I spy with my little eyes...

How many of you, either with your children or grandchildren have played the "I Spy"game. "I spy with my little eyes something ________ {insert color of item you see}!" The average items spied are the grassy pastures, the cows, the sky, the colors of our clothing, our hair... simple but fun. And I am not a competitive person in the least! So when we are playing this game, usually enroute from one of our houses to the other, it is more for them to take in our surrounding; to notice what is on our country roads in between our houses, to build an appreciation of the beauty of country life....and also to keep them from falling asleep before I get them home!! LOL! I make it simple and easy and fun.

In my life God plays "I Spy" with me. God, knowing the route and landscape of my heart and life, looks into my heart and utters the words, "I spy with my all knowing eyes something____! What might God put in the blank? Well it might be "something that is making you hurt". It could be "something that is making you fearful, or something that is making it hard for you to trust." "Something that you need to ask forgiveness for or extend forgiveness to someone else", or "something you need to give up and/or let go!"

Then it is up to me to answer him back. At times what God spies with his all knowing eyes about me are evident. It could be something that is already nagging at me; something that is already on my lips to talk to him about. Similar to when I play with my darlings and say, "I spy with my little eyes something blue." They always say my car! It is blue and that is an easy one. But on some occasions what God spies in me is a little harder. There are things that God spies in me that I really don't see in myself or that I don't want to see! When my darlings and I play the first dozen or so items are easy but as the evident objects get crossed off the list I have to look and choose items that are a little harder to find. It is the same when God plays the game with me. The more he looks into my heart and we cross the evident items off the list the deeper He looks. It takes me more concentration, more examination to see what His all knowing eyes are spying.

And when it comes to my turn..."I spy with my little eyes a God who is ______! All knowing, faithful, patient, unchanging, forgiving, compassionate, and the list goes on. He is always training me and helping me be the best I can be in this world for him..... What God spies in me then reveals the character in Him! A God who wants me to be the all He created me to be! Our "I spy with my all knowing eyes" will be welcomed, sought after and participated in fully! Thank You Lord!!

Job 24:21 For his eyes are on the ways of a man and he sees all his steps.

Psalm 33:18 Behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love.

Miss Swan!

The sun sets, my cupcake and I are snuggled under the covers in the children's bed, the house is quiet, and that is when the two of us have some of our most touching conversations. I love those moments, treasure them and they usually end up being a teachable moment for me. The house is dark and quiet. Everyone has retreated to their respective beds to quiet down for the night. Our room is illuminated only by the lights on my phone and Cupcake's pad. We hear faint television sounds from my daughter and son-in-law's room which is next to ours. There is the usual soft conversation between us, her little hand rubbing my arm, some cuddles and kisses, and a few giggles about something cute on her pad.  Every now and again I get a beep from my phone giving me a progress report on how our grandson is doing. My husband and grandson are in our room doing much of the same; getting quiet and calm so sleep can take over. It is during this quiet calming down time that these special stay in your heart conversations happen.  

I would like to share one of those moments with you:

Cupcake: Meme, I want to tell you something!

Me: Okay my darling, tell me something.

Cupcake: Did you know my teacher's name is Miss Swan!?

Me: I did know that.

Cupcake: No Meme! Her name is Miss Swan but guess what!!

Me: Hmmm, what my darling?

Cupcake: Her name is Miss Swan but SHE IS NOT A SWAN!!! Can you believe that!!

Me: Say what!! That is crazy!

Cupcake: Yea, I know! But REALLY Meme...she is not a SWAN! She is a teacher! A real       teacher not a bird...you know a swan is a bird? (Such amazement!}

Me: I did know that but I am so glad I have you to keep me informed.

Cupcake: Yep Meme...it's crazy...her name is Miss Swan but she is NOT a swan!! Aren't you glad I told you! {Followed by a hug and a kiss!}

Me: I sure am! I might keep you around just to tell me these things!

It was at this point that the conversation was at its end and she had turned her attention completely to something totally different that was playing on her pad. I sat my phone down beside me and began to thank God for my precious cupcake, who has taken on the job of keeping her Meme informed. Then I prayed that God would, if he wanted to, give me words to teach her something about him. And God had a job for me. So when the next round of cuddles came I asked my cupcake if I could tell her something."Of course Meme" was her answer. So below, in a condensed version for a six year old, is what I shared with her.

We have all sorts of names as people. But those names do not describe us. Veronica Lake wasn't a lake, Larry Bird...there is another bird one, Charlotte Church, Alexander Graham Bell, Alan Fudge are just a few. On a side note it is very interesting to discover how many people have last names of inanimate objects! My story went on...we have no idea about a person based on their name except for one special person...Jesus!

Jesus has 100 different names and each one is a description of who he is...a quality, a character, a position. Here are a few I told my cupcake about...Creator, Almighty, Comforter, God, Healer, Good Shepherd, Holy One, King of Kings, Father, and Rabbi. Take a minute and think about these names as you would if you were sitting with a young child. In your mind think about what each of these mean. And as you think on these, as I told my granddaughter they are not just names but they also have promises within those names that will always be kept. Take the name Healer and this passage of scripture..."The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous." There is a purpose, a reason, a promise that is contained in each and every name of the Lord! That we can be assured of!

I am not sure that my little explanation made much of an impact of my sweet cupcake. My job is to take hold of those teachable moments presented to me, to plant seeds, to speak love and truth. Not sure what, if any she will take away from our little moments but maybe that isn't God's plan. As I thought more about our conversation I decided to do a little research for myself...and boy has it bore much fruit for me! If you can find a few minutes just do a little looking for yourself. I am sure you will be as blessed as I was. As for your time with your children, your grandchildren take hold of those little moments. They are moments to treasure and we are still teachable also...Blessings to you all!

"Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and  gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of all those in heaven, all those on earth and those under the earth and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father."        Philippians 2:9-11