A Picture of Who You Are, by Sally

I love the outcome of Vessels & Flowers.  I love it that when you have discovered which Vessel you are and which Flower you are, you have a picture of a Vase with a Rose in it, or a Basket with a Daisy in it. That image has helped so many.  It helps you to understand yourself and others too. 

I am a Daisy.  Since V & F came into being, I have seen so many lovely daisies in pictures and on objects in stores.  Every time I see it, I see myself in that flower.  It again tells me who I am. What I really like is that over the years I have been given so many lovely presents with daisies on them.  It is so great because the giver is telling me that they know who I am also.

When I know what Flower someone is I enjoy finding a special present that has that Flower on it.  Brenda and I have exchanged many a Daisy present with each other.  It is fun.

When you discover which Flower you are it will be fun to see that Flower in your everyday life, in the store on special items.  Every time you see it you again recall how very specially God created you.  And once you discover the Flower of your friends you will enjoy finding special gifts for them.  It tells them that you know who they are and you also relish with them the special way God created them.

Do you have a special story of getting or giving an item with yours or others Flower on it?  Please share on the comments.

Blessings.

V & F is a Ministry, by Sally

In case you were not quite sure, Vessels and Flowers is a ministry.  It is information about how we are created by God.

He created us each in a unique way.  Many decisions were made when He created us in the womb.  The family we were born into, the color of our hair, the color of our eyes, etc., etc.  God decided also what temperament we would be and how we would function.  That is what Vessels and Flowers is all about.

It was never meant to be just an instruction book of unique information.  Our emphasis has always been to be thankful to God and to honor Him by His love for us and unique way He designed us. 

It is a ministry to help, especially women, to know that even though we are unique, there are others that have the same temperament and the same function.  It was written to help us to understand ourselves better.  Over the years we have had so many testimonies of women that felt so isolated and were shocked that there are other women just like them.

It is a ministry to help us to understand those others that sometimes mystify us.  We don't understand just why they do what they do.  The reason is usually because they are another Vessel or Flower.

And it is a ministry to help us to realize how wonderful God is to lovingly create us especially. 

I repeat.  Vessels and Flowers is a ministry. 

The Birth of Vessels & Flowers, by Sally

Years ago I put on a little home brewed friends seminar.  We had just just moved to Coshocton and had trouble finding a place to rent.  A local real estate agent was helping us find a place.  There was nothing available at the time so she made the arrangements for us to rent a lovely large home with five bedrooms and three baths for a few months until we could get into something more suitable for us.

The home was so lovely and large so I planned a weekend seminar for my friends from Fremont and Lima and for my new friends in Coshocton.  It was fun because I was able to fashion a weekend that was what I had always wanted for a women's seminar.  I planned times for meetings in our living room that were fun and interesting.  I had a few missionary friends that shared their ministries to us.  Brenda shared about temperaments.  I shared about spiritual gifts.  We went to a tourist town, Roscoe Village, on Saturday afternoon to SHOP.  We had so much fun over the weekend.

I think it was on Saturday evening we were having coffee and snacks around our large dining room table and we all got into a conversation about our temperaments and how we function with each other.  Brenda and I had fun talking about these subjects and someone spoke up and said, "You two should write a book about this."  Of course I pulled back, but Brenda said, "When do we start!"  And that is how the first seed about Vessels and Flowers got planted.

Awhile later I was attending a women's seminar.  The accommodations were very nice and the women who put it on did a great job.  The speaker was a known author.  Her subject was about our different temperaments.  However, I went home so FRUSTRATED.  She described the temperaments as certain kinds of people.  I had trouble figuring out which one I was.  Another problem was the descriptive word of that temperament really didn't mean anything.  It was nothing that I could picture and get a grip on who I was.  She spoke around the subject, but made no attempt to come to a conclusion of now that you know which temperament you are, how does that help you at all.  At the end of the seminar they asked for anyone in the audience to share.  Several women got up and some even broke down crying.  They were so relieved to find out what temperament they were, but they were so frustrated that now how does that solve any problem in their lives.

After that seminar I went home and "mulled" for awhile.  I finally called Brenda and we discussed how we just had to do something about this.  We saw how God had created us with a specific temperament and a specific way to function and finding out what that was could help us to understand ourselves, others, and God better.  The discovery of knowing that would help us to be free in many areas of our lives.

We saw the temperament as a base of who we are and the function as something put inside of that base.  We talked about all kinds of pictures of that.  One I remember is a picture of some kind of stuffed animal with something else in their arms.  Aren't you glad we didn't use that one.  But the one the Lord kept putting on our hearts was a picture of a vessel and something put into that vessel.  A picture of that would describe who you are.

And that, dear friends, is how Vessels & Flowers was born.

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The Enemy Knows, by Sally

Since being involved in Vessels and Flowers Brenda and I have had many experiences of being told how much it meant to gals, and even guys, to find out their Vessel and Flower. We have seen great joy and many tears in their discovery of who they are. 

For some it explains so much about themselves.  Why they do the unusual things they do.  Why they  sometimes don't fit in with others.  Especially this is true for the Velvet Boxes.  They are such unusual people and so complicated, they especially have a hard time fitting in with anybody or anything that is going on.  Usually, they don't know why this is true.  However, each Vessel has its own peculiarity and the discovery of these truths helps us to finally begin to understand ourselves.

I had a most unusual experiences awhile ago.  Brenda and I know that when people either read the book or just hear about V & F they either "get it" or they don't.  Some people just don't think it is important and pay no attention.  While others are thrilled to get this information and appreciate the knowledge of V & F.

Awhile ago I was ministering to a lovely young gal.  It just happened that most of her problems in her life had to do with what Vessel and Flower she was.  She naturally expected others to be like her.  And she was being criticized because she was not like others.  Because of my understanding of V & F I was beginning to end each of her sentences.  I knew that her suffering was because of just who she was.

I also could see that because of who she was the enemy was attacking her in those areas of her life.  All at once the Lord showed me that perhaps others did not understand or appreciate V & F, but the enemy knows these principles and attacks us where we are vulnerable.  

Vases - He will get them in a place where others do not do what they think they should, and get that Vase to get frustrated and angry.

Baskets - Where do I start?  They want to swing and Grumpy Gus won't move.  They get great ideas, and Slow Sue won't agree.

Pitchers - They are so practical and the world is full of so many who are not.  Frustration and anger.

Velvet Boxes - Their complication gets them frustrated and angry and many others get frustrated and angry with them.

Golden Pouches - They will get their feelings hurt over even a slight word against them.

Scripture is full of the antics of the Devil and what he is up to each and every day.  You will be attacked by him in the areas of who you are.  Don't let him get away with it.

Rejoice in what Vessel and Flower you are.  Embrace that picture of YOU.

God bless each of you.

The Wonders of Mary, by Sally

I would like to take the four letters in the name of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and have them represent the wonders of Mary.

The M of course must be for the fact that Mary was the Mother of Jesus. Motherhood. What a wonderful time in a woman’s life. I wonder if it held all of the beauty and joy for Mary that it does for all mothers.

Some day we will be able to sit down and chat with Mary. We will be able to find out what her life had been like and how she dealt with the joys of motherhood and the agony of the crucifixion. We will be able to hear her own story of the wonder of being the mother of Jesus.

A must be for Mary’s Arms. Not long ago I was holding my little grandson and it brought back many memories of the special feeling of my own sons in my arms.

There are those wonderful times when our children are babies and we can hold them in our arms. Then during the toddler years, even though they sometimes are hard to catch, there is a special feeling of our own children in our arms. I wonder how Mary felt holding Jesus. I wonder if she knew all that lay before Him in His short life.

R is for Resolve. One only has to read the wonderful Scripture in Luke 1:46-56 to see the resolve that Mary had to carry her child and be a mother to her son. While she knew of her son’s position and importance to God the Father, others didn’t.

I wonder how she maintained that resolve to raise Jesus and continually discipline Him. I wonder how she handled her resolve to be loyal and faithful to Jesus, especially during those three years of His public ministry.

I wonder how she handled those awful days of His crucifixion.

And Y represents that fact that Mary was a Youth. She was quite young when Gabriel himself appeared to her. She was quite young when she accepted the responsibility of being the mother of God’s Son. I wonder how she was able to handle all of the stress and possible humiliation of carrying a child while still engaged. I wonder if possibly her youth was a blessing during those years of raising Jesus.

Motherhood. Arms. Resolve. Youth. Mary. At this Christmas time we can all wonder how very delightful it must have been on that Christmas night when the Son of God, Jesus was born into our world to live and then die for each of us so we can become part of God’s family.

A Story About Rejecton, by Sally

I would like to tell you a story about a very dear friend of mine. She is a lovely woman who had earlier been divorced, and is a Velvet Box. Those of you who are not aware of just what a Velvet Box is, need to get your hands on a copy of "Vessels & Flowers" and read about these complicated women.

One morning during Praise and Worship at her church, she was silently crying out to the Lord. Besides the rejection of her divorce, she had of late been rejected in a few relationships. She was trying to sing and participate, but her heart was heavy. All of a sudden, the Lord spoke to her and said, "What you see as rejection, is my protection."

Wow!!! What a lesson from the Lord. So many times, especially we Velvet Boxes, feel so rejected. It is hard for us to see beyond what we are going through and put it into a reasonable perspective. What she was sensing as rejection from others, God was allowing in order to protect this beautiful woman. I am sure that many times we look at what is happening and see it with our natural eyes. But God sees and understands the whole picture.

The lovely part of this story is that while she was going through this, behind her was standing a tall, handsome young man. God worked His perfect will in both of these young people . Awhile later they were married.

And what is so special, is that tall, handsome young man, is my son Keith. This lovely woman, Diana, has become my lovely daughter-in-law. I thank God that He protected her and brought her lovingly into our family. What a blessing.

Crawl Up In His Lap, by Sally

What an adventure I have been through. In my last blog, "All Is Well", I wrote about finding out I had uterine cancer and needing surgery. And I wrote about getting that "Good Report."
I was confident that after surgery it would all be over. It wasn't. Then I went through another very strange adventure. At the last visit to the gynecologist I was told that I still had type 1b cancer. To me that meant I have cancer. The doctor made appointments for a colonoscopy, a mammogram, and a visit to an oncologist. I was so shocked. I still had cancer.

Our Christmas letter was first about some wonderful gals that were wanting to get involved with our beloved Vessels and Flowers ministry, and it was about asking my friends and family to pray for me because I had to go through 5 weeks of radiation therapy for cancer. It wasn't until after a few visits to the oncology clinic that it began to get through to me that I had misunderstood the facts. I did not still have cancer. The facts were that the cancer had been removed with the body part, but it had been more pervasive than the doctors had thought and they were concerned that it might now be in lymph nodes and other places. I had not gotten that. Perhaps all of this is does not make much sense. It didn't to me either.

When I realized the truth, I didn't know whether to be relieved or embarrassed. Actually, I was both. I was so relieved that I did not now have active cancer. And I was rather embarrassed that I had so messed it all up. I now know that it is going to take longer than I thought to get that "Good Report."

So now Sally Lou goes to the oncology clinic five times a week for her treatments. And God has done some wonderful things to get me through this. To have these treatments I had to put on a lovely hospital gown on the regular backward way, (Ugh!) and then another on frontward as kind of a robe. Because of my sore right arm this was very hard to do. On one of these days, Brenda had been visiting and the weather was bad, so she took me down to the clinic and she helped me into this contraption. God bless Brenda.

When I went in for the therapy, I mentioned to the technician that something had to give. Either I had to have friends come every time to help me, or someone there just had to come and give the lady a hand. But the technician told me that really they had other ways, and I would not have to put on the gowns at all!! When I joyously told Brenda about this, she just looked at me and reminded me that My Heavenly Father was just looking out for me and making this as easy as it could be for me. What a blessing that was!

Also, during all of this, a wonderful, sweet friend called to pray for me. She reminded me that once when I was ministering to her, I encouraged her to crawl up on the lap of Jesus. She said that it had meant so much to her. Then she told me that it was what I needed to do now. The next time I went for therapy, I could picture myself crawling up into that warm, wonderful place on Jesus's lap. Now during therapy I pray, praise the Lord, sing and enjoy His protection and love.

During this season of my life I can greatly sense many friends and family praying for me. It is so comforting. That prayer support is so essential, especially right now. I do appreciate that prayer so much. Thank you all for praying for me.

What a wonderful place to be, in His lap. I encourage you to crawl up in His love and in His care when those times come when you need Him.

Blessings