Month: May 2008

What if everything around you Isn’t quite as it seems? What if all the world you think you know Is an elaborate dream? And if you look at your reflection Is it all you want it to be?

Lyrics by NIN

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; than I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.   1Cor 13:12

The night was dark and the air was cold. Still I danced upon the rural bridge around a small fire with my friend as we laughed together; women who were released of cares unknown. The experience of sharing such a primal dance has stayed with me over the years. I wonder, does my friend still dance and if so, what fire warms her to do so? Passion is a fire worth dancing around always.

“I lay on my back in the middle of the night looking up at the midnight moon wondering about my very existence. It was a question I wanted an answer to and yet the silence drowned me to the point of tears. There had to be more than this.”

Looking deep into the night sky I couldn’t count the stars. How could I possibly limit my future in the finite when the very heavens were infinite?

I made a choice in posting this note, not for recognition of sending anything out, but for a very important cause to draw attention to our fellow Americans. It is inspiring to know there are still so many men and women who make the choice to give up their own freedom temporarily to follow orders so that we may continue to live in freedom. May we never forget the costs to personal individuals and their families!

Perhaps you cannot send a care package but a letter would be just as welcomed or maybe a newspaper. Even better would be to let your voice be heard that you appreciate what our troops do for us daily. Let’s see more printed copy of how we are in favor of these men and women instead of reading only about the minority opinion getting all the headlines with their critiques.

How many would agree it’s easy to second guess how our country should be run by armchair politicians who won’t even get off their duff to vote? Better still, what would you say to the thug who carries a pistol in his waistband to prove he’s a gang banger and yet has no guts to serve a tour of duty?

Justice is not blind and the righteous will be given their due. What side will you be on when the books are opened?

If you would like to write to a soldier please visit the following website address:

http://soldiersangels.org/index.php?page=adopt-a-soldier

My track record for motherhood is a twisted tale of illogical trial and error experiments. Let me share an honest statement with you. Not many mothers know what they are doing. They wing it! If you think they don’t, just ask a woman who no longer has secrets to hide.

I feel triumphant that my son graduated school, married, found a solid job skill and now has a son of his own. It’s like a big wipe of the sweaty brow followed by the statement of wisdom, “Whew”!

My son is full of tales I’d rather he didn’t share and truth be told, I will try to sign him to a contract of non-disclosure one day. Since he’s likely to disagree with that request, it’s probably best I out myself first.

I can still recall the day I awoke with cake powder all over me. I can only surmise he was hungry and since I was still sleeping, he thought he would bring the batter to me in hopes it would cook on my warm body. Another fond memory actually took place on a “Mother’s Day” in my past. I can recall my teenage son leaning over me to awake. He was holding a breakfast plate of pancakes while it poured syrup all over my chest. An endearing memory for sure and I like to think of this one as a “sweet memory”.

In the upcoming barrage of gifts given out for “Mother’s Day” I would like to give a gift back the child who bore my constant experimentations – I love you son.

I recently had “unexpected” down time due to technical difficulty outside of my own control. I have been assured that these difficulties have been addressed so I look forward to sharing once more and thank you for coming back again.

A close friend shared a story with me recently and felt it important enough in subject to actually hand write a copy for me. This in itself was a treasure had I never read one word. It made me think of ancient days when the written word was not available and then it reminded me we live in a world where some written words are still not available in other countries.

There are martyrs in today’s world that our nightly news channels passes on talking about. This is a curious syndrome since these same news sources are more than willing to share all sorts of careless gossip about some Hollywood type who stepped out for an evening of entertainment. Could we be any less interested in the rich and famous? Let’s open the door of the world’s closet and see into the darkness of oppression.

What would the comfortable person who sits in their warm house, wondering what to order in for dinner, think about the people who go for days without food on a regular basis? Can we actually fathom the thought that we can walk into any building in America to find our Savior and yet others are literally beaten and tortured for this same freedom? We are free to open a book that gives us hope and still others are imprisoned for even looking at pages from a bible.

Even if you had no belief in Christ, would your sense of justice not be moved even a little? Should we carry on looking to the inane for nightly news stories or can we challenge those who hold these jobs to seek out truth and report it? Truth in the fact much of the world’s population has no freedom to surf the internet. Truth in the fact there are populations in huge countries that have no freedom to open the book of their choice. I know I am only scratching the surface of a lingering sore.

I get incensed about such things and then I come to a place of gratitude. My gratitude stems from the fact my freedom was bought for me by my ancestors. This is something so many in America have forgotten. Our hard won freedom came at a price, it was fought for! The truth in history that gets lost in the current education system is that our founding fathers were great men and women of vision but that vision came from having a heart for God. “One Nation Under God” was not a slogan, rather it was a declaration.

I am free to be incensed, but I am also free to be a woman called to act upon my senses. I can vote for my leadership or I can do nothing. I can send help to other nations and organizations where there is need or I can order another pizza. I can read a book of worth or I can read a magazine about Stars. I can watch something of substance or I can change the channel. The point is, I have the freedom to do any of these and I thank others today who are serving our country to spread this same freedom.

Today I think I will send out a care package to “thank” one of the men or women who are making sure I keep this freedom. I will also thank them for giving someone, somewhere, a book of hope.

Erma Bombeck was a humorist writer who has since passed on and although I never read much of her stuff something she wrote stuck in my head. The title of her book, “The Grass Is Always Greener Over The Septic Tank”. I can’t tell you what it was about but I have often given deeper thought to that one line.

How lush green grass can be. Soft like carpet, with lovely blades of freshness to tickle your bare toes when you walk on it. Some of the best days of spring are spent lying on your back in a plush bed of grass to stare at the moving clouds in a blue sky. Yes, those moments are wonderful to contemplate and thrilling when you get a chance to actually do them.

I wondered about the power of knowledge? If one actually knew they were lying on top of a septic tank and it was leeching its contents into the ground, and this was the reason your plush bed was so green….would we be so keen to lie on it?

Life can be a lot like that green grass bed. Something that looks so good to our eyes can often hide truth beneath. The flip side to that thought is how something that looks undesirable can hide treasures unknown. I long to see with eyes that are not distracted by the superfluous. I long to see the wolf in the sheep’s clothing. I long to see the prince who wears the rags of a pauper. I long to see the truth in myself. Laying in the soft green grass I long to close my eyes and see what is real.

Proverbs 3:21 My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight

Changes to our environments can come at us unexpectedly. How we react to these changes becomes a study in human psychology. I like to think I am flexible and have a teachable spirit but I do confess there are times when change is scary rather than exciting. In the grand scheme of things it’s quite apparent we are to expect changes always and embrace them.

I have found that my reaction to change affects others around me and I can either be positive or negative. Guess which one I will choose? I love how children react to change. More often than not they get curious and start seeking new things. 

Matthew 18:3   And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.