Superheroes

Superheroes

Everyone has heard of Batman and Superman, oh and don't forget Captain America.  All these superheroes have one thing in common - they are there to "Save the Day".  We share these superheroes with everyone practically in the world.  So while they are special, they are not really personal to any one person.  Well, maybe Batman was special to Cat Woman in a weird sort of way and Superman did have his Lois Lane.

Well, I am here to tell you superheroes can indeed be personal.  I have my very own Super Hero.  Who knew?? It is amazing!!  To some his name is Steve, to others, Steven James and yet others call him  Dad.  To some he is friend and coworker.  Still others call him Grumpa and the all new name of G-Pa.  I call him husband and S.P. but only we know what S.P. means...ha ha and don't even try to guess cuz we are not tellin'.

Anyway, super heroes are never off duty.  They are always thinking.  They are always paying attention and watching and looking.  Some might say that makes them nosy.  I prefer to call it being in a state of ready.

My very own superhero was in a state of ready today.  He was watching and paying attention and looking and he sprang into action as he saw what appeared to be a box labeled kitchen.  It was not in the kitchen or even the garage. HMMMMM?  This could be serious.  Because my superhero is also always on duty and always thinking, of course he picked up the box and opened it.  And that is when it happened.... upon opening the box, he totally "Saved the Day".

HE FOUND THE SPICES!!!!!

Whoop! Whoop!  Happy dance time!!!!

Now if you didn't read the That's Life blog from April 15th - first - shame on you - second, you need to read it for this to make any sense at all.

Finding the spices is HUGE!!  HUGE, I tell you!!!!  They have been missing in action for nearly 3 weeks.  Our poor, poor taste buds have been going through withdrawal.  I was doing fine not finding my deodorant.  I was fine sitting on the outdoor chair to use my computer which was on a little kid table - it was awkward, but I was fine doing it.  I was even fine not being able to find my hearing aid batteries - the quiet is kind of nice actually... But I was not fine, not being able to find the spices.  I searched through everything in the garage.  I moved box after box - To no avail.  I looked in rooms.  "Where, oh where, could my spices be???,"  I lamented over and over.

We have a saying in our house, 'it's not lost till mom can't find it'.  My spices were lost!!!  I could not find them anywhere.  My imagination had a lone box of spices left on one of the 2 PODS.  Sigh!!

But my Super Hero found them.  He is known by many names, but to me he is Awesome Man!!  My very own personal Super Hero.  Thank You, Awesome Man!

A Blank Page

A Blank Page

Well, we have been in our new home for exactly 16 days.  Upon arrival all we had was a small trailer of things we needed to meet immediate needs and carry us through until our PODS arrived.  The first night, the house was empty except for a few small lamps and tables and the air mattress we used when we were here in January.  Walking around the house was so weird and a little spooky.  Because of the high ceilings, it seemed all noise echoed.  Everywhere were bare walls, bare cabinets, bare rooms, bare closets.  Looking around though, all I saw was opportunity. The opportunity to begin again...a blank page on which we could write anything we wanted.  A blank, empty house that we could transform into a home.

And so, the work began.  We dove into that trailer with a vengeance the morning after we arrived and began looking at each room as if it were a canvas.  Deciding which cabinet to put the dishes in where it will be most accessible and convenient to empty the dishwasher.  Which drawer for silverware.  Which cabinet for pots and pans or spices.  Speaking of spices - I still can't find the box the spices are in....foods been pretty bland thus far. (Smile.)

When the PODS arrived 8 days after we did, and everything was unloaded. HOLY COW!  Stuff!!  Major stuff!! to unpack and put away. And the work of unpacking has continued on and will continue for what I think will be a long time.  Working one room at a time has been rewarding. It's been exciting to see  each room as it begins to take shape. 

What I am finding, however, is that old habits from 27 years of reaching into certain drawers or cabinets on certain sides of the kitchen, still remain.  I keep trying to put the open can of dog food in the pantry because that is where the frig was in our old house.  I keep opening the cabinet to the right of the sink to throw trash away because that's the side of the sink the trash cabinet was on in the old house.  In the new house the trash cabinet is on the left of the sink.    

The creation of a masterpiece, a home, on a blank page is going to take time.  It will be a slow physical process as we unpack the many, many boxes and tubs, but it will also be a slow mental process for us.  It really is like an artist with a blank canvas.  The artist gets a physical vision and a mental vision of what he or she wants to see on that canvas.  And it takes time to get it just right. 

Yes, the opportunity to fill a blank page is here for us. But, as anxious as we are to get settled and get everything put away and in place in this big empty house, it is going to take time.  We need to take our time and get it just right.  Making it a masterpiece created with care and love and thought, not just stuff.   A home filled with love and laughter and the presence of God.  A blank page, made beautiful in it's time.

"What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men.  He has made everything beautiful in it's time..."   Eccl. 3: 9:11a

Backyard Blessings

Backyard Blessings

Several days ago, Life Changes were the topic of conversation on That's Life. Huge, mega life changes, as in move out of state, away from family, know only a few people where we are going, new neighborhood, new church, new home, new everything.  Well, that Life Change day is here.  We leave in just about 30 hours for our new destination. 

I sat in our current backyard this morning sipping a piping hot cup of coffee while the movers were moving furniture and boxes into the POD.  I felt a great sense of peace and contentment amidst the chaos.  I thoroughly enjoy sitting in the backyard and listening to the birds gingerly call to each other.  My roses are in full bloom so the entire yard was filled with the scent of roses.  Whoa!  What a gift! What a blessing!  I was thinking it was the nature in my backyard's way of saying "Farewell, old friend. You have taken good care of us and we thank you for helping us grow and become beautiful." 

One thought led to another and I remembered so many things that happened in this backyard - the Women's Breakfast, our son and daughter-in-laws engagement party, pizza parties, my father-in-laws memorial with the entire family sharing a meal on a beautiful summer afternoon and then of course, Great Oaks Preschool - kids running and playing and having a blast, family Game Nights, many years of Easter Egg hunts, playing super hero with my grandson, burying Ziggy, my son's pet lizard,  sitting on the roof and looking at the stars or the fireworks that seemed to explode right over our yard, the huge owl that would swoop across the yard each evening looking for dinner, the raccoon that got trapped behind the shed, the chicken that flew into our yard and fell between the sheds, the baby bunnies that were born under the sheds, the husband and wife ducks that came each morning to eat the sunflower seeds, the squirrel that traversed the telephone wire above our fence always stopping to taunt the dogs with a wild shake of his tail and his lively chatter.  So very many cool, happy, blessed memories -- and then it happened, the tears began to flow.  Happy tears of life well lived.  Happy tears of family fun.  Happy tears of friends gathering in a place that was filled with love and laughter and shenanigans.  Critters large and small that felt welcome, safe and comfortable visiting our backyard. (The gophers were not so welcome, however.)

This backyard has always been a place of happiness for me.  A place to feel blessed. A place to think, draw, write, read and just sit and be myself - soaking in the quietness of the backyard.  I pray that I will find that same peace, contentment and blessing in the backyard of our new home. When we were there a couple months back, I kinda got the feeling that I will.  I wonder if it is not so much the location of the backyard as it is the state of mind of the person that is in the backyard. 

Backyard blessings to each of you, wherever you are!

Within You

Within You

Within you lies the capability to love.
     - to fill another so full they are made complete.

Within you lies the power to forgive.
     - making bitterness an unwelcome guest and allowing heart wounds to heal.

Within you is the opportunity to do or be whatever it is you are passionate about.
      - following your heart - your hopes and dreams may be the answer to another's prayer.

Within you is the ability to make a difference.
      - coloring your world - one beautiful brush stroke at a time - with your God-given talents and
        gifts - makes a difference in your life and the lives of those around you.

Within you is found everything you need.

LOOK.   SEARCH.    FIND.    ACCESS.

And be all you were created to be.


                                                                                                     Rd   3/24/16

Life Changes

Life Changes

When I was a little kid, growing up in the Chicago area, it didn't seem like much changed.  I went to the same grade school for 8 years, then the same high school for 4 years.  All that time, we lived in the same house, I had the same friends and we went to the same church.  We went to the same grocery store every week - called the A & P.  We got to drink pop (soda) and have popcorn every  Friday night.  Once a month my dad took us to White Castle for hamburgers.  Once a year we went to River View - the nearest amusement park to our home and once a year we went to the Zoo.  Not much changed, year to year, day to day, but I was never bored.  We played outside until dark and then when it was dinner time, my dad would give his loud whistle and we would run home.  We went to the park, we played in the fields, we built snowmen and snow forts and had snowball fights.  We played hide and seek, we played ball, we played school...you name it, we played it.   We were having fun and enjoying life without change. 

In high school subtle changes started occurring.  I noticed boys, had different friends, had some freedom to spread my wings and try new things.  And I wanted to.  I wanted to see my life change, but it was rather scary.

After I got married, big time changes starting happening - I had babies, and with each baby we needed a bigger home so we began moving - first a one bedroom apartment in the city, then a 2 bedroom apartment in the city, next a 2 bedroom house in the suburbs, then a 3 bedroom house way out in the boonies.  With each move there were life changes: new friends, new jobs, new schools for the kids and of course new responsibilities.  Life changes that caused us to grow up real fast. 

Then it happened - the biggest life change of all (so far) ...a move out of state and away from family.  We knew 2 people in our new locale and they did not live anywhere near where we were going to live.  So basically, we were on our own with 4 kids and a dog in a new state where we knew no one.  Talk about a life change.  This was a job transfer so at least we were not jobless.  That was definitely a plus.  But we were in an apartment again for a while and again with new schools for the kids, new friends, new church, new everything.  We knew living in an apartment was not a permanent thing so we were not surprised when we moved to a 4 bedroom home.  This is where we settled for 27 years and made new friends, the kids attended new schools, we settled into church life, community life and we thought this was it.  We would be here till the end.  No more big life changes, no more moving, no more new anything.  Life without change and it was good.

Little did we know God had other plans for us - one more big life change coming our way - RETIREMENT!  and with retirement comes yet another move - Surprise!! a doozy of a move - out of state again and away from family to a place where we know just 4 people.  (That is an improvement!) This time, it is just the two of us and the anticipation and excitement is unlike any of our other life changes.  This time we see it as an adventure.  This time, though things will be new, we are older and wiser and see things from a different perspective.  Our perspective now says "bring it on"  we can handle it.  And if we don't like it, we'll move again.  There is no fear, no worry, just the knowledge that all the life changes we have been through have brought us to this point.  It seems natural for us to be doing this.  At this point in our lives, we are strong in the knowledge that God is with us and directing our path.  We are ready for this life change and we don't think we will ever be bored.  We are looking forward to having fun and enjoying life in retirement with or without any more life changes. And that is good because, That's Life!

St. Patrick's Day Prayer

St. Patrick's Day Prayer

I missed posting this on St. Patty's Day, but this prayer really applies for everyday, so bear with me.

First a little background information:
Wikipedia gives this information about young Patrick: "According to the Confession of St. Patrick, at the age of just sixteen Patrick was captured by a group of Irish pirates.^[34] They brought him to Ireland where he was enslaved and held captive for six years. Patrick writes in The Confession^[34] that the time he spent in captivity was critical to his spiritual development. He explains that the Lord had mercy on his youth and ignorance, and afforded him the opportunity to be forgiven of his sins and converted to Christianity. While in captivity, Saint Patrick worked as a shepherd and strengthened his relationship with God through prayer eventually leading him to convert to Christianity.^[34]"

By Patrick's own account in his Confession of St. Patrick, the story goes on to say that after 6 years of slavery he escaped and returned to his family in Great Britain where he continued to study Christianity.  After becoming a cleric, he returned to northern and western Ireland as a missionary due to a vision he had that told him to do so.   In later life, he served as a bishop and by the seventh century, he had already come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland.

While in Ireland serving as a missionary, legend has it that Patrick used a 3 leaf clover (shamrock) to teach the unbelievers in Ireland about the Holy Trinity.
3 persons in One True God.   Father (God),  Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit.

I have learned that each person of the Trinity plays a specific role in our lives and so we can pray:

Never let me stop learning about You, God my Father.
Never let me stop trying to be like You, dear Jesus.
Never let me stop listening to You, O Holy Spirit.
                                        - Amen

Blessings to you this St. Patrick's Day.

Don't Rain on My Parade!

Don't Rain on My Parade!

You are daydreaming and thinking and using your imagination and you come up with this fabulous idea.  It will solve so many problems.  It will benefit so many people.  Maybe it will just be really cool!  But, you know - absolutely without a doubt - it is a good idea.  Then you share the idea with someone else only to have that person say, "You can't do that!" "It will never work!" "That's dumb!"  Not only have they rained on your parade - it is now pouring -- buckets.  Those words have pelted your idea and turned it into the biggest mud puddle you have ever seen.  So what do you do?  Typically, if you are like most folks, you let that great, fabulous idea sink into the muck and mire of that mud puddle, never to be spoken of or thought of again. 

The inventor of the Knomo Drop & Go Bag had an idea - a parade - if you will.  Let me ask you this...How many times has your cell phone battery died when you most needed the cell phone and you were not in a location where you could recharge the battery?  It's happened to me plenty of times.  I am pretty sure it happened to the inventor of the Knomo Drop & Go Bag plenty of times too!  The Knomo Drop & Go Bag has a built in cell phone charger.  It is touted as the first in-bag charging device.  What a great idea!   A purse with a built in phone charger - now that is cool.  An amazing parade, wouldn't you say?  This was a creative way to solve a problem, benefit tons of people with an added bonus...it is also really cool. 

Here's the point.  God gives each one of us creativity genes - some more than others, but none the less, think about it, we are created in His image.  I can't think of anyone more creative than The Creator, can you? What comes out of your creativity no one else can do.  Your sense of creativity is yours alone.  Find what you love or are passionate about and do something creative with it.  The love of that "thing"- whatever it is - was put there by The Creator.  That creative "idea" - whatever it is - was put in your head by The Creator.  So, I repeat... do something creative with it. Write that book.  Paint that picture.  Build that building.  Design that invention.  Start that program.  Just do it!  Start now.  But, don't let anyone rain on your parade.  It is not their parade to rain on. 
 

 "Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, to be like us..." Genesis 1:26a

" I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it well." Psalm 139:14

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 1Thess.5:11

Who Do You Trust?

Who Do You Trust?

I have found that each day people make choices in who or what to trust.  A knock on the door comes or the doorbell rings - do I open the door or do I open the window first and call out asking who is there?  Do I trust that the person at the door is who they say they are? Do I trust that the person is safe and not looking to harm me?  Do I trust that what they are selling is for real?  Trust is huge!

Who do you trust? - the universe  - the world and it's offerings  - the stars  - numbers  - chance  - people  - the cards  - luck?   - or God.

God, who loves you without fail - no matter what, all the time with an everlasting love.  Jer. 31: 3

God, who created you and knit you together in your mother's womb. Ps. 139:13

God, who laid out every single moment of every single one of your days.  Ps. 139:16

God, who knows how many hairs are on your head and finds you valuable in every way. Luke 12:7

God, who has a plan for you, a plan to prosper you and not harm you, a plan to give you hope and a future.  Jer. 29:11

God is a sure thing.  The rest, not so much!

Who do you trust? 


"Let me hear of Your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you.  Show me where to walk, for I give myself to You.  Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God.  May Your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing."  Ps. 143: 8 & 10

Choose Wisely, Grasshopper!

Choose Wisely, Grasshopper!

I have found that every action requires a choice.  A choice we are free to make.

• Love or hate
• Wisdom or foolishness
• Contentment or bitterness
• Being Happy or grumpy
• Pleasant or resentful
• Positive or negative
• Agreeable or contrary
• Open-minded or closed-minded
• Obedient or disobedient
• Selfless or Selfish

These choices affect how we see ourselves and how others see us. 
The choices we make each day, moment to moment, affect us in a very personal way and they also affect those we live and work with.
Think about that!

In the words of Mr. Miyagi, "Choose wisely, Grasshopper!"


"A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables."  Proverbs 24: 3-4

"But the wisdom from above is first of all pure.  It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others.  It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere."
James 3: 17

"Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works."  Hebrews 10:24

 

So that...

So that...

Jesus is with each one of us, always.  If we are attentive and listen for Him to speak, He will guide and direct.  He will admonish as needed and will also be our best cheerleader.  He does this because He loves us and wants us to be the best we can be.  He wishes to have a relationship with you and me that transcends any we could have on earth.

Prayer:
Thank You, my Jesus, for being with me always and having a desire to talk to me.  Oh, that I would listen and heed Your instruction.  That I would follow Your guidance.  Let Your thoughts invade my mind and heart and soul.

My deepest desire is to please You and hear You as You speak words of life into me.

                     So that...
                            You may be glorified.
                                   You will be seen.
                                           You will be praised.



"May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer."    Psalm 19:14

"You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever."  Psalm16:11


Further meditation:
Matthew 5: 14- 16,  Psalm 18:46,  Psalm 16: 7 & 8