A Good Man

Gracie's friend will play Woodstock this weekend in the play "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown". I have a friend who recently posted on her facebook wall, "I want to be good".  With children the subject often comes up of what we are going to "be" when we grow up. And, the answer to that question changes like the wind. It sometimes changes on a daily basis. lol!...a teacher, a firefighter, a pilot, an artist, a nurse, a soldier, a police man, a hobo...yes, we've heard them all. Ha! I tell my children, "It really doesn't matter what you do to make a living when you grow up, but my wish for you is to BE a good man (or woman)" (If we are good people our work will be honest work...that's a given) That simple phrase "A Good Man" encompasses so much doesn't it? It's very simple, but says a lot. ET used the phrase when he was leaving this world and returning to his. He simply said to the little girl he had been spending his days with "Be Good".  It's that simple, but we get it. We can be good no matter what is going on around us. No matter what circumstances we find ourselves in.  No matter what profession we choose for ourselves. 

What does it mean to be a good man?

A good man loves the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind and strength.
A good man loves his neighbor as himself.

Most of us probably have a few people that come to mind when we think of "a good man" (when I use the phrase "man" in this post..it includes woman ;) . I can think of a few people that upon my first meeting of them I have thought to myself "he is a good man".  After just a few moments I knew he was good. What is it? A good man exudes kindness and love. A good man has a kind and gentle face. He's warm and loving. He's well.....just......GOOD!

The definition of "good" from the dictionary : "having positive or desirable qualities"  Yes, all positive qualites can be summed up in that one word...."good"

Let's see? honorable, genuine, loving, patient, kind, considerate, caring, peacable, hospitable, tender, trustworthy, warm, gentle, joyful, understanding, faithful, self controlled, happy, strong, confident, true, noble, accepting, forgiving, calm, glad, optimistic, cheerful, thankful, hopeful, persistent, courageous, dependable, stable, friendly, responsible, humble, eagar, easy going, flexible, sincere, capable, generous, fair, sensible, spontaneous, helpful, honest, pleasant, determined, enthusiastic, modest, affectionate, empathetic, compassionate, energetic, glad, relaxed, cooperative, light-hearted, helpful, admirable, encourager....

......the list of the qualities that encompass "GOOD" could go on and on and on. Some of these qualites come more naturally to us than others depending on our given personalites, but all goodness is worthy to pursue.

Our goodness will show in our actions. We must BE good in order to DO good. Luke 6:45 says, "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart." It comes from within us. In order for the good to be in us we must dwell on good. Phil. 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatevery is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things." We are what we dwell on. If we want to BE good, we must think on the good and then naturally we will DO good.

I've read on numerous occassions and I've had folks tell me not to tell children to "be good". The reasoning behind that thought is that if you tell children to "be good" and then they make mistakes,as all children will, they will think they are "bad".  Ya know what? I'm not buying that! I think it's a bunch of bunk! My heavenly father tells me to strive to "be good"....to be full of the qualities that define goodness. I often miss the mark, but I know God still loves me! I will continue to encourage my children to goodness. To BE "A Good Man".

At the beginning of this post I suggested that we all have folks that come to mind when we are asked to think of someone that is "a good man". Mr. Dean Clutter is one of those folks for me. I miss him like crazy! He was indeed "A GOOD man". It's that simple. I'm positive that at the end of this life he was greeted by our Lord "well done, GOOD and faithful servant"

I will continue to strive to "BE GOOD". I will continue to encourage my children to "BE GOOD"

"A Good Man" ........it's that simple.

Love,
Wendy

ICE

First the beauty of ice.....

It's just absolutely amazing how it falls and covers EVERY detail of the the world so intricately! It's breathtaking.

Along with the beauty ice often causes destruction. Thankfully we have not lost our power and did not have any damage to buildings or vehicles. We do have a bunch of limbs down though. Tom and I were up much of the night listening to the snap, crackle, pop of limbs falling. For those of you that know our place this is east of the house....up against the horse pasture.

I took these photos and walked away....and then where I was standing to take the above photos this fell....

.....yikes!! And great was the fall of it! This is pretty much where we sometimes park our vehicles...where the basketball goal is in the summer time. God takes care of all of the details because thankfully none of our vehicles were parked here last night! :) Oh...and I was not standing there when it fell! :-O

Big limb from the tree on the northeast corner of the shop.

This limb is about as big around as Heidi and 40 to 50 feet long. Good size chunk! Here are some limbs out of the top of the same tree...

Concerned about this tree....it took a beatin'!

West side of house...

Backyard...

Over by the dog kennel....

Stuck Isaac in the mix so that you can see the size of the limbs I'm photographing. It's kinda hard to tell when you have nothing to compare it to.

Love, Wendy

The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha

I've recently discovered a website that I really enjoy on a daily basis!  It's called "1000 Awesome Things" and you can find it here: http://1000awesomethings.com/ It is written by Neil Pasricha and he does an awesome job of accentuating the positive in life. A good reminder of all the little joys of life. He also has a book called "The Book of Awesome". Check it out. I don't think you'll be sorry! I've inclued what he posted today. I thought it was so beautifully said and so appropriate for today. Definitely one of the joys in life when everyday life comes to an abrupt stop and we sit back and just enjoy God's beauty.

From Neil Pasricha's website "1000 Awesome Things"
February 2, 2011 #317 When you can hear it snowing

"Just listen.

When the white sky splits and the big flakes fall there’s a certain peaceful calm that covers everything like a blanket. Floating flurries flutter and fly past dull yellow streetlamps before covering coats and cars in a thin layer of icing. Whistling winds fade to whispers and street beeps get muffled into the slowed-down scene in front of you.

Yes, when snowflakes blow those brake lights glow and everything slows into

AWESOME!"