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Unexpected Gifts

Published on May 14, 2018 by pmcleadLeave a comment

For my birthday this year, we went camping at South Llano River State Park which is one of the best birding parks in Texas and one that I’ve wanted to visit for quite a while. It turned out to be even more of a get-away than we’d planned, for there was no cell service nor internet connection. We usually try to unplug during our camping trips but this time we had no choice, and it was actually quite nice. My husband, Patrick and I talked more than usual and we weren’t concerned with anything at home.

As I was walking to the bird blind to watch and wait for birds to come in for water and seed, I whispered a little prayer that God would send some birds I hadn’t seen before. I remembered a Beth Moore Bible study I’d taken years ago where she had prayed that God would thrill her during her morning walk and prayer time. He let her see a bear! I prayed that God would thrill me this morning but I really didn’t want to see a bear….. just a bird or two. (Now, if you are not a birder, bear with me. I’ve just grown to think it’s one of the best things ever!)

Within the first fifteen minutes of watching, in flew a Bell’s Vireo and several more followed him. I’d never seen one before and I was also able to get a couple of pretty good shots of him as well. Thrill!

Later in the day, I walked over to another bird blind, set up my camera and waited. This time I was blessed to meet and visit with two sisters from Arizona and California who had come to Texas to bird. While we watched and photographed the birds I noticed that they too were thanking God for the birds we were seeing just as I was. That started a whole different conversation about the Lord and His blessings. Thrill!

While at that blind, with my new friends, we were granted yet another thrill by seeing the Black-Capped Vireo. This one is on the Endangered Species List and one I was really hoping to see. Plus, as an added bonus, I was able to get four really good shots of him. I was giddy.

I know…. I know, they’re just birds and people I will never see again. But, ‘Every good and perfect gift is from above…’, Scripture says in James 1:17. Saturday was my birthday and God gave me fabulous gifts all day long.

At this point in my life, I really don’t need anything. My hubby continues to spoil me with lovely gifts that are wonderful. God also spoils me with his good and perfect gifts of bird sightings and new friends.

Next time you are out walking and praying or maybe driving and praying, ask God to thrill you! You just never know what He’ll send your way as the perfect thrill.

Rediscover the Beauty

Published on May 10, 2018May 10, 2018 by pmclead3 Comments

About a month ago we started a little Bible study group made up of some of my students from school. We’ve met a few times now, working to discover what God has to say about the issues they face at school as 8th graders. It’s been quite an eye-opener for me as they share their personal lives with me and to see life through their eyes.

And as it goes most times, this teacher is learning from her students more than she is teaching them.

The group is made up of kids who know Christ and have walked with Him a couple of years, some who know of Him and want to learn more, and those who haven’t been introduced to Christ at all. It has been such a joy to listen to them share the verses they go to for reassurance, showing their friends where to find a verse in the Bible, and digging through concordances to find verses on a subject.

One of the biggest blessings thus far began at the second meeting. One of my young ladies, Sara, couldn’t wait for us to get started. As soon as we all gathered in the living room, she held up a Bible, and while grinning from ear to ear said, “Look! My mom took me shopping and she bought me my own Bible!” Then, before any of us could say a word, she added, “And look!” She was holding up a package of the special highlighters for Bibles. The other kids were so happy for her, for they could tell she was very proud to be the owner of these special gifts.

A couple of days later in class, I asked my students to get out their library books for some reading time. Sara quickly came up to tell me that she didn’t have it with her and asked if it was okay if she read her Bible. Well, that didn’t take but a millisecond to give her a big, ‘yes’.

Everyone was getting into their novels when Sara looked back to get my attention. While pointing to the pages in her Bible, she whispered, yet with great excitement, “Now I know why there are seven days in a week!” All I could do was smile, nod a big ‘yes’, and quickly pray, “Lord, please don’t let me burst into tears right here and now.”

She continued reading as did the rest of the class and I worked on at my desk. In a little while, Sara came over, highlighted Bible in hand, “Mrs. McLead, look at this,” she said. “Look how it repeats this phrase, ‘and the evening and the morning was the first day, and the evening and the morning, and the evening and the morning’. Isn’t it pretty the way that’s written? I love it!” Each repeated phrase had been carefully highlighted. Each phrase cherished for its beauty. Again, I whispered my prayer to not let me break out the tears just yet.

She had no idea the impact that had on me. Those incredible moments Sara shared with me are some that I will never forget and oh, how they made me ponder.

When was the last time I read Genesis? Have I ever read it like she was reading it, with eyes and heart wide open to the beauty and wonder in God’s Word? Oh, that I would never take His Word for granted. I pray that from now on, when I read Your Word, Lord, that I would take the time to truly see more than just the words on the page but view them in sheer beauty as seen through Sara’s eyes.

Friends, I challenge you to open your eyes and heart as you read God’s Word today and everyday. Pass it on.

Sideshow Attractions

Published on May 8, 2018May 10, 2018 by pmclead4 Comments

I love to drive. Living here in the beautiful Texas Hill Country provides for a lovely drive just about any day. The stretch of highway between our town and the next is lined with hay fields, vineyards, peach orchards, and my springtime favorite, wildflowers.

On a recent drive to check out the scenery, I headed west and set the cruise control. At each new awe-inspiring site I would gaze over to take it all in but would also drift over onto the shoulder a little. When I heard my tires run over the warning bumps on the shoulder, I quickly corrected and got back in the middle of my lane.

I did this several times which made me laugh a little but it also made me ponder a few things. I consider myself a very good driver, that I handle my truck well in any situation, yet with just a glance over to the fields beside me, I wasn’t staying on the road well at all. Same with my life. I think I do a good job at staying on the road God has laid out before me, yet with a simple glance one way or the other, I’m off the road.

In Proverbs chapter 4, verses 25-27 (Message version), you’ll find one of my all time favorite passages. The message is quite clear.

Keep your eyes straight ahead;
   ignore all sideshow distractions.
Watch your step,
   and the road will stretch out smooth before you.
Look neither right nor left;
   leave evil in the dust.

Even when the sideshow is as beautiful as a field of red poppies or a green pasture filled with grazing black cows, it is still a sideshow and can get me into serious trouble if all of my attention goes there. Satan would love nothing better than to entice us off the road Christ has laid out for us. He will use the beautiful as well as the ugly to get us to swerve off the road or turn onto a dusty, bumpy road filled with detours of trouble.

My road trip with God is like my drive in the country, I’m easily distracted by beautiful opportunities and options, other than the ones God has chosen for me. I’m also easily tricked into thinking it’s a Godly option when really it is Satan trying to sneak one by me. Maybe you do the same thing.

When we find ourselves running over the warning bumps on the shoulder of our life’s journey, we should take heed. It is probably the Holy Spirit giving us a little nudge to wake us up and get our eyes back on the right road.

“Leave evil in the dust,” verse 27 says. So spin those tires and peel-out from the dusty evil shoulder before we get ourselves in big trouble. God will lead us down the smooth road and show us beauty along the way. We just need to stay focused on Him.

If this rings true for you as well, please share it and pass it on. Thank you.

Boxes of Stuff

Published on May 7, 2018May 10, 2018 by pmclead4 Comments

A dear friend of mine recently suffered the loss of a family member, her sweet mother-in-law. Though Opal was 89 years old and ready to be in heaven with Jesus, it was still a huge loss of someone dear. I’d had the privilege of meeting Opal and visiting with her several times over the past few years each time she came to visit. Her love for her family and the Lord was evident in every conversation.

My friend shared with me how difficult it was on their family, going through all of the belongings, dividing them up with the other family members and closing up the house. Afterward she was struck at the result of Opal’s long life being condensed to a single box of things for each of the grown children, one of which was now at her home.

Of course it reminded me of when my son died and all of his belongings were shipped to our home. First it was four trunks from Iraq, and then a big crate and two more trunks came from Hawaii where he had been stationed during his army career. Some things were easy to go through, beat up single-guy furniture and surfing magazines – no problem. It took some time and many tears to go through the personal items but we managed to go through them all. His brother took the things he wanted and we gave a few items to a cousin or two. Most all of it we kept, but we did get the number of trunks down a couple and probably could do more, but the willingness to do so has not come as yet.

When we step back and see that our loved one’s whole life whether 23 short years or 89 long years, the question is the same. How can someone so amazing be whittled down to a box or two? It doesn’t seem possible, yet if we step back a bit further, we know that the box is not the person, it is just a box full of stuff. Granted, full of our loved ones’ stuff, but it’s still only stuff.

Opal was much bigger, much more precious than any box could hold. Her memory is too. My son’s life, though only 23 years long, was so much bigger and far more dynamic than any trunk could hold. Thank goodness we can’t put our memories in a box and store them away.

Thoughts and memories of Garrett, funny things he said or did, come to me daily. I really never know what will bring a memory to mind, but they are always welcome and cherished. I’m fairly certain that is the case with my friends’ family as well.

There have been quite a few more families in my community experiencing this very thing lately. Losing a cherished loved one, going through and boxing up their things. We all have to face this from time to time in our lives.

Thankfully, we hold their memories in our hearts and that can never be boxed. Because the truth is, the boxes hold their earthly treasures and we know our loved ones, as believers in Jesus Christ, are in heaven where the real treasure lies.

Matthew 6:19–21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Talking to God

Published on May 5, 2018May 5, 2018 by pmclead6 Comments

My God can take anything that I need to say to Him. I don’t have to sugar coat it, think it through, practice it, I just need to voice it. There is nothing I can say that will change that He loves me or how much He loves me. Nothing can take me from His hand (Romans 8:37-39) including my own words spoken while in the pain of a heart breaking moment. He loves me that much, enough to allow me, even encourage me, to speak up and let Him know my thoughts and feelings, my deepest hurts and disappointments, and what I’m angry about.

I learned that God can take anything I need to say to Him during the darkest, most difficult days of my life, when my precious son Garrett was killed in action.

The anger hit and it hit full force. I came to know an even more loving God than I’d known before. There were lots of “WHY?” and “Why MY son?” “Out of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, you let MY son die!” I would scream and cry and scream some more. I accused Him of not listening to me or answering my prayers. Many, many people had prayed in agreement for Garrett’s protection and safe return home. But NO, God had to take him home….home. Why?

Some days it helped me to go out to the backyard, pull weeds and talk to God. I would rip those weeds out of the ground with a vengeance and pray for answers. Other days, I would throw clay pots on the concrete drive in the back of the house and talk to God. There is something about breaking those pots that proved to be a great stress reliever. (I highly recommend it!) Some days our talks grew pretty loud. I’ve wondered and laughed at what my neighbors were thinking when they heard me.

I have to admit, a few times I wondered if I had overstepped the boundaries with God. How could I, this filthy rag servant, be so bold to speak to the King of Kings and Creator of Everything this way. But every time I wondered, I would hear Him say, “It’s okay, darlin’, tell me everything. I know you’re hurting and you don’t understand. Just keep talking to me.” If I had stopped talking to God, I’m certain that I would not be here today. But since I did keep praying, I’m certain that is the reason why I am healthy and have come this far in my healing.

He is so good, so faithful. So when you have the thought that you need to pray a certain way or you worry about how to say what you need to say, stop right there. Know that He wants to hear from you, however it comes out. Just talk to Him.

The Word says in Hebrews 4:16 to, “Come boldly before the throne of Grace”.

He means it.

And in I Peter 5:7, “Cast your cares on Him for He cares for you.”

He means it.

He’s a big, big God. He can take it. Talk to Him and be blessed.

If this spoke to you today, share it with a friend, it may speak to them as well.

Up A Tree

Published on May 3, 2018May 4, 2018 by pmclead8 Comments

I was such a tomboy when I was a little girl. I had dolls, Barbies and girly stuff , but I really enjoyed playing with my brother’s trucks too.

Our yard was the yard. Everyone played in our yard. Our house was in the middle of the block and our yard was flat and perfect for all sports. We played football in the front and baseball in the backyard. Four-square was a big fun and our double driveway was the perfect size for that too.

I thought that I was pretty tough playing all the games alongside the boys of the neighborhood. A few of the other girls played sometimes but it was mostly me and the boys.

There was a tree between our house and our neighbors house. We climbed it often just like the other big trees on our street. One day things just didn’t go as they usually did. I climbed way up in the tree and scouted about but when it was time to come down, well, I couldn’t do it. My friends tried to talk me down, telling me where to put my feet and which branch to hold onto next, but it didn’t work. I just couldn’t do it, I was scared! Nothing they said helped. I held on tighter with each suggestion.

Finally, I cried out, “Go get my daddy!”

Daddy came outside to see what was the matter. He tried to talk me down just like my friends had done, but I still couldn’t do it. After awhile he was getting a little frustrated and he said, “Patti-cake, you’re just going to have to trust me. Jump, I’ll catch you.”

Sometimes when I’ve messed things up because I’ve gotten too sure of myself and made decisions without praying about it first or acted on what I thought was a good idea instead of talking to God about it first and waiting on His answer, is when I call out for help from my heavenly Daddy.

Then after His gentle redirection I can almost hear Him say, “Patti-cake, you’re just going to have to trust me.”

No matter how tough we think we are, no matter how much we think ‘we’ve got this’, God is still the one I cry out to for help when I – get stuck up in a tree. You can trust Him too. Proverbs 3:5-6, verses that are a favorite of mine come to mind, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

In other words, trust Him and jump – He’ll catch you~!

Singing Art Class

Published on April 27, 2018May 4, 2018 by pmclead1 Comment

Teaching 5th and 6th graders first class of the day is sometimes a challenge. They come in full of life and very full of voice! It is art class granted, not your typical warm up exercises to get ready for an academic class, but it is still a class. This day was like most other days, kids came in still using their playground voices, aka, as loud as possible.

We were working on sketching their pet so I got them started as soon as possible but the loud talking continued. I decided to put some music on to hopefully calm down the chatter. I chose some praise music that was a bit on the mellow side.

The first song on the playlist was, “Ten Thousand Reasons”. Then the most amazing thing happened. The talking stopped and I do mean all, and all 20 of my students started singing along.

Honestly, I was startled at first but I didn’t say a word as I thought they might stop, so I simply listened. I did, however, whisper, “Lord, are You hearing this? Are You just loving this precious praise coming up to You?” I knew Jesus was happy.

After the third straight song of them singing all the while sketching, some of the kids sitting closest to me noticed the tears in my eyes and I couldn’t stay silent any longer.

“You just blessed me more than you all can imagine! And I want you to know something. I know Jesus, I mean I know Him personally and I think I can say for sure that you all just made Him so happy. I think He is up there in heaven with a big ‘ol smile on His face because of your singing!” There were a few surprised faces in the group but most had the look of sweet content.

Sometimes in my crazy, loud days, I just have to stop the chatter, stop the loud talking and start praising the Lord. I need to refocus my attention on what is important and the calm of Jesus will come over me and all is well. Maybe it’s the same with you. Turn on some music and let the praise begin!

Psalm 105:2. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.

Psalm 95:1. Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.