On my way home today as I turned on the road just a mile and a half from the house I looked at the beautiful newly cleared field situated on the corner of my road. Just a short month ago, it was a brushy corner that no one even thought about. With all the brush it was difficult to see more than just a few feet from the barbed wire fence surrounding the field. As soon as the big equipment was moved into the field and the clearing of the land began the speculating and worrying began.
Some worried that the land would be subdivided and small plots of ground would be sold off one at a time and a little community of mobile homes would pop up just a mile from the house. In a farming community this is the kiss of death. Roads will wind from one end of the field to the other and wind in and out of individual plots of land. Everyone was asking what was happening but no one seemed to know what was going to happen. I guess time will tell.
Now the freshly plowed field sparkles like black gold across the gently rolling hills with small trees newly covered with tender leaves. The big equipment is gone. The field has been neatly plowed and grass seeds are waiting on the rains. The barbed wire fence is gone on one long side. A small pond in the middle of the field now visible, has been hidden in the midst of the brush all these years. It has dried up but it has been left intact and small blades of grass grow along the banks of the pond.
It is a beautiful field.
As I drove past the field and looked at it today both the beauty of the field and the fear of the unknown struck me. I realized the fear of change that I thought I was so immune to. I thought I welcomed change. Being an artist I always thought change is fun. My students know that in my classroom if the furniture is not nailed down it is subject to rearrangement. From day to day the configuration of the room changed. I think that is one thing I love about my gardening. I can change the look of the yard with just a few little changes (or big ones). I thought old people feared change but not me. I welcomed it. Change means something new happening. And new is fun......but maybe not always.
Maybe today it just has struck me a little harder because of the changes taking place in my work place that are not changes I perceive as good changes.
I guess I still have choices in my life.
I can choose to accept it
or
I can choose to move on and find something different.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Update on Eric
Everything went well with Eric's surgery.
He stayed over night last night.
He did not like having an IV in his arm but there were no problems.
Now for the hard part....keeping him subdued for three weeks while he heals.
He stayed over night last night.
He did not like having an IV in his arm but there were no problems.
Now for the hard part....keeping him subdued for three weeks while he heals.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Eric
Eric goes in for surgery today.
It is for tonsil, adenoids, and tubes in his ears.
Please, keep him and his family in your prayers today and the next couple of weeks.
He will have to be kept quiet and still and that is NOT in his nature.
He is a precious, active, four year old.
It is for tonsil, adenoids, and tubes in his ears.
Please, keep him and his family in your prayers today and the next couple of weeks.
He will have to be kept quiet and still and that is NOT in his nature.
He is a precious, active, four year old.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
An Old Woman's Spring Fever
I think I have spring fever.....
Everything is greening up so nicely and the flowers are putting on blooms, some already blooming.
My mind begins to get creative.....pathways, dry creek beds, and sprawling flower beds meandering all over the place would be nice.
Put a shovel in my hands and I start digging.
Just enough space to plant a few gourd seeds under the windmill so they will vine upward and the gourds will hang downward and be beautiful.
And Zinnias are good with the gourds because they attract the beneficial insects to eat the aphids that get on the gourds. Dig a little larger area.
I really like pink zinnias. Just a bit more digging.
And caladiums....more digging toward the west.
And maybe something to edge the beds.....digging toward the south.
And then in the dappled shade side of the windmill....maybe a hydrangea......now moving eastward.
Oh, and now the lawn mower will not fit between the tree and the windmill because it will mow over the caladiums.....now stretching toward the tree.
And to finish off I think a little bit more to round it off.
Now, over there in that part of the yard it looks pretty dull....... maybe, if I dig a little over there I could make j-u-s-t a little flower bed, just enough for my plumeria.
Everything is greening up so nicely and the flowers are putting on blooms, some already blooming.
My mind begins to get creative.....pathways, dry creek beds, and sprawling flower beds meandering all over the place would be nice.
Put a shovel in my hands and I start digging.
Just enough space to plant a few gourd seeds under the windmill so they will vine upward and the gourds will hang downward and be beautiful.
And Zinnias are good with the gourds because they attract the beneficial insects to eat the aphids that get on the gourds. Dig a little larger area.
I really like pink zinnias. Just a bit more digging.
And caladiums....more digging toward the west.
And maybe something to edge the beds.....digging toward the south.
And then in the dappled shade side of the windmill....maybe a hydrangea......now moving eastward.
Oh, and now the lawn mower will not fit between the tree and the windmill because it will mow over the caladiums.....now stretching toward the tree.
And to finish off I think a little bit more to round it off.
Now, over there in that part of the yard it looks pretty dull....... maybe, if I dig a little over there I could make j-u-s-t a little flower bed, just enough for my plumeria.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Punished with a baby?
Okay, I did not intend to get into this but really!.... Obama.......punished with a baby?
How many women in this world long for conception and can not conceive? I bristle at that statement.
As a high school teacher I KNOW that the majority of our teens are sexually active. Because I teach art my students relax and often begin to discuss a variety of subjects. It is no mystery that a baby during the teen years is a hardship on the teen but punished is not the word that we should use here. A common subject matter for drawing in all of our art classes is the student's baby. I do not think they would say they are being punished. They love their babies.
I am not condoning their irresponsible and immoral behavior. But to state that we are punished with a baby is to suggest that a teen should be able to choose to murder the baby that God breathed life into and placed in that womb.
One of my classes got into a discussion about abortion this past week. The majority of the class initially felt that abortion is wrong but in the case of rape they felt it was alright. The most selfish people in the room backed their choice of abortion not surprisingly. I carefully guided my questions so as not to tell them what I believe but rather to make them think. (I find that when people feel that they came to the decision without being told what to think, they take claim to it better.) I did not present any new arguments but asked questions at specific points in the discussion that I felt they needed to hear.
Well, in my fourth period class they now are at least, thinking of it from a more mature point of view.
How many women in this world long for conception and can not conceive? I bristle at that statement.
As a high school teacher I KNOW that the majority of our teens are sexually active. Because I teach art my students relax and often begin to discuss a variety of subjects. It is no mystery that a baby during the teen years is a hardship on the teen but punished is not the word that we should use here. A common subject matter for drawing in all of our art classes is the student's baby. I do not think they would say they are being punished. They love their babies.
I am not condoning their irresponsible and immoral behavior. But to state that we are punished with a baby is to suggest that a teen should be able to choose to murder the baby that God breathed life into and placed in that womb.
One of my classes got into a discussion about abortion this past week. The majority of the class initially felt that abortion is wrong but in the case of rape they felt it was alright. The most selfish people in the room backed their choice of abortion not surprisingly. I carefully guided my questions so as not to tell them what I believe but rather to make them think. (I find that when people feel that they came to the decision without being told what to think, they take claim to it better.) I did not present any new arguments but asked questions at specific points in the discussion that I felt they needed to hear.
- One girl in my class is all about herself, her dancing and advancing in dance. Her mother told her not to mess up her chances at advancing in her dancing by getting pregnant and basically said she would get an abortion should she get pregnant. She is sexually active (I will not go there). I asked her when did it become a selfish act to abort a baby? She looked at me stunned beyond words when I asked the question. Others jumped in agreement. Adoption was mentioned, women who could not conceive were mentioned and the conversation turned to mutual friends of several who adopted children and how wonderful it was that those children were not aborted.
- At some point in the discussion I asked if the cells were growing inside is that evidence of something alive like a plant growing? And if that is a life did that make a mother a murderer if she aborted?
- And of course, the primary question: what did that baby do to deserve to be denied life?
Well, in my fourth period class they now are at least, thinking of it from a more mature point of view.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Little Pink Flip Flops
Little pink flip flops sit on the coffee table.
For all the life that they possessed on Sunday, they now sit quietly and do nothing.
One pink with white polka dots,
the other white with pink polka dots,
both with a large white flower with a pink center posed right above the toe strap.
Cute little shoes,
there they sit.
They should be on a little girl who swirls and dances when she wears them.
I am sure she is missing them.
But this week they are a reminder of how much I love the sweet little girls in my life.
And then there is the blue balsa wood airplane
that has retired on my dining room table.
Broken wings, tape holding it together at various locations
but still capable of drifting on an air wave.
Evidence of the play of an eager young man.
A reminder of how much I love the sweet young men in my life.
I feel so blessed to have them in my life....the children, I mean.
I love them. And of course, the sweet ones in my life are special in so many ways, each one individually.
When I listen to the news in the evenings and hear horrid stories of people who hurt little children I can hardly bear to listen. I cringe and try to stop listening but can not stop the words from entering my mind and then they keep replaying in my head, causing me to hurt inside for the innocent ones who were hurt. It hurts my heart.
You wonder what possesses these people.
How can they bring themselves to do the things they do?
For all the life that they possessed on Sunday, they now sit quietly and do nothing.
One pink with white polka dots,
the other white with pink polka dots,
both with a large white flower with a pink center posed right above the toe strap.
Cute little shoes,
there they sit.
They should be on a little girl who swirls and dances when she wears them.
I am sure she is missing them.
But this week they are a reminder of how much I love the sweet little girls in my life.
And then there is the blue balsa wood airplane
that has retired on my dining room table.
Broken wings, tape holding it together at various locations
but still capable of drifting on an air wave.
Evidence of the play of an eager young man.
A reminder of how much I love the sweet young men in my life.
I feel so blessed to have them in my life....the children, I mean.
I love them. And of course, the sweet ones in my life are special in so many ways, each one individually.
When I listen to the news in the evenings and hear horrid stories of people who hurt little children I can hardly bear to listen. I cringe and try to stop listening but can not stop the words from entering my mind and then they keep replaying in my head, causing me to hurt inside for the innocent ones who were hurt. It hurts my heart.
You wonder what possesses these people.
How can they bring themselves to do the things they do?
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Make it Count
Here I sit with not a thought in my head but time to post a blog.
I am like Jaci, where has the time gone? Here it is Thursday with only three more days of my spring break left. I feel greedy for my days.
And tomorrow my oldest grandchild is going to be a ripe ol' age of TEN! Now where did all the time go?
First it is just the week that passes quickly and then it is months that zoom past, then those months zipped past a year and the years start ticking off one by one.
Every time I say I wish a hectic week would pass quickly I realize I am wishing my life away. Finding contentment in the daily rituals is vital to finding contentment in life.
I have loved my week.
Sing out loud,
Watch bugs crawl,
Take in some sun,
And dance in the moonlight!
Make it count!
You are in my prayers.
I am like Jaci, where has the time gone? Here it is Thursday with only three more days of my spring break left. I feel greedy for my days.
And tomorrow my oldest grandchild is going to be a ripe ol' age of TEN! Now where did all the time go?
First it is just the week that passes quickly and then it is months that zoom past, then those months zipped past a year and the years start ticking off one by one.
Every time I say I wish a hectic week would pass quickly I realize I am wishing my life away. Finding contentment in the daily rituals is vital to finding contentment in life.
I have loved my week.
- I spent most of my time (and a lot of my money) fixing up the rent house for the new renters who are so anxious to get in the house that they keep coming out to feed Mr. Belvedere, the cat that "owns" the house. They have renamed him since they did not know I had a name for him but now, he is Jo-Jo. He won't care as long as the feed keeps coming.
- Wednesday I drove Lee around and hung around to keep him company while he spent the day near the house and I caught up on reading magazines I have not had time to read.
- Leann and the boys came today and spent the day with me. We took pictures of her new style of purses and created new business cards for her to print off. The little boys and I made Rice Krispy Treats and they decorated the tops of them with every kind of "sprinkle" they could shake out of a container. Then I sent them home with most of them.
- Betty came by to bring a pie to Lee. How considerate she is. We did a little catching up on family news and then she went on her way.
- I plan to see every grandchild before I go back to school on Monday and I plan on getting plenty of hugs.
- AND I have blown my diet for yet ONE more week.
Sing out loud,
Watch bugs crawl,
Take in some sun,
And dance in the moonlight!
Make it count!
You are in my prayers.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Spring Break
Spring break!
Great time to catch up on all the work that does not get done during the school year.
I work harder during spring break than any other week of the year
and
I love it.
Great time to catch up on all the work that does not get done during the school year.
I work harder during spring break than any other week of the year
and
I love it.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Recognizing Romance
Yesterday morning I was thinking about romance and how when I was in the midst of a moment that in a novel would seem romantic I did not recognize the romance in it.
Or worse yet, you know this moment IS a romantic moment and it feels.....weird.
Now don't go thinking that Darla is looking for romance so she is posting a blog on it. I believe what got me to thinking of romance was watching young girls and woman wanting their boyfriends or spouses to be romantic but in a desire for spontaneity do not help the poor guy by communicating what they want. They just want the poor guy to do something out of love.
The poor girl is setting herself up for disappointment and the poor guy for failure. The poor guy is probably doing things out of love ALL the time but the poor girl is not recognizing his love.
Then last night after a l-o-n-g day at work/fundraiser/Open House/school I come in late to the Marriage Enrichment video in progress. The discussion question afterward was something like what is romance? (I find that weird often how you think about something then there it is someplace else.)
I did not answer out loud but at a tired old age of 54 romance to me is receiving the first strawberry from the garden for ME to eat, or letting me just crawl up in his arms on the couch at the end of a long day, letting me watch my old movies when he really wants to watch his judge shows,...... Forget about planned/manipulated events for me. If you have to plan to be spontaneous, it isn't.
So ladies, recognize romance and communicate with your guy. Tell him the things you like. He has enough to think about without having to worry whether or not he is pleasing you. And if he is having to worry over you all the time, YOU are not being very romantic.
Or worse yet, you know this moment IS a romantic moment and it feels.....weird.
Now don't go thinking that Darla is looking for romance so she is posting a blog on it. I believe what got me to thinking of romance was watching young girls and woman wanting their boyfriends or spouses to be romantic but in a desire for spontaneity do not help the poor guy by communicating what they want. They just want the poor guy to do something out of love.
The poor girl is setting herself up for disappointment and the poor guy for failure. The poor guy is probably doing things out of love ALL the time but the poor girl is not recognizing his love.
Then last night after a l-o-n-g day at work/fundraiser/Open House/school I come in late to the Marriage Enrichment video in progress. The discussion question afterward was something like what is romance? (I find that weird often how you think about something then there it is someplace else.)
I did not answer out loud but at a tired old age of 54 romance to me is receiving the first strawberry from the garden for ME to eat, or letting me just crawl up in his arms on the couch at the end of a long day, letting me watch my old movies when he really wants to watch his judge shows,...... Forget about planned/manipulated events for me. If you have to plan to be spontaneous, it isn't.
So ladies, recognize romance and communicate with your guy. Tell him the things you like. He has enough to think about without having to worry whether or not he is pleasing you. And if he is having to worry over you all the time, YOU are not being very romantic.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Who am I to question the plan?
I wanted to respond to Dana's blog but got so long winded that I decided to post it on my blog. Talking about worshiping in truth and spirit.
John 4:23-24
John is talking about a genuine worship of God, true and honest; a worship that is not for show, not to please others, not a worship of the presenter or the earthly writer of the lesson, not based on the height of an emotional experience, or dramatic experience but a true love of God and a desire to please God which brings us to the part of obedience. Our salvation is based on our obedience and our attitude to God’s instructions in the scriptures. Not just for a moment but for our lifetime. Having done the things asked of me to do, am I saved at this moment in my life today this very minute? Yes, thanks to God’s grace. Did I deserve it? No, not according to anything I did outside of my obedience. When did God save me? At what moment did God add my name to his book? Why do we ask these things? Time is a concept for man, not for God. God is adding my name AS I obey. Am I finished obeying? I am in the process of obeying but have not completed my obedience until I die. I will continue as I age, and as I grow in Christ. Why do we complicate the idea? Imagine our lives are a twinkle of time to God and as we are living our lives and obeying God he is writing our names in his book. When we identified ourselves through baptism we began the process of obedience and God turned to a new page and dipped the quill in ink to begin to write and when I die he will be lifting the pen from the page completing the swirl of the last letter in my name.
Using a primary math concept as an example, when did one plus one become two?
When I finished adding them up or was it always two?
When one item stands with the second item they are two together, separately they are only two ones but grouped together they are a pair. But there has to be something that identifies it as a pair.
Baptism identifies us with Christ like the marriage ceremony identifies two people as one. It is a symbolic marking of a new life beginning in Christ, a commitment to Christ. Without baptism we have not identified ourselves with Christ.
When we stand for God, with God and do as God says we are counted among God’s.
I’m not sure if that concept makes sense but the point is we have to identify ourselves as God’s and he has given us the method to identify ourselves. If we pick and choose the things we want to do, are we truly God’s. I think not, because we did not surrender ourselves in obedience to his instructions but rather are being stubborn and willful in our rebelliousness to ignore his instructions. As long as we are obedience to the instructions laid out for us and continue to live a Godly life, we will always be subject to his grace.
The important thing is a life lived for Christ.
Several things are concerning me and one is that we get bogged down by the time issue and have to know exactly WHEN we are saved, like when does God put a soul in a baby. What difference does it make to me as long as I doing God's will. Our lives should be a continual worship of God, beginning with our belief in Christ and ending with our death or the beginning of our life WITH God in heaven. If we are interested in pleasing God we do as we are instructed without trying to complicate the issue, plain and simple. We are commanded to obey his instructions and I will do that as perfectly as I can. If God asked me to dip seven times in the Jordan then I will do that. We do as we are asked to do, willingly without questioning. Who are we to even question the instructions? Is it important how we do it? Sure is! We are to do it as perfectly as we know to do it. Leave out something? No way! Add something? No way!
We can build a physical house. If we follow the instructions, as closely as possible we will end up with a strong well-built house. BUT should we decide to start cutting corners and decide to save a little time and money we will make our concrete foundation thinner, leave out the rebar to save money, maybe we did not level the ground or build up the low areas, etc. So maybe we decide the instructions for building our house are not important. We space out the studs farther than the instructions say to do. Use inferior materials, etc. Then we have compromised our house. It is a house, by all outward appearances and it does fulfill the duties of the house for awhile as long as the storms do not come. Do you want to live in a house like this? I want to live in a solid well-built house. I do not want to place myself in a house in which I question whether or not my house will stand in a high wind. I want to KNOW that I did ALL I could to follow the instructions and did them as well as I could. In the midst of a storm did the little bit you saved on that house matter then? After you assess all the damages done after the storm the things you left out may seem more important in principle. Who am I to decide structurally what I should have done?
Often we think selfishly of our worship. We are concerned with what we are getting out of worship when actually we should be concerned with what we are putting into it. Maybe, it is a leap of faith on our part. If I quit focusing on me during worship and realize that our worship should focus on God then God will provide the things I need for my spiritual growth. In maturity, in the right attitude we should be able to grow spiritually in isolation or in the midst of a crowd. In any place it is still a one on one relationship, God and me. It is not where we are physically but rather where we are spiritually.
Trust God. God will give you growth if you allow it.
If you love me, you will obey what I command. John 14:15
It is my hope that I have spoken clearly and have not mudded the waters (no pun intended).
John 4:23-24
John is talking about a genuine worship of God, true and honest; a worship that is not for show, not to please others, not a worship of the presenter or the earthly writer of the lesson, not based on the height of an emotional experience, or dramatic experience but a true love of God and a desire to please God which brings us to the part of obedience. Our salvation is based on our obedience and our attitude to God’s instructions in the scriptures. Not just for a moment but for our lifetime. Having done the things asked of me to do, am I saved at this moment in my life today this very minute? Yes, thanks to God’s grace. Did I deserve it? No, not according to anything I did outside of my obedience. When did God save me? At what moment did God add my name to his book? Why do we ask these things? Time is a concept for man, not for God. God is adding my name AS I obey. Am I finished obeying? I am in the process of obeying but have not completed my obedience until I die. I will continue as I age, and as I grow in Christ. Why do we complicate the idea? Imagine our lives are a twinkle of time to God and as we are living our lives and obeying God he is writing our names in his book. When we identified ourselves through baptism we began the process of obedience and God turned to a new page and dipped the quill in ink to begin to write and when I die he will be lifting the pen from the page completing the swirl of the last letter in my name.
Using a primary math concept as an example, when did one plus one become two?
When I finished adding them up or was it always two?
When one item stands with the second item they are two together, separately they are only two ones but grouped together they are a pair. But there has to be something that identifies it as a pair.
Baptism identifies us with Christ like the marriage ceremony identifies two people as one. It is a symbolic marking of a new life beginning in Christ, a commitment to Christ. Without baptism we have not identified ourselves with Christ.
When we stand for God, with God and do as God says we are counted among God’s.
I’m not sure if that concept makes sense but the point is we have to identify ourselves as God’s and he has given us the method to identify ourselves. If we pick and choose the things we want to do, are we truly God’s. I think not, because we did not surrender ourselves in obedience to his instructions but rather are being stubborn and willful in our rebelliousness to ignore his instructions. As long as we are obedience to the instructions laid out for us and continue to live a Godly life, we will always be subject to his grace.
The important thing is a life lived for Christ.
Several things are concerning me and one is that we get bogged down by the time issue and have to know exactly WHEN we are saved, like when does God put a soul in a baby. What difference does it make to me as long as I doing God's will. Our lives should be a continual worship of God, beginning with our belief in Christ and ending with our death or the beginning of our life WITH God in heaven. If we are interested in pleasing God we do as we are instructed without trying to complicate the issue, plain and simple. We are commanded to obey his instructions and I will do that as perfectly as I can. If God asked me to dip seven times in the Jordan then I will do that. We do as we are asked to do, willingly without questioning. Who are we to even question the instructions? Is it important how we do it? Sure is! We are to do it as perfectly as we know to do it. Leave out something? No way! Add something? No way!
We can build a physical house. If we follow the instructions, as closely as possible we will end up with a strong well-built house. BUT should we decide to start cutting corners and decide to save a little time and money we will make our concrete foundation thinner, leave out the rebar to save money, maybe we did not level the ground or build up the low areas, etc. So maybe we decide the instructions for building our house are not important. We space out the studs farther than the instructions say to do. Use inferior materials, etc. Then we have compromised our house. It is a house, by all outward appearances and it does fulfill the duties of the house for awhile as long as the storms do not come. Do you want to live in a house like this? I want to live in a solid well-built house. I do not want to place myself in a house in which I question whether or not my house will stand in a high wind. I want to KNOW that I did ALL I could to follow the instructions and did them as well as I could. In the midst of a storm did the little bit you saved on that house matter then? After you assess all the damages done after the storm the things you left out may seem more important in principle. Who am I to decide structurally what I should have done?
Often we think selfishly of our worship. We are concerned with what we are getting out of worship when actually we should be concerned with what we are putting into it. Maybe, it is a leap of faith on our part. If I quit focusing on me during worship and realize that our worship should focus on God then God will provide the things I need for my spiritual growth. In maturity, in the right attitude we should be able to grow spiritually in isolation or in the midst of a crowd. In any place it is still a one on one relationship, God and me. It is not where we are physically but rather where we are spiritually.
Trust God. God will give you growth if you allow it.
If you love me, you will obey what I command. John 14:15
It is my hope that I have spoken clearly and have not mudded the waters (no pun intended).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)