Anticipation

It is way past Easter but I wait...I anticipate my Eater lily's opening. I know I've planted it in a place that doesn't get enough sun...it doesn't get the love it needs. but still I wait. I wait for it's bloom. We aren't always planted in a place where the soil is good. But we can still bloom...be beautiful...still make a difference. Poor lilly...what will it be even though it's not in the place it should be? something amazing I'm sure...I can only wait for this miracle of bloom. What miracle can you make even if you don't feel you're in the right place.

In Memoriam

On Sunday at 11:00 p.m., my maternal grandmother, Ida Bernice Mills, died after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. She was 88. Over the last 3 days I have had an AMAZING revelation. For the first time in my life I have truly understood that the gift of life completely outweighs the sadness of loss of life. This is something that people always say is true but I'm sure I've never grasped it before this week. I am very sad at the loss of my Grandma. However, my memories of her and the things I learned from her are what occupy my emotions.
1. The best meditation and prayer takes place while laboring in your garden.
2. The best water for everything is rain water.
3. No matter what horrible event befalls you, look toward tomorrow and joys it will bring.
4. Every woman should know how to change a tire, build a barbed wire fence and sew a dress.
5. Value your grandchildren.
6. Eat your vegetables (and know how to grow them)
7. Don't have too much stuff.
8. When you get really old it's okay to have chocolate covered cherries and cheetos for dinner.
When I was 7, I learned how to use a post hole digger. To this day, that is my favorite skill even above playing the piano. I think it's because that skill represents her and her way of life. Thank you Grandma for everything.

What a different a night's sleep makes

The sun is shining, my list of things to do is huge and I'm motivated! Thank goodness for sleep and rest. It's another day and it looks like it will be a good one! Tonight we're going on a date to see "Shine A Light", the new Stones movie. Also, thank goodness for patient husbands.

What a crank!

I haven't felt very nice today. This morning when replying to an invitation to a lunch happening next week I said I would bring a big fat rock in a sack! Then I declined a fun girlie invitation to eat Italian food and drink wine. Yesterday, I learned that the weird pain I'm having is due to a rip-roaring bladder infection (sorry, too much information but I don't care). Oh well, I've made plans with my husband to have a quiet night in watching Scrubs and The Office. If I don't laugh at that I must be dead!

God thinks your knees are cute!

Yesterday in Dr. Fiedler's sermon, we were asked to think about how we approach God. When you get a visual of approaching God, do you think of yourself standing there with one hand in your pocket and a Diet Coke in the other saying, "Hey God...Wassup?...Howsit hanging?" Or are you more inclined to approach with a little more awe and humility? I know that when I'm in worship the most meaningful communion with God happens when I'm on my knees. The only thing better would be to be laying flat on my face in prayer but I can only do that at home.

Yesterday, our church dedicated new kneelers for the communion rail. I have to say they are really cushy not to mention amazingly beautiful. A total of 13 families or groups purchased them for the church in honor or in memory of a loved one...then a larger group of people spent two years stiching all 13 kneelers by hand. What a perfect expression of love for those honored, those who stiched and for the members and visitors of this church who will for years kneel in awe of God in our sanctuary.

Special Day

Today, together with my father's family, we remember James Leonard Knobles on his birthday. I woke up thinking of my Grannie knowing that it will be a melancholy day. Here is a picture of him not too many months before he was killed in Vietnam...yes, that's him on the right with a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon...only the best for our boys :)
Love you Grannie!

I have nothing to talk about today so enjoy this cartoon. That Moses...what a card

My Weekly Prize

Every Monday morning after I walk into the church and look at my email, I go into the sanctuary to double check for missed sign in/attendance sheets. I always worry that there was a first time visitor whose information wasn't collected so I go through each pew, look in the books again and then put the books back at the ends of each pew. Yes, you are right, this is tedious as there are probably 150 little folders for me to look through. But I have a game I play. Every Monday I look for a prize that I will put on my prize shelf in my office. One time I found a really fun slimy frog for my desk which brought unspeakable pleasure to my frequent visitors. I almost always find a pack of gum or mints...hey, finders keepers. A couple of weeks ago, I found this note that a child wrote on one of our FirstKids scratch pads that we keep in the backs of the pews just for doodling. I read it over and over and laughed every time at the word 'tord'. That just breaks me up!

I wonder how early it is that we humans start comparing our behavior, our looks, our acheivements, our 'success' and ultimately our lives with everyone else's. We simply can't help but to define ourselves in the light or the shadow of others. In order to not seem so bad ourselves, we say, "Hey, take a look at that guy! He's way worse than me". I think of my mother. Her comback would be that we're not talking about that other guy, we're talking behavior in our own house.

Anyway, this little gem of a note is getting taped to my computer so that every day I can remember to quit comparing myself to everyone else. Hey, if you're reading this and you recognize your kid's handwriting, call me...I just love your kid!