About a year or so ago, one of my friends started a chapter of the Red Hat Society. She recruited many of the over 50 women of our church...including my Mom. For many months, they bugged me to join, but I resisted... Being only 49, I really wasn't ready to be a Red Hatter. What I didn't know was that there is a provision for someone like me... Women who are "looking forward" to celebrating their 50th birthday are able to join the group as a Pink Hatter. After attending a meeting last Christmas, I decided to go for it. On the right is one of the three pink hats that I have purchased... I think it is my favorite.

Sadly, I will no longer be able to wear my pink hats after December 11th when I turn 50. While I have never really loved the color pink...for some reason, my year as a "Pinkie" has made me come to love it!

SSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..... even though my days as a "Pinkie" are numbered, and others view the Big 5-0 as being some kind of ungodly curse, I am able to celebrate each day without fear. Being in the company of some really wonderful, creative, fun and loving women who have already broken the 50 year barrier has allowed me to celebrate my milestone birthday proudly. I am confident that when I finally turn in my pink hat, I will gladly trade it in for a Red Hat. Life DOESN'T end at 50.......... It has only just begun AGAIN!!!!!!!

Now, where in the heck will I find purple clothes???? :)

Tyrese Turns 7

You just got to love this kid! Wearing a Happy Birthday hat that his cousin made especially for him, Ty Ty is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his cake. He knows that once he blows out those candles, he can start to open his presents!

You should have seen his face when he opened his Lego Star Wars II games...and to top it all off, a box of Star Wars Pez dispensers. What more could any child ever want!


Tyrese!!!!! Pawma loves you!!!!!! 

Food for Thought

1 Kings 19:1-15
Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them." 3 Elijah was afraid [a] and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." 6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. 7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night. The LORD Appears to Elijah
And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." 11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 14 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." 15 The LORD said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.

I get the chance to preach this week while our pastor is away on vacation. I’m almost sorry I said yes. The Gospel lesson talks about Jesus, the bread of life and how we must eat his flesh to gain everlasting life. My studies have taken me from the Holiest of Holies in the Tabernacle where the showbread sits as a sign of God’s presence, to a study of cannibalism. It has all been just a little too bizarre for me.

To top it all off, there is this Old Testament lesson. At first, I thought verses 1-15 were all included in the reading. It turns out that the verses in black…those that I was hoping to use in my sermon aren’t even included in the reading… DRATS!!!! Anyway, this is a result of my thoughts today:

Here is Elijah… SO zealous to change the hearts and minds of Aram and his evil wife Jezebel that he charges in with a flaming sword and kills every single prophet of Ba’al. Now if that doesn’t get rid of this lousy Ba’al worship crap, I don’t know what will…LOL. Instead of ridding Israel of Ba’al, these killings do nothing but cause Jezebel to dig her heels in, rejecting God and Elijah all the more. And now, Jezebel is sending out her warriors to search out and kill Elijah. Elijah’s zealous actions to rid Israel of false God’s is a failure… Ba’al still reigns in the hearts of Jezebel, the King and the people. In deep depression…not only for the failure to rid Israel of this wicked god, but maybe even in his remorse for allowing his zeal to cause needless human death….Elijah seeks refuge in a cave. It is here that Elijah learned a valuable lesson. God needed Elijah to be strong in body and spirit for what was to come. Angels tended to him, offering cakes of bread and water so that Elijah could make the journey into God’s presence on Mt Horeb. Elijah is in the cave so that he can die but God has other plans….and in that plan God reveals that even though God’s power is like that of the wind and the tumult of an earthquake, God chooses to be revealed in the work of angels and in the silence that follows the tumult.

In any case, Elijah’s zealous acts in trying to rid Israel of idolatrous worship are not the answer. And we still have not learned to listen to God in the silence and to seek God in the ordinary.

May you my friends be blessed with seeing God in the ordinary things of your life. May your spirit be nourished by God’s angels and God’s purpose for your life in Christ be revealed in the silence.

Darned Pictures

Here we go for a hundredth time! Been trying to put my picture in my profile since I started this last year. I have never had a ny success.

I get the pic in and then when I go back...it's GONE!

Let's hope this time it works!

God's Gift Gone Bad

Medical breakthroughs abound in this day and age. I have never understood why some religions have tried to stand in the way of man's creative thinking. Many medical discoveries have enhanced, and enriched our lives in ways our ancestors would never have imagined. New technology has not only allowed us to live longer lives, but allows for a greater quaility of life. My belief is that God has created us with the ability to think and to solve problems for the benefit of humanity and for God's glory.

Unfortunately for us, even our God given gifts can be corrupted. Our culture generates our natural and sinful propensity for personal greatness. Recently there have been two news stories that epitomize this dilemma of trying to get ahead at the expense of humnaity's benefit.

The first example is of the Korean doctor who lied about the number of stem cells he had available for research. Even more troubling to me is the instance of a doctor who faked data in a research project for oral cancer.

People who suffer serious illnesses depend on cutting edge research to improve the quaility of their lives. Faking research such as this can put people's lives on the line. Drug companies who develop and market drugs put so much pressure on its scientists to perform. The cost of developing new drugs skyrockets and one mistake can put a multi million dollar project into a spiral of doom causing the company and its stockholders to lose money.

The thing is, I fully understand the motivations of these doctors. In high school, I had to do a science project. I started out with the best intentions on a project that would chart the growth rate of plants when left alone to grow versus plants that were talked to every day. It really was stupid of me to choose a project such as this. Even my friends will attest to the fact that I don't give much care for the plants that I have and the only kind of plants that survive at my house are the ones that grow on their own. Two weeks after I planted the beans I was using, both sets of plants died. My project was due soon....what would I do? Get an F on the project? Of course not! I lied...I made up the whole project and in the process got a B+ on it.

To this day, I still feel the guilt of this deception. The good news is that I learned from it. Two years later, I failed miserably at another attempted project (this time making donuts). Learning my lesson, I brought my hard as a rock donuts to class to show that I had tried to complete the project, even though I had failed. Guess what...I got an A anyway... just for trying.

Perhaps our society needs to stop placing so much emphasis on the bottom line and instead begin to reward people for their honest efforts to discover things. Maybe then the temptation to take a wonderful gift from God and to use it for evil would one day be overcome.

God, Thank you for the grace you have given to us. It is the grace that forgives us of our wrong doing and at the same time turns us around and encourages us to walk in new directions..no matter how difficult they might be. AMEN

Christmas

Christmas! It's the most wonderful time of the year! And so the song goes. I am truly blessed with grandchildren to grace our home for Christmas. Their little faces are such a joy to behold on Christmas morning as they rip throuugh their presents from Santa. It is truly amazing because has so many toys for them that they just don't all fit under the tree at home..

This morning, both my daughters came to the house with their families. My mother and father were there as was my mother in law who had stayed with us the night before. They coulddn't wait to open their gifts.... It was over in a flash!

Afterwards, we all ate breakfast together. My son in law had to go to work and my youngest daughter went home to go to the childen's (other) grandma's house. My oldest daughter stayed here with her two boys. Around noon, we all fell asleep for a well deserved nap.

Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

Mark 1:1-8 1The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way" 3"a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' " 4And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

Perhaps I am just going through a confusing time in my life, but it seems ever so much more difficult for me to figure out which direction God leads. It seems to me that in this culture, there is a growing trend to meet God through "self-awareness" or the presence of God in nature or one another. In some respects, I can understand this trend since we are indeed made in God's image and have been given God's Spirit in our hearts. So in essence, there is God with us and God among us. But as I look deep within myself, I do not see God. Instead I see blackness....sinfulness abounds. Even the goodness that comes from within is marred by my own sinful motivations.

And so, my journey begins with recognizing this about myself and others. My journey begins with baptism, washed clean by the power of God. Even now, I feel as if I am in the wilderness...tempted to do great things. But I am afraid bec ause unlike Christ, I have not recognized Godly timeliness....Jesus knew that turning rocks to bread was not necessarily a bad thing....he did it for the crowds who gathered to hear him. Jesus knew that he was not to throw himself off of the mountain...and yet he threw himself into the arms of the Roman and Jewish leaders and submitted to death on the cross. In the end, he recieved kingship over the world...not by worshipping Satan, but by discovering the gift of God's timeliness in all things.

The message of this day and age confuses me. I cannot look within to discover God's direction. And so, I look to my baptism, to the sharing of Christ's body and blood in Holy Communion, and to the cross where the perfect one suffers for my sake. It is where I get a glimpse of God's direction for faithful living and it is where I find the forgiveness to keep searching for the right direction.

One upmanship

I was reading my email this morning, most of it is from a dog list of which I am a member. Every now and then, there is a discussion about other breeders and their practices. Statements condemning the practices of some breeders usually force people who own dogs from those breeders to feel as if their dogs are substandard. It is kind of sad when an owner is excited about the quality and tempremant of their pup and someone rains on their show with such accusations against the breeder.

I can understand where some of those who are quick to condemn are coming from. They deeply love the breed that their dogs represent and wish to keep the temperament and beauty that is standard in that breed for years and years to come. The problem is, many "good" breeders have used the same lines to breed their dogs for so long that the animals actually become inbred. Long dormant recessive genesare waiting to be stirred up suddenly become dominant. This inbreeding causes the to animals suffer from the very genetic and temperametal disorders that the breeders have been trying to avoid. Unkknowingly, while trying to make the perfect perfect breed, these well meaning people have cut the gene pool down to a small one with the very same problems they were once trying to avoid.

There is a dilemma here of course. A poodle is definitely a distinctive animal. Their curly hair, square body, long legs, deep chest, pointed snout and long ears make them distinctly poodles. Breeding too far from the breed standard will definitely begin to make dogs that are no longer poodles. So while there may be reasons to allow more open breeding within poodle lines, going too far away from the standard will produce an animal that in essence becomes something other than a poodle.

The same kind of thing happens with people of faith. While discussing faith, people with certain theologies will condemn others with different beliefs making them feel substandard in their own faith. Even as these people have good intentions about keeping faith pure, they end up insisting on certain practices concerning their faith that become a stumbling block for those who are trying to be faithful. In doing so, the very faith they are trying to protect becomes corrupt rather than life giving.

Here too there is a dilemma. Christian faith is defined by some very common beliefs...things like an understanding of the mystery of the Trinity, the incarnation of Jesus, the obedience of Christ even to death, the resurrection of Christ and his ascension into heaven, the proclamation of this God given gift given with the hope that all of creation might one day be made right with God. When we wander too far off the beaten track with our theology, we end up with something that becomes less than Christian.

I sometimes wonder what the implication of "going too far" is for either of these scenarios. Allowing the breeding of a diverse number of poodles will end up with a breed that is very diverse but in the end will end up with a breed whose only commonality is that they are dogs. Accepting and welcoming views other than traditional faith will end up with people of faith whose theology is so diverse that the only thing left in common at all is that they are people.

Good thing? Bad thing? I suppose some would disagree on the answer to this quesiton. For me, I enjoy the individuality of the poodle and do not want to see it stray so far from the poodle line that it will no longer be recognized as a poodle.

As for faith, the basic tenets of Christian faith seem to make the most sense to me as the story of God and God's people has unfolded throughout time. In a world that is empowered by the sin of self and selfishnessm reliance on our own capabilities seems to be what feeds this selfish tenedency. Instead, we need a people set apart who trust in the hope of God's salvation. They are not here to condemn others, but to do God's work, proclaiming the gift of God's son so that all might be reconciled to God. It is these people who are called to selflessly serve God's creation in love. I don't want to see our faith stray so far from the Christian beliefs that it will no longer be recognized as Christian but neither do I want it to be so narrow that millions of people will never be able to relate to the gift of God's perfect love.

Surprises!

I never could fool my mother! When I was five, I was visiting a friend's house. Their mom offered me some cookies and milk, and not wanting to be rude, I accepted. When I got home, my mom asked me if I had eaten some cookies. You see, we had a rule in our house....no snacks between meals and my mom was pretty strict about making sure that there was always room for a healthy meal. So, I did what any five year old would do. I lied. And to my surprise, I ended up in the corner. No, it wasn't the two eyes behind my mother's head that gave me away...instead, it was the cookie crumbs that were stuck to the corner of my mouth.

I still can't keep anything from my mom. I have spent the last ten months planning a surprise 50th anniversary party for her and my dad. SOMEONE spilled the beans! But even if they had not, I am pretty sure that she would have already figured it out anyway. There are any number of things that have happened in the course of the last ten months that could have given it away. In the end, it certainly wouldn't be those proverbial eyes behind her head. Instead, the case of the missing key would have most likely tipped her off.

You see, a friend and I wanted to get a nice picture to put into a frame that she had purchased for this special event. So one day about a month or so ago, we snuck into the house while they were gone and snapped a few digital pictures of what we wanted. We very carefully put everything back in its place and left. As luck would have it, the picture that we really liked was oriented incorrectly. Once again, we secertly entered the house to take more photos.

It was a very cold and rainy evening when I got the frantic call from my father. Dressed in only a tee shirt, he had taken the dog outside and somehow had gotten locked out of the house. When he went to get the key....it was missing. I started to think about both times that I went into the house and distinctly remember putting the key away the first time, but don't really remember what I did with it the second time...my guess is that I didn't put it back. I hope that my Dad can find a way to forgive me when he finds out....poor Dad, I always seem to get a chuckle at his expense!

Somethings never change....I am my own worst enemy when it comes to trying to keep something from my Mom..... maybe one day I will learn my lesson....and then again...maybe NOT.

Gifts

Mention the word gift and I bet most people's thoughts turn to Birthday or Christmas memories. But, when I think of gifts, I think of God.

In I Corinthians, Paul offers a list of spiritual gifts that God has gifted to the body of Christ, that is, the church. Every member of Christ's church has already received a spiritual gift to be used for serving others in the glory of God. Discovering that gift can be a real challenge though. Just ask anyone how God has gifted them to serve and you may find someone with a puzzled look on their face. I have begun to see that we do a very poor job helping people to discover those gifts.

Too often, the church has "jobs" that need to be done and any warm body who is able to work is chosen to fill the position. Unfortunately, there are many times that we often fill round holes with square pegs. Unfortunately, both the outcome of the job and the person trying to do that job are stifled by the poor fit.

Last night, I had the opportunity to witness the result of a task done by a person whose gifts have been embraced by the commuity and where she has been empowered to use them for God's glory! When Michelle started to share her vision for our church's 50th anniversary party, there were a few skeptics about what she had in mind. But she had a vision and she came up with a plan! Lack of funding didn't hold this woman back! Using her gift of hospitality, she hosted one of the best nights our congregation has ever experienced. She found a way to make it happen and we even raised a little more than a hundred extra dollars to add to our growing "Fuel for the elderly fund."

How wonderful it is when God's gifts are recognized and used for God's glory!

Time

My alarm went off at 6AM. Actually, no, if truth were to be told, I forgot to set it. But there I was, wide awake at my usual time... 6AM. One would think that would be plenty of time for someone to ready themselves for work that begins at 8:30.

I think part of the problem is that I really don't want to go to work. I enjoy waking up and spending a few minutes while my dogs greet me with a good morning kiss. They love to lay on the backs while I rub their tummies...a good morning massage.

Then it is off to the kitchen door. Their time outside is usually pretty brief because they know that when they come in, food will be the next item on the agenda. I usually have enough time to make a pot of coffee and pour a bowl of cereal or throw a bagel in the toaster while they are out.

Most times, I am able to fold a load of laundry or put the dishes in the dishwasher away. When my breakfast is done and the girls are finished eating, they know exactly where we are going next. Ginny usually races ahead of me, up the stairs, jumping on my computer chair. She figures it is a good place to be since I always eat my breakfast here while I read my email. The best part for her is when I get interupted and have to leave the room for a moment. When I return, her little face is right in my breakfast dish....oh well, I really didn't want to eat it all anyway.

I don't know what it is about my morning ritual, but the time just seems to slip through my fingers. Like right now...I am already five minutes passed the time that I should be jumping in the shower.

Oh how illusive time is! It seems the more I have, the faster it flows through my hands...not like sand in an hourglass, but more like the rushing water of a Tsunami. As I get older, and my minutes here on earth become fewer and fewer.....why does it seem that time slips away faster and faster?

Smiling Faces?

January 4, 1975...there is a wedding...ours. We are young, 18 and 19 years old. The final picture in our wedding album is a picture from the car. In it, I am smiling...my husband has this look on his face that says..."What the hell did I just do?"

Fast Forward 30 years. My husband is now 50, I am soon to be 49. We have been blessed with two lovely daughters and four grandchildren.

While the faces have aged over the last thirty years, I can't help but to notice something....you can see it in this picture. There I am with the biggest smile you could see...and there he is... with a face that looks as if he would rather be anywhere else but here.

Can anyone tell me.... "What's up with that?"

Has both our tenuous beginnings and our life together been such a burden? Does he really just hate cameras that bad? I can't say I love cameras that much...but how can you not smile when you are in the midst of such a beautiful family?

Sometimes I feel a million miles away from him and I wonder if that is the way it began and if that is the way it will always be.

True Sacrificial Giving

I have a friend who truly knows how to give all of herself to God. Today we worked together on a project for our church, raising money for fuel for the elderly. She had a box of bears, collector's editions, that she was selling. The price was good for the item, but like at all tag sales people wanted an even bigger break. I could tell she was a bit hesitant to let them go for anything less than she was asking....and when she made the sale she told the woman that they were very special to her. They were her best friend's bears...a woman whom she loved deeply and lost without warning.

I am so blessed to be surrounded by people such as her who are a shining example of the sacrifices that people make in the name of our wonderful God! These bears are a part of the memories of her friend...a link to a loved one. And yet, she is willing to give them up for the work of the kingdom. And the legacy of her friend will now live on as an elderly may receive a gift that will allow them to stay warm during this cold New England winter.

What an awesome thing to witness! God, thank you for your gift to me of such a giving friend.

What I needed to Hear

As the president of a small congregation, I have had to lead our members through a time of great change. It was about a year ago that our Pastor told us that he had decided to accept a call at another congregation. He had been with us almost 11 years...definitely not without conflict, but we had become good friends. When it came to life in the church and the need to define our mission and vision, he was my mentor. Now granted, things weren't always rosey with us as we worked together, but I always felt that I could speak with him in truthful love and vise versa. Now that he is gone, I find that I really miss that comfortable relationship.

We have a new pastor onboard. I have to say that from the start, I have had my doubts. But the congregation approved this call and it is time for me to begin the work of supporting this new pastor as she begins to lead us toward fulfilling our mission and vision. It should be exciting and wonderful... but for me, it isn't.

Instead of an excitement for the future, I see fear. There has been gossip and ugliness that has been the underlying current in this call and I can't seem to steer us clear of it. There are decisions to make that I know are the right thing to do, but decisions none the less that will alienate some members of our congregation that I deeply love. And through it all, I just want to be able to do God's will in all of this.

I spoke with our interim pastor about this after church this AM. As I shared my fear of screwing everything up with what I said and did, he related to me exactly what I needed to hear. That sometimes no matter what you do, there someone will be upset with your decision. But, you must be true to yourself...because it is you that you have to look at in the mirror each and every day.

I remember meeting a lesbian couple awhile ago. Tatooed on one of the women's arms was an armband. Written above that band were the words, "Be true to yourself." They struck me then as very powerful and how wonderful that this woman was able to live out her life as she was without pretending she was anything else. I had forgotten about them and now that I heard them again, I am reminded that ultimately, I must do what I feel is right. I need not get wrapped in the acceptance of others, but must only care if I will accept myself when I wake up the day after making any decision.

And yet, if I am true to myself, where in this is God?

I must never forget that God is deep within my heart. His voice is there to guide me and as long as I know that God is there, I will know that being true to myself is in fact, being true to God.

Tonight, I was sitting at the computer, listening to songs and hoping to find the perfect song to choose for a Father and Daughter dance at my parent's 50th anniversary. Imagine, 50 years married, to each other! Not something you see a whole of now a-days, but through thick or thin, they are now celebrating that golden day together in November.

Anyway, as I sat listening to songs, I got an IM from a very good friend who has always lived halfway around the world. Her father passed away this afternoon. Several years ago, she lost her mother too. I cannot imagine losing both of my parents.

Even as I find joy in the celebration of my parent's life together this evening, my thoughts are turned to a friend who is no longer able to talk to, hug or laugh with her parents. May God's peace be with her and her family not only as they go about the preparations for the funeral, but also during the difficult holiday times ahead.

It has been so wonderful to get away from the everyday stresses of life. All of the responsibilities that I have had to endure recently have weighed heavily on my shoulders. The least of which is the loss of income to our household.

This time away would not have been possible without the generosity of my brother and sister in law. They have treated me to a couple of nights in Cincinnati where we went to the Zoo and to the Aquarium. They have provided me with refuge and food in their home and have even given me a new pair of shoes. How can I ever thank them for the gifts I have received.

My thanks are to God who has opened their hearts to my need.

I wonder...Lord, how can I now serve others in gratitude for the things that I have received?

Struggling with Understanding

I went to see a friend tonight who is dying, most likely, of cancer - brain, stomach, and lungs. He looked like hell - eyes sunk into sockets painted black, pastey white complextion, and has lost 38 pounds in two and a half weeks - cancer is truly evil. In my religion, I know God is not behind disease, but logic sometimes takes a backseat to the question of "WHY?" I just want to have the most unchristian temper tantrum. I want to scream obscenities at God and use Him for a punching bag...I know He understands and is not mad at me, which sort of intensifies the anger.

Earlier today, my husband and I made spaghetti sauce, all ingredients from our garden. We took it to a family about to face a horrible trama - daddy is having his leg amputated on the 28th. This is man is in his 30's, married, two young girls, and a severe diabetic. He already has lost all his toes on the other foot. He cries because he can not get out and play with his daughters, because he can not be the father he dreams of being. Obvioulsy, I have had an emotionally tramatic day.

I also miss my two friends, who are, by now, in West Virginia. They have family there - one has her son, wife, and two granddaughters and the other, her brother. I wish them a terrific vacation - they deserve some good times.

Well, good night world, tomorrow brings more, hopefully better days lie ahead.

Home Sweet Home

Stay home? Oh dear - home sweet home - cleaning, cooking, washing, phone, family worries, fun with Bill, and church work...sure, why not stay home, sounds like a lot of fun (wiseass smirk) Naw, this disorganized week will pay off once you reach your destination - a week with your brother, his wife, and kids. and your mom - life doesn't get sweeter. And, if the work office blows up, so be it...life will be sweeter, and the clean-up made easier by the memories you are about to creat - go, have fun, life will go on, and you can worry about life's clean-up when you get back!!!! May your journey be filled with memory creating materials that will bring smiles to your heart on your worse day at work!

Drop Dead Tired

This week is a killer for some reason.

With meetings on Monday and Tuesday, Bowling on Thursday and a wedding on Friday, there is little time for rest and relaxation.

Well what about Wednesday, you ask? Let's see, write two articles for our newsletter, review a congregational budget, try to plan all the things I need to do before the special congregational meeting on the second and, .. oh yeah, I forgot...Pack my bags for a week's vacation!

Now shouldn't this be a joyous thing? But no, being drop dead tired, I can't decide what the heck I want to bring. I don't know what the weather will be like, I can't fit into most of the clothes I would love to bring, the dog ate my shoes, and I can't forget that damnable machine that helps me breathe at night. (Oh yeah, and I must remember to transfer the maps to the truck that I will be driving and to update my laptop's files before I go.)

How sad that life can be like that! How sad that the planning for a much needed vacation is so tiring that by the time I actually leave...I will need two vacations!

Oh yeah...and I won't even think about what things will be like at the office when I return... On second thought... maybe I should just stay home?

guilt and commentment

Guilt - a gift of our "horned" serpent. Each parent throughout the ages has instilled the concept of guilt into their children - "who did it?" a question Adam and Even never had to ask Cain when he killed his brother; however, seems parents need to know the answer - so guilt is a primary factor, seemingly simple in a family, but a huge delimna within social factors, due to the stigma of guilt instilled in most of us during childhood - thus the "pass the buck" syndrome. So, I am not surprised at the guilt syndrome (blame game) being played out regarding New Orleans. No one wants to take the fall; no one wants to lose their postion - it is childhood conditioning in action.