Tricia's Principles for Living

Dear God, May I have a life of devotion, not just a time of devotion. May my life be consecrated, not just a time of consecration May I have a Sabbath heart ,   not just a Sabbath Day. May all my resources be at your disposal, not just a tithe. May all my time be sacred, not just a time for God. May I have a worshipping heart, not just a time of worship. May I walk in the light of Your love consistently, not just in my dark times . Help me to endure my dry spells ,   for I do not have a dry life. Remind me that you are always in control no matter what may rage around me during this enduring walk of faith.

That dreamy orange creamcicle drink with the full head of whipped cream looked and tasted scrumptious. Even as I was ordering it along with the other drinks for my grandchildren I knew I shouldn’t have it. But oh my, on that sweltering hot day with the temperature over 90 degrees I went against my better judgement.  Afterall it wasn’t go to kill me, or send me into anaphylatic shock like shrimp would do. However, I knew , because I am lactose intolerant, that I was most likely going to feel sick to my stomach if I yielded to this temptation.  I ordered it anyway. Sure enough, less than fifteen minutes after drinking about twenty five percent of the frothy concocotion  the awful symptoms started. I felt  wretched and nauseous. As I sat in my car feeling the effects of this malady I asked myself ”Really, was it worth it?”  I could have cooled off with a glass of cold water and been just fine. However I got what I desired and now I was suffering. As I was driving home with a que

Expectancy filled the air at the Renton Farmers' Market .The M.C. said that we were going to see a performance rarely seen outside of Mainland China called Changing Faces. Every chair under the small canopy seating  fifty people was filled.  A middle aisle divided  the chairs into two sections. The rest us were crowded around the  canopy under the blazing sun happily anticipating the upcoming act.   Everything was going well and we could all see. Abruptly a woman got up from her chair and came and stood among the chairs in front of everyone. I thought, "Well, that was certainly rude."  The elderly disabled women who were seated  couldn’t see and couldn’t move. I walked up to the offending person and politely asked, “ Could you please move because you are blocking the view” , while I  pointed to the seated women. What happened next shocked me. The woman turned around angrily and snarled like a rabid dog growling, “It’s a public place, I’ll stand where I want.” Stunned fa

A long time ago I heard this illustration. A man described how he and his family loved to play that capitalistic game Monopoly. He described how the emotions ran high around that table as buildings were bought and placed on the various properties. It really annoyed him when he landed on a space and had to pay the “Owner” of the given property or railroad line. He was extremely frustrated when he didn’t amass as much wealth or exceed the wealth of the other players. Still agitated at the end of the game he glumly put away the pieces of the game when it dawned on him,  “This is just like real life.”  Some people amass great amounts of wealth while others make do with very little. However at the end of one's life it all goes back into the box. It’s true. Tomorrow I will go to  a respected man’s funeral in Yakima.  There will be no U-Haul attached to the hearse to accompany the coffin to the grave. The same way we came into the world is the way we leave it, with empty hands. Thi

This morning I was reflecting on the life of Moses. It became clear to me that  if used incorrectly our great strength can be our biggest problem. Moses great strength was compassion. Moses was outraged when he came upon an unjust situation. His sense of injustice moved him to kill an abusive Egyptian who was beating one of Moses' own race. His compassion caused him to use his power in the wrong way. When  Pharaoh  heard what, the Adopted Jewish Prince,  Moses had done to a “Real” Egyptian citizen he was furious. Pharaoh sought to kill Moses. To save his life Moses fled to the desert.    A few days or hours later in the desert Moses’ compassion was once again activated.    Moses saw some male shepherds bullying a group of women, Jethro’s daughters, who were trying to water their sheep. Moses jumped in and helped them. After Moses’ intervention the men left the women alone and they were able to complete their work early. Moses’ compassion was genuine. It was a part of his chara