BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN SISTER...by Maya Angelou

A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should
have to seek him first, to find her.

When I say...I am a Christian I'm not shouting I'm clean
living. I'm whispering 'I was lost, now I'm found and forgiven.'

When I say...'I am a Christian, I don't speak this with pride,
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... I am a Christian, I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say... I am a Christian... I'm not bragging of
success. I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my
mess.

When I say... I am a Christian I'm not claiming to be perfect,
my flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say... I am a Christian... I still feel the sting of
pain. I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say...I am a Christian I'm not holier than thou, I'm just a simple sinner. Who received God's good grace, somehow!

Pretty is as pretty does...but beautiful is just plain
beautiful!

EVERY DAY IS BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN SISTERS' DAY.

*...AND TO MY BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN BROTHERS, just change the word "woman" to "man", for this writing certainly describes you, too!

bj

Intro:   It’s a funny thing, memories!  Sometimes they take you back so many years, yet still seem so real!

It was springtime in Chicago, nearly Easter, when my Daddy and I went to the store.  There were a whole bunch of people gathered just inside the front door, and in the middle of them and was a big cage!  The bottom of the cage, as I remember it, was as high as this ceiling.  I couldn’t see what was in there, but I could hear something…peep, peep, peep… and everyone seemed excited.  

Daddy lifted me up, and then I could see what the fuss was all about!  That cage was a rainbow of fluffy little balls!  They were all moving, sometimes tumbling over each other.  There were purple ones, blue ones, pink, green, and yellow ones!  Oh…they were so cute!  Peep, peep, peep!  Baby Easter chicks!

We watched them for awhile and then…guess what!  My Daddy asked me what color chick I wanted!  I knew right away I wanted yellow!  My chick had to be the color of a real baby chicken!  I don’t know how I knew the real color…I’d never seen a real one…but I’m guessing it was because of pictures in my favorite story, The Little Red Hen.

Mommy wasn’t there when we got home, and we wanted to surprise her.  Daddy and I fixed a nice box with newspaper in the bottom, and we filled a couple bowls from the kitchen with water and chick-feed.  We had to keep that little chicky warm, so Daddy looked around the living room until he spotted a cute little lamp, then he put it right in that box!  (I remember that it was wood, shaped like the steering wheel on a boat, and it had a picture of a sailing ship on the lampshade.)  My chicky loved it, and snuggled in close, nice and warm.

We were so excited…we could hardly wait for Mommy to come home to our Big Surprise!

Finally, in she came…and she was surprised alright…but she wasn’t exactly happy!  Daddy and I were keeping that baby chick warm with HER FAVORITE LAMP!

Now, that’s not the end of the story, of course, but it was pretty much the end of our fun for THAT DAY! 

Observation:   The happy memory of that day with my Daddy is from way back when I was only 2 or barely 3 years old.  It’s a funny thing that it’s still as real as if it were just yesterday! 

Here is a link which expresses that which I feel and know about the One most dear to me...

http://d21c.com/Seabird44/inspirations/heisgod.html

bj