Month: July 2017

Sand on the Seashore

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

Sand carver Shanin works on a sculpture during the Sand Sculpture Festival "Disney Sand Magic" in OstendHave you ever wanted to visit Cinderella’s castle, stand side-by-side with Captain America, or get investment advice from the curmudgeonly Scrooge McDuck? If so, you might want to schedule a vacation to Belgium.

Sand sculptor enthusiasts have transformed a beach in Belgium into a giant sand gallery of larger-than-life characters.  Visitors to the beach will see the super heroes and cartoon characters who were part of their childhood fantasies.

The Sand Sculpture Festival of Ostend, Belgium, is scheduled to run until September’ unless, a character flaw is revealed.  Each of these sculptures has an Achille’s heel; they are made of sand, and can easily fall prey to a drenching thunderstorm.

The same is true with anyone who tries to build a life on an unstable foundation.  Are you trying to build on a solid rock or shifting sand? Jesus said: Whoever hears these words of Mine and does them, will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain came down. The water came up. The wind blew and hit the house. The house did not fall because it was built on rock.  Whoever hears these words of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ~Matthew 7:24-25

castle

A Yellow Rose For Dad

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

roseHi Dad. I think about you every day, but it’s been quite some time since I last wrote.  I’ve never been much of a fan of greeting cards—Hallmark would go broke if they depended on me.

Anyway, since today is July 7th, and your 88th birthday, I thought it was time for a little talk.  A lot has happened since May 25, 1965—our last goodbye. You walked out the door and headed to Cities Service for another eight hours of work in the oil patch, and you never came home.

You were about two months shy of your 36th birthday, and I was 12 and in 6th grade.  I thought you were old, but now that I’m 64, I know how young you really were—perspective is a strange thing.

I’m thankful for the memories that I have of you.  They were formed through the things you taught me, and I’ve passed those lessons on to my kids.

Speaking of my kids, there’s a little bit of you in both of them.  I coached Wade throughout little league, and he learned to hit, catch and throw the same way you taught me; and he’s now coaching his daughter and son.

I remember how much you loved to whistle and sing.  Jennifer has your appreciation for a good song, and a beautiful voice. You would enjoy listening to her sing.

I never told you, but when you showered, I would sit outside on the patio and listen to you sing: Mocking Bird Hill, Red River Valley, and Get Along Home Cindy were your favorites.

Whenever I drive East towards Eureka, my thoughts still turn towards Sallyards, and your mom’s chicken and noodles, cherry pie, and singing while she played the piano; and, I can’t forget Grandpa standing on the piano bench.  He would have Uncle Jim and Harold Dale standing back to back to see who was the tallest.

By the way, Jim called Monday.  He’s the last of the 6 Seymour siblings, but I guess you know that because the rest are with you.

I hope Uncle Kenneth and Aunt Catherine kept their promises to me.  I spent quite a bit of time with both of them while they were dying, and asked them to tell you “hi,” and to let you know that I still love you.

Well dad, I better wrap this up.  I’ll stop by the cemetery a little later today with a yellow rose; they were your favorite—I still remember.

Happy Birthday and I Love you!

Stan

I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. ~John 11:25

 

Uniquely Kind

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

Unique means “one of a kind.” Today is your opportunity to be the one of a kind person someone will meet. Will you be unique with your kindness?

hand-619733_660-shadow

Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you. ~Ephesians 4:32

Remember to, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ~Colossians 3:12

mother t

Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.
~Mother Teresa

His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord!  ~Psalm 117:2

A Not So Strange Inheritance

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

100991759-buried-treasure-mezz.1910x1000When I was a small boy I was intrigued by the thought of discovering some buried treasure that had been hidden by Jesse James or some outlaw gang. It never happened; I never found my stash of gold.

My youthful fascination might help explain why I like to watch Strange Inheritance.  It’s a program that tells the stories of some benefactors, their unusual collections, the beneficiaries, and the unique circumstances involving them all.

There seems to be a bit of mystique associated with an inheritance, and the subject easily catches a person’s attention.  Even Joshua knew this, and he spoke of an inheritance about as often as a person orders a hamburger in a fast food joint.

Joshua reminds the people of their inheritance over 50 times. In the first chapter, God told Joshua to, “Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.”

You may not have hopes of inheriting much wealth in this life, but you do have a promised inheritance from God. In Paul’s letter to Titus he said: We are “justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:7).” He also wrote to the church at Ephesus about the riches of our glorious inheritance in Jesus.

Discovering your inheritance isn’t a matter of digging dirt to find a buried treasure, it simply a matter of realizing that your treasure is already in heaven and you are blessed in Christ:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly place

The Brewmeister: Larger Than His Lagers

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

libertyWe live in the age of chefs who are masters of culinary delights and connoisseurs of fine ales and home brewed drinks. I find it strange that these epicurean tendencies have tapped the keg of notoriety and made a brand more famous than the man.

In recent years, Samuel Adams Boston Lager has grown larger and more famous than its namesake—Samuel Adams; however, history tells another story. Adams served in several different capacities that benefited the American revolution and the birthing of our nation. Adams was a:

  • Member of the Continental Congress (1774-81)
  • Signer of the Declaration of Independence (1776)sons
  • Volunteer who helped draft the Articles of Confederation (1777)
  • Delegate to the Massachusetts constitutional convention (1779-80)
  • President of the Massachusetts senate (1781)
  • Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts (1789-94), and also served as Governor of Massachusetts (1794- 97).

In the pages of history, you’ll see references to Samuel Adams as the “Firebrand of the Revolution” and “The Father of the American Revolution.” To successfully achieve the revolution, Adams knew that men of character would be an essential.  In November of 1775, He wrote: Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust must be men of unexceptionable characters.

Adams had connected the dots, and he believed there was a link between character and the Creator.  He said: Religion and good morals are the only solid foundation of public liberty and happiness . . . In the supposed state of nature, all men are equally bound by the laws of nature, or to speak more properly, the laws of the Creator.

Even though Adams had tried and failed in his efforts to brew beer as a business, I think he would rather be remembered less for his lagers in life, and more for his larger than life role during the infancy of the USA.

 

Less and More

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

evaluation3-copyWe are living in the digital age, and we are being aged by the frenzied pace of the world.  Technology promises to make life easier; however, these promises are often just empty and hollow distractions.

Most everyone is looking for peace and fulfillment, and they try to find it in the promises broadcast through their radios or the marketing slogans plastered on billboards.  These messages promise you fresher breathe, whiter teeth, or a newer car as the answer to all of your problems.

Money may provide momentary happiness, but nothing this world has to offer can iron out the wrinkles of a stressed-filled life.  The solution is not found in consuming a larger piece of the world, but in possessing a larger than life peace that’s found in Jesus.

The answer is less of the world and more of Jesus:  Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27).

The best way to keep your life from falling apart is to keep it together through the peace of God:

Since then it is by faith that we are justified, let us grasp the fact that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have confidently entered into this new relationship of grace, and here we take our stand, in happy certainty of the glorious things he has for us in the future.

This doesn’t mean, of course, that we have only a hope of future joys—we can be full of joy here and now even in our trials and troubles. Taken in the right spirit these very things will give us patient endurance; this in turn will develop a mature character, and a character of this sort produces a steady hope, a hope that will never disappoint us. Already we have some experience of the love of God flooding through our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us.  ~Romans 5:1-5 ~J.B. Phillips