JeannetteCliftGeorge.com

And the Winner Is…

admin — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:07:36 +0000

I was waiting to cash a check at my corner grocery store when four people were choosing lottery tickets from the nearby machine. Each of them had a different system for winning. One said early in the morning you gain the best opportunity, one said to choose three pictured diagonally on the chart, one said he had won over fifteen dollars by coming in each Monday, the fourth who worked as a sacker said the odds were better at a store down the street. I watched the four as three scratched off their tickets, none won and the sacker decided on a one dollar ticket – and also lost. I thought my chances would probably be bettered by their losses, but stayed with the security of getting money from my signed check.

I remembered a recent article in the paper covering some man’s study of the odds to be found in believing in God. The odds were good, but I believe you can bet your life on God for better reasons. Faith is not a lottery. God is not a gambling machine, but investment in Him is a sure thing. I am grateful for writers and teachers and preachers who pointed me towards the reasonableness of choosing Jesus Christ as Lord. I find in my life evidence of the revelation of Jesus rationally presented in the Bible. I considered what I knew and the vastness of what I did not know and choosing to venture in faith latched on to the promises of God and they have never failed me – in good times and in bad. God is Sovereign.

What Abraham discovered, I discovered; God is Able! My ticket has been punched, scratched off and redeemed. Hope in Him is a sure thing. Try it, you, too can be a certain winner and cash your check on His deposits.

A New Viewpoint

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:50:33 +0000

Recently I had occasion to write my name repeatedly on various documents; Christmas cards, thank you notes, book signing, business papers and a blessedly large number of acknowledgements sent to those who made gifts of support to the A D Players. I noticed my signature becoming more and more illegible. I also had growing occurrences whereby my secretarial assistants would call a counsel of fellow workers to read a memo of wisdom I had sent to be transcribed. In several instances those same secretarial assistants, after much whisperings and giggling, brought to me scribblings from my very hand that I was unable to decipher. It was depressing. What has happened to my handwriting? Well, yesterday, during an adventure into a stationery shop, I invested in a new pen! Not one inscribed with the logo of the latest hotel or my bank or even one of those writing instruments that light up under pressure and remind the writer of its advertiser. No, a pen designed to be a pen. And when I used this new treat for my scribblings, my handwriting improved considerably! Now, I find a principle in that. Our attitudes are like writing pens; they frame the wordings of our thinkings, our talkings and our innermost philosophy. If the readout of your day is confusing, maybe, just maybe, you need a change of attitude, a new viewpoint. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. I tried it, this new pen of changed attitude, and it made a world of difference! It did as much for my day as my new pen did for my signature – and, incidentally, made me and my secretarial assistants much happier. TrustintheLordwithallyourheartandleannotuntoyourownunderstanding.

Private Languages

I spoke at a women’s conference held in the North Shore Harbor Resort. Everything there was beautiful; the weather, the resort, the music and the women who gathered. After the evening meeting, a new friend and I stopped in the restaurant for an evening snack. She teaches sign language and I spoke of our company’s programming for the deaf and how much I desired to participate. She smiled and said, “You already know some of the signing,” and began to sign certain signals of communication that even my untutored eye could fathom: “What time is it?” “I am hungry.” “You surprise me!” All conveyed by her simple gestures which I immediately knew. I would still like to study signing and am wise enough to know that I do not know its technique, but her kind introduction made me feel I could learn it and could, in time and discipline, speak it.

To a new Christian there may seem to be a private language that only the advanced professionals speak. After years of Bible study and belief in practice, I can still be intimidated by scholars and theologians whose depth of study makes me feel the mature Christian language is beyond me. However, those same learned men and women are quick to give me a phrase or a wording that is within my grasp and from that I know that the language of God is accessible to any of His children. If you are a new Believer, newly introduced to His personal communication, let me assure you there is in you a natural aptitude for the spoken truth. God gave you that! Start with what you know and grow from there. This one truth you already know; God loves you. See the signing – it’s in your heart – forever. God loves you.

Echoes Heard in the Valley

Echoes from our life’s events may be unpleasant, but generally they are wonderful resoundings. Nothing compares to the adventure of standing on a hilltop and listening to the echoes of our greetings to the wind. I think the miracle of Alpine echoes is simply assurance that we have spoken. We live in a world that has lost its gift of hearing. We say good things, do good things, and realize good things and no one says a good word about it. I know there is no virtue in doing good only to be praised, but that principle does not relieve us from the obligation of expression. Giving praise to God does not mean we do not acknowledge the instrument He used in getting His good work done. Parents, tell your child he did good, it may grant the future adult a better night’s sleep. Children, astonish your parents by thanking them. The parent may come running with thermometer and aspirin, but, finding you well, will enjoy the compliment. Some fresh morning give yourself a supply of thank-yous that must be handed out during the day; employers, employees risk acknowledging the good things done and see if that acknowledgement encroaches on the listing of errors. Small gestures often yearn for attention just to keep the engine of kindness in good working order. I can never fully express how much I appreciate those of you who have stopped me in grocery stores, called to me in traffic, taken the time to speak to me at a conference and given me the gift of words of appreciation for the work I do. Often we hear the echoes in the valleys spoken from the hilltops. So keep the echoes ringing, even the hills rejoice to hear them. That may be why they repeat them.

Little Bits of Sweetness

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:26:28 +0000

My husband was a gentleman of clear priorities. Within the pattern of our history together I had come to respect, admire and find comfort in that which he prioritized as of primary significance; God and church and country are clearly set. I was assured of my place in first rate attention closely followed by his friends, his work assignments and Baylor University. But there was a wandering priority that challenged all but the top listing – the matter of chocolate. My husband believed chocolate needs were similar to the need for breathing. I had seen him in the grocery store; him standing, hands clasped behind his back, gazing into the display of chocolate with concentration similar to that of a new daddy gazing at his newly-born through the window of the hospital nursery. And then I would often find carefully tinfoiled pieces of chocolate hidden in various places in our house like a desk drawer or even a small Russell Stover’s Candy box under the upper layer of his socks, and one boxed, large sized, almond Hershey bar in a file marked “current”. He would say, “You never can tell when you might need a little chocolate.” I enjoyed his enjoyment in chocolate and often found life had special surprise pleasures tucked away in unusual places: a friend who includes you in a spur-of-the-moment lunch time visit just when you need it the most, a scripture that pops off the page being studied for an entirely different application, a note in my mailbox thanking me for something so trivial I didn’t even know it had value, three friends who dropped by not even knowing they were the answer to a prayer; little bits of sweetness God tucks away in our day. I hope you find such a joy today. Oh, how sweet it is – one never knows when one might need a little chocolate.

A Lesson from a Runaway

admin — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:12:56 +0000

I love the story of Jonah. It’s true and relevant. Most of what we remember about Jonah is his stay in the belly of a whale and the praise he gave to the God Who put him there. But there are other principles appropriate for Believers on the run or for heathen captains of ships to be converted by the manner in which Jehovah God handles His runaways. To review the details, Jonah did not want to obey God and go to Nineveh to preach the Gospel so he booked the first ship going in the other direction. Well there was this humongous storm and the ship’s captain went down into the ship to see just who this new traveler was. They had to wake Jonah to ask him. I love the answer; it makes me laugh whenever I read it. Jonah said, “I am a prophet of the Lord God Jehovah, Who sees everything, knows everything and remembers everything.” And so, the Captain cried, “What are you doing?” Jonah, somewhat discomfited answered, “I, sir, am running away from Him.” Running away from the One God Who sees and knows everything?! What a futile exercise! You can’t run away from God. You can run for Him, with Him, against Him, but you can’t run away from Him. The principle that newly impresses me is Jonah’s condition during the turbulence of the storm. He was asleep, the picture of peace, but a false picture! Don’t mistake the weariness of disobedience for the Peace of God. They who have gone down to the sea in ships have seen the works of the Lord then – oh, awesome then – they cried to the Lord in their trouble and He brought them out of their distresses. In that there is peace, the deliverance of God, not in the fainting of exhausted human measure, but in the relieving of God fully recognized. They who go down to the sea in ships learn the Jonah lesson: delayed obedience is better than no obedience at all, but the best obedience is immediate.

An Interview with Jeannette

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:23:06 +0000

Click The Crossover to listen to an interview with Jeannette by Mitch Jerome where she talks about her theater ministry.

LAUGHABLE BLOOPERS

An article shared with me by a friend, stays on my cluttered desk with a daily purpose. It makes me smile, laugh out loud and occasionally use it for a radio spot. It’s a collection of announcements taken from church bulletins. For instance, this one: “Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and our community.” Another one I enjoy: “This afternoon there will be a meeting in the South and North ends of the church. Children will be baptized at both ends.” Frequently I find those snippets of error laughable blessings. I find a principle of God’s grace in them. What to do with errors addressed, confessed, and still there locked into the embarrassment of recall? We all make mistakes; some major blunders, some grievous sins, some that have tragic consequences, some twist the world out of shape, but most of them are innocent errors that mar the landscape of our memory. I am sure that whoever made those mistakes in the article has no idea that a woman in Houston found joy in their discovery. I do not think we can laugh our problems away, but there is a slight hope that in some errors of innocence and ignorance there is the easing of laughter. Maybe…maybe…God, Who loves His children, laughs in the blundering of our innocent mistakes. Maybe – just maybe – we should, too. Try it today for that error confessed, regretted and never dismissed. Maybe it’s good for laughter. “Don’t let worry kill you. Let the church help!” There it was in print in a church bulletin and God used it to delight me in the reading of it.

PROVISIONAL GIFTS

Clearing out an ancient closet I found a small box of what I thought must be very small picture frames. Remembering that in my previous clearing out fever I had also found that small box of what must be small picture frames and decided to break the pattern by returning the small box to a different closet. The next attack of clearing out fever led me again to the small box of what must be small picture frames and I returned it to the shelf in the closet that had previously held them. One night, returning late from a rehearsal, I stumbled through a dark hall, groped for the light switch and was reminded that my flashlight needed a change of battery. Batteries are kept in the first mentioned closet and, as I gathered them from their carton, I saw, again, the small box of what must be small picture frames and idly opened it to find that what I thought were small picture frames were, instead, amazing little nightlights, perfect for lighting my foot steps in the dark hall within which I usually stumbled.

God’s Word is, indeed, a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path when properly placed within the perimeters of daily lives and not left in some cluttered closet or book shelf wherein it gathers dust. However, God, Himself is very persistent about His children availing themselves of His provision and when clearing out our closets doesn’t reveal His provisional gifts He, God will direct us through our admitted need for batteries to open small boxes and find that which He provides to give us light in the darkness. Isn’t that kind of God to be so determined to bless us? Wouldn’t it be the wisdom of logic to take them out of the box in the first place?

The Pathways of Life

admin — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:07:37 +0000

Some questions are best forgotten and some need be looked squarely in the face and answered. I found an envelope full of old, faded and curly pictures. I thumbed through them only for a quick decision as to keeping or toss away. In the collection were a dozen pictures of me taken in various shows I had done. I transferred a few to a better storing place and glanced through the others pausing only to recognize the plays they represented. Theater memories are wonderful visitations from history and I lingered over each picture – in – most of them was me. Me, young, slender, pretty in make up and costume, a youthful leading lady able to stretch to a few character parts, comedienne and classical actress – me – a me that once was. And the thorn of a question interrupted the roses of reverie. Whatever happened to that me? The question held serious portent comparing the me that was with the me that I am and I hastily dismissed it, but the question popped up again. What happened to that me? To silence the question I dared to answer – hesitant at first, but then turning the question mark into an exclamation point!

Life verse: Proverbs 3:6: In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.

That’s what happened to that me. Not bad, not bad at all! I recommend the adventure; In all your ways acknowledge Him and celebrate the paths He will direct.

‘Musterd’ Out the Old Year

admin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:12:26 +0000

I remember the morning had started before I was ready for it. I was fixing my husband’s lunch and had turkey slices waiting on the bread upon which I was spreading mustard. The jar of mustard was all but empty. With an ice tea spoon I retrieved from the corners of the jar a scant spoonful. With a knife I slid slivers from the sides of the jar, then a small dollop from the jar’s lid and finally with the bread, scooped up remaining mustard stains from the empty container – and all the while a full jar of mustard was waiting on the shelf! I knew it was there. It was in reach. And yet, I ignored it to fuss over the empty one. Two principles seemed appropriate to me as I fussed at myself for wasting time. One: Don’t struggle with depleted supply. God has quality quantity waiting for you. No kitchen tool can get mustard from an empty jar. What is over is over and, in the Grace of God, what is ready is ready! And second, because it was an early date in the new year, I thought of how we pamper New Year’s Eve; trying to use up every timed second. The streets are filled with frantic watching of the old year out and the new year in. At our theater we ushered out the old year with prayer as celebrants shared a special, but not frantic evening, and there, as simple as clover, was the new year waiting for us; a new jar full of days, given by the God Who holds all time in His Hand. Happy New Year!

Be Thankful

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:14:29 +0000

A brightly illustrated exercise book came to me in the mail. The book was advertising a series of efforts that would restore and establish the lithe loveliness of form and fashion I had known in my youth. I was not particularly drawn to the program, because I had not been particularly lithe or lovely in my youth, but the exercises interested me. There was something about them that seemed familiar: that reaching to the floor bit looked a lot like the way I maneuver my body in picking up the shreds of trash which spill from waste basket into garbage sack and that stretching to the heights was similar to my awkward exercise in changing closet light bulbs and that knee-to-chest gymnastics was nothing more that the normal exercise of putting on panty hose! The roll-over-on-the stomach was exactly the same as my efforts to retrieve the pencil and pillow that slip with a degree of regularity under my bed. Now, I know that the series of exercise require far more systematic expression, but I found a reminder that much of what we look for outside our lives is already in them. The blue bird in our back yard is still an affirming principle, the neighbors green grass is really not a critique of ours, frequently being unhappy in our system of living is not a critique of our lifestyle so much as a critique of our eyesight. For a day, just for one day, try finding a cue for thankfulness in the humming drum of life as it is. It is not a discouragement to growth, but an encouragement to the thankful heart. My neighbor’s garage may be in better shape than mine, but I thank the Lord for the remote in my kitchen cabinet that, with a flick of my fingers, closes my garage door so no neighbor can see what’s in it.

Celebrate!

Live each day ready to celebrate! It might be small, like finding the lipstick that had rolled under the dressing table and still had its top on it! Or it might be large, like learning the scale is wrong and you really haven’t gained ten pounds! It might be trivial like those illustrations or it might be significant and life-changing. All celebrations gain in value when they are shared, but it is possible to celebrate all by yourself because even in the loneliness there is you to celebrate and God counted you worthy for joy! Live each day ready to celebrate. I knew a gallant lady who had been one of the early custodians of the little town that became Dallas. She said that as a young person, she always wore her riding boots when she went to the grocery store just in case someone had a horse! I laughed at the absurdity, and decided to adopt its practice. Never discard your party clothes, live ready to celebrate – or you might miss the party! Hope is a gift from God and is to be celebrated daily, with or without horses.

Surprise!

admin — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:04:50 +0000

Today is the birthday of a friend and as I wrapped her present, I thought of a significant celebration of one of my birthdays. I was living in New York City, it was a Sunday morning. I had thought I might be awakened by a birthday call, but no such greeting started my day. I walked to church half expecting the friends who regularly worshiped with me to pop out from the corner of Broadway and 79^th Street. None did. Usually a group of us ate together after Sunday services, but this day each one had some other engagement. I saw through their ruse to the surprise awaiting me at a nearby restaurant where we often gathered. I spruced up my appearance and set my face to register surprise as I entered, but there were no grinning faces grouped around the table. I ate alone. Aha, I thought, they’re waiting for me at my apartment, but no one was there but me! All day I waited. No call. No surprise visitor. I got older and older. I decided this lost birthday was not going to get me down. Tearfully I dressed in my youngish, cutest clothes, made up my face for a party, served myself a cup of coffee, sang myself a sad birthday greeting and picked up the paper to settle for the friendship of comics. Glancing at the headline I saw the date – it was not my birthday! I was two days early! Always check the facts before you suffer! Frequently “things” aren’t so bad as they seem and be surprised by the humor of error. It can be its own party.

My Treat!

admin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:42:21 +0000

All the way down the serving line of the cafeteria, my friend and I argued over the check. I preceded her and hastened to snatch both tabs from their trays and made a splendid show of claiming the honor of being hostess. “No,” I said clearly, “this is my turn. I asked you!” She suggested we each pay our own, but I insisted it was to be my treat. We sat at a table by the window and as we finished, my friend again offered to pay, but I insisted the opportunity was mine. Finally, I said to her, “Please don’t say anything more about it,” and I moved to the checkout counter and opened my purse and found I had not brought any money! For some reason my wallet and credit card were safe at home and I didn’t even have enough change for my bill much less my friend’s! I turned and said coyly, “however, if you will mention it one more time I will let you pay for both of us.” It’s a funny memory between friends, but it also carries a principle. No matter how much fuss you make about it, you can’t give what you don’t have. The answers of God must be received before they’re shared. Oh, God can use our uncertain beginnings and stammerings and even work His wonders through us whatever state of equipping we’re in, but when it comes to giving to others the truth of His Grace, we need first to have that truth securely settled in our own pocket books.