Beverly Joy Roberts

If you've ever felt like an outsider or judged by others, you understand the power of the word-- ACCEPTED ! If you've ever felt rejected, being accepted is all the more fulfilling.  My husband shared this story in a sermon he preached not too long ago.  It's about one of his roommates from Bible college in North Dakota.  My husband was 17 years old when he arrived at college.  He had left behind the safety and protection of a loving family and moved three states to the west.  The first day he arrived at the dorm, he met his first roommate.    That night, in the darkness of the dorm room,  my husband ask his roommate to tell him a little about his life.  To make a long story short, the roommate had not grown up in a loving family nor had he lived  'a church kid'  kind of life.  My husband jokingly said that after that first night, he wanted a night light in his room.  Mike was his roommate's name. Over the course of that year, they became grea

My mother told me a story, a long time ago.  It was about me, when I was very young and just learning to talk.   The story was told to me like this.   My parents would ask, "What's your name?" I'd reply, "George."  It was a crowd pleaser.   Cute, right?   Until one day, they realized it wouldn't be funny or cute if I were lost and someone asks me, "What's your name?"  And I replied, "George."  Believing falsely that "George" was truly my name.   My parents realized for my own safety that something had to change!   So the tedious process began to retrain me.  I think we all know that was not an easy task.   My mother told me the reeducation went like this. Parent:  "What's your name?" Me: "George."  Followed by my best one-dimpled smile, I'd looked around the room anticipating the laughter that was sure to follow.   Parents:  "No, your name is Bev

When I was younger, I resisted anyone who tried to help me by bringing attention to my mistakes.   Accepting this type of help has been a lifelong process.  Another way to describe this is accepting  Constructive Criticism .  I have asked myself many times, how could anything be constructive when it is accompanied by criticism?  But it is.   I have a keen eye for seeing things that are wrong... with other peoples work ...but not so much my own.   Accepting the advice of another can be difficult when looking at our mistakes, but when we do, we are the better for it. Now that I am older, I think I know what made me resist Constructive Criticism  when I was younger.  It was pride.    In 2 Kings 5, there is a story of a great military commander, Naaman, who was dying from leprosy.  Things seemed hopeless for this prestigious man.  One of his servants recommended he go see the prophet Elisha.  But when Elisha, a poor prophet did not rise to Naaman's expectations the

I have a ' take it or leave it'  attitude about fireworks.  Don't get me wrong.  Fireworks are awesome, but to go to a real fireworks display there are things to contend with that I am not fond of.  Things like traffic, parking, crowds, darkness, bugs, and the discomfort of sitting on the ground...just to name a few.  But there are some wonderful things about fireworks too.     I love the crowd's eager anticipation of the next firework.  I love how the firework display illuminates the night with bursts of colorful light.  I love the expression and sounds of those in the crowd with the release of each new firework.  Another thing I've noticed about firework displays is when there is a dud or two in the show, there is no booing or hissing.  When the fireworks crowd doesn't receive what they were expecting, they don't turn ugly.  Instead, there is a unison pity,"awwww," that rumbles across the open fields. Today is the 4th of July.  The