CHOICES AND LIMITATIONS

July 20, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / 3 Comments

Everyday we make choices. Even “not choosing” is a choice. Everyday we face the consequences of those choices. Consequences are unavoidable. We can choose whatever we want, but we cannot avoid the outcomes our choices create.

Everyday we become more and more limited by the choices we made yesterday.When I choose something today it sets me on a pathway. If the choice I make today reinforces the decision I made yesterday then I go further down the pathway I chose and further away from my starting point. The further down the path I go the more distant I get from other paths and other choices. I cannot now easily reach the choices I decide not to make five, ten fifteen years ago.

I remember the day I chose to shut down my father’s restaraunt and move into another area of business. I remember the day I left business altogether and came back to the ministry. I remember the day I threw over ministry to enter the disabilities field. I remember the day I gave up work in the disabilities field and moved back into ministry. I am now so far away from that first choice to leave the restaurant business that I don’t think I could get back there if I tried. I am even, now, so far removed from anything that is not ministry I am not sure I could make a choice that didn’t include ministry. I have limited myself.

BUT… I am at a point now where I am at peace with most of the limitations. I accept them like old frenemies. My limitations and my choices work together these days to make up this glorious mess I call my life. Not all my choices were good. Not all of the limitations started out helpful, but somehow they work with my destiny and my acceptance of it to drive me on towards whatever God’s plan for me is. I don’t always like the limitations or the choices that go with them, but I am comfortable with the necessity of them. And so I go on making choices prayerfully and accepting the limitations they bring peacefully until the goodness that God can make out of both of those things is revealed.

AND DISCUSS…..

WHAT’S BLOOMING AT THE VICARAGE 7-10-24

July 10, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / 2 Comments

It has been quite a week for the Lillies of the Vicarage. And I mean that for both the human Lillies and the flower lilies.

We have three new varieties of lilies blooming on the property.

Plenty of rain And lots of heat are keeping these flowers blooming and growing.

We humans have also had plenty of rain and heat in the metaphorical sense. One daughter had gallbladder surgery this week. My other daughter lost her beloved pet Picasso four days before she started radiation treatments. My sister discovered that her work in the Netherlands is going to be double taxed. She will have to pay taxes to the US and to the Dutch government on all income. Like I said, lots of rain and heat.

In the midst of all these things, we are standing on verses from the Bible, like the one below

“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/116/1pe.1.6-7.NLT

My daughter Amanda’s word for the year is “bloom”. we are learning that blooming takes rain and heat. We are facing many trials but we know God will carry us through somehow.

“I will exalt you, Lord, for you rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health. You brought me up from the grave, O Lord. You kept me from falling into the pit of death. Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. When I was prosperous, I said, “Nothing can stop me now!” Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain. Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered. I cried out to you, O Lord. I begged the Lord for mercy, saying, “What will you gain if I die, if I sink into the grave? Can my dust praise you? Can it tell of your faithfulness? Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me. Help me, O Lord.” You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭30‬:‭1‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.30.1-12.NLT

A Weekend Of Prayer and Family

July 1, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / 2 Comments

It is summer. Here in New England with summer being so short (lasting really only two. months) we try to cram in as much summer living as we can. This weekend the Parks and Rec department scheduled inn the annual Food Truck Festival. It was all hands on deck for this huge event, so my daughter Melanie had to work the event from start to finish. Her husband James also had to work, so I got to watch their girls, my granddaughters Daniella and Abigail.

We watched “Bluey” and”Monsters At Work” on the Disney Channel

Then we went to the playground for some much needed playtime in the sunshine. We even stopped at the Food Truck Festival, but the girls didn’t see anything they liked (except ice cream of course) and so we ordered a pizza from where their Dad works and hunkered down until Melanie and James were finished their work.

On Saturday all the kids went to the beach and I met mum with my Father-in-law for lunch at Kerrick’s Tavern in Orange MA. Doug is up visiting his brother and sister-in-law who are both ailing. But we found time for lunch and catching up.

After a ride through the countryside, I dropped Doug off at his brother’s house in Athol MA. Since it was time to pray I decided to take little prayer tour around the area. I stopped at Silverlake St. Cemetery where my family is buried. There I heard I felt the Spirit of God urging me to begin tying up loose ends.

At Tully Lake I contemplated how long my family has been connected to this area of the world. My great great great grandfather was a pastor in this region back in the mid 1850’s. My family has been actively spreading Christianity in this part of the world for a long long time.

At Doane’s Falls I was once again thinking about how much spiritual water has been over the bridge since my family came to this region. How many lives have we been able to touch over the centuries and how many more souls remain to be impacted before the age of the worlds changes.I

I know my great great great grandfather probably thought the same way I am thinking now, but I feel like time is short and the message must be brought to our generation.

HERE IS THE MESSAGE I PREACHED ON SUNDAY OF YOU CARE TO LISTEN.

https://fb.watch/t2Of-Ueiw2

SHARE YOUR WORLD FROM JUNE 24TH

June 28, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / 2 Comments

I am a little late to the table this week, but here is m response to PENSITIVITY’S SHARE YOUR WORLD CHALLENGE FROM JUNE 24TH.

My answers below and then you can click the link above to see how all the other contributors answered.

What do you miss most, if anything, about your school days? I miss the innocence and hopefulness of those days. I feel like we have lost something over the decades since my school days. Maybe it is just me that has lost it, but life seemed a lot less complicated and scary back then.
Did your school have its own sports field or swimming pool? We had neither of those things. I can remember watching football games from the borrowed field of the local private school and swim team practiced at what is now the local YMCA public swimming pool.
What was your favourite day on the school week? I liked school on the whole. I found learning an exciting pass time. But I think my favorite day was Friday because it was pizza and peanut butter sandwich for school lunch.
Did you have one teacher for a variety of subjects, or separate teachers for each? In elementary school (primary?) we had one teacher for everything, but once we reached Jr. High and High school (secondary school for those of you across the pond?) we had different teachers for every subject.

GRATITUDE: I have had lots of time to play in my little forest garden this week.

Say It Loud

June 27, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / 2 Comments

Recently our family has had several confrontations with our own mortality. We have been reminded again and again that none of us are promised tomorrow. This is no time to be waiting on saying or doing the important truly important things…. Like saying “I love you.”

SHARE MY WORLD 6-3-2024

June 3, 2024June 3, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / 6 Comments

THIS POST IS WRITTEN IN RESPONSE TO PENSITIVITY’S SHARE MY WORLD CHALLENGE.

1. Have you ever wanted to be famous?

I suppose everyone has had their moment of seeking fame and glory. When I was young and immature I think I wanted fame out of a lack of my own self worth. As I have grown more comfortable in my own skin, I have realized I don’t need the recognition of other men to validate who I am. At least most times that is true.

2. Have you met any celebrities?

Hmmm. I suppose if you count….No. No I haven’t.

3. Has anyone ever asked you for your autograph?

Only in a year book or in a high school play bill.

4. Is there a celebrity you wish to have met/meet?

Not really. I enjoy meeting people as people not as their mythology. If I were to meet someone famous I would hope I would be more concerned about their personhood than I would be about any notoriety I might gain from being in their presence.

MY WEEKLY GRATITUDE… Is that I got to go dinner with my cousins Karen and Mike yesterday.

FESTIVAL OF SPRING 2024 WEEK # 9 FIESTAS AND FLOWERS

May 21, 2024May 21, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / 2 Comments

THIS POST IS WRITTEN IN RESPONSE TO DAWN’S FESTIVAL OF SPRING 2024 CHALLENGE. CHECK IT OUT HERE.

Well even here in the frozen North we are finally into the full throes of Spring. The nights are still cool, but the days are getting warmer. The air is now filled with the smell of lilac and lily of the valley which I have in my garden in abundance.

The dandelions and the daffodils have all but gone by.

But the paper whites are now in full bloom. I am getting ready to make my next Spring arrangement for the dining table from some of these and a bit of Japanese Knot Weed.

And the battle against the brush has now begun. I mowed the whole lawn yesterday and my clipper and weed whacker batteries are charging as we speak.

You know its Spring when the festivals begin! My son and daughter-in-law treated me to my first ever Filippino Boodle Fight, a traditional feast and party. The food is served on banana leaves. It is tradition to stand around the table and just pick food off the table and eat as you fellowship, but in honor of their American guests table settings were provided.

My grandson danced all night long. Here he is with his Mom.

THE TRANSITION WITH GRIEF TO THE NEXT IDENTITY

May 10, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

I started this blog yesterday. It was originally called “So Here It Is Thursday…”. I began by talking about how I felt so ashamed for not reaching my goal of writing on “Notes From the Vicarage” daily since my mother’s passing. I listed my excuses and then laid out four steps I was going to take to correct the issue I have been having with writing.

It was a pretty good blog about how to prioritize writing….or really anything important.

I didn’t get to post that blog because I had a coaching session with my life coach that began just before I could hit publish. Now having had the night to sit and think on it I am glad I didn’t publish it.

I do believe there are habits I need to develop and tweak to become more effective, for sure, but I realized as I was thinking about my writing problem that this is more than a habits issue. It’s a grief issue and an issue of transition.

Life has changed for me in a big way, and I am not intentionally clocking that most days. I was Mom’s primary caregiver for the last decade of her life. Her needs factored into everything I did, including ministering and writing.I didn’t choose it. Caregiving became part of how I identified myself as a human being. It became a part of my fingerprint.

…and now I realize I need to give myself a hot minute to figure out how everything in life works without Mom to consider. Before I didn’t write daily because I was busy helping Mom and ministering. Time was not on my side. Now, as I approach the computer I wonder “What do I have to write about?”

I know it is not true, but it feels like the interesting parts of my life are over. That right there, is the power of sneaky grief. I have seen it in others and now here it is manifesting on the inside of me. It is strange. It doesn’t feel like sadness. It’s not anger. It’s not denial. It’s certainly not acceptance. It feels like….hesitancy. It’s like that moment when I was a little child meeting someone new, and all I could do was hide behind my mother’s skirt and suck my thumb. But this time the person I am meeting is…me!

Garden Labors

May 4, 2024May 4, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

We are about three weeks from planting the vegetable gardens. I was just having a discussion with one of my subscribers in Virginia about how here in Massachusetts we can’t put in our annual gardens until Memorial Day or after. That is not to say there is nothing to do. I have been moving day lilies around the yard for the last week to make room for new growth.

Today my son and daughter-in-law and I moved the garden boxes into their new locations. Three of these boxes are really old. I am kind of shocked they withstood the move.

One of the three boxes did not. But that is OK. I might be able to salvage the ends for some thing or other.

My daughter in law made our first cut flower vase of the season this morning as well.

This is one of the little niceties I am hoping to add to the Vicarage this year. I want to use what is on the property to beautify our lives. Other than that what is the point of garden labors?

This afternoon I am going to tackle the Japanese knotweed patch at the side of the house and gather the old stalks for burning. Maybe tonight we will have a fire.

The Boy and His Bubbles

April 30, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / 6 Comments

I had the privilege of watching my namesake yesterday. Joseph Elon Lillie VII is at the age where he loves bubbles.

I bought a bubble machine for Mom’s funeral, so we could sing her favorite Lawrence Welk song. But the bubble blower-matic was never meant to be a one hit wonder.

Sevy and Oz ( Joseph VII and Joseph V… my grandson and I) went to the park for about an hour to chase bubbles.

Well, he chased. I sat on a park bench.

I did not play Lawrence Welk. Sevy prefers Disney tunes. The bubble chasing was done to the sounds of “Moana”.

When all was said and done, we took a rest in the gazebo.