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Portrait of Pure Love – Penny L. Hunt
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God sees not as man sees…the LORD looks at the heart. I Samuel 16:7 (NAS)

It was only normal for the neighbors to call 911 when they heard the torturous screams of a child coming from the house next door. Not so normal for the police to be greeted by two soaking wet parents and to discover a toddler, wrapped in a beach towel, wedged beneath three sofa cushions.

It took a great deal of explanation for everyone to comprehend how washing my autistic granddaughter’s hair was like trying to baptize cats. Sandwiching her between sofa cushions provided total body compression and was a comfort to her.

On “S-Day” (shampoo day) the family bathroom was reminiscent of a well prepared surgical center. The tub was scrubbed and cleared of all objects, including the shower curtain, and lined with long bath mats. A soft rubber hose and shower head were attached to a padded faucet and next to the tub were placed wash cloths for quickly wiping eyes and ears, along with a cap-less bottle of shampoo. When the ordeal was over, my granddaughter would sob in ragged breaths that shook her shoulders and broke our hearts.

Now fast forward 15 years to the amazing photo of my granddaughter holding her long blonde pony tail for donation to Locks of Love. There, in the slightly different pose of an autistic child, is a portrait of pure love with no hidden agenda, no ulterior motive, no glory seeking or proud display of generosity. Instead is a living demonstration of the humility Jesus spoke of when He called a little child to sit with Him in answer to His disciples’ questions of who would be the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. Verily I say unto you, except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not even enter the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

You and I may never donate a pony tail to Locks of Love but we can pray, with God’s help, to be living portraits of His love, generously giving to others with a pure heart.

Penny Hunt, a.k.a. “The Bloom Lady,” is the wife of a career Naval Officer/Attaché and mother of five. Through her Blooming Where You Are Planted talks, seminars, and writing, she encourages and equips people from all walks of life in navigating the choppy waters of change. Penny is the author of an Amazon.com bestselling children’s book, Little White Squirrel’s Secret, the Faith Columnist for the Citizen News of Edgefield County, SC, and a popular speaker with a motivational, humorous message. An active member of her church and community, Penny resides in the rural peach-growing region of South Carolina. Contact Penny at: thebloomlady@gmail.com.

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Am I Being Part of the Solution? – Penny L. Hunt
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Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:18 NIV

QUITYERBELLYAKIN was written in large letters across the front of the team leader’s t-shirt. Beneath the gibberish was the translation: “Quit Your Belly Aching!” and the words could not have been more appropriate.

The women’s outreach ministry was scheduled for a “Lessons Learned” session after hosting a city-wide event to welcome newcomers as a means of establishing points of connection and initiating efforts toward friendship evangelism.

The event had gone well but was poorly attended and some team members, disheartened with the poor return for such a great effort, had become quite vocal with their negative opinions. The “meetings before the meeting” had become a breeding ground of frustration and discouragement. Emotions ran high and the enemy of the church was at work establishing an underground watering system designed to nurture the negativity and leach the poison of discontentment throughout the participating churches.

Concerned team leaders prayed and the Lessons Learned session was re-scheduled for a time just before dusk. As team members arrived, they were directed to a hilltop and asked to watch as night fell and lights gradually illuminated the city below. When it was dark, everyone was given a flashlight and a printed piece of paper, and asked to form a circle to read the words aloud.

Let me tell you why you are here… You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world…Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine. Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

I will never forget that night — the tears or the glow of faces as the beams from the flashlights swept the circle and we saw each other as light-bearers. We returned with renewed vision and focused on bright spots in our program rather than all the problems. Through prayer and faith, we began looking at new ways to move forward.

As children of God, our calling is to be part of the solution not part of the problem. When you are tempted to grumble and gossip, stop and ask yourself, “Am I being part of the solution?”

Penny Hunt, a.k.a., “The Bloom Lady”, is the wife of a career Naval Officer/Attaché and mother of five. Through her Blooming Where You Are Planted talks, seminars, and writing, she encourages and equips people from all walks of life in navigating the chopping waters of change. Penny is the author of an Amazon.com bestselling children’s book, Little White Squirrel’s Secret. She is the Faith Columnist for the Citizen News of Edgefield County, SC and a popular speaker with a motivational, humorous message. An active member of her church and community, Penny resides in the rural peach-growing region of South Carolina. Contact Penny at: thebloomlady@gmail.com.

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Love Watches Its Wake – Penny L. Hunt
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Don’t be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly stepping on the toes of those who aren’t as free as you are. Corinthians 10:32-33 The Message

“You see it your way and I see it mine.” It’s an age old problem. In the days of the Apostle Paul, the issue was eating or not eating meat sacrificed to idols. Today it’s about things like the use of medical marijuana. So who’s right and who’s wrong? I was really struggling with that question when a boating incident along the waterways of South Carolina helped me find the answer.

We were cruising at a fair clip when rather unexpectedly our speed decreased. As our bow dropped lower in the water and the mist of salty spray dissipated, all eyes turned toward the driver of our boat for explanation. He directed our attention to a small johnboat located near the edge of the marsh where three men could be seen on board, with one casting a shrimp net among bait poles placed there.

Had we or any of the other four boats in line with us continued at our current speed, the individual or combined wake of our boats would have easily produced waves capable of swamping and possibly capsizing the johnboat. Someone laughingly commented, “Must be their first time out.” More experienced shrimpers would never have selected such a heavily trafficked area. They were lucky the driver of our boat, though not required to, willingly gave way to the smaller vessel, recognized its vulnerability, and adjusted his course and speed. I followed our wake reaching the marsh and was happy to see it only rocked the johnboat.

It’s not about who’s right or who’s wrong. It’s about the attitude of the heart and an awareness of the impact our thoughts and actions have upon others. As we operate in the spirit of Christ’s love we will be more concerned with keeping others from stumbling than making our point through powerful arguments that may damage their conscience. We will willingly avoid certain activities rather than flaunt the understanding of our liberty with actions that offend. We will do all we can to build others up and help them mature. To put it another way, love watches its wake…

Penny Hunt, the wife of a retired naval officer and attaché, has led “Blooming Where You Are Planted” talks and seminars both nationally and internationally. She is a popular speaker with Stonecroft Ministries at Christian Women’s Clubs and a motivational/inspirational speaker for many other events. She is the faith columnist for the Citizen News of Edgefield County, SC and author of the Amazon.com bestselling children’s book, Little White Squirrel’s Secret – A Special Place To Practice.

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The Tiger Lily Thief – Penny L. Hunt
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Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40 NIV

When members of the Country Garden Club asked me to create a program on edible flowers, the first thing that came to mind was Doris Day playing a ukulele and singing “Please Don’t Eat The Daisies.” This past week, as I watched tiger lilies planted along the road where I live being hauled off in the back of a stranger’s pickup truck, my thoughts were more along the lines of Doris in “Annie Get Your Gun.” Those bright orange flowers were now gone and so was a bit of my joy.

Knowing it was morally wrong for the man to take the lilies, I wondered if it were also illegal and spent some time researching the matter. As suspected, if you are caught in the act of creative landscaping along the Palmetto State roads or highways, it can cost you a crisp C-note and up to 30 days in jail. “Digging, pulling up, gathering, removing, cutting, maiming, breaking, or injuring in any way, including any injury done by fires intentionally set, to any wild, cultivated or ornamental plants, shrubs and trees situated on or along any public road or highway is unlawful.” (SC Code of Laws, Title 57, Chapter 23)

Beyond the obvious audacity of the lily thief, what concerned me most was the ripple effect of his actions. I was enroute to a kickoff pot luck when I observed the lilies being driven off. As a result, my mood and conversation changed for the worse and, as I shared the incident at our table, another couple was reminded of thieves who broke into their home and absconded with the wife’s entire jewelry collection. This in turn reminded a widow of the fears she now faces alone at home each night. Everything we do, whether for good or for evil, affects others and must be why Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Just so you know, the USA “loves me, loves me not” variety of daisies will not kill you if you eat them, but they are not a flower of choice for the dinner table. However, their smaller British cousins are enjoyed for their tangy flavor. And by the way, tiger lilies, like many other roadside plants, cannot be successfully transplanted.

Our actions, whatever they are, always affect others and Christ taught us to love our neighbors as ourselves. His example of love was pure and the effects eternal. What are your actions like? Seek to follow in the wake of Jesus. Love one another as yourself and make a life-changing effect.

Penny Hunt, the wife of a retired naval officer and attaché, has led “Blooming Where You Are Planted” talks and seminars both nationally and internationally. She is a popular speaker with Stonecroft Ministries at Christian Women’s Clubs and a motivational/inspirational speaker for many other events. She is the faith columnist for the Citizen News of Edgefield County, SC and author of the Amazon.com bestselling children’s book, Little White Squirrel’s Secret – A Special Place To Practice.

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