Ever Notice?

All morning the neighbor's pickup was sitting in our hay field.  This is the time of year for turkey hunters to be stealthily seeking their game.
The truck is finally gone.
Ten minutes ago I was the biggest, fattest turkey...in the same hay field.  He seemed to be very comfortable with himself and his food-gathering.
Not sure who has the most patience, a hunter or a huntee.

ALIVE!

Christians have the tendency to need reminders about their most basic beliefs.
Why else would we continue to "celebrate" the death of our Founder?
Maybe because His story is so beyond belief that we want to revel again in the miracle of His resurrection.
No other founder of a religion is said to have come back from the grave.
Our Lord Jesus the Christ did so, just as He said He would.
Despite the attempts to downplay this fact, His resurrection and continued life was witnessed by more than 500 people in the days following.
The reports in the New Testament are true.
Those who attempt to thwart them are ultimately confounded.

Jesus is Alive!

Be Kind

OK....I know. Politics is not everybody's thing. It was not mine for most of my life.
Now I've gotten involved on the periphery. That means I'm likely to meet you on the phone or at your front door in my support of various candidates, local and federal.
These may or may not be your favorite candidates. Or you may not give a tinker's d@#n about politics, thinking you have only one vote and it doesn't count. I will be energetic in encouraging you to learn about the races and at least make sure you give your vote intelligently, according to your own thinking.
I will not accept the fact that you are not even registered to vote. I will bug you unmercifully in that regard.
If you are a citizen of a republic, it is your duty as well as your right to vote for the people who pledge to serve us.
I can't promise that they will do what they say they will do in the future. I can only hope we can see traces of their character in what they say and do at the present, and if we have sources, what they have done in the past.
I will try to respect your views and opinions. I hope you will do the same for me.
Let us all conduct our lives in the spirit of courtesy and politeness!

Right

Sometimes we just KNOW we're "right". So it really hurts when we find out there were some facts we missed. Of course, then we can look further and find some other "facts" that support our original view. Who knows when this could end?
It sure is great to know GOD, because HE's always "right". No matter what we think about it.

double

So, I just went for a tour around the property. Guess what I found. There are wild white violets on my front lawn! They were not planted there; God put them there. You see, we used to have white and blue violets on our lawn "back home". I had transplanted some blue ones to my flower garden, but these are God's own miracles....to remind me of my growing up years with Mom and Dad. TY, God.

news

I have been remiss. As usual, life has happened. I am now in the throes of SPRING! A pansy that didn't freeze all winter is now blooming in my porch-side garden. It's a miracle. Many more miracles are showing themselves. Daffodils. Narcissi. Peepers at night. Fog in the morning. Sunshine and 70-degree temperatures in March.

Coddling?

Love doesn't coddle.
So, when he heads to the woods with tractor, chain saw, and various tools, I can't say "Stay".
It's what men do.
They tame the wild.
They provide for their home.
They protect their families from cold.
They get away from civilization and all that involves.

So glad a friend of his, also a MAN, followed along behind.
With truck.
And cell phone.
And personal integrity.
And country-wise capabilities.

70 still

Charlie, the honoree, and his wife are alert and humorous people. They will have been married 65 years come September. Their son and grand-daughter also attended the dinner. I was sitting far enough away on the long table that I couldn't hear all his ruminations, but I could see that, from time to time, he felt that "it's not like it used to be". He will be 90 years old this year. When my dad hit that age, he said, "All my friends are gone." And, of course, it was basically true. That's why we need to continue to make friends with people of all ages!

70

Going to a dinner tonight to honor a fellow who's been an "Odd Fellow" for seventy years! That's way longer than most of the guys now in the organization have been on earth. Will be interesting to see what the honoree has to say about life and lodge membership. My Goodness!

back then

What happened back in the days of our nation's founding?
I am learning so much from viewing the DVD's of David Barton's "American Heritage" set.
Our DVD tonight is focused on the black patriots.
Apparently, since most of them were Christians, and since our present academia doesn't like to deal with religion, we have not heard about many of these people.
I admit I had never run across Richard Allen, Wentworth Cheswill, Peter Salem, James Armistead, Absalom Jones.
I had been informed of Frederick Douglass, but only briefly.
I challenge you to look up these folks and see what they did to further the building of this new nation!

The Big "C"

When you hear a friend has been diagnosed with "cancer", what are your first thoughts? Traditionally, I jump to the funeral.
It's just that shocking. "Cancer" never seems to sound pleasant or positive.
I'm so glad we have the internet information that we do. It may be overload in a lot of areas, but the health info is really helpful and, in some cases, encouraging.
You can learn that being diagnosed with "cancer" doesn't mean you have to give up all current life activities. Yes, you probably will have some undesired but necessary medical procedures. But, the situation does not need to lead to an early death.
Make sure when you hear this word in connection with a friend--or yourself--that you become informed. Stay positive. And be someone who will "be" there for the patient. Venting is allowed in such situations.

D.I.Y.

Frequently we see on ads for Lowes and Home Depot the letters "DIY". They refer, of course, to "Do It Yourself". Homeowners sometimes need to be encouraged to try and "fix" their own problems, be it at home or garage or otherwise. I'm not sure that the ads would encourage making your problems, although, of course, that is why you're trying to fix them. After my experience this week, I can be the poster child for "DIY Food Poisoning". It's really not difficult to creat your own problem. We've all been doing it for years. Just make some cream puffs; leave the cream stuffing out of the refrigerator "too long"; and make it your goal to finish the leftovers. Then prepare (or not) to spend the next day and a half in close contact with your sanitary facilities...and your bed. All is now well...but it was questionable for a while!

That Day

Ah, yes. I remember it well.

I called the pastor's wife to ask if son could spend the night at their house after school.
I picked up my "ready-to-go" bag.
I called my husband to let him know where he could find me.
I stopped at the doctor's office, since my water had broken.
I drove to the small community hospital and checked myself in.
And I waited for Baby #2 to be born.

K-9 trooper husband had an appointment to speak at a PTA meeting.
He asked if he should cancel, but there was no expectation that he would be needed here, so he went.

At 10:04 pm, our little girl made her appearance.
When I saw her, I thought there was some mistake.
She had black hair and dark eyebrows and eyelashes.
Her brother was so fair; I had assumed "all" my babies would look the same.
Silly me.

Her father made his appearance at 10:05.
It was a long meeting and lots of questions.

We had no names picked out.
Since I had named her brother, I told husband he should name the little girl.
He suggested "Jo", after an older lady in his college class.
I remonstrated that "Jo" was too short, so he suggested "JoLee".
I liked that!
So, her name is "JoLee Raye" ("Raye with an e because she's a girl")--Ray for her father and Lee for her mother. She can't get away from us.

Happy Birthday to our little, all-growed-up-and-still-spontaneous, daughter!

White

Winter 2012 came in with a vengeance this week. ICE Thursday, with all its related joys and woes. SNOW yesterday, with limited visibility, slippery roads, and personal desire to hunker down. This morning the temperature is below zero in selected spots. And this is only the first week of "Real Winter". Oh, well. As I've heard, "Every day is closer to Spring."

What if....

What if....your quarterback was limping on broken left ankle, your coach was out of the game in induced coma, your center had an ankle injury, your safety couldn't play in the game because of sickle cell issues, your nose tackle was out with knee inury, and your defensive end had a groin injury that made him unplayable? And what if your team still took the game to overtime?

I'm thinking you might want to offer a big vote of CONGRATULATIONS to the Pittsburgh Steelers for their gutsy performance for 4 whole quarters! (Well, and the whole 2011-2012 season)

Have a healing, healthy 2012, Guys!

do-over

Today is a holiday. People are celebrating the beginning of the new year.
Yesterday was the actual first of 2012, but since today is a work holiday, it must mean that we can still take on the resolutions and the partying.
January 1 brought a phone call that a friend's husband had passed from this world. Maybe today we can start over. Of course, he started over yesterday.
Calendars and celebrations do not mask the fact that real life happens every day.
God Bless all New Days.