Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Seeds of Society and Giants in the Land

As I look down at my computer keyboard, I see three little seeds between the keys. I also see some fuzz, dust and tiny little crumbs. I never thought much about it before, but crumbs and dregs that we leave around are supporting whole groups of organisms. And not just organisms, but maybe societies and cultures.

We know that some of our leftovers support mold in the fridge, on the counters, and in dark drawers. Alien arms reach out of potatoes trying to find a way to the light or to the dirt. The moldy bits and hidden crumbs support small bugs, which in turn support larger organisms. This is the circle of life.

The thing is, if we dust and vacuum and wipe down and disinfect, we constantly do away with the building up of these societies and cultures and towns and cities. I'm afraid that all these minor, tiny living things have to go the way of all flesh--down the tubes, in the trash, to the dump. They are killed are the day long. From my personal opinion as a giant in the land, I say that's not all bad.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Random Thoughts

1. "Voila" (with an accent mark over the "a") is the spelling for what some people type as "wa la" or "wah la" and is pronounced "vwah la".

2. "Then" rhymes with "when". To remember the spelling of it, ask "When did it happen? Then is when it happened."

3. "Than" rhymes with "an". Say, "It is bigger than an egg."

4. Remember, "The cat has lain on the hat until it is flat." I haven't seen anyone using "lain" lately. How can we cause grammar revolution if we don't work at it?

5. We had steak on the grill today. Ummm.

6. My husband has been working on one or two kidney stones for a couple of days. Good times.

7. Gary and I sang a duet at church yesterday. I don't sing solos anymore and haven't for a long time. (Nathaniel, tell me about your schooling.)

8. I talked to Bryan, my brother-in-law, yesterday. Ben just graduated from college. Bryan is doing well.

9. My nephew, Caleb, and his wife also just graduated. Caleb has his master's degree.

10. My mother's birthday was yesterday. She has been gone for 10 1/2 years. I would be so glad to see her.

11. It's been raining off and on all day. The rain is wonderful even if it precludes a picnic. And rain is much better than tornadoes.

12. I talked to my Aunt Io. She has new kitties at her house.

13. It's great to have four days off. I took Tuesday off. We're not doing much, but that's okay. Jen, I got a purse. Thanks for it and the book. Grrrrreat!

14. I like northern Colorado but I would like to be closer to family.

15. The people on the corner have a Chinese pug. A cutie pie.

I think that's it for now.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

13 Memorable Teachers/Classes

1. Miss Jones--First grade teacher. She hugged us as we left class. I got to order chocolate milk and she passed out the little milk bottles.

2. Miss Kimsey--Second grade teacher. I had to stay in for recess and was rattling paper in my desk. She came over and pulled my ear. I had a hard time reconciling her pulling my ear with her giving me a gift of pop beads at the end of the year. As far as I could tell, she was like Jekyll and Hyde.

3. Miss Beetle--Fourth grade teacher. I was in charge of a group project. She told me I did a good job of keeping everyone busy (delegating?). Also in that class we put on a play and had to sign up for the parts. If there were more than two people who signed up for a part, the class had to vote who to give the part to. Another girl, Jane, signed up for the princess and the witch. I only signed up for the witch. She was voted to be the princess. I was voted to be the witch. I thought I deserved the witch part.

4. Miss. Kimler--Sixth grade teacher. She was a lovely white-haired lady. She treated me with respect. When our class had to walk to the junior high at the end of the school year to see the sights, she asked me to wear anklets and I had planned on wearing nylons. I told I would do as she asked even though I felt really stupid doing it.

5. Mr. Elizondo--Jr. High Social Studies--On students' birthdays he sometimes gave them swats. On my birthday he had me come to the front of class and bend over, but I think he saw the fear in my eyes and had me go sit down. He was also the one who made students write "yeah" 500 or 1000 times if we said "yeah" instead of "yes". I'm thinking we should have written "yes" or "yes sir" a 1000 times instead. I wrote a list of "yeah" before I was caught so I would already have the work done. Then I never did get caught. Hmmph.

6. Miss Rogenski--Jr. High English--I was reading a book in class right in front of her. She had me bring the book to the front of the class and put it on the tray on the blackboard. Then she asked me a question about the material she had just covered, and I knew the answer. She was not happy. (I may have just mixed two incidents together. Oh, well. It makes a good story.)

7. Mr. Consonero--Jr. High Math--I had been in cooking class and was late to math because I had burned some eggs and had to stay to scrub the dish. When I got to class he said, "You have egg on your face." I didn't know this was a saying that had a meaning other than the literal one. I scrubbed my face for quite a while. Another time I was late for something similar and he told me I needed to use some elbow grease. I said I didn't have any, so he sent me to two or three teachers to ask if they had any elbow grease I could use. A good time was had by some, but not all.

8. Miss Pickering--Jr. High Science. She taught me how to take notes in the dark during a film by placing my left finger at the edge of the paper and writing straight across the page with my right hand and then moving my left finger down a little and writing another line across the page.

9. Mr. Collier--High School Government--If we said "and things like that" when we were speaking in front of the class, he would ask, "And things like what?" Then we would have to come up with a more extensive list than we had already given.

10. Miss Tookey--Senior English--She taught me how to write transitional statements from one paragraph to the next.

11. Mr. Boyd--Bible College Education and Bible Classes--He was probably the best teacher I ever had. He taught me how to be a teacher and how to study the epistles in a grammatical way. Loved him. He had great influence on me.

12. Dr. Wright--Bible College Bible Classes--He let me be part of his family life and was a friend.

13. Miss Fick--Bible College English Class--She was a very godly, elegant lady.

There were many others who had influence on my life. They helped make me who I am today in mostly good ways.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Bombs and Sirens

When I was in junior high, we had air raid drills every so often. This was during the cold war after nuclear bombs had been dropped during WWII. Because there was fear that the Communists would drop bombs on America, the schools had air raid drills, I guess to offer some protection for school children.

When the siren went off during school hours, we went out in the hall and knelt on the floor and faced the lockers. On television I've seen what the nuclear bombs do to buildings and land. I can't think kneeling on the floor in the hallway really offered any protection. I'm not really sure what the purpose was.

We all believed firmly that a bomb could come at any time. Some people built underground bomb shelters to go to in case of emergency. It now sounds as though the whole idea of being bombed should have been very terrifying, but I don't remember being very afraid. I would be now, though.

Sometime after that we didn't have drills anymore, and there weren't any drills when I was in high school.

Is it better to practice for something that you can't be saved from or is it better to acknowledge the impossibility of being protected? Maybe that's why the drills didn't go on after my junior high years. Maybe we just got complacent.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Reflected Beauty

I was driving between two lakes this week. The sky was cloudy and gray. The water reflected, however, some beautiful colors. The lake to the east of me had shades of purple. turquoise and yellow. The lake to the west of me had shades of green, silver and gray. They were both beautiful. Earlier I had seen some water in a marshy area that didn't reflect anything. It was ugly gray and muddy looking.

What these bodies of water made me think of was the fact that as human beings we are pretty ugly in many ways. The only true beauty we have is when we reflect the Person and Character of Christ. When we show His love, compassion and kindness, then we finally show some beauty.

Deep thoughts--shallow mind.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

13 Thursday Memories

1. When I was really young my family lived in Pueblo by the river and we had a black dog.

2. I once sat on my dad's lap and tried to push hard against him to try to make him not breathe.

3.When I wanted to talk to my mom but couldn't interrupt while she was talking to someone else, she would tuck my hand into the bend of her elbow while I waited.

4. I put my cat into a paint can and closed the lid in order to carry it around. It was a great carrier, but wasn't so good for the cat.

5. Once while my mom was visiting with someone in the kitchen, I cleaned the bathroom floor with baking soda and a toothbrush.

6. I once had a sore on my knee that wasn't healing and was about to turn into blood poisoning. I had to soak my knee several times a day in a dishpan.

7. My sister and I sometimes rode our bikes around the block 100 times to test ourselves. That was 400 blocks of riding.

8. Sometimes my sister and I pretended our bicycles were horses and we put ropes on the handlebars and they were the reins.

9. Once in a while my sister and I had 35 cents each and went over to the drug store a block away and had sodas. Umm.

10. My sis, the neighbor kids and I took old boards and outlined rooms and houses and played house.

11. In a neighborhood beauty contest, which included my sis, another girl and me, I came in last. Of course the two judges were the brother of the other girl and the boyfriend of my sister.

12. I started a club once and the dues I collected I buried in a plastic candy cigarette case at the corner of the house. I dug several times in that area and never could find the 7 cents.

13. Back then we could burn weeds out in the yard. When I played in the fire, my mom or dad would say that it would cause me to wet the bed. That happened often enough that I thought it must be true.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Chocolate & Grapefruit

According to a study in the the Journal of Nutrition: Women who eat cocoa daily for three months have smoother, moister skin. They're able to reverse sun damage by 25%, decrease roughness by 30% and lessen signs of scaliness by 42%.

EAT CHOCOLATE!!

Spritzing on grapefruit-infused perfume can make men think you're younger--up to six years younger.

WEAR GRAPEFRUIT JUICE!!

Monday, May 12, 2008

A Good Day

I am so blessed to be loved by my family. Yesterday was Mother's Day, and I enjoyed the day. The night before, my son and my husband had planned on taking me out for supper, but I got unmotivated so we called for Chinese instead, one of my favorites. Then on Sunday, I received a funny card, had Burger King for lunch, and my husband did the dishes and waited on me. He also asked several times if I was doing alright (and I was). My daughter called from Florida and we talked for quite awhile. Her gift will probably arrive today. I say a gift any time is a wonderful thing.

I think I often take my family for granted, but I really appreciate and love them. God has been very good to me.

I wouldn't mind being waited on all the time, but probably one day a year is what's good for me. Gifts and cards are also good. I always look forward to Mother's Day.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Wonderful Mother--Wonderful Life

My mother, Margaret Lucille Rose Horn, was a wonderful Christian woman. She reflected Christ in her life in good times and in bad.

Mother accepted Christ as her Savior when she was in her teens, but she didn’t know how to live as a Christian because she didn’t receive any teaching and she didn’t have a Bible to read on her own. It wasn’t until after she married and had children that she began attending a small Baptist church and began to learn about the Lord.

One day my mother started attending church, and through the teaching she received there, the Lord started working in her life. She began to change. As she learned about the Christian walk and about what God wanted for her, she began to be concerned about witnessing to others about the truths of God’s Word and Christ’s claims as the Savior.

Right after Christmas in the late 1950’s my mother was reading aloud from God’s Word about the crucifixion of Christ, and I as a little girl was listening. I began to cry because I realized what Christ had done for me on the cross in taking my punishment and sin upon Himself. I trusted Christ as my personal Savior that day, and it was because my mother was reading her Bible.

One day after school when my brother, Keith, was in junior high school, he brought home a “friend” who waited outside while my brother went in the house to get some money to give to this boy. The “friend” was doing a little extorting and had threatened to beat Keith up if he didn’t give him some money. Well, I’m sure Keith was going to try to get the money secretly so he didn’t have to tell Mom what he was up to, but she found him out and went out to talk to the other boy. She started talking to him about right and wrong and about the Lord. This young boy suddenly was saying, “Yes, Ma’am” and “No, Ma’am,” and was apologetic and said he was going to start watching out for Keith at school, sort of be a protector. It was because my mother was serving God right where she was.

As my mother matured in the Lord, she had opportunities to take classes to learn how to teach Bible lessons, stories and classes to children. In our home every week after school she had a Bible Club. Neighborhood kids and my and my sister’s friends came to Bible Club to learn stories from the Bible and to hear the Gospel. Many of those children trusted Christ as their Savior. We also learned a Bible verse every week. Some of those verses are still in my head, verses like John 3:16, Matthew 1:21, John 1:12 and many others. Mom had great influence on those children’s lives and on my life.

Over the years my mom taught Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Junior Church and many other neighborhood Bible classes. Many, many children learned about God and His Word. Many, many children came to know Christ as their Savior because my mother was faithful in her service to the Lord. During those years, a couple of those children who had been in my mother’s Bible classes were killed in an accident or died of sickness, and the wonderful blessing was that Mom could look back in her records and see when those children had trusted Christ. This was a great comfort to the people who knew those children and especially to the parents.

I remember my mother sitting at her kitchen table in the mornings. She was reading her Bible and praying. I don’t remember what she prayed for specifically, but I know that she prayed for her kids. My sister and I always knew that when Mother prayed for us, whether it was for us to get to go to Bible camp or to a Christian college, those things were going to happen. The Lord blessed my mother and her prayers. She was faithful and God was faithful.

My mother was diagnosed with lupus when she was in her early forties and contended with this disease for thirty years of her life. She went through many difficulties because of this disease and because of the medication she was on. Through it all she continued serving God and living for Him.

Later in her life, my mom taught ladies Bible studies. One of the studies she taught had a book that went along with it. I now have that book, and I have taught a Bible study using that book myself. It is a blessing to me to have my mother’s notes written in the margins and to realize she was reading through those pages during her last months alive.

My mother claimed a certain Bible passage as her own. It was the verse in the book of Acts that says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved and your house.” After that, many of her family members came to know the Lord including my dad, her mother and father, three sisters, one brother, many in-laws, nieces and nephews, and cousins. Through the Lord’s blessing, Mom had an amazing influence in many people’s lives and was instrumental in leading many of these family members to the Lord herself.

Mom witnessed to one of her sisters when she herself was in the hospital the last time before she passed away. Our family was thrilled when my aunt trusted Christ.

My mother lived an amazing life. She had tremendous influence on her family and on hundreds of children and adults. God blessed her, not with many possessions and riches, but with spiritual blessings. She is in Heaven now and has been for over ten years. I wonder sometimes what she is doing there. I think she is still serving the Lord in worship and praise.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

13 Rude Things

1. Boys who keep their hats on in the building. I know it's common practice, but it seems a little disrespectful and definitely not beautiful.

2. Curse words. Again I think they are disrespectful. Also they show a definite lack of vocabulary.

3. Showing too much skin. I don't really like to see other people's body parts even if there is no fat involved. Besides, fat is the new thin. Oh, yes it is.

4. People chewing with their mouths open. Not a beautiful sight.

5. People who don't hear my questions or answers because they aren't listening. This shows they don't care or that I'm interrupting their game-playing while they are trying to accomplish something extremely important.

6. People who give me the "evil eye" because they don't like my driving. I don't get that. What's not to like? I am the standard.

7. People who treat others like they are stupid because they don't know something that "everyone" should already know.

8. Women who don't say "thank you" when another woman holds the door open for them. Who do they think they are? They think they are more beautiful, smarter and entitled. That's who.

9. People who arrive at a practice or meeting without their music or materials.

10. Children who run screaming around the room while their parents are there listening.

11. Adults who run screaming around the room while their children are there listening.

12. People who get really irritated when you have them repeat something--surely you are the stupid one because you didn't hear it.

13. People who throw trash along the roadside.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Perfect Moment

Yesterday when I was driving home from work I came across a perfect moment. The weather/atmosphere was spring and cloudy, and under the clouds it was clear. I was driving between two beautiful lakes that were reflecting the sky. The mountains in the distance were beautiful and snow-covered. There were horses in the pasture. The crops are starting to grow. The breeze was warm but not too warm. The trees are lacy with pale leaves.

It was a wondrous few minutes. I thought how I would like to have a lot of days/moments like that, but then I realized that the moment wouldn't be so good if there were many of them. I guess I can handle only a little bit of perfection at one time.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Too Random??

Someone just said she and her family raised doves when she was a kid and then they ate the eggs.

Someone's dog threw up this morning after eating a lot of grass, and apparently it looked like the green beans I've been eating.

I heard last night about a former youth director who is now dating one of girls who was in a different youth department way back when. She's 30 now and he's probably 35-40.

I heard about a goose hitting a deputy's car and breaking off the mirror. The deputy didn't get a good look at the goose, so he could not arrest it for criminal mischief or obstructing.

This morning one of my co-workers was late because her baby grandson threw up on her and she had to go get a new shirt at Wal-Mart.

Somebody gave me some Reader's Digests and I have been reading them. What do you call it when a pig hits you in the throat?................A pork chop. (I don't really have the joke right. This is what I am known for.)

I sometimes think that carrots taste a little like coconut.

My co-worker puts mouse traps in her yard but not for mice. She puts them around her plants so the dog won't eat them (the plants).

Monday, May 5, 2008

Volunteerism

On Sunday my husband and I went over to the pastor's house for dinner, which was very good--roast, potatoes, etc. While we were talking beforehand, I mentioned to the pastor that I had thought about our church having some five-day neighborhood Bible classes maybe in place of VBS. He didn't say, "That's an idea. Let's pray/think about it." He didn't say, "Tell me more about it." He didn't say, "I wonder what other programs or outreach could we have in the summer." He said, "Okay, when shall we schedule it?" He gave me some dates. I picked out the best time for me--the first full week in August-- and he said I am in charge and how many should we plan. So I'm going to be teaching at least two 5-day Bible clubs in August. I probably will be teaching a couple of training classes before that for others who want to participate.

I am both excited and flummoxed how quickly this was all decided. I kept looking at my husband to see what he thought about me doing all this. He never said anything. I asked him what he thought later when we were in the car. He said maybe I shouldn't teach more than two classes this year, and perhaps wait and see about having others handling the teaching in other neighborhoods just in case they don't know how or need to just help this first year.

I will need to take off half days from work to be able to do this. I think the pastor was excited too, because he wants to have outreach with our little church, and VBS hasn't worked very well in the past.

So again, the dye is cast, although in this case maybe the dye is still in its unopened container and changes could be made if necessary. Maybe God will use me to do something worthwhile.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

All My Children

My daughter is a blessing to me. Since I lost my mother and my sister who were my best friends for my whole life, Jen has worked at taking care of me. She is concerned about what I am concerned about. She prays for my prayer requests. She sends great gifts for birthday, Mother's Day, and Christmas. She gives me advise and tries to get me to do things that she thinks would be good for me.

When Jen came home at Christmas, she paid to take us to the Denver Art Museum where we saw historical and famous paintings including one by Renoir. She was willing to rest when I wanted to and stay as long as I wanted to. She was very thoughtful and fun to be with.

Often in the past when Jen came home for a visit, by the third or fourth day we were starting to get on each other's nerves. Now we can go to the fourth or fifth day! (;> We have good times and I really appreciate her. She works at getting along and enjoying our time together. I wish I could see her more often, but she spends a lot of money to come home and visit, more money than I want her to.

My son is also a blessing to me. Currently he is living with me and my husband while he is working and going to school for landscaping. Often in the evenings he sits down and talks with me. He talks about his classes and what he is learning or what projects he is working on. Just like old times, he has wanted his dad or me to help with a project or two, which is enjoyable for us.

Aaron does housecleaning every week for me. He usually cleans the bathroom, sweeps the kitchen, or vacuums the living room. He also carries in groceries and helps put them away. He also lets me borrow his computer from time to time. My husband and I have a computer, but Gary uses is a lot of the time.

Aaron has always been and still is a nice person. I enjoy spending time with him. He feels like he spends more time with his parents than the average person his age, but he seems to tolerate it reasonably well. I know I'll miss him when he moves out after his schooling is completed.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Characters from Literature I Have Enjoyed

1.Cinderella
2. Frankenstein (From Dean Koontz)
3. Odd Thomas
4. King Arthur
5. Lancelot
6. Guinevere
7.The Black Stallion
8. The Hobbits
9.Laura Engles
10. Pa
11. Ender (From a series by Orson Scott Card)
12.Meggie (The Thorn Birds)
13.Brian Robeson (From Hatchet series)