Memorial Day

Duty.....Honor....Courage 


There really isn't anything more to say. Many men and women have responded to their country's need by offering the best of themselves. Many more continue to do so. They deserve a country which acknowledges their service with grateful thanks.

Thank you for stepping up to the plate. Thanks for choosing to do the hard task. Thank you for keeping this country protected.

Day full of things

Little Mermaid 


This is how I ended a long day. I was able to visit my favorite little girls in swim lessons. As Mom and Dad have to acompany the twins during their lesson, no one has been able to get any pictures. I was able to get a few great shots. This gal has really made progress and is diving in the water every chance she gets. I love watching her tackle new tasks. She has a real longing to learn.

I finally finished a long project at the current job du jour. There was great rejoicing in the office as a database was declared complete. On to other tasks now.

Still trying to find a regular job and some steady employment. Temp-ing is not the most comfortable of ways to try to support oneself. I am glad I have been able to use my skills to find work needed to pay the bills.

Changes

The theme for today seemed to be changes. The sermon was taken from Jonah, which is full of them. Jonah decides to change his itinerary from what God wants to what he wants. When he finally did make it to Nineveh, the people he went to warn changed their ways. God, seeing their response, changed His mind and spared them. All of this seems to be the natural progression of things. What is puzzling is Jonah's reaction to God's decision. He is angry that God decided to be merciful to the people and forgive them.

My sister sent me an e-mail this week that dealt with God's ability to change those who trust Him and the frequently harsh response they receive from others who call themselves Christian. I would like to believe that is not true, but I know better.

I have a wonderfully sweet friend who used to live a very different lifestyle. I have seen the difference in how some people treat him once they learn of his past. It is like they cannot believe God can take what he was and transform him into what he is now. In truth, God did no more for him than he did for me. We were both sinners in need of a Savior. We both need God's mercy and forgiveness. God doesn't keep score so my friend's need is no greater than mine. Yet even now there are some friends I do not introduce to him for fear of their reaction once they learn of his past.

This has gotten me thinking it is time for a change on my part. I need to make a radical change in those I call friend. They need to be others who will help me in showing God's love, lifting my spirit, teaching me to follow and worship Him. If we can't do that for each other we are more like acquaintances than friends. This doesn't mean I'll be tossing anyone away, I'll just need to re-evaluate where to invest myself.

The most important thing I have learned in this very unusual year is the need to be a completely integrated being. All that I do relates to my faith and the journey I am on. Every part of me and my life is involved in loving God. This doesn't mean you will now always find me sitting around quoting scripture. It just means I hope to be better at practicing the presence of God in all of my existence.

A Big Help

Cute Coworker 


This little guy has come to help out at the office. He has crawled around and explored all the nooks and crannies. He has even taste tested some of the paperwork. Watching him has made the dull task of data entry bright.

Reading anew

Last year my parents gifted me with a Bible. I have truly enjoyed the newness familiar words have had in reading The Message. Today I was in the sixth chapter of Matthew, studying prayer and what is more commonly referred to as "The Lord's Prayer." The biggest impact from the passage were the instructions preceding the prayer.

Pray with Simplicity
5 "And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?
6"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.
7 "The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. 8 Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. 9 With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.

Matthew 6:5-9, The Message, NavPress Publishing

What really hit home was the "just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage...the focus will shift from you to God." So many times in the past I have taken prayer for granted and have settled for it to be less than what it should be. I can tell you that this past year the time off from work has forced me to give prayer the important place in my life it deserves. What I have treasured the most is learning to listen to the Spirit. After all, this is conversation with my Father. I ought not to be doing all the talking. I should be spending most of the time with my heart open to hear.

Driving home Sunday I saw something that brings this message home. The sign out in front of Saint Cyril's this week says "you have a heavenly father, so don't live like an orphan". I talk with my earthly father often. He's a wonderful dad and I am blessed to have him so available. I don't call him up to hear myself talk to him. I call to hear his voice and seek his counsel. I want to know what he thinks because I know he loves me and wants only the best for me. But even more so does my heavenly Father, and I would be doing myself a great disservice not to seek the same from Him.

No real point here just a thought from my quiet time. Thanks for the Bible Mom and Dad. It's getting a lot of use.

Good beginnings

You are never too young for a Stetson 

This one has learned early. Although it is not visible she is wearing a pair of dress-up shoes. She loves to wear them with an assortment of hats. Before she could walk she loved to have something on her head. Maybe the predilection for accessories is born in you.

The best part of her beginning has been being part of a family that loves her. She has parents who cherish her, sisters who love her (well, most of the time), grandparents who adore her, and aunts and uncles who spoil her. More importantly, all of her family shares the love of Christ with her.

Wouldn't life be grand if every child in the world had this advantage?

Hide-n-seek

A twist on hide-n-seek 

When we got together tonight we decided to play hide-n-seek. The concept of the game is still a little shaky. I either had the two little ones counting with me or hiding with me. The hiding is hard when you have two sweeties calling out "here I am." Equally hard if one of them hides by just covering her eyes. Needless to say, we were always easy to find.

Still, the goal is to have a good time and we achieved our objective.

On a side note, I love this new hello service that lets me add photos to the blog. Let me know what you think.

Rejected again

I ended up spending the day at home. A migraine came to visit yesterday and has decided to hang around and see how bad it can get without actually killing me. This one is a determined little bugger, but then so am I.

I have been checking out the Pillsbury Bake-Off site to see if I had made it to the finals with my Egg Nog Custard Pie recipe. I have entered a recipe every year for the last 7 years. I didn't have high expectations for this year's entry so it's failure is no great surprise. In order to be eligible for the contest you must use one of the products they manufacture. I changed my recipe to accommodate their ready made crust.

Now I believe the success of a pie is largely due to the tastiness of the crust. I make the best crust you will ever wrap your lips around. No false pride, just the truth told to me by many. The ready made are better than greasy cardboard by only a small margin. Consequently the judges did not get to taste my pie as it should taste.

On a brighter note I had made a strawberry coffee cake earlier this week to take to two different meetings. At both places it was well received. One man even told me it was the best thing he had ever put in his mouth.

It's a good thing I bake for my own enjoyment and am not swayed by the opinion of others. Because I am either a spectacular cook or a lousy one. I know I am good at it, but I do it because it is fun. The best reason to do anything .

This and that

Had a good day at work today. There was a little guy who crawled around the office and filled the place with his sweet sounds. He is around nine months old and just as cute as can be. He definitely was a bright spot to the day.

Got stuck in traffic and it turned out to be a blessing. I was able to spend the time catching up with my baby sister. She would probably not like me referring to her that way. After all, she's all grown up with children of her own. Still, from time to time when I think of her I picture how precious she used to look when she was tiny....how cute she was learning to ride a bike...how smug she looked while spying through the mail slot on me and the boyfriend.

I think it is because she is far away that I am missing her so. It may seem silly, but I haven't seen her for a year and this is the longest I have ever gone without visiting her. I also haven't seen my oldest nephew for a year. This happens when they go off to college.

Still, I am glad I get to see my family fairly often. I am equally glad they want to see me.

A Bad Influence

I think I may have confused my niece. I was talking with her mother today and chatted with her for a little bit.

A little over a month ago I went to see them and get some photos to be used in my brother-in-love's campaign. She hadn't seen me for a while and had just gotten up from her nap. Searching for a way to get her to warm up to me I showed her how the camera on my phone worked and let her take a few pictures. She then played with the phone and had fun looking at all the pictures in storage.

When her mom and I were getting close to wrapping up the call, she asked her mom to give her the phone again. She wanted to show me her new toy car. She held the car up to the receiver and shouted "look aunt Jene'." Not wanting to disappoint her I pretended I could see it. Now I am afraid I may have thoroughly confused her.

I hope I haven't screwed her up too badly as I am counting on all my nieces and nephews to take care of me in my old age.

An collection of unusual things

I know it seems I have abandoned my blog but things have been busy. Fortunately I have been able to pick up a good bit of work lately. This is always good for a gal who has to pay her bills. Even if the work leaves her too tired to blog.

Today got off to a rather early start. Someone out front has a new car alarm. It is very effective at disturbing the neighbors at 3:30, 4:30, and one last time at 5:30 a.m. I don't know how good it is at deterring theft, but it works as a dandy little wake-up call.

The next fun moment happened when I got in my car to drive to work. I had a stowaway in with me. A determined mosquito decided to come along for the ride. I swatted at him every time I made it to a red light. This did not sway him from his mission. He finally made a dive down my shirt where I regret to report he achieved his objective. This made for some itching that was hard to explain to a co-worker.

My boss du jour had an excellent idea for dealing with those who write viruses and worms. His suggestion was to place them in Amish communities. Maybe some time in an electric-free zone would tame their desire to pester others. Until they find a way to power a computer with candle flame they would be unable to wreak any more havoc. A much better idea than what usually happens,and I think a more effective one.

That was the collection of things which made up my day. Hope your day was interesting as well.