SOOOOOO Fluffy!

 I just went to see Despicable Me.  Okay, okay, I know it was made for kids, but I haven't laughed that hard in such a long time.  It's a wonderful movie and the only thing that is actually human in it are the voices behind the characters.  The whole thing is absolutely wonderful from start to finish and the littlest of the girls, Agnes, is just about as cute as they get!  She loves unicorns and absolutely has a fit when she gets a unicorn as big as she is and announces to the world "it's so fluffy, I'm gonna die".  You have to go see it.  Don't worry, there are plenty of other "grown-ups" there without their kids.  Because every once in awhile, we have to be a kid again, too.

Do you realize that I am this excited about a movie that was entirely computer generated!  Amazing what they can do.  Thanks to some computer generated kids and a lovable old villain, I think I can safely say that I am ready to tackle my weekend.  Full steam ahead!

Little Agnes has her "fluffy" unicorn, her kitten book and all of those cute little yellow minions.  Almost makes me wish that I had some of those little yellow guys running around my house.  Huggable, loveable, cute as a button.  No, I'm not writing this whole blog about those delightful characters, but sitting there thinking about the movie reminded me of some of the things that I grew up "hugging" the stuffing out of and loving them until they absolutely fell apart.

There was a cartoon when I was little called "Beanie and Cecil" and I loved it!  It was all about the adventures of a little boy and his sea serpent.  For Christmas that year, Santa brought me a Cecil stuffed animal that had a pull string and would talk.  I thought it was so cool.  Its body kind of looped around and if you were small enough, it would almost fit around your waist like an innertube.


Some of my toys made it into the next century, but with a lot of changes and upgrades.  I had one of the "original" Barbies with that black and white striped swimsuit and the real earring studs that you could take out and she had natural looking blonde hair pulled up into a tight pony tail.  The ones that they make now have that awful shiny plastic hair.  Just makes me shudder.  I had a Barbie house that was made of cardboard  and it folded out and made this huge house.  Now, they are snap together plastic with working elevators.  Sometimes I wish I still had some of those old toys.  In mint condition, they are worth a fortune, but not so much interested in how many thousands I could get for them in as much as I want to step back in time and be a little kid again.  Wouldn't that be so cool, if we could just close our eyes and pop back in time and play with our old toys whenever we wanted.

When I was growing up, I saw so much incredible technology and progress happen right in front of my eyes.  It's even more amazing for people of parent's ages and older.  We really take so much for granted now because technology is moving almost faster than we can keep up with it, let alone comprehend it.

Hot summers meant you left your windows open a crack and used a fan, or for that matter, we were just used to it.  We played outside from morning til night.  It was safe for us to take off on our bikes and ride all over town and play, just as long as we were home when we were supposed to be.  I remember one little town in particular, in northern Ohio.  It was a very little town!  Our neighborhood had slate sidewalks.  You don't see that anymore!  Great for roller skating, oh yes, and roller skates fit over your shoes and you had a key that you wore on a ribbon or a shoestring around your neck.  I remember one house that had a HUGE Colorado blue spruce in the front yard, and more than once, I climbed so high, it felt like I was on top of the world.

I remember sitting at the top of the steps to the basement and playing with my new "slinky" toy.  Simple things were so much fun.

I walked to and from school.  Sometimes, I would have enough change left that I would stop at the corner store and get an orange sherbert push-up!  Now, that's something they still make, but I don't think they taste quite as good as they did when I was a kid.

This town was small enough, that we were able to walk to church on Sunday mornings.  I remember snowfalls with drifts so high, that they covered the tops of the chain link fence in my grandparent's back yard.  On more than one occasion, their little Schnauzer, Roger, made a mad dash and escaped.

I also remember when my grandparents got one of the first color television sets.    I remember stretching out on the floor and watching Bonanza in full color!

Okay, flashback over for just a moment.  I'm back in 2010 sitting in my office typing on a computer that is not much bigger than a tool box.  I have a flat screen monitor that takes up very little space.  What's weird is that I remember when computers took up entire floors of buildings and had reel to reel tape feeds.

Here we go again.  Remember your first job and all of the things about it?  One of my first jobs was in a local department store working in the gift wrap center.  We didn't have ready made bows.  We made them ourselves.  At checkout time, we used a monstrous manual NCR cash register that was as big as a car!  Now look at them.  They are tiny, sometimes within a computer, electronic, portable and have amazing functions with memories.  Almost scary if you put too much thought into it.

Whoa, I'm tired.  Time travel is exhausting.  I could go on and on with my memories.  One special one leads to another.  They are endless and most of them bring huge smiles to my face.  You know, my kids have a lot to talk about and remember from their childhoods, but with as much technology that I have witnessed in my 57 years, I can't even begin to imagine what more my kids and my future grandkids will see.  What I see now as an absolute wonder is going to be one of their memories of something very common, old and out of date.

Regardless of how much our world has changed and the fact that time really does seem to be moving faster as I get older, there are a things in each of our lives that are constants.  Our family for one.  If you are my age and blessed as I am to have both parents living, don't let a day go by that you don't give thanks for them and be sure to tell them regularly how very special they are to you.  Tell them thank you.  Tell them you love them.  If you parents and grandparents have passed, you know, you can still tell them.  Just whisper it with your eyes closed.  They will hear you and they will send the same back to you.  You'll know it, too.  It's that warm spot in your heart when you think about them and the special memories.

For many of us, we have children that are a constant, even though you can't really put a brick on their heads to slow down their growth.  No matter how big they get, they will always be your children, and don't let a day go by that you don't give thanks for them and be sure to tell them regularly how very special they are to you.  Tell them thank you.  Tell them you love them.

The third constant in many of our lives is our belief in a Deity.  God is there for us 24/7/365.  He doesn't move, He doesn't change his number, He never gives up on us.  WE ARE HIS KIDS!  He has watched us grow and make mistakes, big and little.  He has watched us grow, learn, live, love, rejoice, grieve, prosper, suffer, worship, share, succeed and fail.  Don't let a day go by that you don't give thanks to Him and tell him regularly how very special He is to you.  Tell Him thank you.  Tell Him you love Him.  But, you know what?  He already knows that!

I think I'm going to call it a day.  It's been a good one, too.  I got a refresher course in Geometry and was actually able to remember enough of it that I helped a young man with his homework!  Go figure!  Talk about going back in time!  You don't even want to know how long it's been and it wouldn't be nice of you to ask, so don't!

The point of all of this is simple.  Sometimes, we just need to make time slow down and let us catch up anad one of the best ways to do that is to use your time machine.  Take time to close your eyes and just remember.  If you see a cute, computer generated movie that makes you all "fluffy" inside, look at that as a special gift and let it take you back to a time when you can remember your own stuffed "unicorn" or whatever it was that made you feel safe, and warm and loved.  Play with those old toys in your time machine, and then dash back to 2010 and give thanks to the One that made it ALL possible!  Just be home in time for dinner!

"It's so fluffy!"  Sweet little Agnes, you have no idea just how precious you are, even if you are just a cartoon character.  You took me back to a time when life seemed simpler and you made me remember some wonderful things.  So, pardon me while I go scoop up my own "fluffy" unicorn and head off to bed.  I have sweet dreams and memories ahead and a play date with some great old toys and friends.  Tomorrow is yet another day to experience our crazy fast paced world and give thanks for that miraculous time machine in our minds.

Now, it's your turn.  YOU go remember something wonderful, grab your own "fluffy" unicorn and let it carry you away to your own sweet dreams and simpler times!

Good night y'all!
Kaye

What He Said - From Aesop to Matthew

Did you ever hear the term "wolf in sheep's clothing"?  It like many other frequently used quotes has an origin that goes back to over 500 years before the birth of Christ.  It is also referenced in the New Testament in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, verse 15.  However, there is no difference at all in what the two translations mean.

Aesop's story evolved around a wolf that disguised himself as a sheep in order to be able to enjoy a fine meal of mutton.  The biblical reference warns us to "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves".  

We endeavor to teach our children this as they are growing up.  We try to teach them the difference between someone who is trustworthy and potentially a good friend versus someone who is an opportunist and guising himself in your presence to gain rich's and spoils at your expense.  The rough part is that even as adults, we have to learn this lesson over and over again.

We may become more skeptical and less trusting, but at some point, that big bad wolf is going to reach out and snatch our very soul from us.  Even if only for a brief moment, I guarantee you, it has happened to each and every one of us at some point in our lives.  It could be that bully on the playground with little ones, the jock that befriends the geek in high school only to make a mockery of him at a later time, the co-worker that chums up to you in order to determine your weak point and then takes advantage of it.  Any one of us has been the recipient of the cruel attack of that wolf, but we are also human, and at one point or another in our lives, sadly, I bet we've been the wolf, too.  This all goes back to something I said several blogs earlier - can't we just all get along?

Throughout our lives, we should all have a passion.  We are not just a body.  We have a soul and within our soul lives our passion.  Within each of us is the ability to make a difference in so many ways.  Exist to be passionate!  Make a difference in not just your own existence, but the very breath of life of each and every person around you.  This crazy world of ours is full of false prophets, of wolves in sheep's clothing.  Set out to be the sheep or a shepherd, not the wolf.  By your example, others will follow.

As far as the wolves out there are concerned, take off that musty rented costume.  There's a lot to be learned before you have the right to howl at the moon.  

In Galatians 6:14, Paul says "May it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."  I think what Paul is saying is this - by boasting only in the cross of Jesus and making IT your ONLY focus or passion, you will then be able to freely enjoy all of the good things that He has in mind for you and they will begin to will fall into place.  I am just as guilty as is the next person when it comes to this, and I openly admit it.  I am not proud of some of the things that I've said and done during my life.  But I do know this much, I don't want to be the wolf.  I want to be able to bask in glory, reap my rewards in Heaven and be a sheep with the greatest Shepherd of all.

Be a cross centered person in every facet of your life and it will help you to keep the wolf at bay.  

Remember, Jesus charges us all to "feed my sheep".

Restored and at peace,

Me

Answering A Call

In the fall of 1997, I applied for and was accepted as the Director of Children's ministries at our church.  It was a position that I poured my heart and soul intofor multiple hours every week.  I loved it, loved everything about it.  I loved reaching out to kids and bringing them into God's word.  I loved the kids and the ministry became an extension of me and me of it.  It was one of the most awesome periods from my life, but, also one of the most humbling life experiences ever.

A dear, dear friend of mine is a minister and will be ordained this December.  We had worked together for many years doing event decor, balloons and balloon drops for New Year's, etc..  But through our friendship, I began to realize that there was a part of me that was being nourished and nurtured and drawn closer and closer to my God.  Several years before, I had a dream in which God spoke to me, actually spoke to me.  I couldn't see His face, but the only image I remember was one of serenity and light.  He was calling me to service, calling me to ministry, and not realizing the magnitude of that dream and that spoken voice, I told Him no.  It wasn't until a few years later, that I realized just what He was calling me to do.  Ministry is different for each one of us, and it doesn't always involve attending seminary and having a degree.  I didn't know then that most people never actually get to hear God's voice, and just how blessed I was.

I've always been the type of person that if given a stage and an audience, I would entertain.  In my school days, I was in every production, took all of the required courses and had intended on being a star student at the Conservatory at the University of Cincinnati.  They even offered me a pretty substantial scholarship, which after months of thinking about it, I turned down.  We will talk about what I did from that point on in another blog because it is a story all to its own, but suffice it to say, my family wasn't happy with me for the decision that I made.  We won't discuss how many years it's been, either.  So, just don't go there.

I grew up in the Episcopal church, was involved on the Diocesan Youth Council, organized all types of activities for the other youth a not just my church, but all over southern Ohio as well.  I had a grandfather that was a Lay leader in a small country church in northern Ohio and growing up, I was always immersed in God's word in one way or another.  What I didn't know at the time, was that God was leading me in a direction of service that would become a strong calling in my later life.  Enough about that for now, but it was a beginning.

So far in this story, we have two elements for this formula, and we will soon complete it with the third element.  I write.  I've always enjoyed writing, and it was during the first few months as the Children's Director, that I again had a few of those middle of the night conversations with God, but this time, I didn't hear His voice.  He implanted thoughts, ideas, music and more in my mind.  For awhile, I didn't really know what to make of all of it, and then one day, it was quite literally like a light bulb went off over my head.  All I can say is "thank Heavens for computers and Microsoft Word", because without them, I would have had terminal writer's cramp.  The only catch to those Divine downloads was that they nearly always came in the wee hours of the morning.  Ignoring them at first, I would attempt to go back to sleep, but it was if He was tapping me on the shoulder and saying "get up, I need you to do this NOW".  You know, it's absolutely amazing how much you can accomplish between 3:00 am and sunrise and still be chipper and perky when you're done.  That's because I HAD HELP!

It wasn't long after starting this ministry at church, that I began to take some of those middle of the night downloads and put them to use.  One Wednesday night for our Kids Klub, my friend visited with a trunk full of puppets, some magic tricks and entertained my Wednesday night group.  I watched their little faces go from nonchalant and bored to total amazement and enchantment at what they were seeing.  Soon after, we started planning our own Puppetry and Drama ministry that was an off shoot from the Children's Ministry.  The only catch was that it was for kids of all ages from 5 to 105.  For the next nearly 7 years, this crazy group of God loving children, young and old, practiced and toured and entertained and blessed.  Known as "The Joyful Noise", we performed at Christian music festivals, schools and churches in the Florida panhandle and Alabama.  We had so much fun and God drew so many people closer to Him through the silliness of our skits, the illusions and the somewhat whimsical, but evangelical outreach of our puppets and their alter egos, the kids!  At one point, we had 42 people that participated in this wonderful ministry.  Have you ever taken 42 people of all ages to Florida in 4 vans, 2 cars and a 16 foot trailer tailing behind one of the vans.   Our first aid kit usually always got used BEFORE we ever got out of Georgia.  A 6 hour drive generally turned into 8 to 10 and no one ever had to go the bathroom at the same time!  I loved it, absolutely every minute of it.

I was blessed to lay hands on people that were drawn to Jesus Christ through what we were doing.  I was even more blessed to see this group of kids that had been nurtured through this ministry, flock to the one person that was on their knees at the foot of the cross and crying out for salvation.  I was humbled and touched beyond all comprehension when these same kids gently laid their own hands on each person that sought their Savior through something that touched them in our performance.  I was blessed to be witness to not one, but countless miracles every single time we went out.  From the first show on, we closed every performance with an alter call and the puppets "singing" Shout to the Lord, and at the end of every show, I wept because I, myself, the leader of this little group was always overwhelmed at the beauty and the magnitude of what had just happened.  That has not ever changed.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, it says "to everything there is a season".  In 2004, I knew my "season" was coming to an end and God had other plans for me.  I left my position that August and walked away from it all.  It broke my heart, but, I knew it was time.

When you've been at the helm of a project for a long time, even though you know it's time to let it go, it's hard.  So, when I walked away, I walked away from every last bit of it.  I even looked at attending other churches, thought about applying for the same position at other churches.  It took me awhile to realize and accept that at least for right now, God had another direction for me to go, and that was getting my own kids through those awful teenage years and making my family stronger.

Well, time did its thing, and it flew by.  I really do think it goes faster as you get older.  My kids are grown, one is married to a wonderful young man that I am proud to call "son", and my son has accomplished milestones and graduated and is now in college.  Retirement looks promising in a few years, and I am looking forward to those days with my husband, my children and maybe someday grandchildren.  Things were good and looked to be good going forward.

Remember me telling you about those middle of the night "brainstorming downloads" between God and me?  Well in the fall of 2008, He let me know that it was time for a new chapter to begin and I was to be a part of it.  I got those wonderful puppets out of storage and started from scratch, well almost scratch.  Here we go again and with a whole new outlook, new faces, new ideas and new blessings.

It's true, you can't go back.  Things never really will be the way they used to be.  That's where that whole "season" thing comes to play.  I don't see our group ever really going on tour again, but who knows.  It is not our decision.  God knows what He's doing, and I will go where He leads me.  We've come through two full years of "newness" now.  Kids are doing what kids do really well.  They are growing up.  But something tells me that this new "season" hasn't quite run its course yet.  So, tonight, God and I are going to have a long talk about His plans and tomorrow is a new day.  I guess I will find out then, just what He has in mind for me and for my dear friends that have joined me in this ministry.

Dad, if you're calling, I'm answering.  I'll be waiting for Your call in the wee hours of the morning.  You won't get a busy signal or an answering machine, You will get my heart and my undivided attention.  Praise You and all glory to You!

Your child,
Kaye

To Every Thing There is a Season Ecclesiastes 3 To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

HOW RUDE!!! Karma Always Catches Up With You!

Just came home from a quick trip to the grocery store and I am fuming!

Some people are so rude and inconsiderate.  The last time I checked, the Earth revolved and rotated on an axis, not on the whims of certain people!

It was not bad enough that HE HAD 15 ITEMS IN THE 10 OR LESS LANE, but to add insult to injury, he had TWO SEPARATE ORDERS and paid for each of them with the EBT card.  I'm not against the use of Food Stamps and aid when it is deserved and truly needed, but prime black angus ground beef, and steaks and name brand everything.  Give me a break!  Then, this aggravating, disrespectful, world-revolves-around-me-attitude with legs, unloaded the rest of what was in his cart - the beer and cookout supplies AND left the empty cart sitting at the entrance to the lane, totally blocking anyone else from entering or even thinking about putting their groceries on the belt.

So, I gave him my stern mother look and gently pushed the cart until it barely nudged him.  Thought that might get his attention!  Oh, it did.  He pulled it forward a whole 5 inches, paid for his groceries, two different times and walked out of the store with the cart still in the middle of the checkout line!  HOW RUDE!!!

I spouted off to the poor girl at the checkout.  She agreed, but let me know that it happens all of the time.  Had I not been with my husband, I probably would have pushed his cart out to him in the parking lot and announced that "hey, you forgot something!"  Thank Heavens, my husband is more restrained than I tend to be, and really doesn't like confrontations.  But the real reason that I didn't chase down this idiot in the parking lot was because it was raining cats and dogs.  I can take some solace in knowing (and witnessed as well) that he had to skip through the parking lot with his 10 bags of government subsidized food and his beer.  He dashed puddles and walls of water falling from the sky and arrived at his Mercedes, soaked to the skin!  HA HA.  Karma!  I'm so bad.

I know we shouldn't smirk at other's misfortunes, but couldn't help myself when I saw that wet, lump mass of rudeness have to get his nice leather interior wet from his soaked clothes.  Okay, all together now, let's give it one great big "awe, poor baby".

Yes, I giggled and I got great sadistic pleasure out of knowing that after he put away his $100.00 worth of groceries, that he had to go out and probably apply leather dressing to his seats so they didn't get ruined.

Okay, I've vented enough.  I got my grrr's out, and if you happen to be the poor, pitiful man that obviously had no proper upbringing, gee honey, I'm soooooo sorry.  Next time, put your cart up!

ARK!
Acts of Random Kindness - the simplest and smallest deeds often make the most difference!

Night, y'all!
Katydid

College Is Calling!

Milestones come in all shapes and sizes and in a multitude of situations.  Today was a major event in my son's life.  He started back to college as a regular college student and not a dual enrollment student.  The rules changed, the structure changed and the expectations changed.  He has grown up and is turning into an adult right before my eyes.  Can it be?  Can this really be happening?

He actually asked to drive.  I was in shock.  He hates driving.  So, an hour in advance, we loaded up and headed out to the campus (which fortunately, is only 15 minutes from our house).  He was at the wheel, doing fairly well, but nervous and finally got us there in one piece, however, we really have to practice more, especially on parking in a full parking lot.  It was a bittersweet experience from start to finish.  Another one of those, taking responsibility for myself situations on his part and mom just sitting there with foot pushed to the floorboard on the invisible brake pedal and the pretend steering wheel clutched tightly in my white knuckled hands.  At that point, I stopped hyperventilating.  We had arrived safely and he was out of the car and heading towards the classroom building.

"See you at 10", I shouted.  

"See you mom, love you" came back to me.

This was a day that I really didn't think would ever happen, and here it was unfolding right before my eyes.  I love that kid!

By now, I've done everything a mom can do, I've quietly and inconspicuously worked out all of the kinks and hurdles to try and make this a positive experience for him.  He announced that he wants to drive as much as he can, so he can get his license by the end of the summer.  Obviously, we have to get in A LOT OF PRACTICE there!  I think the trauma of the trip today was due to first day nerves about his college classes.  We will get there.  It will happen.  Everyone should take lessons in determination from this kid.  I'm sorry, young man, because that is what he is now.

I watched as he walked into the building and realized that I had a tear running down my cheek.  I have got to stop this!  I will be a dehydrated mess by the end of the quarter if I keep this up.

I kept my phone by my side all evening.  My husband asked a dozen times, "have you heard from him yet?"  

"No".  I am under the firm belief that sometimes no news is good news.  

I had already decided that I was leaving at 9:30 to pick him up, in case they got out early, but they beat me to the punch and before I even had my keys in hand, he called and announced "I'm done.  Come get me."

Now, I've told you before that this "young man" is not afraid to be himself.  We coached before going to the college about the right time and the wrong time to "be yourself" and that an adult college situation may not be the time for his comical character to make an appearance.  We gave all of the solid reasons for that statement and it was accepted with a "yes ma'am".  I was hopeful that I would arrive and see him mingling with other students.  Heavy sigh, there he was stretched out on the sidewalk with his head on his book bag, "star gazing".

Obviously, his personality had totally taken over and ignored and blocked out all of the efforts from the earlier conversation we had.  I flipped out in the car on the way home and did the whole "what were you thinking speech" and the importance of acting like a grown up in this situation, and then I remembered the speech in his honor at the banquet for the graduates from his school, and suddenly, I felt very humbled in the presence of this fearless, spectacular young man sitting in the car with me, and I dropped the whole subject.

College is calling.  Yes it is, and it calls on him to do his best and learn and excel.  It is not calling to ask him to change who he is.  After all, I know a lot of grown ups that are kids at heart, myself included.  He wouldn't be the incredible person that he is without that carefree, comical spirit.

Love you son, and I am so proud of you!

Mom

Happy Birthday

Monday, July 5th is very special.  It is my husband's 58th birthday!  He was actually born over 2 weeks early, because on July 4th, 1952, his mother went rafting on the "hooch" and ate almost a whole watermelon!  There might be medical value to this for you docs out there.  None-the-less, he backed his way into this world and has celebrated life for 58 years.

I love this man more than he will ever, ever know.  You know the old saying that love grows?  It does.  It  grew with every moment we have ever shared together, good ones and the bad ones, too.

He is stubborn, set in his ways, not much for social situations, but definitely a homebody.  He is a talented guitarist, a wood craftsman and maniacal about our yard.  Don't let him paint, though, because a one day job will take him 3 weeks.  Don't misunderstand, he's very good at painting.  Everything must be perfect, taped, sanded, covered, meticulously finished down to the last detail.  I swear, he has never let a drop of paint fall from a brush that was in his hands!  My kitchen cupboards did not have doors for over a year.  In desperation, my daughter and I finally did it ourselves when he wasn't home.  We're stubborn too!

Getting older is something we all think about.  After all, considering the alternative, I think getting older is much preferred and heading in a rather positive direction.  We begin to notice a few more aches and pains and that maybe they don't go away as quick or completely as they used to.  Things sag, we get brown splotches, hair grays and thins and our memory is not always at its best.  But, getting older also has its perks!

Kroger, for example gives senior citizen discounts on Wednesday, which for some reason, they tend to give me without asking any more.  Oh well, in the times that we are in now, 5% is 5% and every little bit helps.  Of course, Social Security has started to send us our statements regularly so we can see just where we are!  That's a laugh!  AARP has been bombarding us for years to buy their supplemental insurance, burial insurance, and every other kind of insurance that someone could possibly need.   I just ignore those monthly mailers and toss them into the garbage can.  I'm not ready to admit yet, that I am joining the ranks of being old, with exception of course, to the discounts that some retailers offer us to placate us and make us feel special.

One such occasion occurred on my husband's 55th birthday.  He used to spend time with his mother on Wednesday nights during the summer.  They would go get a bite to eat, watch Lost or the Bachelor, then he would head home..  However, on the occasion of his 55th birthday, it just so happened that Kohls was having a BIG sale, so off they went to buy whatever item had to be purchased.  In his case, it was a massive stack of neatly bundled white wash clothes (which he uses to clean the spray starch out of HIS iron, I am probably the only person in the whole world that has neatly pressed damp white wash clothes lying in the laundry).  At the check out, his mother looked at him and reminded him that officially, he was now a senior citizen at Kohls.  Don't forget your discount!  His first official extra 5% on his first official senior citizen birthday!  I won't ever let him live it down as I am ornery like that!  It was so cute, he even called me while he was checking out to tell me about his newly acquired special discount.

I will let him sleep late in the morning.  Later in the day, we will be honoring him on his 58th birthday.  A nice cookout with the kids and then we will celebrate with a couple of memorable gifts that will only mean something to him.  Any guesses?  I would tell you, but he may read this before the big reveal.  Don't want to spoil the surprise!

So, if you get the chance, tell him Happy Birthday and many, many more!  I'd like to keep him around for a long, long time.

Happy Birthday, Spray Starch Man.  I Love You!

Kaye

In The Arms Of an Angel

One of my favorite movies of all time is "You've Got Mail".  I don't think that Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan could make a movie that didn't tug at your heart strings a little.  It's so sweet and romantic and it's predictable.  The soundtrack features Nilsson's "Remember" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and your heart melts.  You've got that lump in your throat, your eyes get misty and maybe a tear trickles down your cheek and you feel like a total sap, a 100% total sentimental fool.  But that's okay.  We don't see or hear enough of that type of sentimentality these days.  Sometimes, I think we really need to be reminded of the dearer, sweeter things of life, like love, simple beauty, sacrifice and happy endings.

If you've been following me on this "journal journey", you know very well by now, that I wear my heart on my sleeve.  I tear up at commercials that a lot of people would ignore, because I am that 1 out of 100 person that can't help but seeing an adorable baby and having an "awe"  quietly escape from my mouth.  The Hallmark commercials just absolutely do me in.  And to quote Nilsson, I "Remember".  I can't help it, that's just the way God hard wired me, so sometimes, I have sappy sleeves.  I have a soft spot as big as Texas and I look for the greater good in every situation that comes my way.  That's part of that "lemonade" mindset.  My glass is never less than half full - all the time.

Tom Hanks character, the big bad monopoly book store owner, has fallen in love with vulnerable Meg Ryan, the owner of a quaint little family owned bookstore that he has run out of business.  I've seen this film more times than I count, and it gets me every time, every single time.  I don't sit there watching it and say, "it's him, silly, it's him".  I sit there and watch it as if this were the first time I had ever seen it, like it is all fresh.

Then comes those commercials with Sarah McLachlan.  It goes something like this "Every day in America thousands of animals suffer from cruelty and neglect. Thousands were rescued last year, but for thousands of others help came too late."  They show numerous heart-wrenching pictures of dogs and cats that have been abused and they are all looking at me with those deep, sad eyes.  In the background, you hear McLachlan's voice singing her song "Angels".  That's it!  I'm toast.  If my throat didn't already feel like it had un-swallowable lumps in it already, it does now.  My heart is heavy, my eyes are teared up and it's about all I can do to sit there and subject myself to this commercial, so I look away and wipe my eyes.  They got me, and they got me good.  Unfortunately, they played that commercial at least 4 more times during the movie.  I finally started changing the station so I didn't have to see or hear it again.

Yes, the ASPCA gets a little bit of money from me once a year.  My daughter is just as bad, and has personally rescued, restored and found homes for more strays than I can count.

Advertising companies know our weak spots.  They know that songs like "Angel" will touch us.  They know that those Hallmark commercials are going to reach that soft spot in a lot of viewers.  Deep, sad eyes of abused animals are going to tug at our hearts.  They're good, they are really good at what they do - and they know it!

So, why didn't I just get up and change the channel, you ask?  Why did I subject myself to the "fuzzy moment's" of not just the movie, but the commercial?  The answer is simple, we all need that stuff from time to time.  We need it because we live in a world that can be and usually is just exactly opposite from those "fuzzy moments" a great deal of the time.

Several years ago, I was the Children's Minister at our church.  I served for 7 years.  During my service, we created a Puppet and Clown ministry and we toured every spring break.  We also went to churches in Atlanta and performed.   All of our comments and reviews were good, but what blew me away was the feedback that came from one church in particular in downtown Atlanta.  They thought we were too evangelical.  WHAT!  Isn't that kind of the point of the whole thing?  It's not just about silly skits, making kids laugh and magic tricks.  There's a message in everything we did.  I was dumbfounded.  Did this person totally miss the whole point of the performance?  If so, I was very sad for her.

This all brings me to the point of my mushy, sometimes evangelical rambling.  It's not just been about old movies and sappy commercials.  This is why, we can all be in the arms of an angel.  We all have tough moments when we need to be carried, when our burden is too much to bear on our own.  Those are the moments when our Angel lifts us high in His arms and lightens the load for us so that we can bear our burden with His help.  We all need to know that it's okay to ask for help.  It doesn't mean we're weak, it means we are human, and we are vulnerable in one way or another.  The He in my life is Jesus.  He is my rock, my salvation, my strength, my light, my truth.  He is my "Angel".  When He is not carrying me, He is walking right by my side.  We talk a lot, multiple times throughout the day and I tell Him "thank-you" every chance I get.

Something I like to share is "I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength", Philippians 4:13.  It's true.  It is my mantra.  If a situation arises that I think someone else needs to hear it, I quote it to them.  At my house, we call it 4:13-ing it.  I share the verse with them and let them know that they need to not only hear it, but they need to believe it - and, generally, I will then ask them to repeat it until they can say it with such strength and believability, that they have convinced me that they are ready to "walk on".  Does that make me too evangelical?  Maybe for some people.

God puts people in our path for a reason.  There is purpose behind absolutely everything that happens to us, sometimes we just don't know what that purpose is.  

So, as you make your way through this day and the next and so on, remember this - that the person standing in your path was put there for a reason.  Maybe you will find out why, maybe not.  Regardless, good or bad, be a "lemonade" person all of the time.  Look for the good in every situation and every person.  Maybe, just maybe they need to see that example so they can learn to do the same.  But most important of all, I am, you are, we are all "in the arms of an Angel".   "May you find some comfort there."

In His Glory~

Katydid

We Hold These Truths To Be Self-evident

What are you doing this Sunday?  Is there a family picnic, a parade, a trip to the lake and then fireworks?  Whatever you are planning, remember why this day is special and no matter what you do with the rest of this day, start it and end it by remembering and reflecting and pledging.  

Sunday is July 4th, 2010.  It is unlike any other Sunday that we will ever have again.  It is the 234th anniversary of the signing of one of one of the most magnificent documents ever written in this country of ours, The Declaration of Independence.  It is a document that, much like the Bible, is taken for granted.  Both contain powerful living words offering truths and promises and a way of life - Under God.

On January 14th, 1969, comedian Red Skelton offered his television audience a very uplifting version of the Pledge of Allegiance in which he explained word by word, the intention, the meaning and the depth of the entire Pledge.  This is how one of his teachers taught the Pledge to his class when Skelton was a young boy.  At its conclusion, Skelton noted that since that time, there were two states and two words added to the Pledge.  Those words are "Under God".  Remember starting every day in school by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance?  Remember?  As children, we used to also learn parts of the Declaration of Independence for recitation in class, the most widely repeated paragraph being this one:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Remember?  I know I learned it, had to recite it and never really understood its meaning until I was an adult.  This past week, a friend of mine posted several powerful videos on her Facebook profile, one of which was Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance.  I played it over and over and listened while I chatted with Jan.  We spoke of truth and its absence and that so many of us, literally, are starved for it.  We want our heritage, our tomorrows, our salvation, our nation.  We want our children and grandchildren to have a sound future with the freedom that we all grew up with.

Today, I'm not going to ramble and reminisce about silly things or even fond memories.  Instead, I want you to read the text of the Declaration of Independence and absorb it and think about it and share it with others.  I want you to remember the men and women who have and are still fighting to uphold our Constitution, our Declaration of Independence and the reason that we are The United States of America.  I want you to take time to talk to your "Creator" about your unalienable Rights, being Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Friends and family, please take a few moments to read from here on down.  It is your heritage and the reason for this day.   I have  given you the complete text of the Declaration as it was written.  If you haven't read it since you were in school, take time to read every word and digest it and reflect upon it and think about our tomorrows.  Are you doing your part to uphold the very substance  that our nation was founded on.  If not, why not?  Think about your future, your children's future and reflect upon your answers on this 234th anniversary of the birth of our nation this day and every day.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.


We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.


He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.


He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.


He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.


He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.


He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.


He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.


He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.


He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.


He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.


He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.


He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.


He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.


He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.


He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.


He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.


He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.


He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.


He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.


In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.


Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.


We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.


Remember, Reflect and Pledge!  Remember why we have this day, Reflect on the meaning of these words and what they represent, Pledge you allegiance to always honor and uphold your country and your heritage.


We hold these TRUTHS to be self-evident...........


God Bless America!
Katydid

Okay, So What Would You Do?

"What would you think if I sang out of tune,  Would you stand up and walk out on me?  Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song and I'll try not to sing out of key."

I have been  singing and humming this song for days.  It is making me crazy because I can't get it out of my head.  I've tried singing other songs, but I just keep going back to the beat and pleasant sing-songey melody and then I catch myself with my head gently bobbing from side to side and if I don't remember all the words, then I end up humming through part of it.  The bad part of this is, I don't know when I heard it recently to plant it so deeply in my brain that it has taken root and I cannot get it out of my head!!!!.  Literally, I was laying in bed last night and caught myself humming again!  Enough!  Enough!  Enough!

I am a baby boomer.  My generation has been witness to an unbelievable number of events, good and bad.  Some of them quite scary and others just incredible.  Of course, one major entertainment event that I remember is the night that the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.  February, 1964 and I remember all of it.  I was 10 and a smidge, a preteen of sorts and I thought these 4 guys from Liverpool were just absolutely the greatest thing I had ever seen.  Barbie, Ken and Midge took a back seat in my life for awhile.  I have an aunt that is 9 years older than me and we were as much like sisters at that point in my life as aunt and niece.  But we both agreed, these guys were really something!  I also remember quite well, the reactions that my parents and grandparents had when these 4 really, really cool guys tempted fate and dared to perform looking so "radically different".   After all, they all had LONG hair.  John Lennon and Paul McCartney were every young girls dream. This was a night that history was made not only for television but for the music industry in this country as well.

Funny, the things that really stand out in your mind as you get older.  I recently reconnected with one of my cousins that I grew up with and we just absolutely had a wonderful time "remembering" all the way down to the colored aluminum drinking glasses that his mother had in her kitchen, to the little portable reel to reel tape recorder that we used to do "Spotty on the Spot" interviews with "people on the street" (which were in actuality, the two of us making up really stupid characters and situations).

Time really does seem to move more quickly nowadays and memories flow so quickly from my brain, that some days, I don't think I can keep up with all of them.  That specifically, is one of the reasons that I started to keep a journal, which has now led to blogging, which hopefully will lead to a published collection of short stories.  Who knows!  

I have a couple of questions for you.  Are you ready?  This is a test.  You can't fail it, but you might just surprise yourself when you finish taking it.  The number of answers is entirely up to you!  So here goes, pencils up, paper ready!  Okay, start!

I want you to make a list of every standout historical event, epiphany and major progressive and technological wonder that has occurred in your lifetime that  YOU CAN REMEMBER and as far back as you can remember!  No cheating.  It cannot be what others have told you.  It must be your specific memory(ies).  Send me an email and share your list.  I would love to see what you came up with.

Bonus Round Questions!

What were you doing on Friday, November 22, 1963 and why is that date important?

How many times did the Beatles perform on Ed Sullivan in February, 1964, and do you remember the songs that they performed?

Those are easy, you can look up the answers!  Isn't the internet great!  The rest of your list, however, depends upon your brain!  Looking forward to your comments and answers!

Until then, feel free to hum from here on down if you want.  I'm reasonably sure you will get this song stuck in your head the way that it is in mine!  But, it's a great song and it could be worse, it could be "This Is The Song That Never Ends!" (by the way, who sang that and when?)

by the Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967 and originally entitled "A Little Help from My Friends".

"What would you think if I sang out of tune, Would you stand up and walk out on me ?

Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song And I'll try not to sing out of key.

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends
Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends

What do I do when my love is away (Does it worry you to be alone ?)
How do I feel by the end of the day, (Are you sad because you're on your own ?)

No, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends
Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends

Do you need anybody, I need somebody to love
Could it be anybody, I want somebody to love.

Would you believe in a love at first sight?  Yes, I'm certain that it happens all the time
What do you see when you turn out the light, I can't tell you but I know it's mine,

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends
Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends

Do you need anybody
I just need someone to love
Could it be anybody
I want somebody to love.

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
with a little help from my friends."



Have Fun!
Later, y'all!
Katydid