Embarrassed?

We all have them...those moments when we do something totally random and childish. Hm. Like standing behind someone and making faces at them when we think they can't see us.

Oh..but get caught in that childish act! What to do?? Well, we tend to freeze up for a moment and then attempt to hide. By "hide", I mean we laugh it off or pretend it never happened at all.

But we're adults now. At least we like to think we are. So, more mortifying than getting caught is the fact that we did it at all. What on earth would motivate us to do something like that?

I dunno.

Do you?

Happy New Year

A few people still visit this site rather than my MySpace so I thought I'd post an entry here to bring those few people up to speed. 2006 was a pretty good year. It started very rocky but had a great ending so I guess it all balances out.

2007 is going to be very busy indeed! There are special events in every month of this year, June being the least busy. I've resolved to lose at least 10 pounds by early April so I can be svelte (yeah, right!) for my celebratory 25th anniversary cruise. And of course there is the wedding in August.

But the first event of 2007 looks to be a funeral. Last night, my step-father-in-law went Home. Rex was a good man who loved life. It had been a tough month for him but he enjoyed life up until his last breath.

It is my prayer that your 2007 is full of joy and pleasant surprises. Let go of 2006 and its disappointments and whatever you perceive as failures.

Instead, we need to allow our thoughts to rest upon the good things. We are blessed people. We need to remember that.

Butcher

Nothing cures a person of loving Christmas music like hearing certain holiday songs done in an extremely poor manner. Collecting Christmas cds is an activity in which I have engaged over the years. I typically purchase one new cd per year, though the past couple of years I've made multiple purchases. Therefore, I have heard several arrangements of the same songs. Usually I am delighted with the different renditions.

Most people have "favorite" Christmas tunes, though it is rare that a person can name just one favorite. It seems nearly every recording. . .artist (term used loosely) . . . puts out a seasonal album. Not everyone can sing Christmas music well. Last week this truth was driven home to me twice.

The Bulldog has always liked the vocal stylings of Stevie Nicks. I've never been much on her, and after listening to her cut "Silent Night" to ribbons, my dislike only increased. Not only was the song done badly, and I mean badly, but she didn't sing the line, "Christ the Savior is born." Well what is the point behind the song .. Silent night, holy night...than to herald the birth of Christ?

Then there are The Temptations, who attempted the same song. They put the lovely carol through the meat grinder as well. First, it was sung in a falsetto, then in a deep bass that was never quite on pitch. And then there was the annoying, "sleep in heavenly peeeEEEAAAAAAACE," where people with very little vocal training slide up the scale while singing the word. On top of the nauseating slide, the vocalist came in just flat of the proper note.

I wonder how many of my Christmas cds do not include that song. I really don't have the stomach to hear it again anytime soon. It is a good thing my repertoire of Christmas music is a broad..and a mostly well-done one.

Gud 'Un

He really is, you know. Yesterday I locked my keys and everything in my car the second I got to work. He left work on the northside of the county, drove home to the southside to get the spare key, came to me on the westside in order to get me into my car, and then drove back to the northside to go back to work.

When I got home yesterday he had run the vacuum. Earlier this week he spent some time at a friend's house trying to fix her water heater (it's ready for burial). Last night we talked about my upcoming trip. He offered to give me all of the money from the Christmas Club account - even though he is not going on the trip with me!

Rarely a complaint, almost always encouragement, unending support.

Yeah, I got me a gud'un.

(God has been good to me like that)

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm a Lumberjack...

As parents, situations involving our children often come to our attention whether we seek the information or not. Most of the time the circumstances come as no surprise to us. Still, we cannot help but shake our heads, roll our eyes, and think, "Here we go again!" When certain occurrences come crashing into our lives we wonder if past decisions we thought were so right were actually all wrong. Parenting is a game of footing, much like a lumberjack trying to keep his balance on a rolling log that is halfway submerged in a cold rushing stream. We fall off on a regular basis, get cold, wet, and discouraged, but something inside us forces us to climb back onto that blasted log and try again. Maybe -this- time we'll get it right...

...whatever "right" is.

Being Selfish

People don't usually think of Jesus as selfish. Let's be real: He gave all there is to give and then some. How on earth would anyone ever say He was self-centered? Well, He wasn't. However, there were times when His actions could have been viewed as such.

When Jesus' cousin John the Baptist lost his life, what did Christ do? He left a multitude of people who needed Him and went off to be alone. Why? He was hurting. He was tired. Wonder how far off the mark it would be to say He was discouraged?

Selfish? No. Jesus was in need of healing, strengthening, and peace. There was one way achieve that: going off alone and thinking solely about Himself, if only for a few moments. When He was rejuvenated, He put Himself back in the game.

The death of John the Baptist is but one example of a time when Jesus separated Himself from others. What have I learned from His example? If Jesus Christ, the sinless and perfect Savior, took the time to be alone to nurse His wounds and heal, then it must be okay for us to do the same.

Near-Perfect Moments

I just came back from the bank.
I was sitting at a stoplight and a breeze came by.
I was in the best place for it.
Leaves blew off the trees
and swirled around before landing on the ground.
It sounded all crackly and crunchy.
A 3 year old let go of her mommy's hand
to take a detour off the sidewalk
and shuffle through the leaves,
kicking them into the air with her feet.
It was one of those near-perfect moments.
And I needed it.