About Me

Answer these questions.  One point for each thing you have done.  Ten things about me.  Seven things about me.  These pop up on Facebook constantly.  Trouble is, I am pretty much an open book and I have trouble coming up with ten or seven things no one knows.

Yes I have:  Been to all 50 states -- Flown in a hot air balloon -- Gotten more than one ticket for speeding – Been to a concert – Gotten a bit misplaced (aka lost) – Worked as a car hop – Delivered a calf

No I have never:  Gotten a tattoo – Been arrested – Ridden a motorcycle – Been to Europe – Sang karaoke

Ten Favorites:  Color:  Depends on the day – Food:  Cheesecake – Season:  Any except summer (too hot) – Day:  Sunday (Hey, my minister reads this, what else could I say?) – Vacation spot:  Jasper, Alberta – Drink:  Water – TV Show:  American Ninja Warrior – ARE THERE TEN YET? – Holiday:  My birthday (It should be a holiday) – Game:  Sorry – Books:  Jan Karon’s Mitford Series or Lee Child’s Jack Reacher Series.  Finally ten!

If I am mad, it is very obvious.  If I am scared, hurt or worried, it shows.  If I am happy, there is no doubt.  Yup, pretty much an open book. 

But if you think I am an open book, read about Jesus!  My goodness!  That man hid nothing!  (Yes he did wait a bit to allow everyone to see that he is the Son of God but that was a timing thing.  That news had to be timed just right and totally orchestrated by God.)

Today, your phone will tell everyone where you are eating supper, who you are with and what time you tucked yourself in bed.  Nothing available like that when Jesus was traveling around but there had to be two tin cans on a very long string, because when Jesus showed up, so did the crowds. 

When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.  Mark 3:8

Jesus was not afraid to answer all the questions the priests, elders and teachers ask.  He also was not afraid to point out their ---

Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work.  So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”  The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites!....”  Luke 13:14 and first of 15

Yup, on open book.  Jesus did not mince words.

Sometimes we try to hold in our emotions.  We are afraid for others to see our tears.  Not Jesus.

When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.  “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

Jesus wept.        John 11:32-35

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Want to know something about me?  Just ask.  I will be glad to answer your question.

Want to know something about Jesus?

Open your Bible to Matthew and start reading.

You can quit reading when you finish Revelation 22:6.

Of course, in all honesty, you never quit reading.

Because each time you read, you will discover something you missed the first time.

STITCHES AND LEFT HAND ADVENTURES

If you are reading this around 11:30 AM, I am getting the stitches out from my carpel tunnel surgery.  I had the left hand done in March and the right hand the 11th.   Soon I will be back to normal (or as normal as I ever get) except my hands will not hurt. 

When the use of my left hand was limited, it did not seem too bad.  I am right handed.  Very right handed.  So, day to day life moved along.  Not so much this time!

You did see the “very” before right handed, didn’t you?  Do you know how hard it is to wash one hand?  I learned from last time and set hand wipes at every sink for this recovery time.  I also found out my tooth brush is for right handed people.  It did not want to work properly in my left hand, so I held the brush still and moved my head.  (Go ahead and laugh at the picture you have in your mind.  Better yet, try it.)  Putting on make-up sorta worked.  I got the foundation on with my left hand.  Easy!  Then came eye shadow and lipstick.  I quickly decided eye shadow was not that important and the lipstick was on the lips … so declared my attempts a success. 

Hair is another matter entirely.  How easy it was with my right hand.  Brush the wet hair to the back.  Make a part and pull some down above my ears.  Scrunch in a bit of curl.  Done!  BUT – left handed, the brush just did not cooperate.  Maybe it is a right handed brush.  And try making a part.  And I gave up on the cow lick I have had since birth. 

Hubby, bless his heart, did his usual chores and took on cooking while I supervised.  A two pound weight limit, on that right hand, limited what I could pick up.  I swear there is nothing in our kitchen that weighs less than two pounds!  We did eat!  After hubby cut up my food. 

Picking up that fork or spoon with my left hand made me quickly realize I should have paid more attention to angles in math class.  The angle of the right hand inserting food into the mouth is not the same for the left hand.  Maybe there is left handed silverware. 

Plus, scissors do not cut paper and snippers do not cut roses when held in the left hand.  Yes, this has been a learning experience for a very right handed person to do things with her left hand.

Having no idea what to write for this week, I started in and hopefully this gives you a chuckle.  Is there a lesson in here somewhere?  Probably but I am not going to look for it.  So if you find a lesson, let me know.

Celebrate each day and stock up on left handed toothbrushes, hair brushes, silverware and scissors.  You just never know when you might need them.  You might want to practice using the left handed silverware.  Or go back to math class and study angles because everything sure is backwards.

A FAR COUNTRY

I love to travel!  It started slow.  One very tiny trip.  Another small trip two years later.  I knew I wanted to travel but there was also a necessary item called money.  We did not have much of it!  A few years later made numerous trips to Florida because that is where hubby’s uncle lived.  Eventually –

Eventually, as we saved a bit here and there, we expanded our horizons.  Some women shop.  I put money back for vacations.  Some kids got toys for Christmas.  One year, our kids got a cooler, a two gallon water jug, an atlas, a couple of really bright flashlights and a newspaper grill.  (Yes it is a real thing.)  I never thought how that would sound when they went back to school and were asked, “What did you get for Christmas?”  I am not sure how they responded but I bet the other kids felt sorry for them.  I mean, who wants an atlas under the tree?

Thankfully, hubby finally realized vacations were going to happen so he might as well relax and enjoy our adventures.  He has fun as I navigate him onto interstates, two lane highways and dirt roads.  The dirt roads always came as a surprise.  Somehow, I always think a tiny line in the atlas only means less blacktop.  We have been on one lane roads and extremely crooked roads.  I swear they do not look that crooked in the atlas.  Have those atlas people ever driven on the Going to the Sun Road or US 191 from north to south?  Now that I have an iPad, I can see exactly what we are in for and warn him in advance.  No!  I do not route him to a more direct route.  What fun would that be?

I am one state and a few islands ahead of Bill.  Silly man likes to keep his feet on the ground and would not fly to Hawaii nor sail off into the sunset.  We have been very blessed to travel to lands near and far. 

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A minister was talking about the parable of the prodigal son and said that “distant country” or “far country” meant being separated from God.  I had never thought about it that way.  I just thought the young son left town, didn’t do so great and came home. 

My next thought was THANK YOU LORD THAT WHEN I HAVE BEEN IN A FAR COUNTRY I WAS NOT SEPARATED FROM YOU!!!

What followed in my head was a whirlwind of thoughts. 

-          Traveling does not separate you from God.

-          You could be separated from God while sitting in your easy chair.

-          Oh, I never want to be separated from God.

-          But how can I be separated when God is always with me?

-          What would it feel like to be separated from God?

-          What if you had never known God?

-          What?  If?  How? 

Slowly, my mind decided the word separated is a place I never want to be.  But guess what – IT AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN!! 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:  “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:31-39

Of all things I might think I need to worry about, being separated from God is not one of them.  With Jesus as my Lord, I am a conqueror!  It does not say this or that can separate me.  It says NEITHER and NOR.  Those words mean this sheep is never – NEVER – separated from God.  Not when I am in my easy chair and not when I am thousands of miles away.

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This picture is titled The Glory of God.

This Glorious God loves you and you are never separated from Him!!!

THE MAGIC 8 BALL

There was an article on what you could take on a plane with you and guess what was on the no-no list. ….. A Magic 8 Ball! 

From the TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION:

Magic 8 Ball

Carry On Bags:  No        Checked Bags:  Yes

For Carry-on bags: We asked the Magic 8 Ball and it told us…Outlook not so good!

For Checked bags: We asked the Magic 8 Ball and it told us…It is certain!

Who knew the TSA had such a sense of humor?

I had a Magic 8 Ball.  It was a long time ago, but I remember asking it a question:  Will I pass the English test?  Then I would turn the ball over and look at the answer.  NO?  What do you mean no?  That is not the answer I wanted.  So, I would keep turning the ball over until it came up yes. 

It seems many people use the Bible like a Magic 8 Ball.  Maybe I should try that.  I do have a lot of questions.  (I promise to use the scripture my finger lands on the first time!)

Will this experiment turn out as I expect? === When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”  John 21:15 === I must admit it took three times.  First try my finger landed on a description of the book of Esther instead of a scripture.  Second try my finger landed on a blank part of a page.  Third try and I am not sure how this answers my question.  Maybe a different question.

This will be a simple yes/no question:  Will it rain tomorrow? === The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the LORD will praise him – may your hearts live forever!  Psalm 22:26 === Well…..the poor will eat and be satisfied could be taken that the rain came and the crops were abundant and, therefore, even the poor will have food.  Sorta.  I could make it apply to my question.

Let’s try another question:  Should I go to church? === BIG DISCLAIMER:  I wrote the question.  Closed my eyes.  Opened the Bible.  Put my finger on the last part of Acts 11:17:  who was I to think that I could oppose God?” 

And God put his 2 X 4 down and said, “Mary, you are kidding right?  Is this how I want you to read my Word?  I whacked you with this verse so you would stop using the Wisdom of my Word like a silly Magic 8 Ball.”

But God, that 8 Ball was fun and …..

“Oh my goodness.  Look at Genesis 1:1.  What does it say?”

In the beginning God ..

“Stop right there.  Does it say in the beginning the Magic 8 Ball ..?”

No, but I was just …..

“Remember, My Word is true.  Unchanging.  Now go read Psalm 139.  I know it is your favorite.”

With that God turned to Gabriel and said, “Do you think she gets it?”

With a smile, Gabriel answered, “It is certain.”

BEGINNINGS

Tonight there is a new beginning.  Our grandson graduates from high school.  He will begin a new part of his life.  Going from high school to college might not qualify as new to some.  He will exchange one set of classes for another.  One set of teachers for another.  He will study in a different location, but he WILL study.  Grandma will make sure. 

There will be major changes.  Although he will be surrounded by people, he will leave his brothers behind.  He will not have his mommy looking over his shoulder nor his daddy setting a curfew.  He will begin to control his own life.  He will keep track of his own schedule and when reports are due.  (To be honest, this grandson already does that.)  He will be – are you ready?  He will be responsible for himself! 

Responsibility – for sure a new beginning.

This makes me think about all my new beginnings.  Do not run in fear.  I am not going to tell you all of them!

Graduation:  I was sooooo happy to graduate.  I love to learn but I never did like school.  I love to read, but was forced to pick from a list created by someone who had no idea what my interests were.  I love numbers but could not understand why I needed to learn all those formulas when they were right there in the book.  I wanted to play drums but was told girls do not play drums.  For sure I was not the cheerleader type, the choir director ran when she saw me coming and I had to keep my shoes on.  I do want you to know I was a very well behaved.  A few of us skipped out on an assembly and the principal marked me present because he just knew the teacher missed me.  I did not correct him.  Graduation!  YES.  But the real reason…..

Love and Marriage:  Well, first came business school until I got a job paying $90 a week.  I had gone to business school long enough to know $ 90 a week in beat $90 a month out for school.  And that $90 a week sure beat the 35¢ an hour as a car hop.  Of course there were tips at the car hop job.  And a good lookin guy in a really cool, black car.  A first date, a few more and wham.  He was mine.  First came love, then came marriage, then came

A Boy:  I had never even babysat!  And there were no classes at the local hospital.  This beginning did not come with instructions.  Feeling really sharp pain in the middle of the night.  Hospital.  Child.  Home.  What if I stick him?  (We used cloth diapers and pins back in the dark ages.  No fake diaper with Velcro)  What if I drop him?  A bath?  I have to give him a bath?  Ok.  It was not really that bad.  I fell in love that little guy the minute I laid eyes on him.  I rocked him.  I read him stories.  And thought he looked absolutely adorable in bib overalls.  Oh my ..

A Girl:  Then there were two of those little people.  But this one was a girl.  With hair that needed combed and put into pigtails.  A sweet little thing that loved to climb.  I never knew where I would find her.  Often it was in the doctor’s office getting stitches!  She would put her dishes in a dump truck.  She carried her dolls upside down.  She carried a cat in the crook of her arm and squeezed until its eyes were ready to pop out.

New Homes:  A home is where you hang your hat and, during my adult life and if I wore a hat, it would have hung in seven different homes.  I never minded moving.  It is a great way to thin out possessions, meet new people and celebrate new memories.

Retirement:  Talk about a change.  Yes, we still do some real estate sales, but no more sitting at a desk because I have to.  Now I google away for fun.  Or to get facts because I am battling with our local school board.  Now I can read whatever I want from my own list.  I do not care how to find the square root of anything.  We can go on vacation when we want and do not have to worry about getting reports out.  I can write this blog and let the cleaning wait until whenever.  And I can go to a high school graduation tonight.

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This has absolutely no point.  It is about beginnings.  It is about life.  Oh, …..

Maybe it does have a point.  Each day is a new beginning.  It is full of wonder.  Excitement.  Joy.  Calm.  Trouble.  Each day is a new beginning and an opportunity.  Enjoy it.  Be good enough to get marked present the only time you skip school, read those crazy words in Dr. Seuss (with sound effects), help load toy dishes into a toy dump truck, do not get stuck in comfortable and relax.