Your Thoughts are Mine.... All Over Again

Well girls, I have caught up on all your blogs and I must say I have been blessed, challenged, and have laughed out loud at times. All of you are priceless as you mommy your way through life in this season. I love it! My heart aches with you in your challenges, and cheers you on as you successfully love and make a home for your husbands and children. Whether it's the exasperation of teaching your boys to pee in the potty or trying to set up a new home in a strange new place; noticing how your third baby's head has grown and changed marking the passing of time, or spending part of an afternoon making funny faces with your baby girl. All your thoughts are important and life-giving to others. Stories of tender moments with your big girl while laying in the grass; talking about life and dreams to come. A life journey back to where love began or one in which you found your way back to where God had planned for you all along. Wondering how in the world to keep all the tiny carpet pieces picked up so your baby boy won't choke or saving your little girls' life from a big spider dangling from the ceiling in your car. I love experiencing with your babies the discovery of turtles, snakes, riding tractors or eating yogurt with a new spoon. Finger-painting, first haircut, and sleeping with a baseball bat. Bunny slippers, the Wiggles, speaking Spanish, and as the dawning of day; to finally realize that Barney is, in fact, a dinosaur. I love gaining knowledge regarding eating healthy and well; adding foods that have been in God's green earth all the time, that I am just now finding out about. I am loving life with you and remembering where I've been... only a little while ago? I too have loved as deeply and cried out at the unfairness and tragedy of life at times. I have rejoiced at finding my way and struggled with my inadequacies and failures. I know you; not because you are my girls or because you are a kindred spirit; but because I have lived a life full of experiences not unlike the ones you are living right now; experiences that are forever etched in my mind and treasured in my heart. Keep writing my precious girls. You are a blessing to so many.

Running; Now That's A Novel Idea...

Running; something I admire more than words can tell. When; how does that happen for some and not for others? Running is something that happens only in my imagination. However, the other day I decided to make my dream a reality. I got up at 4:30 AM with what I thought was a resolve to begin again; take those baby steps toward getting physically fit before I'm an old lady. I put on my workout clothes, turned on the outside lights and began to jog around the back yard. I would rather run out on our country road, but that is not an option at 4:30 in the morning. Dogs howl, people come out with their shotguns wondering if I'm a burglar. Since there is no shoulder to move over on when cars and trucks pass by and bothersome dogs who get a kick out of chasing me as though I were a rabbit innocently hopping across a field; my back yard is the better option. That day, I ran to where the shadows swallowed the light beside the septic system fence and back past the screened porch to the jasmine vine growing gracefully up and over a wooden trellis; around a small Oak tree I would go and back again. I did this twice and thought my lungs might burst or my legs would surely detach and fall off. So walking seemed to fit my style and I did this on the same path; over and over and over again for about 20 minutes trying to visualize a flat tummy and firm thighs; pounds falling off one by one with every step. I was feeling pretty good about myself and at the time thought, "I can do this! I'll jog and walk every day; or maybe three times a week at the least. Jog and walk; walk and jog. A perfect time to pray, sing to the Lord, strengthen my heart and renew this half century old body to boot." By nightfall I was totally exhausted and slept until 6:00 the next morning. No running, no walking since then; just a couple stretches here and there as I dream about what it would be like to stick with it; to be consistent; to run in a marathon? Well, maybe around the block a couple times a week. Lord, I can tell, You are my only help in this seemingly impossible cycle of repeatedly failing to revisit my youthful body. Where did it go and is it beyond my reach to fight the flab once more?

I'm Tagged...

I am tagged, but I have no one else to tag since the only ones I am 'blog-attached' to are my girls and my niece, Brook. They have already tagged themselves and it's been fun to read the 8 random facts/habits about each one who has written. I already knew some of them... since they are my girls, but it was fun to see what they think about themselves and what is memorable to them.

The Rules:

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.

2. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.

3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their 8 things) and post these rules.

4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose people to get tagged and list their names.

5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

My 8 Things:

1. Though I've always been a Texan, I was born in Oklahoma... and now have a daughter and her family living in Oklahoma... as of TODAY!

2. I have a strong desire to become a writer. Well, daylight's burnin'. I'm 57 years old for Pete's sake!

3. I was 1st runner-up in a beauty contest when I was 19.

4. I was accepted for an audition into a musical group that traveled all over the United States, but couldn't try out because my parents thought I needed to work that summer. I was crushed and am still sad when I think of it.

5. One of my favorite things to do as a child was to pretend I was a mermaid when I went swimming.

6. I have a secret desire (well, I guess not anymore) to sing with our praise band at church, all members of whom are in their 20's or early 30's. Well, I still feel that young in my mind.

7. God has given me a dream of having a beautiful place of refreshing and rest for those who need a day or a weekend to get alone with God; a pretty storybook cottage on our property with a lovely garden all around it. A place my parents might enjoy as well when they come for visits; and for me, as a get-away for my writing on days we did not have guests.

8. I would like to get physically fit once more before I am old; would love to travel the US and beyond; experience new places, cultures, and people from other nations; see all four seasons in the Northeastern states of America. (I know, that's kinda like 10 things instead of 8, isn't it?)

A Day of Remembrance...

I sit here quietly after hearing the news; a reminder to pray for the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives six years ago today on September 11th. None of us will ever forget that fateful moment in time, will we? I was on my way to work when a distraught reporter on the radio; moved with great emotion and fear, said one of the twin towers in New York City had been hit. A plane gone off course perhaps; surely a horrible accident!?! Then I walked into my place of employment where it is usually very quiet; a loving and peaceful place to work. That day in history was different and is still etched in our minds; made fresh again as we remember. Several co-workers stood around a TV screen in the football office as we watched smoke billow out of the first tower. Suddenly, another plane smashed into the second tower. We knew it was no accident. Something horrible was happening to our nation. Our safe place had been violated. Shortly after that we heard about the Pentagon and a plane that had gone down in a remote countryside somewhere in the northeast. Were they all connected? Was this the beginning of WW III... on American soil?!! It was like a nightmare; surely we would wake up in our familiar comfort and ease; surely this wasn't happening... but it was! I wanted my family! I wanted my kids and grandchildren, especially Corey and Amy and their children who lived in the Metroplex. I wanted them to come home; to be in my house. I wanted them out of the city; out of reach from the sound of planes flying overhead. I wanted all of us to be together; to hold each other; pray together. God please intervene and make sense out of this violence! The horror was not over. As firemen and policemen quickly went into the buildings to rescue and help people who were still alive in the Twin Towers, suddenly and within seconds the huge skyscrapers fell and huge billowing clouds of dust and smoke enveloped the city for blocks and miles. Very few who were inside lived to tell about it. Nearly 3,000 precious people died that day. War had come to America. Ungodly and wicked men; radical Muslims who hate and desire to do evil even at the cost of their own lives. Such deception dictated straight from the enemy of our souls and embraced by foolish men. They wanted to destroy America with no care or thought for innocence; only hate, murder and destruction possessed them with a false hope of going into eternity to molest however many virgins they believe are promised to them. Such perversion; a people lost and hopeless. Yet we who believe; we who have received Jesus into our hearts have hope. All is not lost, and we know more than ever that we must go to the ends of the earth to tell the Good News. He is alive; the God of all that is will have a people from every nation, tribe, and tongue who will worship Him. He made a way for us... and them, through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus; through His suffering, death, and resurrection, He has made a way. If only those who are lost and searching for truth can know and turn their hearts to this loving Savior. Lord, help us to reach out to even those whose plans are evil and not good. How will they know if we do not tell them? How will the violence ever come to an end if the Prince of Peace is not revealed? So we say, "Here am I Lord; send me." We will go to a lost and hurting world with the power of love, justice, and Truth as our weapons; even when some would say it can't be done.

When Words Are Not Enough...

As I wondered what to say to my grieving friend; I knew words would be inadequate. I couldn't know what she felt. I've never been where she is. I wrapped my arms around her and tried to help carry her sadness. Later these thoughts came to me as I longed for her... and for me to feel and know His presence:

"God's Comfort"

Sometimes it's in silence

We sense His quiet love;

Not unlike the touch of cool

An evening breeze in summer gives.

Impossible to grasp the wind,

Yet what a comfort to feel it.

Writing Smiting...

My fingers fly across the keyboard; spilling out thoughts, prayers, and dreams; funny and heartfelt stories regarding life situations. Who knows if all this is worthwhile, who knows if anyone even reads my ramblings; yet it is somehow therapeutic for this person who can't help but think and feel deeply to have an avenue of release; a place to 'get it all out'. I am an open book for sure and may just haul off and write one someday. Although, unlike my eldest daughter; I have NOT yet been discovered. :0) I stepped out, became vulnerable and sent one of my writings with a tale of outdoor wanderings and nature observations only to be courteously rejected. A reply something like, "I can see you feel connected to nature as I do. Keep writing."... end of story. Ah well, I suppose I will keep writing, only because I can't help myself.