I can't believe that you said that!

I have made a new acquaintance. I write acquaintance because the chances of the two of us becoming, in any way, shape or form, friends will most likely never happen.
We are truly opposites. I can't think of one thing that we agree on. My acquaintance is Anti-Abortion and I am Pro-Choice. We differ on our views about same-gender marriages and on whether or not folks ought to live together without a legal union. Our religious differences are huge. We are on opposite sides when it comes to the definitions of missionary, heaven and doctrine. Our political views define the words "polar opposites". Oh and duh, we don't think the same jokes are funny.
Interestingly enough, I do not dislike this person. We are just not in agreement, on anything.
In spite of our differences, I really believe that meeting my opposite is a positive thing. By listening and discussing different points of view, my faith is going to grow. I will learn to be more tolerant and hopefully become more educated about all manner of subjects.
I hope this positive attitude is reciprocal.


Gracious God: Thank you for creating different kinds of folks. I am thankful for those who make me think and cause me to question. My faith grows daily, because you are my constant. You challenge me. I will strive to become a better Christian.
I am thankful and humbled before you.

Look at ME, NOW!

I am annoyed and slightly troubled by the trend of "selfies". When did we get so absorbed by our own likenesses that we began to take our own pictures, seemingly, incessantly?
I remember thinking, several years ago, that it was kind of cute to see teenage girls taking phone pictures of themselves with their friends. It's not so cute anymore. It's gotten downright Narcissistic., and I think it might actually be harmful to young psyches.
Common folk are taking "selfies". Celebrities are taking them. Politicos are taking them.They are being posted everywhere and I don't want to see them.
Think about the real celebrities of the past. (Now I do realize that the technology didn't exist years ago, but....) Can you imagine Jesus taking a "selfie"? How about Lincoln? For that matter how about Frank Sinatra or Elizabeth Taylor? Would they? Well, I just don't think so.
As a teenager, I think I probably spent more than my share of time in front of a mirror. As I got older, I didn't have much time for that kind of nonsense, and I became more confident in my own skin.
Today, in this, "Look at ME world" folks are obsessed with their own images. We should be loving ourselves a little less and loving others more.
Cut it out!

Dear God. We are really a bunch of silly beings. We worry too much about our own appearance and how we look to others. You have told us to Love God and Love each other. That is so hard to do, when we spend so much of our time worrying about who we are and how we look.
Lead us toward the right goals and create within us a thankful and worthy servant of God.

One Megabyte, Two Jules, Three Amperes, Go!

One of my favorite TV Commercials (I enjoy Commercials more than most current programming) is the one which promotes some type of insurance that takes 15 minutes to save 15% on your bill. This particular commercial features an older woman speaking to her two friends about her vacation photos that are "posted on her wall". She shows them that they are, in fact, taped to her living room wall. During her 60 seconds of air time, she also verbally "un-friends" her one listener, for questioning her computer skills. The former friend then says, " This isn't how any of this works!"
I'm not doing it justice here, so believe me when I say it's pretty funny.
My thought is, we are often confused about how "things work".
I am computer literate. I can type, send and receive email, play games, create a decent spread sheet and make a darn good greeting card. However, if you start talking to me about Cookies and bytes and bits, forget it. I am probably at a fourth grade commuter literacy level.
The same goes for electricity and gasoline engines. I know just enough about a great many subjects to be slightly dangerous to others.
All folks may be created equal, but we were sure separated at birth when it comes to knowledge and life experiences.

All Good and All Knowing God: We would accomplish nothing without your Divine Intervention.
Lead and guide us as we go through life. Show us how to do your will. Allow us to recognize our limitations.

Make like a tree and leaf!

Remember the Joyce Kilmer poem, "Trees"? As young children, most of us read it and perhaps we were even asked to memorize it. "I think that I shall never see, a poem as lovely as a tree."
As I write this post, I am looking out our front window at the two huge ash trees, which are the total landscape features of our double-width front yard. Tomorrow, they will be gone.  They have become the first victims, in our neighborhood, of the dreaded ash bore. Tree experts predict that 90% of the ash trees in the Midwest will succumb to the disease and most of the older neighborhoods, in our area, will be "ash-trees-less", in 5-8 years. Our trees are infected and because we can't afford to risk having them fall on our home or cars, or us, they have to be removed.
The tree-man and his crew are coming tomorrow. They have promised to remove all traces of the two, nearly 60 year old trees. They are even going to grind the stumps.
We will miss their shade and protection. We'll be sad about losing the sight of their brilliant yellow beauty in the autumn. However, we will be able to quit losing sleep over the possibility of a smashed car and/or house roof, by their absence.
Yes, we will certainly miss them.
The trees teach a lesson and it is a lesson that we all learn as we grow older. Nothing lasts forever. Nothing remains the same. Diapers are a phase. Cranky and moody teenagers grow up. Jobs come and go. We live, we die. Change is a fact of life.

Gracious and all knowing Lord. Your steadfast love endures forever. You are the constant, in our ever changing existence. Our lives are never going to stay the same. However, our faith in You sustains us, as we experience our ups and downs. Life is a cycle. Watch over us and keep us strong.

Now what did I do with my car keys?

Each and every time I meet with a group of my contemporary boomers, the conversation seems to drift toward the subject of forgetfulness. We all seem to spend a great deal of time talking about how we are always forgetting our car keys or how we are continually misplacing everyday items.
When we talk about such things, so often, it really means that we are genuinely afraid of the onset of  Alzheimer's and or dementia.
Let me be truthful with you. Forgetting where you put your car keys is normal for just about everyone. We all forget day to day things. Our lives are so busy with the trivia of life that our minds are full and our brains are on overload. Forgetting happens..
It's the next step that should have you concerned.
If you forget where you placed your eyeglasses, don't worry, they are right where you last put them down. You'll discover them, sooner or later. Now, if when you find them, you cannot remember how to put them on your head, or if you can't remember what you use them for.......then you should start worrying.
The same thing goes for your car keys. You will find them, eventually. However, if upon finding them, you do not know that they are used for starting your car, or if you can't remember how to drive......you may have a problem.
So, chances are, if you are forgetting to remember things, it's probably okay. Just forget about it.

Great and Powerful God. We are not perfect. We can never be perfect. Help us to accept our own short comings and the faults of others. We get frustrated when we don't do everything just right. Teach us how to love and honor you with our own humble abilities.
You are perfect in every way.

Scared Stiff!

First of all, I want it known that I don't have a long list of fears.
I have faced a diagnosis of cancer, done chemotherapy and radiation. With the Grace of God,  I have helped to raise four children, who all survived to adulthood, for goodness sake.
Last week, I even faced down a construction worker, who had allegedly talked back to one of my seniors. He out-weighed me by at least 100 pounds, but he meekly cowered when I told him not to do it again. And, believe me, he was right in backing off! I would have taken him down, high heels and all.
But, I am afraid of specifically one thing. I don't do high!
Recently, in a fit of cleaning, I came across a card. It was from the Pike's Peak Highway, dated June 5, 1997. I remember the event like it was yesterday.
We were in Colorado Springs. Our youngest was playing in a Soccer Tournament at the US Air Force Academy. In the off-game hours, we had just enough time to take our "Plains Boy" up into the mountains for an adventure. So up we went.
The first 15 minutes or so, was pleasant. But, the higher up we got, the scarier it became. Sitting on the front passenger side of the car, I noticed immediately that the ground had dropped away and it was a really long way down the mountain. The trees were gone. It was just rock, all the way down.
If I could have slipped out of my seat belt and climbed onto the driver's lap I would have done it, but I was too frightened. I was frozen in terror!
At the gift shop, near the top, I remember screaming, "Is this mountain enough for you? Take us down, right now. If you don't, I am going to go by myself. Turn this car around, now!"
So, we returned to Colorado Springs, at the foot of Pike's Peak. I became fearless once again.

Oh, God. We are all afraid of something. You remain our constant through all of our struggles. Shield and shelter us. Give us strength.

They are Gold!

I'm about to celebrate another birthday. Funny how that anniversary rolls around every year at this time, and I never seem to feel any older!
Well this year, I received a little treat, by mail, that made me feel a great deal older, but at the same time very grateful and blessed. My friend sent me an ancient black and white photo of myself! I hardly recognized the skinny pre-teen in the photo. She was a stranger.
Right before I turned seven, my parents bought their one and only home on Walnut Street. It was a nice place, perfect for a family of four, in a nice neighborhood. And, right across the little dirt alley dividing our block was another family of four with a girl who was just my age. That was something very special. We became great friends. There were summers when we saw each other every day and winters when we walked the three blocks, to and from grade school, with each other as companions, religiously.
The two of us rode our bikes, roller skated on the sidewalks, spent hours at the community swimming pool and walked to the public library together.
Throughout grade school and high school, we were very close. Then we went to college in different towns, married, had kids and never lived near each other again. We stayed in touch, but in our twenties and thirties we were busy with our families, etc. Our communication, during that time, was through yearly Christmas cards and the infrequent school reunion.
Thankfully, in the years since, we frequently talk to each other by phone. And when we have our long distance chats, we start right where we left off the last time we talked. It just doesn't get any better than that.

Thank you Lord for my many blessings. Thank you for the friendships. I am so blessed to have such a lasting friendship with someone so special. This is an amazing world and there are so many great people in it. Help us to keep focused on the truly good things in life.