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Yearly Archives: 2013
Musical Monday…Worship
There’s a lot of things we could say about David. Things he did right and things he did wrong. But man oh man did he know how to worship. He knew that in the midst of the highest joys, the lowest broken places and everywhere in between that God was there with him. He also knew that God was good all the time and worthy of worship and praise continually.
Worship is more than just singing 3 songs at service on Sunday morning. Check out this video of Kari Jobe on worship. She takes a few minutes to get started, and is a bit random in her delivery, but what she says is powerful and absolutely worth listening to.
Fun Fact Friday_Think Pink
Fun Fact of the Day: Flamingos are pink because they eat shrimp and algae.
English: Lesser Flamingos in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. Taken with Canon EOS with 300mm zoom lens. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Newborn flamingo chicks are not pink. They are born with gray or white downy feathers. Flamingos do not turn pink until they are approximately two years of age. By this time they will have fed on the crustaceans sufficiently for the beta-carotene to have built up in their bodies, turning the feathers pink.Additional factoid: Apparently beta-carotene can be yellow, red or orange depending on chemical reactions.For More info: http://www.ehow.com/about_6634238_do-flamingos-turn-pink_.html
Letting Go
“Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19
I had a plan to write about God’s kindness today, but I can’t seem to focus on it. I can’t really seem to focus on much this whole week actually. I’m over emotional and exhausted and frustrated. I keep finding myself on the verge of explosion. It’s not my favorite.
Everything in my world seems to be changing and I’m having a hard time managing all the moving parts. I haven’t been able to put my finger on what’s actually bothering me. I am aware that all these changes are for the better. It’s good change. But my heart is hurting about what I’m leaving behind. It’s still a loss.
Then I realized. I’m grieving.
You don’t just grieve when someone dies. You can grieve and mourn the loss of many things. You grieve when relationships end or change and when you enter a new phase of life. I’ve grieved relationships. I’ve grieved jobs. I’ve grieved the loss of friends who moved away. I’ve grieved friendships that changed because of life changes. I grieved the loss of my little yellow Chevy Aveo, Daisy Sunshine. I loved that car. I miss that car. *sigh*
I’ve learned that when things change (or we lose people or jobs or move to a new place) we need to grieve the things that we’re leaving behind. Grieving is the process where we let go of what we had so we can open up to receiving the new things that are coming. I’m grieving right now. I’m grieving that I don’t get to hang out with, high five and hug my youth kids every Wednesday anymore. It’s only been a week, and I miss them. But I know that it’s time to move on to other things. God spoke and confirmed that to me. I know that I know that I know it’s time. But I’m still grieving the loss.
My understanding of grieving came over time. It started when a crap ton of my close friends got married over a couple year span. I was happy for them genuinely. But I really struggled with the new status quo. My girls were gone and they were replaced with couples who had different priorities. Some moved out of town and one even left the state. I was so depressed. At first I thought it was jealousy, but that wasn’t it. I had no interest in being married. Then I thought I was just selfish, but that wasn’t it. I really wanted them to thrive in their marriages. I didn’t understand that what was actually going on was that I was grieving the loss of the way things were. I didn’t want things to change. I wanted my girls to always be my girls. It took a long time to get over, because I never acknowledged and mourned the loss of the closeness I had with those amazing friends of mine.
Then there was the man I had loved for a very long time. I always thought we’d work it out and get back together eventually. So did he. But it never happened. I asked God in the middle of a hysterical fit, “Why can’t you just let this happen?” He answered me very matter of factly, “If you want him, you can have him. But you will miss everything I have for you.” That stopped me dead in my tracks. I was like what? I can choose to go outside of God’s will. I didn’t want that! I prayed that His will would be done. And I meant it!
God was true to His word. He let the door open and I stood face to face with the man I’d loved for most of my life. We could have gotten back together right then and there. We were both available for the first time at the same time. We both wanted it. We both still loved each other so much. But deep down I knew it would hurt us both in the long run. I fully understood for the first time that I was wrong for him and he was wrong for me. I saw so clearly that we would both be settling for less. Not that either of us are bad people, we just aren’t the right people. In my car on the way home, I sobbed. I truly grieved the loss of our relationship and I let him go. I still love him to this day, but the ache is gone. It doesn’t hurt anymore. Grieving him set me free. I was, for the first time, truly ready for the man God had for me. (Ahem…I’m still waiting, God… FYI)
The first time I actually recognized that you can grieve things other than people was when God showed me that the plan I had come up with was simply not going to happen. I was devastated. I went home and literally collapsed on my kitchen floor and wailed. I had one of the ugliest cries I’ve ever had. I mourned the loss of my plan. I sobbed and sobbed. “Why God? Why can’t You just use my plan? It’s what I really want!” I was absolutely acting like a 2 year old, complete with stomping and whining. Then after about an hour of kicking it toddler style…I heard very clearly…”Going there is not safe for you. You will backslide. You’ve prayed for My perfect will for you, and I’m preparing you to receive that. You need to let go of your plan. You need to trust Me.” I stopped crying and I stood up. I repented and I let go of my plan.
When I let go, I felt lighter. I felt free. That’s when God began to prepare me and speak to me about my future. About His plan for me. About the purpose and calling He has for me. I had been holding on to what I wanted so tightly that I couldn’t receive anything because my hands were already full!
What are you holding on to? God cannot give you anything new until you truly let go of the old. Ecclesiastes 3:4 says there’s a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. It’s so true! There will be a time to grieve and cry, but then we need to let go. We need to laugh and dance and move forward. So for your own good, acknowledge what you need to mourn, grieve it and let it go! You won’t regret it!
Love is Patient
God cannot stop loving you. Want to know why? I John 4:8 tells us God is love. What is love? Well another really famous scripture (I Corinthians 13:4-8) tells us what love is: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
Today we’re going to focus on God’s patience. Patient here actually means to persevere patiently. Be patient in bearing the offenses and injuries of others. Slow to anger. Slow to punish.
We see this in the Book of Jonah, where God sent Jonah to Ninevah. We all know Jonah didn’t want to go there because he knew what kind of people they were, and he didn’t feel they deserved a second chance. But God felt differently. Most people focus on how patient God was with Jonah when he disobeyed. But what about how patient He was with the Ninevites? How long He waited for them to turn around?
Ninevites were Assyrians. Assyria was an extremely and aggressively violent people during that time. They committed horrific atrocities. And yet, He sent Jonah at precisely the moment they’d be open to change.
Why? Why was He willing to persevere for people who were as nasty and violent as the Ninevites? Simple, He loved them and He didn’t want them to perish.
Look at what the difference between Jonah’s opinion and God’s:
Jonah says…
These people are horrible, and I know God’s merciful and kind. He’s slow to anger, so I’m going to save God from Himself and ensure these people to receive the punishment they deserve.
“So Jonah prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.” Jonah 4:1-3
God says…
Oh my children. I love you. I see your brokenness and your ignorance. My heart goes out to you. I am here and I will be patient with you. I will give you a chance to repent and to change.
“But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?” Jonah 4:10-11
If God wasn’t fazed by the Ninevites, then why do you think He’s shocked by the mess you’re in or by what you’ve done? He is patiently persevering alongside you too. Waiting for the day when you will be open to receive the love, mercy and grace He’s offering. It may be when you are at your lowest broken point or after the greatest victory of your life. It may be after a near death experience or a tragedy. It may be when you’ve just committed the worst imaginable offense. It may be on a random Wednesday when you’re sitting outside enjoying the sunshine. He loves you, so He’s patient with you.
He sent Jesus because He loves us, not because we are lovely! “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
It always comes back to love! Why? Simple, God=Love! Love’s not what God does, it’s who He is.
Mysteries and Family History_William H Grizzard and Mary Louisa Hawkes
My great-grandmother is Rebecca Nina Grizzard Nicholson. She was born in Clarksville, Tennessee in 1910 to William Jackson “Bud” Grizzard and Fredonia “Dona” Smith. Both of Rebecca’s grandfathers (William Henry Grizzard and Josiah Richard Smith) fought for the Confederacy, being Tennesseans and all. This is interesting since her husband’s grandfather, George W. Nicholson (See: https://jillbeingstill.com/2013/04/16/nicholson_historymystery/ for further information) fought for the Union Army.
Anyway I said all that to say that today’s Mystery and History was that when I found the marriage record for Bud’s parents, William Henry Grizzard and Mary Louisa, his mother’s name was Mary Louisa Grizzard. I nearly fainted! I was like OH NO! Please don’t be marrying your cousin or sister William Henry! That’s so not ok!
So I set out to prove that my Grizzards weren’t related. But alas, they were!!!! Mrs. Mary Louisa Grizzard was the widow of Lewis H. Grizzard, William Henry’s brother. Ahhh. Wait. What? Here’s the rest of the story….
William and Lewis are two of the 5 children of Thomas Ambrose Grizzard (1803-1854) and Nancy Lewis Grizzard (1802-1860). William is the oldest, born 12 March 1826 in North Carolina before the Grizzards set out for Tennessee. Lewis was born in 1832 in Tennessee. Their other siblings are Sarah (1836-1863), Ambrose J (1839-1860) and Major Tiller (1842-1934). The Grizzards started out in Virginia (after emigrating from France) and went to North Carolina, then Tennessee.
William
William Henry Grizzard married Susanna Kennedy on the 4th of July 1847 in Tennessee. They are next found in Saline, Arkansas on the 1850 Federal Census, where William is working as a brick mason. They have 2 children at this time Ambrose Davie, age 2, and Lewis Edward, 4 months. Their home is worth $100. Sadly Ambrose died a year later, at the age of 3. They also had a son William Johnson (1853-1856).
Per the 1860 Federal Census, William is now a 34 year old farmer whose land is worth $250. Susanna is now 28, and Lewis is now 10 and their daughter Dora Ann is 3 years old. Several months later, on September 24, 1860, Susanna dies.
Sometime between 24 September 1860 and 2 December 1861 William returns to Tennessee. I know this because he enlisted as a private in the Confederate army on 2 December 1861. Per his Civil War Soldier Profile, he was assigned to Company D in the Tennessee 11th Cavalry Battalion on 24 December 1861.
Lewis
Lewis H. Grizzard was living in Davidson County, Tennessee in 1850 with his parents, and working as a laborer. Around 1856 Lewis married Mary Louisa Hawkes, daughter of John Randolph Hawkes and Ann Eliza Foster. In 1860, Lewis and Lou (as she’s called) are living on his parents farm. He’s 26 and working as a carpenter and she’s 20. They have one daughter, Anna who’s a year old. Then in August 1860 John Franklin “Frank” Grizzard is born.
When Lou is pregnant for their 3rd child, Louella “Eller” Grizzard, Lewis dies in 1862. I’m not sure how or the exact date, but he dies. Eller was born in 1863.
William and Louisa
William returns from fighting in the Civil War in 1864 and marries his brother’s widow. I’m not sure if this was joining forces to raise their combined 5 children, if they genuinely fell in love or both. But I can tell you on 22 November 1864 Mary Louisa Hawkes Grizzard and William Henry Grizzard got married.
That next year, my gg grandfather, William Jackson “Bud” Grizzard was born. Followed by Henry Thorton, Amanda Jane, Mattie Louise, Carrie, George Coffey and Cora Lee.
That’s all for now. Til Next Time….Velma
PS This is a photo of Major Tiller. (BIG thank you to Scott Grizzard for loading this on Ancestry). Major Tiller (Tyler) did fight in the Civil War. But Major is his actual first name, not a title. Which is random and cool. He actually fought at the battle of Shiloh and was later captured by the Union army and helt at Ft. Delaware until the end of the War (per his obituary). Almost makes me want to buy a Confederate flag, but I’m also a Nicholson, and we don’t do that. 🙂
Mysteries and Family History…Tattan
Last week, I was bound and determined to find birth and death dates for Michael Tattan (my gggg grandfather). I’ve been stuck on Michael Tattan Sr for years! (For those of you who are related to me….Michael Tattan…Nellie Tatten Campbell…James Campbell…Ellen Campbell Clark). I couldn’t find records of him in Detroit, but I found 2 of his sons (Michael Jr and James) and 2 of his daughters (Nellie and Annie). Then I thought I hit the jackpot. I found cemetary records in Mt. Olivet for Michael Jr, Michael and another Tattan also. So I wrote down the section and plot numbers and road tripped to the D (Detroit).
Two things about this. Number one: Mt. Olivet is a beautiful yet HUGE cemetary. Number two: Ask for help at the office in huge cemetaries before you go traipsing through monuments to the dead. Otherwise you will spend over an hour wandering around looking at gravestones and never actually find the one you’re looking for.
By the time I got back to the Mt. Olivet office, it was closed. Sadness. But at least it was a warm sunny day and I got some Vitamin D in the D. Right? Right!
So the next day, I went on-line and tried to find records for Michael. Nothing. Nada. Zip.
Then I made a great new friend named Jason. Jason’s ggg grandfather is none other than Michael Tattan Sr! His gg grandfather and my ggg grandmother were siblings who both came to Detroit from County Cork Ireland in the 1880’s! We’ve been sharing family legends and stories about blind pigs during the prohibition in Detroit (and our family’s involvement) & other family history! I’ve really been enjoying talking with him.
Not only did we share great stories, but my new friend solved the mystery of Michael Tattan Sr. He told me that Michael Tattan Sr was baptized in Lisgood, County Cork Ireland on September 20, 1816 and died in his farmhouse in Carrigtwohill, County Cork Ireland between 1885-1887.
Michael and his wife, Mary Flynn Tattan, never left Ireland!!!
Hence why I couldn’t find concrete records of them in Detroit!
I also learned that Michael’s parents are Jasper Tattan and Bridget Callaghan.
Mystery Solved!
Love Velma
PS. We have new mystery to solve this week though, as Nellie’s (who’s birth name is Ellen) baptismal record shows her being baptized at St. Mary’s in Carrigtwohill (see link for pics http://carrigtwohill.myparish.eu/) on 16 May 1858. But most records I’ve found for her show her birth as May of 1868. So I’m warming up the Mystery Machine…
PSS Big thanks to my new friend and distant cousin Jason!
It’s Everywhere
John 3:16 is one of the most famous scriptures out there. People put it on signs at sporting events, it’s on bags at a trendy store at the mall and even tattooed on people’s arms. It’s everywhere. You’re probably even saying to yourself, oh I’ve heard this all before. Maybe you have heard it…but have you actually listened and received it?
Personally, I think continual exposure has had the opposite effect that people intended. It’s made people complacent about God’s love. The exposure has diluted the perceived power of this scripture. Instead of reminding people how deeply and passionately they are loved, people say, “Oh John 3:16. Yeah, I know that one. God loves me and all that. Blah blah blah.” People have become absolutely flippant about God’s love. They think of it like they think about historical facts or talk about the weather. They say “God loves you” like they say, “Have a nice day.”
God’s love is not flippant. It is not fickle. It does not waver or change. It is fixed and permanent. You can’t ever reach the end of it, nor can you escape it. Jeremiah 31:3 says, “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you.” He pursues you with mercy and kindness, because He wants to have a relationship with YOU.
That being said, let’s break down John 3:16!
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
so loved: In this context this means to take pleasure in a thing, prize it above other things, be unwilling to abandon or do without it.
the world: The inhabitants of the earth, the human race.
gave: To give one to someone to care for his interests.
only begotten Son: Jesus
whoever: Each and every person, individually.
believes: In this context, to have faith directed unto, believing or in faith to give one’s self up to Jesus.
perish: To incur the loss of true or eternal life; to be delivered up to eternal misery.
everlasting: Without beginning and end, that which has always been and always will be.
life: In this context it means unto the attainment of eternal life.
So God, the Great Creator and true Master of the Universe, was and is so taken by you and so unwilling to be without you that sent Jesus to care for your situation. The situation is one you inherited from Adam and Eve. The “sin problem,” that we inherited, separated us from Him. Being separated from us was a problem for Him. He didn’t like it. So He did something about it. He sent Jesus to teach us who the Father really is and to be the perfect one time sacrifice. His sacrifice covers your past, present and future sin.
Everyone is given the choice between eternal life and eternal death. You can choose to receive Jesus and an everlasting life filled with unending love. You are also free to choose to perish. It’s that simple and that straight forward. He loves you enough to provide the solution and enough to allow you to choose. He doesn’t force anyone to do anything. It’s not His style.
Every single person gets the same choice, no matter whom they are or where they live. He loves you right now, even in the midst of your mess, mistakes and failures. He loved you even before you choose Jesus, if He didn’t He wouldn’t have sent Jesus in the first place. In fact Ephesians 1:4 says that He chose you before the foundation of the world. So before there was even a planet Earth—God saw you, loved you & chose you.
So anytime you see John 3:16, remember that God in all His glory and majesty is completely unwilling to be apart from you. You are His beloved. That’s what John 3:16 is all about.
Have a wonderful Wednesday.
Thanks to http://www.blueletterbible.org for having Thayer’s Lexicon & the Strong’s Concordance on-line. You really should check it out and support this great site.
You…You…You…Stamp Licker!
Today’s fun fact: Licking a stamp burns 10 calories.
That being said. I have two questions for you! Do you like getting fun mail? Do you want to burn calories licking stamps? If you said yes to both of these questions, then do I have the site for you!!!! It’s called Postcrossing. http://www.postcrossing.com/
The premise of Postcrossing is that you set up a profile telling a little about you and what you like. Then you send a postcard or a few to people in random places in the world. Then when the person receives it, they log in the postcard. Once they do that then someone will get your name and send you a postcard. Once you log it in then they’ll get one…and so on…and so on and so on.
If you choose to do this, you’ll need to know that postcards within the US are $.33 for 3X5 or 4X6 and $.46 (a forever stamp) for larger than 4X6. Postcards to anywhere else in the world cost $1.10. If you have further questions your friendly postal workers can help you. They’re good like that.
Happy Friday!
PS If you don’t like licking stamps they do have self sticking stamps at the USPS too.
PSS Send real mail. It makes people smile.
PSSS Sending real mail also supports the USPS. My brother-in-law works for USPS, so I appreciate you sending real mail too.
PSSSS People who collect stamps are called philatelists. I personally think philatelists are cool.
PSSSSS I am a USPS supporting philatelist that makes me cool.
PSSSSSS USPS means United States Postal Service.
What Are You Sowing?
“I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that He may come and shower righteousness upon you.’” Hosea 10:12
There’s a lot in the Bible about sowing & reaping, planting & harvesting. Even if you have never planted an actual seed in your life, you know that if you plant pumpkin seeds, you get pumpkins at harvest time. If you want tomatoes, you plant tomatoes not zucchini. Easy, right?
Spiritual seeds work the exact same way natural seeds work. Do you need a friend? Plant kindness. Do you need love? Plant love. Do you have a need to be met? Plant a seed for whatever it is that you need or want to see. It may sound selfish to look at it that way, but it’s the way the principle works.
The point is take a look at your life & really look at what are you sowing?
Are you gossipping? Are you being disrespectful? Are you sabbotaging someone? Were you rude to the store clerk? Are you blowing your money on nothing? Do you tell someone you’ll do something and then not show up? Those are bad seeds.
Are you encouraging someone? Did you stop someone from gossipping to you? Have you complemented someone? Did you hold the door open for the person behind you? Did you buy someone’s coffee? Did you give someone food or gas money when you knew they were in need? Did you give someone good condition clothing (jewelry or shoes or anything else) that’s simply hanging in your closet unworn? Did you babysit for someone you know needed a break? Did you show up on time for work or your appointment? Those are good seeds of righteousness.
I’ll leave you with this final thought from Luke 6:37-38, “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
*All scriptures taken from New Living Translation today. Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Blessing and Prayer from Numbers 6
There’s a blessing recorded in Numbers 6:24-26:
“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”
I like this blessing and I am choosing to speak it over you. But I can’t just post the blessing without you understanding just how good of a blessing it is.
– The Lord here is Yahweh (also pronounced Jehovah) which is God’s proper name in Hebrew.
– Bless is to prosper as the result of divine favor. Prosper in a Biblical context isn’t just financial prosperity. It’s to be successful at whatever you set your hand to do. It includes relationships. It includes ministry. It includes your health. It includes rest and peace. It’s an overarching prosperity in every area of your life.
– Keep is to keep, tend or watch. Usually referring to a garden or a flock of sheep.
-Face shine upon you has to do with God’s presence and having His favor.
-Gracious means to have mercy, have pity upon or to have favor towards.
-Lift up countenance means to cheer up, but when it’s in reference to God it means that God looks upon you with kindness.
-Give here means to put, set in place or establish.
-The best part of this blessing is that peace is the Hebrew word Shalom. It can mean hello, goodbye or peace. But it isn’t just peace. Shalom is an all encompassing peace. This peace includes contentment, completeness, wholeness, well being and harmony.
Based on Numbers 6:24-26, this is my prayer for you today.
Father, I ask that every person who reads this know that You are God. That You are big enough and that Your grace is sufficient. I pray that they feel and acknowledge Your presence in their life today. That they know down to their core that You are with them and You are for them. I pray they see You working in every area of their life.
I ask for Your divine favor and gracious mercies follow them, even pursue them today and every day. I pray that You keep watch over them and their families. I pray that You to protect them, even if it’s from themselves. I pray that they will be restored to wholeness and be established in peace. I pray that they will receive and choose to walk in Your peace that passes all understanding. I ask that they maintain contentment no matter how good or bad their present circumstances are and that they maintain an attitude of gratitude. I ask this all in the name of Your precious Son Jesus. Amen.
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
jillbeingstill 