Let’s Take a Stand…And SHINE!

Dear Reader:

Aren’t these sun’s rays beautiful….if I could be Alice in Wonderland for one day…I would love to slide down a sun’s rays deep into the rabbit hole and land on layers and layers of these brightly colored clouds sparkling in the rays of the sun.

I would lay on the soft, puffy matrix of colors and stare up into the stars shining brightly down upon me…realizing that I am one with the universe…the stars and I share the dust of God’s Creation.

If you have ever read biographies of America’s first astronauts to the moon…they appear to share the same epiphany or realization of man’s connection to the stars and planets. They felt that they were seeing a part of themselves within the ancient stars…a part of themselves that they had never seen before…and would be ready to return to stardust when their time here on earth was over.

I enjoy Sue Monk Kidd’s novels…but I especially loved this anecdote she shared one time on a talk show…she had everyone in the audience laughing with her precious child’s understanding of the importance of shining like the stars in our lives.

Popular author, Sue Monk Kidd, once told this personal anecdote about a memorable Christmas pageant in her family. Her daughter was quite small and terribly excited about trying out for the Christmas Pageant. When she came running to the car after try-outs…she was holding a five pointed cardboard box with gold tinsel.

Her face was beaming with happiness…she was so happy she could barely speak. When the author asked her daughter what role she got she proudly proclaimed “The Star!”

“Oh…said her mother…hum…does the star have a speaking line?” Her daughter looked at her in disbelief and shook her head. “Of course not…stars can’t talk, silly mommy!”

“Then what do you do?”

“Oh mommy…her daughter clapped her hands in excited anticipation….“I get to stand there and SHINE”!

When you think about it…isn’t that what God wants of us…to simply“stand and shine.” To let our inner spirit shine on others as a beloved child of God…to reveal the star in us?

So until tomorrow….

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Don’t you love the beautiful concept behind this simple “highs and lows” band?

G = God
> = Is Greater
Than the
^ = Highs
v = Lows

“Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:39

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”
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5 Responses to Let’s Take a Stand…And SHINE!

  1. Rachel Edwards says:

    ♥️♥️♥️ shine on …shine on

  2. Lynn Gamache says:

    Yes, we can do this because my Bible tells me that like the apostle Paul, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me”! Philippians 4:13
    Also I have to share a little riddle with you all on this Sunday morning…(and please don’t think too hard…hint…this riddle can be solved by a kindergarten child…and this is the Sabbath so you don’t want to tax your brain too much!)

    Riddle: “what is greater than God; worse than Satan; and if you eat it, you will die”?

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