Category: treasures

The Importance of Being Earnest

On By Betty OwensIn home, teacher, treasures

According to dictionary.com, the word earnest means: serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous.

On Purpose StickyLast month, I blogged about living life on purpose (with purpose). I will admit, it isn’t easy. I’ve had a post-it note stuck in front of my nose for days to help me.

In my decisions: choose to make a difference in the lives of others. Whenever possible, I’ve made an effort to spend time with my family instead of holing up with my latest work-in-progress. That might mean babysitting or conversing with my school-age grandkids whenever I’m blessed with the opportunity.

To maintain this intent and purpose, I’ve needed to spur myself and stir up the zealousness when I only wanted to retreat. You see, we make a daily choice, whether by habit or intent, to get out of bed and go to work. We go because we need a paycheck, or because we know our work is necessary for the good of others.

school-teacher-148135_1280I had dinner with an elementary grades teacher last night. She takes her work seriously. She’s earnest in her calling. She’s inspiring young minds and helping mold their future. Those aren’t just cliches to her. They are her purpose. It’s not always easy. I’ve spoken to teachers suffering from burn-out. They were discouraged, and had lost their zeal for the work that once described them and gave them purpose.

So it’s important to maintain our purpose. That’s the real importance of being earnest.

Did you wonder from my title, if I was going to reference Oscar Wilde’s play by the same name? Well, you’re right, I am. The subtitle of Wilde’s original work is “A Trivial Comedy for Serious People.” The play was originally performed in London on Valentine’s Day, 1895. It was originally described as a “satirical farce.”

I had read the thing a number of years ago, but it had fallen by the wayside in my memory until spurred by the 2002 movie with Rupert Everett and Colin Firth (among many other brilliant and funny actors). If you’ve never seen it, it’s worth a watch. It’s cute, lighthearted fun, though it does carry a message and an obvious play-on-words.

So, in closing, what changes would you make to your life, in order to pursue a more earnest, purpose-driven lifestyle?

Maybe you’d need to be more present in your own life. Put away your phone, tablet, laptop, etc., and make actual eye contact with your loved ones or coworkers. That droning sound you hear as you’re texting a smiley-face to your best friend? That’s your spouse talking to you about his day. Wake up and let him know you care about him and what happened to him.

ripplesStop what you’re doing, whenever possible. Touch your child’s face and make eye contact. Respond to their need for attention with love, instead of impatience. Be earnest in your affection. Make a difference and you’ll hear a splash and see the ripple effect on the surface of your life.

I don’t play accurately – anyone can play accurately – but I play with wonderful expression. — Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

What the Heart Reveals

On By Betty OwensIn Happiness, kindness, scripture, Smile, treasures
When did this happen?

I looked in the mirror the other day and found someone new looking back at me. At least I hoped it was someone new, and not me. That could not be me. But it was. 

Ever had that experience? When you wake up one day and suddenly recognize the fact that years have passed and left an obvious trail across your face. Your hair has faded to gray or white and . . . well, you get my point. And why don’t we enjoy being slim when we are, instead of always thinking we’re fat? 

I was reminded of this passage of scripture:

Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. I Peter 3: 2-4

I pulled this segment out because these are the words that apply to my post. You may recognize the passage. It starts out with “Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands . . . ” Yes, that one. But that’s a subject for a different day.

I realized on this particular day that it’s not the outward appearance that really matters. We try to look our best and keep ourselves in good physical shape, but if our main emphasis is on the outward, we’ll end up an empty shell. The shell might look good, but in times of trouble (pressure), it crumbles. 

I’m not saying you should ignore what time is busy doing to the skin you’re in, but don’t spend so much time worrying over it. Don’t spend your life’s savings trying hold back the tide. Or your grocery and/or gas money, for that matter.

Do read, study, pray, do good works, show kindness, spread happiness. Smile. In this way, you bury treasures in the hidden places of the heart. There’s no guarantee you’ll overcome all that life throws at you, but your chances are better if you’ve got a stockpile of treasure laid up for eternity. 

Guest Post: That’s Home by Matt Owens

On By Betty OwensIn home, Memories, season, special things, treasures, tree

Six years of memories. I’ll just need one last look at the yard, at the tree I’d planted, at the landscaping I’d done, at the small place in the corner of the yard where the grass grows a little richer because that’s where we’d buried the cat. Inside the house, I’ll revisit the kitchen I’d remodeled, listen to the sounds of the creaking floorboards, and take a glimpse once more of our first child’s room we’d worked so hard to make his own. And climbing into the truck to haul away everything we consider ours, I’ll watch the house grow smaller in the side mirror until I turn the corner, and it will be gone.


As the season has changed and the trees have begun to glow with red and orange fire in the light of the autumn sun, it’s become apparent that not just six years have passed, but a portion of my life filled with bittersweet memories. It seems as though the more recent years were the sweet ones, though, as I’d grown so much closer to my wife, and it was in those years that we’d welcomed two beautiful boys into our family. At the new house, we’ll have a lot of work, but each busy moment will add time towards years spent in our new home.


These thoughts have made me realize that a house is just a feature of our family. It’s certainly part of us, and we make it ever more so the longer we live in it. We grow to love it, become comfortable in it, make it look and smell and feel like our home. We fill it with treasures, with special things, with fond memories.


My sons will spend their days there growing into young men. They’ll be fascinated by bugs. They’ll catch or kill them and present them to their mom as both a discovery and a gift. She’ll shriek in panic. The boys will rub the insect between their fingers, getting the icky goo stained on their skin, and probably wipe it on their clothes. Or they’ll hold it loosely, and it’ll leap out of their small hands to find refuge in some small dark place hidden from curious eyes. And then she’ll make them wash their hands, and she’ll make me catch it and set it outside preferably unharmed.


But we’ll always remember these things. That’s part of what home is – the memories of how we grew together, grew to love each other, grew to know life and experience joy, pain, laughter, tears. Growing together in such a way that our roots are beyond untangling and fed from the same soil; and our trunks intertwine, our branches sway together in the wind, our leaves make each other appear ever greener. When it ends, when autumn comes and our leaves change and fall, and winter rules our bodies, the real home was the memorial that we made together, four lives grown side by side such that no man can separate them. That will never change. That’s home.