Survived the first of several trips. I ended up taking only two bags for three people. I did good, huh?
My blog today is not about my trip, but about the journey before the trip. I had made a commitment at church to take care of Operation Christmas Child and realized two days before I was to leave that I had not done a thing and I was going to be out of town for the next two weekends. The project is to be done by the 12th of November. I was so upset with myself. I am normally in “control” and on top of things, but this really slipped my mind. This got to me and to my heart. I wasn’t sure what to do and I began to have a small nervous breakdown. I have wonderful friends at church and one of them, Debbie, took the reins and rallied the troops. I am so thankful for our church, but more importantly for the love that Christ has put in each of our hearts. Because of this love we do not let each other hurt or fail.
Thank you Deb, you are great! Thank you God for putting wonderful people in my life! We should all remember, but especially me, that we are not in this alone. We just need to ask for help, even if you don’t know what kind of help you need.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
To Trip or not to Trip
Why is it that when you are getting ready to go on a trip you drive yourself insane trying to get ready? I’m worn out before I go and worn out when I get back, soooooo, I’m wondering what is the point? Yes most of the time I have a great time and see some wonderful things and experience great joys, but maybe I would see wonderful things and experience great joys right here at home.
I’m thinking if everyone else would go on a vacation and leave me here by myself, say for a week, no make it two, then I would be one happy camper. For this to become my perfect fantasy it would be necessary for them to wash their clothes and get them packed and don’t forget when they get back they have to wash them again and put them away.
When I was young it was nothing for me to hop in the car and take off somewhere. There were a lot of times I didn’t even know where I was headed until I got there. But now, I seem to freak out and try to remember every little thing that I could possibly need and pack it. Four pieces of luggage later for a weekend outing and I’m ready to go! Oh girl, get over yourself! Are you nuts? YES! Last year when I went to Hawaii, I was 1 pound under the overlimit weight for my luggage and I had the maximum number of pieces. All I kept thinking of was what was I going to do with everything I buy over there. I began to make plans with others on the trip with fewer pieces than mine, so I could use their limit.
I have several trips coming up and I need to get a handle on my sanity! I don’t need to concern myself with every little thing. I do want to go and have a good time and have memories that more than likely I’ll forget when I’m 70 with Alzhiemers. I wonder what my hubby would say if I told him I’m not packing anything, we’ll buy what we need when we get there. Maybe put the freaking out on him instead of me!
I’m thinking if everyone else would go on a vacation and leave me here by myself, say for a week, no make it two, then I would be one happy camper. For this to become my perfect fantasy it would be necessary for them to wash their clothes and get them packed and don’t forget when they get back they have to wash them again and put them away.
When I was young it was nothing for me to hop in the car and take off somewhere. There were a lot of times I didn’t even know where I was headed until I got there. But now, I seem to freak out and try to remember every little thing that I could possibly need and pack it. Four pieces of luggage later for a weekend outing and I’m ready to go! Oh girl, get over yourself! Are you nuts? YES! Last year when I went to Hawaii, I was 1 pound under the overlimit weight for my luggage and I had the maximum number of pieces. All I kept thinking of was what was I going to do with everything I buy over there. I began to make plans with others on the trip with fewer pieces than mine, so I could use their limit.
I have several trips coming up and I need to get a handle on my sanity! I don’t need to concern myself with every little thing. I do want to go and have a good time and have memories that more than likely I’ll forget when I’m 70 with Alzhiemers. I wonder what my hubby would say if I told him I’m not packing anything, we’ll buy what we need when we get there. Maybe put the freaking out on him instead of me!
Weekly Bible Verse
"As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you." (Isaiah 66:13)
Through every change, challenge, and triumph, God is with me. God is the source of strength that enables me to go on in life and to keep on keeping on.
Every day brings change of some kind. Yet God's presence continually reminds me that through change I am growing wiser. I enjoy learning more about myself and the world in which I live.
No matter what is happening in my life right now--whether I am trying to work through a challenge or experiencing a triumph of mind, body, and spirit--I am always in God's presence, always filled with God's light and energy.
God comforts me and inspires me. I move forward to the greater blessings that are awaiting me.
Through every change, challenge, and triumph, God is with me. God is the source of strength that enables me to go on in life and to keep on keeping on.
Every day brings change of some kind. Yet God's presence continually reminds me that through change I am growing wiser. I enjoy learning more about myself and the world in which I live.
No matter what is happening in my life right now--whether I am trying to work through a challenge or experiencing a triumph of mind, body, and spirit--I am always in God's presence, always filled with God's light and energy.
God comforts me and inspires me. I move forward to the greater blessings that are awaiting me.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Women's Dinner Party
I started out inviting women to a dinner party. I had a week to prepare, okay 5 days. I am such a procrastinator that making the decision on what to have took until the night before. Even then I changed my mind three times. I wasn’t sure how many of the women I invited would show up, but at last count it was between 8 and 12. My next thoughts were where I am going to sit them. I have a downstairs den with a table that can sit 6 comfortably. No problem, I’ll fit 8 there and we’ll be “cozy”. If I have more than that, I’ll just set up a card table and call them the kids. You know when you use to go to your grandmothers for thanksgiving and you had to sit at the kids table in the living room. I am so thankful that I did not have to make that decision since I knew by noon that 7 were coming. Thank you Lord for making it cozy.
Okay so now I have to get off work and go to the store. This all started at 12:30. Dinner party at 7:00. This can be done, I mean come on “Martha” does it all the time in one hour, right? Off to the store. I have my cookbook with me and continue to refer to it for ingredients. Did you know you can’t always get what you want when you walk into Kroger? I was sure that they would have everything in my cookbook ingredient list. But nooooooooooo, they don’t have watercrest. Well if I’d know this I could have pulled some from the creek last week. Okay no problem we’ll go with spinach.
Shopping done. I had the foresight to order flowers two days before, so off I go to pick them up at the florist. I get there and the door is locked. No, no, no! I proceed around back to beat on their back door. No one comes. I see two young people come from the front. My first thoughts, they have robbed the store and the people are inside tied up. I wonder if I can still get to my arrangement. They weren’t tied up and the door mysteriously was no longer locked. I got my arrangement.
Home! Unload! What to cook first? Again I think to Martha and decide to prepare my table first. Beautiful! Dessert, it takes two hours to set up, so get her done! No problem. I’m doing good, I’m even cleaning up as I’m going. Then things begin to get chaotic. It is 5:45 and I am just finishing the salad and homemade dressing (so Martha like). The next thing I know I’m actually throwing things in the kitchen. I have a small kitchen and when you are preparing for 8, it gets messy! No longer am I concerned with cleaning up as I go. I just want to go! Guests begin to arrive and I’m not finished cooking. Not a problem they jump in and help. My kitchen looked like a tornado went through.
What do you get when you put 8 women in a room together for dinner? Lots of laughs and friendship. I enjoyed talking and laughing and forgetting about everything else for awhile. I have wonderful friends that pitched in to help and I am grateful to all who supported my attempts at being Martha like. It was a very good meal and even if it wasn’t just like “Martha” would do, it was well worth the effort. I just hope the next time I have a dinner party I will have room enough to invite three times as many women, for three times the laughs.
Okay so now I have to get off work and go to the store. This all started at 12:30. Dinner party at 7:00. This can be done, I mean come on “Martha” does it all the time in one hour, right? Off to the store. I have my cookbook with me and continue to refer to it for ingredients. Did you know you can’t always get what you want when you walk into Kroger? I was sure that they would have everything in my cookbook ingredient list. But nooooooooooo, they don’t have watercrest. Well if I’d know this I could have pulled some from the creek last week. Okay no problem we’ll go with spinach.
Shopping done. I had the foresight to order flowers two days before, so off I go to pick them up at the florist. I get there and the door is locked. No, no, no! I proceed around back to beat on their back door. No one comes. I see two young people come from the front. My first thoughts, they have robbed the store and the people are inside tied up. I wonder if I can still get to my arrangement. They weren’t tied up and the door mysteriously was no longer locked. I got my arrangement.
Home! Unload! What to cook first? Again I think to Martha and decide to prepare my table first. Beautiful! Dessert, it takes two hours to set up, so get her done! No problem. I’m doing good, I’m even cleaning up as I’m going. Then things begin to get chaotic. It is 5:45 and I am just finishing the salad and homemade dressing (so Martha like). The next thing I know I’m actually throwing things in the kitchen. I have a small kitchen and when you are preparing for 8, it gets messy! No longer am I concerned with cleaning up as I go. I just want to go! Guests begin to arrive and I’m not finished cooking. Not a problem they jump in and help. My kitchen looked like a tornado went through.
What do you get when you put 8 women in a room together for dinner? Lots of laughs and friendship. I enjoyed talking and laughing and forgetting about everything else for awhile. I have wonderful friends that pitched in to help and I am grateful to all who supported my attempts at being Martha like. It was a very good meal and even if it wasn’t just like “Martha” would do, it was well worth the effort. I just hope the next time I have a dinner party I will have room enough to invite three times as many women, for three times the laughs.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Death
Death….oh what a subject. Our family recently had a death in the “extended” family and I found it very strange and awkward. We have not seen “these people” in 9 years. What do you say? Glad to see you got the names in the obituary correct. Inside joke! I’m sure she is in a better place. The problem, I’m not sure where she is. Is she in a better place? I don’t know. I don’t know what she believed or even if she did believe.
So there we are wondering what do we do now. The service begins and there is a “pastor” reading the short version of a eulogy and asks us to bow our heads to pray. He begins his prayer and then he stumbles over a few words, which he goes back and corrects, when it dawns on me he is reading his prayer. Then a woman in a wheelchair is rolled up front and center and she starts reading a prepared statement about being in the family for the last 41 years. She then reads Psalms 23 (The Lord is my shepherd…) and reads the Lords Prayer, which she didn’t even finish. She got to “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and then Amen”. She actually said, "and then Amen". She then begins to sing a bluegrassy gospel song and is joined by another woman who appeared out of nowhere. She received several amen’s and was rolled away. The whole time we have two ladies behind us critiquing everything being said and done. (kind of like what I am doing now) After a few more songs from somewhere behind us another preacher approaches the podium. This one has decided that since he has an audience he will let us know where he preaches and what the address is. He really did seem to be a Godly man and has a real passion for reaching the lost. That was his sermon, not eulogy, but sermon. He did warn us from the beginning, he said, “I don’t preach for the dead, I preach for the ones left behind”. I really think that he didn’t know her and was hoping to reach a few who didn’t know Jesus. I am all for that, but it all was so strange.
We decided not to go to the graveside service. I was quick to blame my sister and brother for our unwillingness to go watch this lady be buried beside my father. Yes some would say she was our step-mother, but that would really be stretching it. Again I say, it was all so strange.
I do hope I haven’t offended anybody or came across as judging others; I just tried to recap the events which took place. I want everyone who reads this to know, don’t throw together a funeral for me. If need be keep me on ice until you have all the mourners paid for and all the preachers and singers have had enough time to practice. The preacher is right, funerals are not for the dead, but for the living. So live it up at mine, I will be in a better place, this I can assure you of.
So there we are wondering what do we do now. The service begins and there is a “pastor” reading the short version of a eulogy and asks us to bow our heads to pray. He begins his prayer and then he stumbles over a few words, which he goes back and corrects, when it dawns on me he is reading his prayer. Then a woman in a wheelchair is rolled up front and center and she starts reading a prepared statement about being in the family for the last 41 years. She then reads Psalms 23 (The Lord is my shepherd…) and reads the Lords Prayer, which she didn’t even finish. She got to “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and then Amen”. She actually said, "and then Amen". She then begins to sing a bluegrassy gospel song and is joined by another woman who appeared out of nowhere. She received several amen’s and was rolled away. The whole time we have two ladies behind us critiquing everything being said and done. (kind of like what I am doing now) After a few more songs from somewhere behind us another preacher approaches the podium. This one has decided that since he has an audience he will let us know where he preaches and what the address is. He really did seem to be a Godly man and has a real passion for reaching the lost. That was his sermon, not eulogy, but sermon. He did warn us from the beginning, he said, “I don’t preach for the dead, I preach for the ones left behind”. I really think that he didn’t know her and was hoping to reach a few who didn’t know Jesus. I am all for that, but it all was so strange.
We decided not to go to the graveside service. I was quick to blame my sister and brother for our unwillingness to go watch this lady be buried beside my father. Yes some would say she was our step-mother, but that would really be stretching it. Again I say, it was all so strange.
I do hope I haven’t offended anybody or came across as judging others; I just tried to recap the events which took place. I want everyone who reads this to know, don’t throw together a funeral for me. If need be keep me on ice until you have all the mourners paid for and all the preachers and singers have had enough time to practice. The preacher is right, funerals are not for the dead, but for the living. So live it up at mine, I will be in a better place, this I can assure you of.
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