WTLB~~~It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.

I wish I could say the world out there is full of kind and gentle people but I would be lying. Unfortunately kids often get bullied at school and it doesn’t always end there, adults do it to each other as well.

Frequently it’s done simply because someone is labeled “different” than all the others by the standards the bully has chosen to measure them by. They use all sorts of excuses like a girl who doesn’t wear make-up or own a cell-phone like everyone else. The constant picking and pecking and shoving of others around gives great pleasure to the ones who are doing it as it brings tears to the one being hurt.

After enough beatings we often begin to think it really is because we are not like everyone else. We begin to doubt who we are inside and it begins to hold us back. We can’t play the part of the bully and pick on ourselves for not being “like everyone else.” Honestly take a good look around. Are these bully’s really as great as they think they are. What has their makeup got them? What has their ownership of a cell-phone achieved them? The right to bully? The right to pick on others? No way!

Know who you are inside. God created each of us to be different, unique, and worthy of His love. It is by His standards we need to go by in our hearts. The bully at school may never stop, in fact, if they think they are losing their game they will only increase their pressure. Although harsh words can pierce even the strongest of hearts it’s important to stay strong and pride yourself in who you are, not who they are trying to make you out to be.

No one is perfect, we all have our areas where we could use some improvement but that is up to us to decide not the one doing the browbeating. Learn to walk away and to stand strong. Make up your mind before hand that you will not let it wound you to the point you begin to make the mistake of actually listening to those harassing you.

For now you may be their target physically or emotionally to pick on but you don’t have to remain their target as long as you stay strong. You will have your weak moments when it can really get to you but don’t allow yourself to lie down to be their doormat to walk over. Walk away, stay strong, and lean on those worthy of the title called, “friend.”

© 2009 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

They Call Me, Grandma

Picture Dees #36 Window Seat

Picture Dees are devotionals with a picture. Read them alone or share them with your family and friends to get the opportunity to talk out what God wants us to learn through the simple use of pictures and words.

I don’t know about you but when my grandkids were young the seat of choice in the car was the one in the middle. They liked being able to sit there and see out the front window. As time past the place to sit would change to the window seat. As much as we would all like to be able to see out there are only so many windows in a car to go around.

As we travel through life it would be great to have the window seat that shows us what is coming, what’s out there, what’s next but it doesn’t work that way. Just like the patients who have cancer that sit in this chair next to the window getting their chemotherapy treatment they can only hope and wonder what life has in store for them next.

As we trust the driver of the car we are sitting in we need to put our trust in God that He knows what He is doing as well. Things will come at us unexpectedly, good things as well as bad but that doesn’t mean God is not in control.

It’s not up to us to see, it’s up to us to trust.


© 2009 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

Praise and Thanks

In this area we are replacing “please and thank you” with Praise and Thanks to God. It’s important to learn how to be thankful for the blessings God bestow upon us daily. We are here to train our hearts and eyes to be on the look out for things around us we can praise the Lord for and to give Him the thanks He deserves.


Our praise and thanks for today is….

Praise you Lord that one day with You beats a 1000 days any where else.

****Instantly people can give you a long list of places they’d rather be or would at least like to visit. My co-worker would list Hawaii as her number one choice. I’d like to see Yellowstone National Park and Australia. As much as these places are wonderful to visit or live there the best place to be is with the Lord. One day with God doesn’t mean you have to die and go to Heaven, no you can spend every day of your life with God. Walking with Him, communicating with Him through prayer, taking Him with you to Yellowstone, Hawaii, Australia or wherever else you may go. If you do this you will truly find that one day with God does beat a 1000 days else where. Some day we will be with God if we choose Him in our lives for more than just a thousand days but for all eternity, what an awesome things that will be. Praise you Lord that being with you gives us joy, happiness, peace, protection, love, strength and so much more. It’s an adventure we should never miss out on.

Thank you Lord for fluffy fun furry funnies, oh I meant bunnies!

****Just recently my four grandchildren got four little bunnies. When they scratch and bite they may not be so thankful for them but they are a lot of fun. It was God who created these creatures. It was Him who designed their furry coat, who chose to put long ears on their heads and a fluffy tail on the opposite end. Whether it’s a bunny rabbit, bird, kitty cat, puppy, or even a skunk we need to stop and be thankful to the One who made them all possible, our Lord and Savior. The Creator of all, the Designer of you and me, the artist behind such beautiful artwork, Thank You Lord, Thank You!



Remember…
We are exchanging please and thank you with Praise and thanks to God. Praising Him for who He is, thanking Him for what He has done, for the things around us, things given to us, gifts hidden all over the world for us to find. Often we put an X on something as a symbol of a place of focus, a central point, the area of attention. When you do that and you make an X just right and tilt your head you see a cross, that’s why we say:

X marks the spot as we focus on Jesus!


© 2009 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

Picture Dees #35 Playgrounds and Battlefields

Picture Dees are devotionals with a picture. Read them alone or share them with your family and friends to get the opportunity to talk out what God wants us to learn through the simple use of pictures and words.



Picture Dees #35 Playgrounds and Battlefields


When we ask Jesus into our lives we think that life is going to be a playground of endless fun and laughter. Being on the winning side with Christ it can be just that thanks to Jesus. However, there is a battlefield we all will go through as well. It’s a zone where we find ourselves fighting against the local bully of the park, Satan himself, the one who comes to cause trouble for as many people as possible. It’s important to remember it won’t always be battlefields or always playgrounds. Either way we need to stand strong in Jesus in order to come through both areas of our lives stronger and better children in God. Learn how to fight to win with Christ and learn how to play in praise to the One in charge of both our good times and bad, Jesus Christ himself.

© 2009 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

Adventures of the Gilvanstone Family

Hello out there in cyberspace land. We are starting a new adventure today. We have our picture dees, words to live by, in the news, it is written and praise and thanks adventures and now we start a new one. Welcome the adventures of the Gilvanstone family consisting of Marinka, Alleonna, Brockenia and Antorian as they walk with Jesus through the stories of Him in the Bible as they get to know Him better and better.


Story #1 Marinka Meets the 12-year-old Jesus at the temple Luke 2:40-52

It was the Feast of the Passover in Jerusalem. Ever since Marinka was a little girl she loved this time of year. If she had known it was going to be different this trip she would have brought her sisters Alleonna and Brockenia along to give them a share of the adventure. Her brother Antorian would have loved to be there too.

The feast was pretty much the same but it was who she was going to meet that made it different. It was a young kid at the temple among the teachers. Gathered around discussing various issues this boy was not only listening to what the teachers had to say but he was also asking and answering questions of His own.

Listening intently from afar Marinka found their conversation very interesting. “What did I just hear them call him?” Marinka thought to herself. They called him Jesus. Jesus, that’s what she heard. Her guess was he had to be around 12 years old which was right around her age. Wow, he wasn’t like the other 12 year old boys she knew. He seemed to be a lot smarter and more mature for His age and it was down right amazing to hear Him speak.

In the midst of the conversation going on Marinka noticed a man and a woman showing up. It didn’t take Marinka long to figure out that the couple was Jesus’ parents showing up after frantically looking for Him. What Marinka didn’t know at the time was Jesus was suppose to be traveling back home with His family when they noticed He wasn’t with them.

“Son,’ the woman said, ‘why have You done this to us? Look, your father and I have sought You anxiously.” Oh boy He was going to get it now Marinka thought. Acting in the same maturity He was speaking in previously with the teachers Jesus’ reply to his mom was, “Why did you seek me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”

Marinka noticed a kind of puzzled look on His mother face as if she didn’t understand what He meant. She wasn’t the only one puzzled as Marinka was unable to comprehend also what He meant by that. Was his dad the local priest in the temple? Was he one of the teachers? What did he mean about going about His father’s business?

Who was this person Marinka had just met? Would she meet up with Him again next year at the feast? What about her sisters and brother would they meet Him some day also?

Stay tune for further adventures of the Gilvanstone family.


© 2009 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

Picture Dees #34 The Backburner

In the busy, busy, busy life we live often the thing that winds up on the backburner of our lives is Jesus. “Oh I don’t have time to go to church today. I want to sleep in. I’ll pray later. I’ll read my Bible when I get to it next week perhaps. I want to do what I want first then maybe if I have time I’ll think about Jesus later when I’m old and gray.”

For each step we take towards the things we “want” we place God further and further back to the point we almost forget He’s there. Soon things happen and we wonder “where was God?” Sadly enough He was right where we placed Him in the priorities of our lives, in the far back.

Daily we need to make the choice to put God first. Keeping open the spot upfront for Him by the choices we make and the attitudes we display as we let the other burners or areas of our lives fill in around Him. God should never be a side-dish but the main course of our lives.

It’s a choice you will never regret and a blessing you will never want to live without once you have experienced the wonders of putting Him first. What we consider our “needs” is often what we “want” not what we necessarily need. Learn the difference and watch God at work as you turn the cooking and the providing over to Him.

It’s not ALL about me, its all about God


© 2009 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

Picture Dees 33 Waiting for Harvest

As much as we would like to get instant results whenever we plant something it just doesn’t happen. The only person who managed that was Jack and the Beanstalk not Grandpa Don and his granddaughter Brooke who just planted their garden.

As all farmers can tell you there is a time between planting and harvesting that requires patience on our part. A waiting period that cannot be skipped, shortened, or ignored. It’s during this time that what was planted has its chance to grow. Our job is not only to patiently wait but we have to supply the necessary nutrients to enhance its growth. After all try planting a garden and then not water it. You know what you will get? A dead garden.

Daily in our lives we do things that plant seeds that will eventually grow into something. We tell our love ones we love them, we are kind to the neighbor, we do our homework, we obey our parents, we take care of our bodies by feeding it properly and not starting any bad habits such as smoking, drinking or drugs, or we break a law or rule or cause trouble at school.

These are all things that will grow a harvest in our lives. Sharing our love to our love ones will reap love in return. Being kind to a neighbor will bring in peace in the neighborhood and kindness given back. Doing our homework will reap good grades, the benefits of self-discipline, and perhaps a college scholarship in the future. Obeying our parents reaps knowledge, respect, and self-discipline. Taking care of our bodies and not starting any bad habits will harvest good health instead of lung cancer, heart attacks, or liver damage. Breaking a rule or law and causing trouble in school will get you expelled, jailed, or in further trouble.

It’s best to think about what you want growing in your life and plant what it takes to accomplish this. Next you need to wait patiently for the results to come your way. It could be within days, months, or years depending on what it was. Sitting in the garden with a plate and fork is not the way to wait. Think before you plant, water and feed what you started, weed out things that could choke out your seeds, and give it time to grow.

You may not like what you reaped but it’s exactly what you sowed or planted. The responsibility is yours. You are the one that picks the crops you grow by your actions and attitude. Check the seed packages and make sure it’s what you want to grow.


© 2009 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing