far more than revealing the love of God. The blood of the Lamb points to the truth of grace: what we cannot do for ourselves, God has done for us. On the cross, somehow, some way, Christ bore our sins, took our place, died for us..

The save sinner is prostrate in adoration, lost in wonder and praise. He knows repentance is not what we do to earn forgiveness; it is what we do because we have been forgiven." The Ragamuffin Gospel - Manning

Romans 3:21 "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

"What we cannot do for ourselves, God has done for us." How comforting are those words when we feel powerless to change...to forgive ourselves. Someone asked me recently if we can truly be healed of childhood issues that formed us at an impressionable age. I have to believe that healing is possible...but it is through a relationship with Christ - not self will and determination.

Forgiveness

"Most Christians are like a man who was toiling along the road, bending under a heavy burden, when a wagon overtook him, and the driver kindly offered to help him on his journey. He joyfully accepted the offer, but when seated, continued to bend beneath his burden, which he still kept on his shoulders. "Why do you not lay down your burden?" asked the kind-hearted driver. "Oh!" replied the man, "I feel that it is almost too much to ask you to carry me, and I could not think of letting you carry my burden too." And so Christians, who have given themselves into the care and keeping of the Lord Jesus, still continue to bend beneath the weight of their burden, and often go weary and heavy-laden throughout the whole length of their journey." Hannah Whitall Smith - The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life.

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. NIV

God doesn't want us to be weighed down with burdens and thoughts of past sins. He came to deliver us - He delights in restoring our broken relationship with Him. How stubbornly we hold onto what we "deserve", forgetting that He paid the price on Calvary for our sins. So why is it so difficult for us to accept the grace that God so freely offers? Could it be because it doesn't make sense to us in our human limited minds? We don't forgive that easily...so how could God? And yet, even I, in my humanness, have no problem forgiving someone who is truly sorry for the mistakes they have made. Why would I think that God wouldn't forgive a truly repentant heart? Or is it that we have a hard time forgiving ourselves? Human pride keeps us from letting ourselves off the hook - we should have known better, done better, been perfect.

"The purpose of grace is not to make us perfect but to show us our need for a Savior, then show us the Savior we need, then create in us a burning desire to be more like Him. Jesus' life in us will become evident as we open ourselves to His grace, but in this life, our fallenness is interwoven with our humanness, and will be imperfect until we're home." Nancy Groom - From Bondage to Bonding.