LEMONADE STANDS

A classic summer lemonade stand.

Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him. Psalm 127:3

 

During this pandemic, I really miss lemonade stands! Children selling lemonade to passers by is one of the sweetest, purest things in our society. I have been known to slam on my brakes (while looking carefully in all directions) and even turning around and going back to stop at a lemonade stand. I never pass them by, no matter how late I may be for an appointment or how many errands I have to run that day. Plus, I love lemonade, even if it’s watered down and slightly warm.

 

I cherish and honor this tradition, because it says so much about the family behind the project. Kids can’t sell lemonade on their own! There has to be a collaborative effort between them and their parents, or at least some older, responsible (and loving) siblings or even grandparents. Somebody has to buy the lemonade, cups and napkins. Pitchers have to be rounded up, and some sort of a “store” set up. An adult has to go get some cash, and the child has to be shown how to count money and make change. Will there be treats too? Who will bake or buy them? Will the child need to reimburse the parents for supplies? Somebody has to take time to help the child get set up in her new enterprise, provide encouragement for the operation, and be on hand when it’s over. A lemonade stand doesn’t just happen by itself. It’s a family effort, something to cheer about, something to support. It’s an American institution and it’s my civic duty to be involved. Cue the marching band!

 

Proverbs 22:6 says parents should “start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” And the Apostle Paul advises his protégé Timothy, “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith” (1 Timothy 5:8). It’s clear that Jesus believed children held the keys to the Kingdom of God: their innocence, their trusting, their simplicity were all traits Christ recognized in His teaching (Matthew 7:11 and 11:25). I believe God would approve of lemonade stands and how they help keep families together.

 

Father in Heaven, we praise You for providing guidance so families make good memories together. Amen

 

Good News! Meg Corrigan’s weekly blogs will soon be in a second daily devotional book, Saints With Slingshots TWO: Daily Devotions for the Slightly Tarnished But Perpetually Forgiven Christian. The book is expected to be completed and on the market by December 2020! Watch for more information when the book is available!

BETTER…NOT NORMAL

Guest Writer: Donna Mathiowetz

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called for His purpose. Romans 8:28

 

When Covid – 19 hit it was as if a switch was turned off and almost everything changed overnight. Non-essential businesses were closed and students finished their current school year by way of “distance learning.” Many adults were now working from home. Restaurants were struggling to keep their establishments afloat by way of curbside service. The city playgrounds in many communities were surrounded by bright orange construction fencing. The implications go on and on.

 

For me, I was grieving for all those who are no longer receiving the personal support they need after the death of a loved one. There are no groups meeting as churches and all community gathering venues are closed. If you didn’t know what Zoom was before, almost everyone, including me, became very familiar with the newest way to gather. Some, but not all of the speaking engagements that were on my calendar after March 15 converted to Zoom meetings. Yes, I could see the faces and hear their voices, but it wasn’t the same for any of us. I missed the personal connections and the ability to hold their hand and give them a hug. Outside of our homes, the best we could do was to remain six feet apart, wearing a mask. Funerals were restricted to no more than ten people present, six feet apart. If their loved ones were residents of a care facility, the family wasn’t allowed to visit, except through a pane of glass. Many who had become ill enough to need hospitalization were also alone, with no visitors allowed in. The long-term implications of the collective repressed grief will be with us for years to come.

I am trying to follow my own advice for self-care. Taking long, brisk walks and riding my bike became my way of relieving the stress that I felt. I spent time each morning reading my devotions and Bible. I journaled and stayed in touch by phone with friends who were supportive and loving. This was a world-wide event, and I only sense what it has done to my little corner of this big blue planet. The fear was almost palpable as I encountered others at the grocery store and around town. The masks covered their nose and mouth, but not their eyes. The eyes often display fatigue, worry and anger, along with fear. People seemed hesitant to look at each other, much less speak a word of encouragement or hope. Kindness seems to be waning, replaced by judgment for some who choose not to wear a mask in public. However, through it all I remember my life verse.

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called for His purpose. Romans 8:28

I’d like to encourage you to think about those you know who have been on their own journey of grief during these challenging times. Isolation is always a factor when you’re suffering from a loss and the pandemic has magnified this even more. Even though we saw the term “services pending”, we know that grief doesn’t. So, please make it a point to reach out that someone you know who may really need a listening ear with the understanding that their grief has been delayed but it didn’t just dissipate.

 

So, like almost everyone else, we grieve what seems to have been lost in

all this and wonder what it will mean in the future.

Let’s not go back to normal, but to better.

 

Donna Mathiowetz is an inspirational speaker and author of “A Journal for Your Journey”. Her passion is to help others as they navigate the losses in life resulting from the death of a loved one, health issues, and loss of independence, broken dreams, and other life events.  She helps others to build their resiliency muscles, giving them the ability to bend but not break in the storms of life.  Donna shares her own story of loss, teaches from what she has learned and seeks to inspire others to do more than survive, but instead thrive and look for ways to help others along the way. Donna is a wife, mom and grandmother. She lives in Hastings MN Email: donna@UnfinishedByDesign.com

Website: www.UnfinishedByDesign.com

FB, IG, LinkedIn @ Unfinished by Design

WHAT GOD WANTS FROM YOU

Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5

Since I became a Christian as a young adult, I took a long time to understand the purpose of infant baptism. The best answer I have found is that the sacrament is not about the child accepting Jesus Christ as her Savior and Redeemer. It’s not even about her parents, godparents, pastor, relatives and fellow parishioners ushering her into the family of God. Because, truly, neither that tiny child nor the adult people who care for her can do what God does during baptism at any age. Baptism in the Christian church means that into the heart of the baptized person, faith is given as a gift of grace, and not from anything any person can accomplish alone. I had not been a total believer in infant baptism, since my own journey brought me to Christ fully grown, fully awake and aware, and still incapable of saving myself. I did not have parents who brought me to be baptized; I came on my own, as many in the early Christian church did. But however we come to be baptized, at some point we must also make a conscious decision to accept God’s grace, redemption, forgiveness and immense love as a precious gift to us individually. This is the key to eternal life, and life in the “now-kingdom of God.”

When one is offered an immensely valuable gift with no strings attached, one should simply take that gift and say, “Thank you.” But we humans are a suspicious lot, so we say, “What’s the catch? Why would I believe someone would want to give me a nice gift such as, say, daily peace that passes all understanding or eternal life?” But the gift is there, and it’s free and it will change our lives completely, radically, like nothing else could ever change us. All we have to do is accept the gift because—and this is the best part—it’s already ours anyway. God loved us from the moment we were born—from the moment we were conceived—and the only thing He wants from us is our cooperation.

Lord, take me as Your beloved, imperfect child, no strings attached. Amen

 

Both candid and humorous, insightful and ponderous, Meg Blaine Corrigan’s memoir, Then I Am Strong: Moving From My Mother’s Daughter to God’s Child, takes the reader through her chaotic childhood with an alcoholic mother and enabling father to a violent assault that nearly ended her life. She populates her tale with vivid descriptions of her parents, other influential adults, the attacker, and her disastrous first marriage. But this story has a happy ending, when Meg finds solace in a God she didn’t think she’d ever believe in, when He gently helps her heal from her past lives and move into the best times of her life. Meg has also written a novel, Perils of a Polynesian Percussionist, about said first marriage, as well as a Christian devotional, Saints With Slingshots: Daily Devotions for the Slightly Tarnished But Perpetually Forgiven Christian, comprised of blogs from this site. Stay tuned for sequels to her last two books! All of her works may be purchased through her website, www.MegCorrigan.com or from www.amazon.com .

FROM SEA TO SHINING PARKING LOT

May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth. Psalm 67:4

 

The Corona virus pandemic has changed just about everything in the United States, including how people are sworn in as citizens of our nation. Steve Hartman reported on CBS this weekend that “Immigrants who’ve completed all the requirements of citizenship are pulling into parking lots from San Diego, to Des Moines, to Detroit for socially distant naturalization ceremonies.” Drive-thru citizenship ceremonies? Well, in this time of social distancing and health experts’ recommendations not to hold large gatherings to keep from spreading the virus, being sworn in as a new citizen while sitting in your car has been the next best option. One such immigrant, Kwame Asante is from Ghana and came to the U.S. forty years ago. “Just to be an American is like close to paradise,” he told Hartman. “It’s given me so many opportunities.” Asante is a respiratory therapist, one of the “essential workers” smack in the middle of the pandemic. “He says he’s not scared,” Hartman reported, “now that he’s a proud American. ‘Even if I die today,’ Asante says, ‘I’m OK.’”

 

As a counselor in Minnesota’s state college system for three decades, I was honored to assist students from several dozen nations. They came on student visas, as war refugees, or directly through the immigration process, but most had one common goal: to start a new life in a nation filled with opportunity. I have heard their stories of coming from countries rife with hardship, loss, tragedy, and complete disregard for their human rights. Many endured years in refugee camps with deplorable conditions. What must it have been like to step off an airplane or a ship and take their first look at this proud land which has practiced “the great experiment” called Democracy for nearly two and a half centuries? I was humbled to be at their service during their time at the colleges where I worked.

 

This Fourth of July, I am reminded that, unless we are one hundred percent Native American, we are all immigrants. Remember Jesus said “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31), calling this “the second greatest commandment” after loving our Lord.

 

Healing Lord, let us continue to be a nation welcoming immigrants and making them part of “us”. Amen

 

Meg Blaine Corrigan finds ideas for her devotional blogs in everyday places and events, from comic strips to magazines and books, comments on the fly from people she meets, ancient memories of her childhood, and nigglings from God. Meg has written a Christian devotional blog for several years that has been read in over 40 countries by 9000 people. A compilation of blogs, Saints With Slingshots: Daily Devotions for the Slightly Tarnished But Perpetually Forgiven Christian, was published in 2015. Meg is working on a second book (Saints TWO) which she has hopes of completing by Christmas, 2020. Her first book, Then I Am Strong: Moving From My Mother’s Daughter to God’s Child, is a memoir about her childhood with an alcoholic mother and a co-dependent father. The book also chronicles Meg’s astounding rescue from the hands of a gun-wielding rapist, a tragedy turned holy, a powerful message of hope in her darkest hour. Meg is a retired college counselor and former social worker. Meg enjoys spending time with her husband, their four daughters and spouses, ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, as well as their rescue dog, Bassett/Beagle mix Ginger. Meg and her husband Patrick play and sing in the contemporary worship band at their church, Christ Lutheran in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. She also volunteers with sexual violence/sex trafficking prevention and education. She speaks to groups whenever she if offered the opportunity. She is a voracious reader of other people’s writing, which gives her lots of ideas for more devotional blogs. Read more about her at www.MegCorrigan.com or contact her at MegCorrigan@comcast.net .