makes sense

"Gardening Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant."

Anonymous

summertime

It's Summer now that school is out and Memorial Day has passed. I guess officially we have a few more weeks, but I've never been very official.

The smells of summer:

Cantaloupe--I don't care for it myself, but all of my family does. That smell always means summer to me.

Fresh mown grass

Hot cotton -- when a kid we used to make a tent on Grandma's clothes line with some of her quilts. The smell of them in the hot sun was a wonderful smell. I still enjoy taking a quilt out and letting it warm in the sun.

State Fair smells

Sunscreen

Dirt

Koolaid

The sights of summer:

Kids running through sprinklers

Checkered tablecloths

Mountain lakes

Storm clouds

Kids riding bikes at dusk

Wildflowers

Too much skin

Fireworks

The sounds of summer:

Kids squealing as they run through sprinklers

Crickets

Cicadas

Bees

Ice Cream Trucks

Fans

The touch of summer:

The breeze from the fan

Cool water

Damp grass

Cotton clothes

Gravel under bare feet

Itchy mosquito bites

The tastes of summer:

Watermelon

Lemonade

Iced tea

Ice cream

Corn on the cob

Fresh green beans

BBQ

gotta have that

Ok, so you see a mattress store with a giant inflatable Statue of Liberty on top. Does that make you think, "Oh yeah, I Need a New Mattress. I think I'll go in right now and get one."??

You see one of those flexy, bendy guys, (air tubes, I discovered they are called). Do you say -"Hey, I think I'll go get my oil changed."??

You see a giant inflatable gorilla. Do you automatically decide to go buy a new car?

Do you even go into a business that you weren't planning to go into just because they have some kind of tacky inflatable thing on the roof?

There must be some statistics that show that they draw in customers. Why else would someone dish out the $800 or so? I looked at some sites that claimed your business would double with an inflatable, but they were selling the things.

I don't know - this was just on my mind today. I thought I would share.

now i get it

Feudalism
You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.

Pure Socialism
You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else's cows. You have to take care of all the cows. The government gives you all the milk you need.

Bureaucratic Socialism
Your cows are cared for by ex-chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. The government gives you as much milk and eggs the regulations say you should need.

Fascism
You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them, and sells you the milk.

Pure Communism
You have two cows. Your neighbors help you take care of them, and you all share the milk.

Real World Communism
You share two cows with your neighbors. You and your neighbors bicker about who has the most "ability" and who has the most "need". Meanwhile, no one works, no one gets any milk, and the cows drop dead of starvation.

Russian Communism
You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the government takes all the milk. You steal back as much milk as you can and sell it on the black market.
Perestroika
You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the Mafia takes all the milk. You steal back as much milk as you can and sell it on the "free" market.

Cambodian Communism
You have two cows. The government takes both and shoots you.

Militarism
You have two cows. The government takes both and drafts you.

Totalitarianism

You have two cows. The government takes them and denies they ever existed. Milk is banned.

Pure Democracy
You have two cows. Your neighbors decide who gets the milk.

Representative Democracy
You have two cows. Your neighbors pick someone to tell you who gets the milk.

British Democracy

You have two cows. You feed them sheep's brains and they go mad. The government doesn't do anything.

Bureaucracy
You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them. Then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cows.

Pure Anarchy
You have two cows. Either you sell the milk at a fair price or your neighbors try to take the cows and kill you.

Pure Capitalism
You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.

Capitalism
You don't have any cows. The bank will not lend you money to buy cows, because you don't have any cows to put up as collateral.

Environmentalism

You have two cows. The government bans you from milking or killing them.

Political Correctness

You are associated with (the concept of "ownership" is a symbol of the phallo centric, war mongering, intolerant past) two differently - aged (but no less valuable to society) bovines of non-specified gender.

Surrealism
You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

This was found at The Funny Farm http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/3456/index.html#list

leaving

"You have to leave before you can arrive."

That was the theme of my daughter's culmination ceremony at school today.

I like that thought.

Timely.

We are leaving a town we have lived in for 11 years. We recently left a church we had been in for several years. My kids will be leaving their school, and all of us leaving friends and familiarity.

You can't get anywhere when you're sitting in one place. You can't do something new until you stop doing the old thing - usually.

You can't reach the goal unless you leave the starting block.

edited to add :

You can't move into the new house unless you pack up the old one!

i always wondered

What finger are you? Hopefully not a thumb!

***You Are a Pinky***
You are fiercely independent, and possibly downright weird.

A great communicator, you can get along with almost anyone.

You are kind and sympathetic.

You support all your friends - and love them for who they are.
You get along well with: The Ring Finger
Stay away from: The Thumb
What Finger Are You?http://www.blogthings.com/whatfingerareyouquiz/

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more to say

I am more moved by the death of Jerry than I would have expected. I didn't actually know him. I was just one of many "Jerry's Kids" to him. I was just another young "Champion for Christ".

But he had a bigger impact on me than I have really realized. I guess I have taken it for granted. We tend to do that. Until someone dies, then we think of all the ways they have influenced us.

I had my picture taken with him a couple times. Once for a Nursing Ceremony. And again at graduation, although, all you can see of me is my bushy 1991 style hair-do. And the tip of my nose.

That's the extent of our relationship.

Unless you include the time I wrote him a letter. I was desperate. My two year scholarship had run out and I was going to have to quit school. So I sent him a letter, telling him how much I wanted to stay. He provided a Chancellor's Scholarship for me for the rest of my education. It didn't cover everything, but it was enough to let me stay -- another four years, even.

Anyone who attended Liberty knows the story of how he used to drive from Virginia to Missouri to visit his beloved Macel before they were married. That was before there were speed limits, he would point out with a grin.

We also knew that he started his ministry while in college with a Sunday school class of two or three sixth grade boys.

The church he founded had it's first home in the Donald Duck Bottling Company.

The first time he saw the word Tithe on a banner at church he sorely mispronounced it and had no idea what it meant. Believe me, he figured it out. :)

Jerry was a good one for raising funds. As an alumni, I know. I am constantly receiving opportunities to contribute to something or the other there. But understand this... the money he raised has raised up men and women for God. I don't know that I agree with how every single dollar has been spent. But I do know that he puts the money where he says he will. If it's for a Library, it goes to the Library. The same is true for a football field or a dorm. He cannot be compared to other "Evangelists" who line their pockets with the donations of their viewers. I am fully confident of that.

The years I spent at Liberty made me who I am. I cannot even begin to list the things I learned there. I wanted more than anything to influence my world for Christ. It's still what I want. He taught me that. He also taught me "The measure of a man's success is not determined by what he accomplishes, but by what it takes to make him quit." I don't know how many times over the years I heard him say that. But it's a powerful truth. And Jerry lived it. He didn't quit. He kept doing what he was called to do until God told him it was time to come home.

I call that success.

in memory

Regardless of your opinion of Jerry Falwell.... I'm sure you have one. Very few people are neutral about him, they either loved him or hated him. He was very controversial, even among Christians.

I for one, loved him. I don't think he was perfect. I haven't always agreed with everything he did and certainly not with everything he said. But I admired him. I spent six years at his university, Liberty. It is my Alma mater. I felt like I knew him after seeing him several times a week over all those years.

I believe the man was genuine. What you saw was what you got. I think he really lived out what he believed and he had the courage to stand for what he believed even when it was very unpopular. I think anyone should admire those things about a person.

He was a friendly, happy man. He had a great sense of humor. He was just a small town preacher who did big things.

I know that he was truly committed to God and to living his life for Him. Millions of people have been influenced by him one way or the other and a vast number have been turned to Christ by him or one of his many ministries.

So, regardless of your opinion of him, you will notice his absence.

Many, many people will miss him.

addendum to yesterday's post

Apparently a plot was foiled at a local highschool, (as in - my town). Two teens had planned to shoot up a school-wide pep rally as well as plant pipe bombs under the bleachers. It would have been worse then Columbine had they succeeded.

these modern kids

My son will be nine next month. I just learned yesterday that he didn't know how to tie his shoes. I believe my daughter was in about the fourth grade when she learned. It's because of those new-fangled Velcro-type fasteners.

I believe I was about four when I learned to tie mine. Oh well, that's progress for ya.

violence in the school

In my hometown, (small town) where my folks still live, there is a rumor that someone has written a hit-list and they plan to act on it at the graduation ceremony. Apparently the kid who did this has been told he is not allowed to attend the ceremony, but can get his diploma.

My mom's neighbor came over crying because it is her grandson who has been accused of this. Her whole family is terrified because they are receiving death threats and people are driving slowly past their house and her son's house. She told my mom if anything happened to her that she is ready to meet God. Asked my mom to let everyone know that.

So the community is terrified because of this alleged hit-list, (there is no proof that we know of) and so they begin to terrorize this family. It reminds me of the mob with the torches storming Frankenstein's Castle. Fear is such an ugly and dangerous thing.

My son is in third grade. There is a boy in there who has some serious problems and is under treatment, but still has outbursts of rage. He directs these at kids, teachers, parents, anyone. He has a couple of times become physical - with my son. The teacher is committed to the safety of her class and puts him out of the room when he loses control, but she can't do anything beyond that.

So what's a parent to do? Unfortunately, the world is full of people who have problems. People who are angry and violent. They will ever be with us and I am afraid that it will continue to get worse. I would love to just keep my kids safe in a protective bubble forever but that's just not realistic, or even in their best interest.

I could homeschool, but my only reason for doing so would be fear and I decided long ago that I do not want fear to motivate my decisions. Well, unless someone is breaking into my house. I might decide to crack him on the head with a candlestick, but that's different.

So as my children live and grow in this unstable world all I can do is let them go to the One who holds them in His hands. It just seems to require more faith to do so these days then it did for my parents or grandparents.

mom

I am modifying this meme that I got from Nut Harvest - click on her link on the left. Instead of telling you things about me, I am going to tell you things about my mom!

Two Names She Goes by: Mom and Lupe (She didn't choose Lupe, my dad did, her name is actually Maxine)

Two Things She is Wearing Right Now: I imagine a skirt and a blouse - ready for church

Two of Her Favorite Things to do: putter around in the garden, minister to Nursing home folks

Two pets She Has: cats and a bunny

Two things She did last night: My guess is she went to a musical program she goes to each month and she watched some TV

Two Things She is doing tomorrow: going to the Nursing Home for service and I don't know what else

Two longest car rides: From Colorado To Virginia, and back

Two favorite beverages: coffee and water

Two Favorite Sayings: "Go outside and get the stink blowed off ya." "If everyone else was jumping off a cliff, would you want to?"

Two of her greatest qualities: compassion for people overlooked by society, her steadfast faith

Happy Mother's Day

a good read

This post was spurred by Accidental Poet's last post. Go look - over on the left is a link to her blog. I forgot the html to link to her.

But I have actually been thinking of this for weeks, and her post encouraged me to go ahead and write it down.

Good books:

These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner

A fictional diary of a woman in the late 1800's. Apparently based on the author's great-grandmother's life. Too full of a book to capture in a synopsis. Just read it if you like this kind of read.

The Water and the Blood by Nancy E. Turner

Set in the deep south in the 30's and 40's. Full of racial tension and the breaking of established boundaries.

The Messenger of Magnolia Street by River Jordan

Quaint and Supernatural. How can it be both? I don't know. But River Jordan does it and does it well. This book had some symbolism that I admit I didn't quite get. But some of it can't be missed: a man named Nehemiah is called by God to go back to his home town to take part in restoring something that had been destroyed. Not a "Christian" book, but deep spiritual themes. The climax is a bit over the top for me personally, but I still loved the book. The writing is wonderful. I think I will have to read it again to further mine it's meanings.

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

A spec fic book about life, death, Heaven and Hell. The choices we make, why we make them and when. If you've ever read Lewis, you know that it is deep and rich. A short book, but packed to the brim. Imaginative and clever as well as inspiring.

The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra

I read this book years ago, but it has engraved vivid images in my mind. A story of love and hatred. Life, death, and redemption. Are we capable of doing the unimaginable? Very eye-opening to a foreign culture and mind-set. And you may even learn something about yourself.

Finding Alice by Melody Carlson

Written from the perspective of the schitzophrenic protagonist. Informative and heart-rending. A great story of struggle and hope.

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

Ok, this one has some naughty parts, rated R. But only a couple that I remember. The overall story is so beautiful and whimsical. A girl looses her true love to her sister because she is destined to work in the kitchen. But her emotions have a peculiar effect on the food. Just a touch of tall tale about this one. Not any redeeming spiritual lessons that I can remember. I just enjoyed the wonderful writing and imagination of the story.

You can see that most of these books aren't exactly light and easy reading. Hmmm. I never noticed before, but this is the kind of story I enjoy most. Deep, meaningful, thought provoking and full of emotion. If you like that kind of book, you may enjoy some of these I've listed.

i think it's funny

Crazy Joe had been up in the church belfry, slamming his head against the bell. Then he fell and was knocked unconscious.

Before his limp body was taken away, the EMS team asked Pastor Festink if he recognized him.

"Yes," said the pastor, "his face does ring a bell."

The next day, CrazyJoe's twin brother was up in the church belfry, slamming his head against the bell.

He, too, fell, but to his death.

Before his limp body was taken away, the coroner asked Pastor Festink if he recognized him. "Yes," said the pastor,

"He's a dead ringer for Crazy Joe."

killing time

"But at my back I always hear Time's winged chariot hurrying near."
- Andrew Marvell (1621-1678)

Time Flies.

Time's up.

What time is it?

Too much time on my hands.

Time to go.

In no time.

Time is short.

Give me a little time.

Take all the time you need.

How much time do we have?

Never on time.

Time stood still.

Where has the time gone?

Time to think about time. What is it about time that we are so obsessed with it? Our culture is fixated on time.

Personally, I don't have a very good relationship with time. I would just as soon live in a culture that didn't keep track. That would suit me just fine.

Time constricts me. But I bet if we were honest we would all agree. Why do we spend so much time looking at clocks otherwise?

Here's my thought: we weren't designed to live in time. Do you hear people complaining about the air we breathe? Ok, well maybe in LA... But really, do we constantly say things like, "The oxygen content is perfect today." "Where did all this air come from?" "I got too much air today."

No, because we were made to live in and breathe air. It is our environment.

But I believe we were made to be timeless. To be eternal. We were created to live outside of time like God does. But we messed up - big time (there's that word again). So now we have a limit to our time. We are cursed to die. Every minute counts now. They are numbered. We know this in our core. We are limited and our time on earth is limited. But I think we also know something else, we aren't supposed to be limited.

That is God's voice in us. We are created to live eternally. We can, of course. He has shown us how. But even those of us who have that assurance of eternal life, we still feel hounded by time. It just isn't the way things are supposed to be.

skipping

One day as I was sitting at a stoplight, a lady crossed in front of me, skipping. And it made me smile. In fact I turned to a lady who was sitting outside on the step of a building and our eyes caught and we both grinned real big at each other.

Sure, we were probably both thinking that the lady was missing a marble or two. But also, I was a bit jealous of her ability to abandon all inhibitions and skip for joy downtown.

I love skipping, actually. But don't do it where people can actually see me.

There is a whole grassroots movement to encourage public skipping. Go to http://www.iskip.com/ and check it out!

Skipping: a joyful impulse, stunted at puberty. ~M. Robin D'Antan

Skipping is just jumping for joy, step after step. ~Jessi Lane Adams

sunny days, keepin the clouds away

Ok, so I am feeling a bit lazy about blogging.

But I don't want to leave my fans hanging. So here you go.

This is the Sesame Street Character I am.

And I guess it is pretty accurate, actually.

Take the quiz and tell me which one you are.

You Are Ernie

Playful and childlike, you are everyone's favorite friend - even if your goofy antics get annoying at times. You are usually feeling: Amused - you are very easily entertained You are famous for: Always making people smile. From your silly songs to your wild pranks, you keep things fun. How you live your life: With ease. Life is only difficult when your friends won't play with you!

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

what does trust look like?

I have this picture as my desktop wallpaper.

For years I have pictured trust just like this.

I am in a swing and I know who is holding the ropes

and I trust Him.

I realize in the photo, she looks slightly concerned.

When it is larger, you can see that she actually looks

rather peaceful and adoring rather than anxious.

10 of my very best ideas

1. A baby cradle shaped just like a car seat. Because that slightly upright position helps them if they have a lot of spit-up problems and the position is more comfortable for them than lying flat, I think. My son slept through the night for the first time in his car seat - and for many nights there after.

2. Headlights that move to go around curves, (now some new car actually has these)

3. A type of syringe that will keep the nurse from getting poked with a needle. (someone invented the same thing I thought of, but it wasn't a big hit.)

4. Paint that is invisible but when exposed to smoke or heat it glows so that doors, etc can be outlined. Notes could be written on the walls for firefighters, (kids room this way, etc). I am not a chemist, so have no idea if this is even feasible, but I love this idea!

5. Doing a makeover day for the wives of soldiers right after they were all deployed to Iraq, (this was a good idea that never took off)

Ok, so I can't think of five more. But I know I've had them. I frequently hear, "That's a great idea." I am a good idea person. What I am not good at is making the ideas reality. Most of my ideas have never become anything more than ideas. Unless someone else thinks of it and actually does something with it.

So there you go. Five of my ten very best ideas. This was from a prompt, too. I guess my brain is tired lately.