Another Year Closing

The last day of the year has arrived, and it seems impossible that we're staring 2011 in the face.  When I look in the mirror every morning, I see a woman who's getting older with each passing day, and I don't know if I'm ready for old age.  Granted, 61 isn't very old.  When I was a little girl, people in their 50's and 60's looked very old to me.  Now that I'm there, I don't think I look as old as many people my age, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm now a senior citizen!  I remember sitting outside on the glider with my 3-year-old grandson last summer.  I was wearing shorts, and he was sitting in my lap, and he saw my vericose veins and asked, "What happend to you leg, Nana?"  I had to laugh and explain that nothing had happened other than old age!  It's a process that can't be stopped.

I'm grateful for many things that have happened this year -- first of all, for having the gift of life for 2010.  Many people didn't see the end of the year.  Other gifts that my husband and I received include our good health; our jobs; having Mom close by and not 500+ miles away; our home, family, and friends; reliable cars, hosting people who needed a place to stay; the ability to give to others; volunteering with Stop Child Trafficking Now; having food on the table and extra to give away; donating Christmas gifts to those in need; fresh vegetables from our gardens; flowers blooming profusely in our yard; the sound of birds singing and frogs croaking; seeing geese fly above the trees, honking as they went; and hugs and sloppy wet kisses from grandbabies.  The list could go on and on, and it should because there's much for which to be thankful.

This Saturday, we'll celebrate Christmas with my husband's daughters and their families as that celebration was postponed due to last Sunday's snowstorm.  Again, there will be gifts exchanged and too much food eaten, but the day will again remind us of our many blessings.

Monday I plan on undecorating the Christmas tree, packing away all the ornaments that have adorned the tree for so many years and will do so for years to come.  Memories are wrapped up in each ornament, some hand-made, others purchased and given by someone special.  Life is a series of memories, one built upon the other, composing a story that is unique to each of us.  Some of us will have long stories, while other's stories will be abreviated. 

This evening, we will be celebrating both the incoming New Year and my husband's birthday at the home of some good friends -- something that's becoming a tradition.  We'll have a light dinner of homemade soup, fresh bread, salad, and whatever sweets are left over from Christmas, and then play Mexican Train, a domino game that is so much fun.  Then we'll sit in front of the television and watch the Bill and Gloria Gaither Special until the clock slips into 2011 before returning home.

As we look forward to 2011, I pray that it will be better than this year.  For us, another grandchild will arrive in either late April or early May, and the additon of another person to our family is always such a joyous occasion.  But we don't know what the coming year holds, and it is that uncertainty, that unpredictability, that keeps me clinging to the One I need every day of my life, my anchor in my storms -- God.  If we knew what life was going to be like, would any of us need God?  Of would the seeing thrust us more fully into His arms?  I only know that I can't walk this path of life by myself, and I thank God that He has ordained my steps, that He has promised to be with me each step of the way, that He has given me the Bible to light the way, and that He will see me through to the end.  I hope and pray that the same holds true for you.

I'll see you in 2011 -- and please drop a comment once in a while.  I'd love to hear from my readers around the world.  (I won't publish your comment if you don't want it published).  Happy New Year! 

Snow in North Carolina!

The day after Christmas, we awoke to a winter wonderland!  Every branch, wire, fence and shrub was covered with snow fresh from God's storehouse in the heavens.  Silence draped the landscape, muffling the sounds of the few cars that were on the snow-packed roads.  After breakfast, I donned my layers and ski pants and stuffed my socked feet into my heavy boots before venturing outdoors, camera in hand.  I was welcomed by a pristine landscape that was a feast for my eyes.  Having lived most of my life in parts of the United States that experience snow during the winter months, one would think that I'd grow tired of or accustomed to the transformation of the landscape by snow, but I don't.  I'll never tire of it!  Seeing all the drab, leafless trees and brown grass covered in white makes me keenly aware of the creativity of God.  He's established laws of nature that produce these marvelous events -- the right air currents, temperatures, and moisture in the sky create snow -- and amazingly, no two snowflakes are alike.
As I walked through our yard and surrounding woods, I took photos of the trees rimmed with snow, pampas grass weighted down in white, magnolia leaves cradling bundles of snow, evergreen branches holding clusters of snow, and swings moving gently in the wind as they carried their lifeless load.  Beauty was all around me.
Our neighbors were outside building a snowman, and a friendly snowball fight erupted between them and my husband and me.  We were a bunch of older people acting like little kids again because of the snow. 
Later, I took a walk through our neighborhood, a walk I've taken many times, but the weight of my heavy boots and the slippery conditions underfoot made it a real workout.  When I returned home, Bob had been shoveling the snow and was putting it in a big pile, so I decided to make a snow angel -- with wings!  As I was sculpting the face, I pushed so hard that the head came loose and tumbled off, landing in an unrecognizable heap.  After discovering that I couldn't salvage any of it, I rebuilt the head and scuplted the face, being much more careful about how hard I pushed!  Ater I was done, I sprayed blue food coloring onto the angel's dress and yellow coloring onto its hair and wings.  It was dark when I finished.  It lasted through today, but the sun hits it squarely on the front, so it's beginning to crumble in spots, and the face is no longer solid.  My husband took photos of the angel and the outside lights covered in snow, and some of those photos are attached. 
The snow was an added gift to an already wonderful Christmas.  I thank God for His creativity and the marvelous wonder of snow. 

Merry Christmas to Everyone!

Christmas is fast approaching, and I'm forever amazed at how the internet has changed our world and made possible things that we could never envision years ago.  This blog is being read by people in the United States, Canada, Romania, Russia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, China, Germany, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia, and that simply boggles my mind!  So my Christmas greeting goes to all of you, where you are in this world, and I hope that you are blessed by the God of the universe, Who loves us more than we can possible imagine!  I've taken the greeting "Merry Christmas to Everyone" and created a poem from the first letter of each word.  I printed this on our Christmas cards that went to family and friends, and now I send it to all of you, my readers and friends around the globe.

Mary and Joseph and a small donkey
Entering a strange and foreign place
Rely on God to guide them as they
Reach their destination, Mary
Yearning to deliver her child.

Cast into a stable, no room
Had they in the inn
Racing against time
In hopes to rest easy soon.
Silent night broken outside
To poor shepherds angels came
Making a joyful announcement
And singing praises on high
Sent by God to proclaim His Son

To save lost mankind
Out of the hands of evil.

Even as the Child was born
Vengeance was being planned
Expecting to thwart God's will.
Resting in a humble manger
Yeshua cries
Only to be comforted by Mary
New mother amazed and awed
Exclaiming her joyful praise.

Merry Christmas to all of you!  Please check back after our wonderful celebration of our Lord's birth, which might turn into something extra special as it looks like we MAY get snow on Christmas day in North Carolina, which hasn't happened since 1947.  May all of you enjoy your friends and family and find comfort in the knowledge that God is still in control of our seemingly chaotic world. 

Family Gifts -- And Others!

Christmas is only one week from tomorrow, and I find myself in a whirlwind of activity which started about a week ago.  Ordering many of our gifts on-line saved a lot of time, but as they arrived, they literally created piles in one of our bedrooms, which meant that we had to make it off limits to family members when they visited.  Those piles have now been wrapped and moved under the tree.  One of our cats, Delilah, isn't too happy that the space under her indoor tree, which SHE has claimed as HERS, is no longer usable.  I caught her hissing and slapping at her brother, Samson, shortly after we put up the tree; she always thinks we bring this in just for her!  Anyway, she won't be able to sleep under the tree again until after Christmas.
We have a party to attend this evening, and tomorrow one of Bob's daughters is graduating from college, so we have a luncheon and graduation to attend; later, two grandkids, Cami and Niland, will be spending the evening and night with us.  After church on Sunday, they'll be joined by two other grandkids, Cooper and Wilson, and all of them will decorate cookies that I have yet to bake!  I guess Cami and Niland will help me bake cookies on Saturday evening, and then I'll do more right after church, so hopefully there'll be plenty to spread between four sets of eager hands! 
I spent two evenings this past week wrapping presents; I think it took me about 5 hours to get everything wrapped, labeled, and under the tree.  With five children and six grandchildren, that amounts to a lot of gifts, and it has been a labor of love.  Even as my husband and I discussed our budget for our gift exchange (yes, we've had a budget and haven't charged one item), we heard about the many needs of the local charities and decided to forego gift-giving between us in order to take that money and spend on gifts for those who NEED.  At this point in our lives, we do not have any NEEDS, just WANTS, and I couldn't justify getting more stuff that I didn't need when there are so many others who won't even get things they need.  So we sat down at the computer and shopped again, and all of the gifts will go to the local rescue mission, along with a box of groceries.
I don't tell you this to make us look good or to brag, but to suggest that maybe there are others who could do the same.  My husband and I have so much stuff that's simply decorative or which gives our home comfort, and to add more to that seems ridiculous in these difficult economic times.  I can't wait for all of the gifts to arrive so we can deliver them; seeing the joy on the faces of the workers at the rescue mission who will take these gifts from our hands will be worth more than any gift I could receive.  And knowing that, on Christmas day, needy kids will have gifts that they wouldn't have if not for our giving will warm my heart!  That's what Christmas is all about - giving!  God gave His most precious gift of all, His Son Jesus, and all that we do on earth should reflect His character, His glory, and His heart.  So if you can manage to drop some gifts off, even if only one or two, before Christmas at your local charity or the Salvation Army, I encourage you to do so.  You'll have a blessing on Christmas day that only God can give -- a blessing of the heart! 

Losing to Technology

As usual, I went grocery shopping on Thursday evening, and upon my return home, driving on the interstate bypass, a mini-van passed me, and through the back window I saw a TV screen showing a DVD, and my heart cried.  When did we become a nation that feels obligated to entertain our kids at every turn?  Technology has stolen the time that used to be spent talking, laughing, and interacting while traveling from point A to point B and anywhere in-between.  I truly believe today's young people are severely lacking in the art of conversing and listening, and the information, truth, and history that can be gleaned from older people is not being passed on as in the past.

I remember traveling in cars with my family and friends, and we'd invent silly games to pass the time, such as looking for out-of-state license plates or a certain make and model of car.  As we got older, we'd even flirt wtih the young men in military convoys that traveled the highways.  We'd talk with my grandparents and interact with them.  I remember sitting on my dad's lap and 'driving' the car when I was a very small girl.  Granted, that was not wise of him to allow me to do that, but I survived and had a great time 'driving' and not knowing that his knees and one finger were on the steering wheel!  I vividly remember naming our grandparents' car; we called it "Old Nelly", and it took us, every time they visited us, to an ice cream parlor where we'd sit on stools at a counter and consume ice cream sundaes topped with whipped cream and a cherry.  My sisters and I were aware of the landscape we passed on every trip and would often point out things that we noticed to each other.  Cars were a place to spend time together.

Now when I get in the car with my older grandkids, they have their iPods or their other entertainment devices, including the portable television thingy.  As you can see, I'm not up to speed on these things, and I don't know if I will ever be.  Conversation is becoming a lost art; there's precious little that's being passed from the older generation to the younger one.  How will we save family histories?  How will the younger people learn what life is really like?  Will they be prepared for life?  Will they be ready to face real issues of integrity, truth, and compassion?  We watch violence and call it 'entertainment' while others live with violence daily and don't see anything entertaining about it at all.  Conversing with my soon-to-be-teenage grandson is difficult at best, and when the electronic devices are thrown in the mix, it's virtually impossible. 

I understand that technology is here to stay.  It's part of our daily lives, and it does make things better, much better.  However, I believe it needs to be used wisely and set aside at times for more intimate forms of communication, such as face-to-face in the car, at home sitting in the living room, or while sharing a meal around the dining table.  Let's not become a nation of people which communicate over screens and can't interact with each other face-to-face, which allows for so much more to be commnicated by way of facial expressions and body language.  I prefer that any old time to e-mail, texting, Facebook, or even the telephone.  Let's put technology in its place and not lose out on the important things in life. 

Relaxed Enough to Sleep!

The premier viewing of "North Carolina's WWII Experience" last Thursday proved to be relaxing, informative, and challenging -- in regard to staying awake!  I was so exhausted from too much work preparing for Christmas that, when we arrived at the theater and settled in for the documentary, there was absolutely nothing I could do to stay awake!  The seats were tall and comfy and reclined just enough to rest my head; the story was true, often gruesome, compelling and well-done, but when the brain screams for sleep, sleep it gets!  Even with the percussion of artillery and bombs exploding blasting through the theater speakers, I slept, not once, but three times!  Periodically I'd awaken to watch the documentary, picking up as if I'd not missed anything, and then before I knew it, my head would be nodding again and I'd rest it against the headrest and drift into oblivion.  My husband was so kind; he promised to nudge me if I started snoring, which I can do!  Thankfully, no such event occurred, and my final nap was interrupted by applause as the film ended.  Rousing myself, I stood with the other patrons and applauded the masterpiece just viewed, and no one was the wiser to me lapsing into restive sleep!
And it was a masterpiece -- at least as much of it as I watched.  Local people who had lived through WWII recounted their memories, which were interspersed with news clips and old photographs.  Even these many years later, one can still see the pain and trauma as the veterans recounted their war stories.
The walk to the car was cold.  Unseasonably cold weather had descended upon North Carolina, and it was biting, reminding me of my many years in Connecticut.  The cold remained, and on Saturday, we were surprised with snow, which had been predicted to be a light dusting, which began to fall in mid-afternoon.  It turned out to be 2 inches!  My husband and I were in the midst of preparing for a Christmas party for our church friends, a fun-loving group called Overdrive!  The snow was not supposed to stick, but it came down with such fury that it DID stick -- to everything BUT the roads.  Once the snow started to accumlate, I got on the computer and sent an e-mail announcing that a 22-pound turkey was in the oven, the presents were wrapped, the games were ready, and we were not cancelling for a few snowflakes that were not causing problems on the roadways!  As the afternoon progressed and the snow continued to fall, I was enthralled by the beauty it created as it clung to every branch, leaf, and structure.  I opened the door and listened to the snow whispering as it fell between the branches and splashed onto the ground; normal sounds were muffled.  Even the birds were quiet, taking shelter wherever they could as they waited for the storm to pass.
By the time the Christmas party guests started to arrive, the snow was winding down and the landscape was bathed in white.  Our Christmas lights on the shrubs were hidden beneath the heavy, wet snow, slightly muting their glow and making the evening enchanted.  We turned on the fireplace and enjoyed our friends, good food, games, singing, laughter, and gifts.  We probably will never have a snowfall again on the evening of our Overdrive Christmas party -- this is North Carolina! - and we felt privileged to be blessed with such beauty from the heavens!  I'm forever amazed at what God has designed into our world -- just the right conditions and temperatures, and water falling from the sky turns into snow and covers the world in a blanket of white!  Most of the snow is gone now, but I hope more comes our way this winter.  I know others won't agree with me there! 

Too Much To Do!

For me, the holiday season is a love/hate relationship.  Let me explain.  I love celebrating our Lord's birth, but the demands on my time run me ragged!  Do any of you feel the same way!?  We celebrated Thanksgiving as a family last Sunday due to all of our kids being at their in-laws, and the very next day, I was still putting stuff away from the day before, doing laundry (which never gets done on weekends anymore), and starting to decorate for Christmas, which is a mere three weeks from this Saturday!  The last three evenings have been spent pulling out Christmas decorations, trying to get deceased lights to revive, stringing the outdoor lights and wreaths, putting away household photos, and putting up all the Christmas things that I love so much.  And this weekend we're hosting a Christmas party for our friends at church, so I'll throw another turkey in the oven Saturday morning and get the house ready, but that shouldn't be too much work because it was ready last weekend for Thanksgiving.  Needless to say, I've lost my joy right now and seriously need to get it back.

I did something this morning that I don't ever think I've done before -- I drove away from the house with something on the roof of my car -- and realized it when I was half way to work.  That was what put me over the edge, so to speak, and I was almost in tears by the time I parked the car.  I had to literally collect myself before entering the building.  I called Bob before I arrived at work, and he found the new book a short distance from the house along a curve in the road, only slightly scathed.  Thank goodness it was in its protective cover!

My husband planned a relaxing evening at the movie theater tonight, and I'm doing my best not to get upset over the timing of the event.  There's so much to do at home!  But we're going to grab a bite to eat and hopefully do a little shopping before movie time at 7:30 PM.  Despite knowing that I could be doing work at home, I'm going to put aside all thoughts of what needs to be done, relax, and enjoy myself and my husband's company. 

I watched the sun set while at work today, and the sky was streaked with orange and pink and dotted with gray clouds that were rolling in.  I was reminded that God lights the sky to show that He loves me.  He knows my anxiety (which I really shouldn't have!) about all the demands on my time; He knows that I don't have the energy I used to; He knows my heart's desire; and He calls me to rest in Him.  So I'm taking this evening, soon to begin, to rest and put things in perspective.

Life's Messes

Sunday I hurried to my son's house in Raleigh after church to watch the two little boys, Benny and Niland, while their parents got some work done.  They were leaving Monday evening to drive to New Jersey to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with Bernette's parents.  When I got there, they were finishing lunch, and Benny was in his highchair, food all over his face.  When I commented on his messy face, Niland stated, "Don't worry, Nana.  Daddy or Mommy will clean him up!"

Ah, to have a daddy or mommy clean up the messes that we make in life!  It's taken for granted when we're young, but as we grow and become adults ourselves, the role of our parents changes, and most often we are left alone to clean up our messes.  Wrong choices, bad friends, awful or lazy habits, spending money we don't have, drugs or alcohol dependency -- the list goes on and on.  Most of the time, we're able to fix or make right what we've done wrong, but the consequences of our choices often linger and frequently affect our friends and family.  But when it comes to sin, there's nothing we can do to rid ourselves of it; we can only claim the blood of Jesus as our covering, read His Word, and do our best to follow it.  He's the only one who can clean up our adult messes and make good come from what we've destroyed. 

After Benny was cleaned up, I picked him up in my arms, and he leaned into my shoulder in a baby hug.  I asked Niland, when Benny was out of my arms and running through the house, if I could have a hug.  His reply:  "No, Nana, only when you leave!"

I played with the boys in the large room over the garage, where they have an inflatable bouncy and lots of toys.  Book reading was brief -- Benny likes to turn the pages before I can read them.  From the second story window, we watched Daddy blow the leaves that had fallen from the many oak trees in the yard, forming a large pile at the edge of the driveway in the street.  When he moved to the back yard, we pulled out the double stroller and went for a walk to the country club a short distance away, where we saw a wedding party taking photographs.  The day was exceptionally warm and sunny.  Niland ran all the way there, and I had to walk quickly to keep up with him.  On the way back, we threw leaves at each other and over Benny, who was sitting in the stroller, and when we got back to the house, I introduced the boys to playing in leaves!  Benny sat in the big pile at the end of the driveway and waved his hands through the leaves, and Niland and I threw them in the air and swatted at them as they drifted down.  When Daddy completed blowing the leaves in the back yard, he joined us.  The rest of my time was spent playing in the leaves and pushing Benny on the baby swing which hung from a large oak branch, causing the swing to make a very long arch back and forth across the yard.  I kept running back and forth with Ben as he swung, and he laughed and laughed as he slowly spun around.  What joy to hear the laughter of a child!  I was so blessed.

I got my hug from Niland when I left and another from Benny, who also gave me a high 5.  Yes, he's only 16 months old and knows how to high-5!  Bernette had packed for their New Jersey trip, the leaves were blown off the yard -- for now, anyway (there are so many more yet to fall!), and I had a wonderful time with my grandkids.  I slid into my car and started the engine with a sigh.  When I look back on my life and the many messes I've made, I'm so thankful to my Heavenly Father for cleaning those up and blessing me with so much at this point in my life.  Life is good, and it's because God is good!  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  And remember to thank the One who gives life! 

Time for Play

In this workaholic world, my husband and I have decided to take one evening a week to relax, connect, talk, and/or play a game of some sort.  We did this for the first time last night, and it was relaxing, refreshing, and rewarding.  As adults, I think we oftentimes forget that we need times of refreshing and play also.  Play is not just for children. 

We'd decided to do this with our grandkids a few months ago, and now we make time to see at least one of the 6 grandkids every weekend, often more, or we take the kids for several hours to give the parents some free time.  Owning his own business, Bob occasionally drops by his daughters' houses in Raleigh and sees Wilson and/or Cooper, which often is the highlight of his day and which reinforces his grandfather status with the boys.  We had Cami and Niland last Friday night for a sleepover, and Niland was so excited that while watching Wall-E, he couldn't stop talking!  I think the longest time he was quiet was about 3 minutes!  Cami finally said to him, "Niland, can you stop talking?  All you do is talk!"  Thankfully, she'd seen the movie several times also, so it was not new to her.  I took Niland to the kitchen to help me make popcorn the old-fashioned way, and when I turned on our gas stove, he kept asking, "How you get the fire in there, Nana?"  Try explaining that to a 3-year-old!  I tried, but I don't know how successful I was!  He loved watching the popcorn pop through the glass lid -- no microwave stuff at my house! 

On Halloween, we stopped by our kids' houses in Raleigh on the way home from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and saw the little guys dressed in their outfits.  Benny, who is 16 months old now, is a little guy and couldn't wear the outfit that his big brother wore 2 years ago when he was exactly the same age.  Their birthdays are July 19 and 20, two years and one day apart!  So Bernette purchased a hamburger outfit for Benny, and he was just too cute in it!  Niland is into Spiderman really big right now, so that was his outfit for Halloween.  Wilson loves firetrucks, so he was a fireman, and Cooper loves his Thomas trains and sported a conductor outfit for the event.  All of the boys had a great time with their first memorable trick-or-treating event!  The pictures above are from that day. 

Kids know how to play.  You don't have to teach them; they just KNOW!  How do we forget to do what comes naturally as children?  I love to sit on our swingset and swing beside the little boys in their toddler swings; I love to run up and down the slope with them, play ball or frisbee (can't throw it worth a hill of beans, though, and neither can they!), blow bubbles in their faces, or even sit in the kiddie pool with them during the hot summer.  I've learned that life is meant to be lived, and we have only one chance to make the most of what God gives us, so I want to keep playing until I can't play any more. 

Sometime soon, take a game out of the closet, dust it off, pull the chairs around the table, and have a family night of fun -- the dishes can wait; the dust will still be there tomorrow; the laundry can get done later -- by taking just an hour from your busy day.  It will be time well spent!

Sad State of Affairs

Have you noticed how depressing it is to read or watch the news everyday?  Headlines abound about men killing their girlfriends/wives, even when pregnant; men robbing and raping; soldiers killing other soldiers; men stealing kids and doing deplorable things to them; family members killing other family members; people taking advantage of the elderly in so many ways; gang members killing innocent people -- the list goes on and on!  What has become of our world?  It is indeed a sad state of affairs. 

When I was a very little girl, my siblings and I could play outside without fear of being grabbed by some stranger.  We left our doors unlocked.  Neighbor knew neighbor.  Parents and children played outside in their neighborhoods, and we'd wave to people as they passed by either on foot or in their cars.  Life was simpler, slower, and safer than it is today.  Whether we know it or not, we have become a nation that has slidden down a slope into an environment that's unhealthy for us and even moreso for our children. 

Last evening, I found "The Waltons" on the Inspiration station on my Dish Network.  I watched it!  It was relaxing, entertaining, and wholesome -- and I remembered that my children had grown up watching that show.  All those years ago, I never had to worry about the conversations, the content of the program, or the possibility of violence.  Indeed, the stories were family-oriented and could be enjoyed by everyone -- young and old alike.  But now, we allow our kids -- and us -- to see violence against others, to hear cuss words at every turn, to hear putdowns and criticism, to view science fiction stories that contain grotesque animations, movies depicting murders and brutalities to other human beings -- and we wonder why our society is the way it is!  Viewing such things creates a photo of that brutality or grotesque thing into the person's mind who viewed it, causing that image to be brought to memory by various triggering points.  What we do and how we act are directly related to what we see and hear, yet we continue to devour like ravenous dogs everything that the movie industry throws our way and often encourage our children to see things that they can't handle and shouldn't view. 

Young children are impressionable.  When they see things on the big screen or on television, how can they differentiate between what's real and what's computer-generated?  Fear is real, and once instilled into children, it can leave then uncertain, confused, and often terrified of things that are non-existent, but because they saw them in a movie, they are real to THEM.  As parents, we need to shield our children from images that can literally affect their lives. 

Let's protect our children from the ravages of Hollywood and the violence that spills from it.  Let's take charge of keeping things of violence and horror out of our living rooms and out of our own minds as well.  We'll be better, kinder, more compassionate people for it. 

Aging and Wrinkles

I don't watch much television; mostly I watch the news, but I do like "Dancing with the Stars" (I like the idea of being able to dance like that!) and "Biggest Loser" (I'm captivated by the journeys of the people on the show and their stories that brought them there).  Recently, I caught a glimpse of Raquel Welch as she attended a star-studded event, and the commentator mentioned that she looked fabulous for someone 70 years of age!  I have to admit that was true, but how much has she paid to look that good?  How many face lifts has she endured?  And WHY?  Because the world expects her to look as good as she did 35 years ago!  Isn't that absurd?

In the natural, no one who reaches the age of 70 is wrinkleless -- it just isn't possible.  Yet Hollywood and the magazines in our culture negate the aging process by flaunting people who've had extensive plastic surgery, whose photographs have been enhanced by the computer or touched up to hide every blemish and wrinkle, and by using only rail-thin, young models.  We've become a nation that frowns on those with wrinkles or white hair, often creating an antagonistic atmosphere in the workplace and relegating those folks to the sidelines of life, as if their lives don't matter any longer.  So much emphasis is placed on the young, the vibrant, those who are thin or those who have muscular physiques, that we as a nation have lost the respect of those who've lived life long and well.  What has happened to the dignity that used to be bestowed on those who grew old with grace?  Have we overlooked the fact that to grow old is a blessing from above, that all of our days are numbered by our Creator? 
I'm saddened every time I hear or read of a young person dying, either by accident or by disease, because that person has stood before the throne of God and has had to give an account of his abbreviated life.  Not one of us knows the length of our days.  Living every day as if it were our last is the only way to live; we have only the moment that exists in the now.  We are not guaranteed the next hour, much less the next day.  I've been blessed with over 61 years now.  Many do not reach my age.  My mother-in-law just turned 88, and if I'm blessed with that many years, I've got 27 more to go!  But there's no way of knowing if I'll live to be that old.

When I was a young girl, I used to look at people who were 60+ and think they were ancient -- many of them looked very old.  Now that I've passed that threshhold, I realize that age is a state of mind, and if you think you're old, you'll look old, feel old, and act old!  As for me, I still work out, still power-walk, still stay active with all the grandkids, and still enjoy my life as much as I can.  My grandfather lived to be 94, and he wasn't old because he had a heart full of life and vitality until his last few months.  The same was true for his sister, my great aunt, who died when she was 96.  They loved life, they loved the Lord, and they embraced and ran with what was handed to them in the final stages of life.  I only pray that I can embrace the aging process and all that may come with it as they did.  I'm determined not to get old before my time.

The next time you see a white-haired elderly person with a face etched in wrinkles, look at that face as a work of art created by God Almighty, a canvas portraying the struggles, triumphs, and joys of life.  Each wrinkle, each crease, has a story to tell, and even though the body may age, the spirit remains young.  If you're fortunate enough to have family members in their 60's, 70's, 80's and beyond, talk to them about their youth, how things were when they were young, because once they pass away, all of their memories will go with them.  Such people are rare treasures to be cherished and respected.  Family is our greatest inheritance.  Keep it close and precious.

Survived!

We are still alive, and so are the grandkids -- but only 3 of them!  No, we didn't do away with one!  Let me explain.  Wilson was sick Saturday with runny eyes and nose and it was best that he stayed home, so we had only 3 grandchildren, not 4 as we had anticipated. 

I had to pick up Ben (15 months old) and Niland (3 years 3 months) on Saturday close to the RBC Center in Raleigh, where their parents were going to attend a conference, but the usually 17-minute-long trip took an hour and 5 minutes due to the North Carolina State Fair occurring at the same time right next to the RBC Center.  When I finally switched cars with Nate and Bee in order to avoid switching kids and car seats, I headed off in a direction that was new to me in order to avoid the traffic jam on I-40.  I had to call my husband to direct me home as I didn't have a clue as to my location, although I knew I was headed in the right direction.  Niland heard me talking to my husband on the phone and hollered, "Hi, Papa Bob!"  He asked what Papa was doing, and I told him that he was helping me find our house.  Later in the day, when we were running around the back yard having fun, Niland abruptly stopped what he was doing, wrapped his arms around my husband's legs, and said, "Thanks for helping us find your house, Papa."  While in the car, I was also strictly instructed by Niland to watch "Benners", as he calls his little brother, because "he runs fast."  Yes, sir! 

We got home about an hour and 40 minutes after I left the house, and Cooper was there but was sleeping in his car, having fallen fast asleep on the way over.  His mother, Ellen, stayed with us until he awoke, and then he wasn't too pleased about being left and gave an Oscar-winning performance for us as his mother quietly departed.  We quickly diverted his attention to sliding down the slide and playing with Niland, and his tears quickly dried.  The afternoon was spent swinging and sliding, running up and down the slope in the yard, exploring the flower garden, digging in the dirt, playing ball, blowing bubbles, and eating at the picnic table!  Later we took our two strollers, strapped Ben in one and went for a walk with Niland and Cooper taking turns riding in the other stroller.  Papa suggested that maybe they could help push Bennie, so Cooper jumped at the chance and started pushing the stroller via the basket at the bottom in the back.  He was all bent over but was really pushing that stroller -- I was just guiding it.  He kept saying, "I can hear Bennie!  I can hear Bennie!"

When we returned home from the walk, we pulled out some Play Doh and started having fun, but I quickly moved the kids' table off the rug and onto the hardwood floors.  Play Doh does not come out of carpet easily!  We squished and punched, shaped and smashed, made snakes and balls, and had a great time.  In the meantime, Bennie, who is too young to do Play Doh, discovered my black cat, Sammy, and gave him a huge hug while he slept on a kitchen chair.  Definitely displeased, Sammy bolted for the door, and I let him outside, which caused Bennie to go back outside, so we followed after putting away the Play Doh.  More play outside, storytime by Papa, and more munchies filled the afternoon, and before we knew it, it was time for supper.  We ordered dinner from Bob Evan's down the street about 2 miles, Papa went to pick it up, Cooper's parents returned, dinner arrived, and as we spread things out, Nate and Bee arrived.  Bennie was already digging into his spaghetti and green beans, but he really loved the rolls the most.  Dinner was on the chaotic side and there was little left, but everyone was happy.  In a whirlwind of activity, everyone left after helping clean up from dinner, and we waved goodbye and sighed a collective sigh of relief.  We had SURVIVED!  And rather well, if I might add.

That evening around nine o'clock, I realized how absolutely exhausted I was, but it was a good exhausted, borne from loving on family and doing what I love to do.  It was a great day!  I hope you have days like this which, although exhausting and sometimes a little stressful, are what makes life worth living. 

Grab one of your kids and/or grandkids and hug them today.  We're not promised tomorrow.

Will We Survive?

Tomorrow is Saturday, and my husband and I will have -- voluntarily, mind you -- four of our grandchildren to ourselves for about 5 hours.  Now, you have to understand that they are all boys and range in age from 15 months to 3 years and 3 months old!  WHAT WERE WE THINKING? 

Two of the boys, the youngest and the oldest, are brothers, and the other two are cousins -- well, they're all cousins to each other, but only two of the boys are siblings.  We offered to take the two brothers so their parents could attend a conference in Raleigh, and then we informed the other mothers that we'd be glad to have the other two boys over so all of them could play together.  We have plans -- to play outside on the swingset; to run around the yard and play catch; to quietly (we hope!) watch a Veggie Tales video; to take a walk up and down the cul-de-sac; and to make smushy things out of Play Doh!  Oh, and we'll try to get the lively little arms and legs to sit still long enough to read a story to them!  Do you think we'll succeed?

I'll let you know who comes out relatively unscathed -- the grandkids or the grandparents!  Have a great Saturday! 

Blessings!

Sometimes, when things are really dry -- both physically and spiritually -- it seems as if the dryness will last forever.  We were approaching the end of September with weeks of no substantial rains and the likelihood that the month would go down as the dryest on record with record-breaking temperatures on many days.  However, the last five days of the month took a dramatic turn, dumping inches of rain on thirsty land, flooding creeks and small streams, and bringing down leaves that had dried due to lack of moisture.  Our yard, after absorbing almost seven inches of rain in four days, is now a soggy sponge.  The rain also brought cooler temperatures, and now, rather than being 20 degrees above normal, we are looking at and enjoying (?) below normal temperatures.  The coming days are forecast to provide even cooler temperatures, keeping us about 13 degrees below normal.  What a rollercoaster ride!  From famine to feast in rain, and from too much heat to not enough -- at least in my opinion.  Oddly, the few surviving tomato vines are setting fruit, and if we can keep temperatures in the 70's and 60's for about six weeks, they will ripen.  Oh, to have a late-season garden tomato after so few due to the extreme heat and lack of rain!

God's blessings are freely given, both to believers and unbelievers, and no one should take for granted those blessings.  Even as I basked in the blessing of rain again, my heart was challenged by God in the area of living radically for Him and giving radically to Him.  A friend of mine gave me a copy of "Crazy Love" by Frances Chan, and I've been reading that during my lunch break and being fully convicted by the Holy Spirit that I've been a lukewarm Christian.  It's so easy to slide into lukewarm that most of us probably don't even know we're there and think that we're living an exemplary Christian life.  Wrong!  Please pick up a copy of this book for yourselves and read, and you'll understand why I say that.  And during this past week, God used that book, as well as circumstances in my life and the Word that was spoken from the pulpit on Sunday, to challenge my husband and I to be extravagant givers.  All of us give on a level that does not impact our lifestyles; rarely do any of us give sacrificially -- meaning that our giving causes us to do without, cut back, or postpone a purchase.  No, we all give safely from our abundance.  Yet 52% of the world lives on less than $2 per day, and we here in the United States do not understand that we are extremely rich compared to the rest of the world.  Instead, we compare ourselves to the Joneses, to our neighbors, our extended family, and look at what we DO NOT have rather than what we have.  We hoard stuff that we don't need, eat ourselves into obesity, and charge ourselves into debt living beyond our wealthy means!  All of us are guilty, including me! 

On Sunday, October 3, my husband and I participated in a Walk to Stop Child Trafficking Now (http://www.sctnow.org/) in Raleigh, North Carolina.  There were numerous other walks held in several states across the country.  I had signed on to be a team leader and sadly had only one other lady sign up to walk with my husband and me -- and I had petitioned many friends in our rather large church to join us.  Deeply saddened at the lack of response from our community, both church-going and non-church-attending, my husband and I upped our giving by about 20 times from what we had given at the time I had signed on as a team captain.  We were both convinced that we would please God by giving to help stop the crime of child slavery, and yet we still didn't impact our lifestyle one bit.  Oh, we took a chunk out of our savings -- our security blanket -- but we still have it.  We could have given more! 

After reading Chan's book, I think he's right on -- that we in America have become so accustomed to sitting in the lap of luxury that we don't have a clue what it is to give sacrificially; that we've become complacent and think that we deserve wealth; that we have closed our eyes to the needs of most of the people in this world; and that we'll give as long as it doesn't affect us.  We are all dams of prosperity, holding back and accumulating stuff that we don't need, can't afford, and all too often don't even use -- just because we can.  I'm challenging each and every one of us to pass along our blessings and not hoard them.  Ultimately, we will have to answer to God for how we used the wealth that he has bestowed upon us.  Let's all try to give extravagantly! 

Gardening without Rain

This summer has seen record-breaking temperatures in North Carolina.  So far, we've surpassed the number of days with 90 degrees or better by three days and are well on our way of crushing the old record, whatever it was.  The coming week is forecast to have another series of days in the mid to upper 90's despite the fact that the first day of Fall is Thursday.  On top of the extremely constantly high temperatures, we've suffered from a severe lack of rainfall, currently running about 8 inches behind for the year, and most of that shortfall occurring during the last four months, which has resulted in crispy grass and dying shrubs.  Going without rain for weeks at a time has caused every living plant, tree, and shrub to suffer, and leaves are now turning yellow and brown and dropping to the ground as a result.

Last winter, I grew and then sold during the spring 757 heirloom tomato plants, 19 varieties in all, and planted 15 of those in my own garden, expecting a bumper tomato crop.  There's nothing better, to my tastebuds, than sinking one's teeth into a warm tomato picked right off the vine, ripe and juicy, but the weather conditions have not been condusive to vegetable gardening.  I'm still waiting for those tomatoes!  With temperatures exceeding 100 degrees several times and no cloud cover, the few tomatoes that did set and turn red literally cooked on the vine, the strength of the sun's rays breaking down their tissue during the day.  I learned to pick the few tomatoes I got before they ripened and in the morning if the day was predicted to be extremely hot again, which was about every single day.  Tomatoes and other vegetables don't set fruit when they have to fight to stay alive during extreme conditions; they flower but drop the buds to conserve energy.  It has been a battle to get anything from the earth this summer in the Triangle region of North Carolina, and all the thoughts I had of gorging on tomatoes, canning and freezing them, selling some and giving some away, vanished weeks and weeks ago.

I told my husband the other day that I realized why I didn't feel like there was a summer and that I didn't enjoy it -- I literally spent my life watering the gardens, both vegetable and flower, and all the pots on the deck for at least 1-2 hours every single day.  My time was spent keeping things going.  Our water bill reflected that effort.  And yet we got very little from the garden.  The only thing that did well were the cucumber vines; I'm going to purchase the same variety next year because I've never harvested so many long, perfect cucumbers in my 40+ years of gardening.  Oddly, now that the season is winding down, we're getting some tomatoes on vines that we didn't even plant, volunteer ones that showed up down the slope by the compost bin, and even though I haven't watered them, they are thriving and setting fruit now that the nights are cooler.  When temps were 100 in the day and 80 at night, that was impossible to do.  Hopefully, those tomatoes will have time to mature and ripen before frost sets in.  The other tomato plants are spent and almost completely brown.  No amount of water and cooler temperatures will revive them. 

Gardening without rain is like trying to do good without God.  It just isn't the same.  Yes, you will produce some fruit, but it won't be what it could be if God were the reason for your good deeds.  Just as my gardens need rain from the sky to survive, we need God to give us the strength we need to produce fruit that will bring glory to His name.  We must plant seeds and allow Him to do the watering. 

Butterfly Kisses

Butterflies and little girls -- no prettier combination exists in my mind.  With my abundant flowers, butterflies are everywhere in our yard, and I've discovered that butterflies won't fly away if you approach them from behind.  Apparently they don't see you, and you can actually touch them -- even with your nose.  The numerous tiger swallowtails that frequent my yard often have a wing span of 4 - 5 inches, and they are gorgeous beyond description.  I can tell if a particular butterfly is rather young or old depending on the condition of its wings.  Young butterflies have perfect wings with bright colors, while older ones often have pieces of their wings missing, broken by the storms of life, and fading colors.  So far, I've found 2 Monarchs fallen to the ground in my gardens, their life cycle complete.  I'm still finding Monarch caterpillars, but despite numerous caterpillars, I've yet to find a chrysalis anywhere in my yard, so I'm keeping a vigilant eye for them.  I'm continually amazed that so many caterpillars can eat my plants and then 'disappear' when they chrysalize, making it a challenge for me to locate even one!

My granddaughter, Cami, loves my flower gardens.  When the wall was built this past April, she asked if she could walk through the garden, and I told her certainly she could, so off she trotted, skipping and dancing through the short path.  When she emerged, she exclaimed, "It's just like Duke Gardens!"  Cami is a lover of nature and animals, so when she's at our home, I spend time with her exploring our yard.  We never have any trouble locating little toads; they are so numerous in our yard that one has to be careful not to step on them!  Recently when she was over, I explained to her that she could 'kiss' a butterfly and that it would 'kiss' her back if she could get her nose up to one, so off she went.  Actually getting her nose on a butterfly was a challenge because every time she got close to one, it would fly away, but she never gave up, patiently following the butterflies as they flitted about.  Finally, she was able to get her nose on one, and the butterfly flapped its wings slowly against her face!  What a precious moment for her!  She was enthralled with the experience!  The attached photo is a true Kodak moment.

Just as Cami had to chase the butterflies to get what she was after, so we too must chase our dreams.  With my 61st birthday looming this weekend, I realize that I still have unfulfilled dreams, dreams that are worth pursuing.  Dreams give us hope for something better, something accomplished, something completed.  The Bible says that without hope, people perish.  Pursue your dreams; keep hope alive no matter what desires dwell in your heart.  Seek first the kingdom of God, put your hope in the Lord, and He will bring your dreams to pass.

Where has time gone?

Here it is, Labor Day weekend staring me in the face, and I'm wondering whatever happened to summer.  Not once have I been swimming with my grandkids; not once have my husband and I gotten on our bikes and gone for a ride; not once have we strapped on our hiking boots and taken a hike; not once have we put our canoe in the water; and not once have we taken a day trip for rest and relaxation. 

Instead, our weekends have been filled with extended family matters related to my mother-in-law, entertaining friends (moreso than family), hosting events at our home, and simply doing what needs to be done on the weekends when you work full-time.  And now summer is coming to a close, and I feel as if I've missed it.

Sadly, we got caught up in a flurry of activity, some of which we couldn't control but some of which we could control, and we sacrificed time with our families for it.  I've had to repent of my part in this, and I'm seeking this weekend to reconnect -- to go swimming with my grandkids; to plan for a trip to one of the local lakes where we can plop the canoe in the water, swim and play in the sand with the little ones, and take turns paddling around the lake; to plan a day hike with the older grandkids; to plan a day hike with just me and my husband; to sit back and relax and watch the butterflies and the birds in our back yard.  Sometimes I feel as if I spend so much time tending the flowers that I often don't take the time to enjoy them. 

Today, I hurried home for lunch after dropping some books off at my church, and while I was eating, I wandered through the flower beds and saw the biggest tiger swallowtail butterfly that I have ever seen!  So gorgeous, bright, and large!  Had I not gone home, I would have missed this fragile creature, but it again reminded me that we are here on this earth for only a brief time, and that butterfly was once a caterpillar but can now fly, and likewise, we are in our 'caterpillar' stage on this earth until given our heavenly wings.  Butterflies live only a few short weeks, and comparatively, we live a much longer time, but when looked at in the light of thousands of years, we are but a blink of an eye, a vapor in the wind, and then we are gone. 

I've learned that time is a commodity that we spend; often we waste time, or we spend it on meaningless stuff, or we burn it, or we relish and savor every minute of it.  I feel as if I've wasted much of my time this summer, and there's no way I can get it back.  It's gone for good.  But I can determine to allocate and spend my future time in more meaningful, more purposeful ways.  Babies will be babies only so long; toddlers will be entering kindergarten before we know it; elementary age kids will be middle-schoolers in the blink of an eye; and high-schoolers will be heading off to college before we can say goodbye.  So, yes, I regret wasting so much time these last few months (those minutes and hours over which I had complete control), but I do endeavor to spend my time wisely from this day forward. 

How about you?  Have you wasted, lost, or burned time?  Have you lost your connections with family due to 'busyness'?  If so, stop and listen to your heart, the hearts of your loved ones, and the heart of the Creator, and then hold time tightly in your hand, spending it on the things in life that matter the most. 

Butterflies and Hummingbirds

 

Saturday morning, after a restless night due to RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome), I headed outdoors with cup of coffee in hand to gaze upon the beauty that resides there.  I'm continually amazed that all I do is plant seeds and everything grows without my assistance.  The butterfly weed that came up voluntarily from seeds that dropped from plants that grew last year is now doing what I intended it to do -- supporting the Monarch butterfly caterpillars.  Butterfly weed is a member of the milkweed family and thus is sought out by Monarch butterflies, which lay their eggs on the plants.  The tiny caterpillars were barely 1/16 of an inch long when I first found them, but some are now fully grown, their bodies round and fat with pale green, white and black stripes.  The striking feature about the caterpillars is two black antennae at the head and also at the end of their bodies, which makes them undesirable to predators such as birds.  As they grow, they eat the butterfly weed and strip the leaves down to the thick stems, leaving dark, round droppings behind as they work their way down the plant.  It's an amazing process to observe.  Soon, they'll simply disappear and chrysalize, and hopefully I'll be able to locate those and show you what an incredibly beautiful thing they are, even at that stage. 

I tried to attach a video depicting what greeted me Saturday morning, filling my eyes with beauty, easing my frustration at my lack of sleep, and refreshing my soul.  As I filmed the butterflies and caterpillars, a hummingbird came to the feeder a few feet from where I stood and delighted me by allowing me to capture it on the camera.  A real treat for sure!  But the video was too long to upload.  So I went out and took a shorter version, and I didn't know I had captured a very brief passing of a hummingbird until I watched the video.  Our yard is a stage for dancing butterflies, which flutter and play with each other in the breeze, and darting hummingbirds, which zoom about at near supersonic speed, chasing each other as each tries to lay claim to the feeder.  After waiting for well over an hour for a short 3.5 minute video to upload, again it failed.  I'll have to figure out why.

So please enjoy the attached photos, and may you find rest and relaxation in the beauty of God's creation.

Confusion!

I continually see time written like this:  12:00 AM and 12:00 PM.  How do you interpret that?  Is 12 AM the high noon hour, the official end of the morning? Or is it the middle of the night?  And is 12 PM the high noon hour or the middle of the night?  I do not know why people continually use those designations for time because they simply are incorrect.  Just as we've become slack in our grammar, spelling and punctuation (in part due to the computer), we've become slack and incorrect in writing time.  It is 12 Noon and 12 Midnight -- it's that simple.  Why do we make things so complicated?  Any feedback here? 

In the name of Progress

During the last several months, I've watched beautiful wooded land destroyed as heavy machinery tore it down in a few days.  Why?  For a new toll road through Research Triangle Park.  What was once lovely woods, comprised mostly of the pines that grow so easily and aggressively here in North Carolina, is now nothing but bare soil and dust.  I, along with others in my office and building, have watched the process of what I call 'raping our land' in order to construct another highway.  Vast amounts of land are consumed throughout our country for this purpose, but I can't complain because I drive on those same roads.  But why is so much territory destroyed for roadways?  Why is all the land in a cloverleaf formation deforested?  Why can't some of that area be left 'natural'?  Not being an engineer, I guess I just don't see the sense of so much destruction, which is then covered over with either cement or asphalt, which in turn generates more heat into our atmosphere.

Today, and almost every day, our building was shaken by another blast at the construction site to dislodge the rock in the earth.  Sometimes there is no warning, and when the building shakes violently for two or three seconds, it can be a bit unnerving.  After today's blast, I quickly stepped from my desk and glanced down the hallway, where the large windows allowed a view of the dust cloud that arose from the blast site.  Later, the huge earthmoving equipment effortlessly scooped up mounds of earth and rock and dumped it into awaiting trucks, where it landed with a thunderous thump, and which then carried it off to another part of the construction zone to be added there.  My lunch hour, which I spend sitting in my car to escape the frigidity of my office, is now accompanied by the endless drone of machinery.  This goes on for hours every day, and slowly the earth is reshaped and configurated into the new roadway.

When  the tree removal first started, I wondered about all of the creatures that called that forest 'home' -- the squirrels, snakes, birds, racoons, opossums, deer, hawks and owls -- where were they to go?  How many were killed by the machinery as it destroyed their habitat?  Would their habitat be replaced?  No.  Instead, they were displaced and had to search for new homes, and when deer invade new developments, whose fault is it?  Humans continually destroy and move into wildlife habitats and then wonder why deer eat their prized plants! 

I understand that development is necessary, but I also think that less destruction is possible.  With more careful planning, I think more trees and natural areas could be saved.  The development where I live was clear cut -- not one tree was left standing except in the low-lying flood plain which abuts our property.  I love that area because there are tall trees in it, vines, shrubs, flowering trees and wild honeysuckle.  Hawks still live there, as do deer (fortunately, they haven't, for some strange reason, discovered my yard), opossums, birds, and countless frogs that live in the watershed.  The development where my daughter lives was not clear cut, and the neighbor behind her has a huge oak tree that must be at least 75 years old.  It provides shade for both of their yards and hosts many birds and squirrels, which continually raid her bird feeders!  When I first moved to North Carolina, I lived in an apartment complex that was constructed about 25 years ago, and the developers left large areas natural, creating parking and roads around them, and the result was so much nicer than those developed now, where the buildings are packed tightly together in a beehive construction, leaving no room for anything other than a few small trees. 

Tomorrow I'll return to work, entering the parking lot at the back entrance which used to be surrounded by trees but which is now barren except for a few boulders that are too large for even the mighty hydraulic earth-moving equipment to lift, and again watch the rape of the land, all in the name of progress.  It was much prettier to look out the window at work before this began and, even after its completion and landscaping, the area will never match what grew naturally.  Sometimes I wonder if progress is really progress at all. 

Celebrations

Saturday we celebrated another milestone for another grandchild -- Wilson turned two years old on the 12th of August.  His greatgrandfather on his mother's side turned 81 on August 14, so we had a combined party for people that were 79 years apart -- less two days -- in age!  Opting to hold the party so Wilson's greatgrandparents didn't have to drive meant having it at the senior retirement center where they live in Raleigh.  Earlier in the day, Bob and I had shopped for the birthday boy, choosing pajamas and a large wagon that could dump its contents and which also came with building blocks.  Knowing full well that Cooper, who is Wilson's cousin and older by five months, would be playing with the same toys as they spend hours together every day, we could envision the fun the boys would have with that wagon.  We only hope that it can withstand their rough play! 

So with much anticipation, Bob and I pulled ourselves away from yard and house work (which can always wait until another time) and drove to Raleigh, where we met all the extended family in a room that was too small to accomodate everyone.  Notwithstanding the fact that there were four toddlers running around and three greatgrandparents in attendance, everyone managed to squeeze and shuffle around the huge table in the center of the room as camers flashed, the cake (which was made by Wilson's dad's mother and looked like a baseball -- too cute!) was cut, the traditional song sung, and presents were opened.  Goodies were consumed at an alarming rate, and I'm pretty certain that the mothers of those toddlers had kids running on sugar highs for the rest of the day.  One of the workers at the facility obliged us and took a group shot of everyone, but I do think that a few managed to hide in the back behind everyone -- we'll have to take a closer look at the photo when it's downloaded to the computer to be sure -- and I do think that maneuver was intentional! 

At one point, the greatgrandfather celebrating his 81st birthday turned to my mother-in-law who is 87 and said, "You're the oldest one here, so you're responsible for this entire mess!"  What a hoot! 

A brief moment of panic ensued when Wilson's parents couldn't find him when things were breaking up.  After about three or four minutes of frantic searching, he was found with his Aunt Jill, taking things to the car.  A huge sigh of relief escaped everyone when he was found, and all was well.  As we said our goodbyes and got in our car for the trip home, I again realized how important family is -- that's what life is all about, really.  We'd recently celebrated the birthdays of my son's two children, Niland and Ben, born 2 years and 1 day apart, and even though Wilson is my husband's blood grandchild, he's still part of my family.  Every family weaves its own tapestry, sings its own song, and dances its own dance; no two are identical, and it's that uniqueness that makes each and every one special.  God invented the family and established it as the backbone of any society, and we must do everything we can to promote its well-being, protect it, defend it, and participate in it for the sake of our children and grandchildren.  I can assure you that life passes all too quickly and that, even though you may be young now, you'll be my age before you know it and your children will be grown with children of their own.  So let's all make a point to celebrate the family, to celebrate life, and to celebrate every success and every milestone.  God came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly, and that means that we are to live it to the fullest that we can through him by enjoying all that he's given us -- and family is a gift from God.  Go ahead -- celebrate!

Rest and Relaxation

Vacations -- we all take them and love them, but oh, the misery of returning to work!  Part of my vacation last week was spent at the beach with my daughter, Dori, her husband, John, and their two children, Luke and Cami.  We went to Ocean Isle where we rented a condo for the week.  As many of you know, buildings close to the ocean are built atop huge timbers to prevent them from flooding in case of storm surge during a hurricane, so even though we were on the second floor of the building, it was really the third floor, and we had to climb two sets of stairs, 16 steps in each set, every time we went up or down.  I haven't a clue as to how many times in a day we climbed those 32 steps, but I do know that my legs felt it, yet the exercise felt good!  Our bodies are made to move and work, and because I sit at a desk all day, moving and working is what I do when I get away from that desk. 

The back of the condo unit was adjacent to a small man-made lagoon enclosed by brush almost around  its entire circumference.  From the vantage point of the elevated deck, we could see turtles -- very big ones -- covered with algae swimming just under the water's surface.  Their heads appeared often, resembling tips of branches poking from the water.  Some of the turtles were as large as dinner plates, and they got fed by people who were as intrigued by them as we were.  At night, the lagoon became a chorus of frogs, thrumping and croaking out a deafening song which then slowly faded into silence, only to resume a few moments later into a cacaphonic symphony.  Closed windows were a necessity for sleep!

We experienced thunderstorms, sunshine, heat and humidity during our time at the beach, and we thoroughly enjoyed the waves.  Despite my advancing years, I still love to ride a boogey board on a good wave all the way to the beach, and when I catch a good one and end up stranded on the sand, I notice the strange looks of others at this white-haired lady doing such a thing!  Is there a rule that I can't?  Absolutely not!  So I'll continue enjoying boogey-boarding until I no longer can!  Cami and I spent many minutes riding the waves as they surged toward us, and when they broke before reaching her, Cami would dive under them.  Even though she's only 8 years old, she's a very good swimmer and loves the ocean.  Dori, Cami and I were at the beach for 3 hours on Monday (the males had gone fishing), and I do believe Cami was in the water all but 15 minutes of that time! 

Sand, sun, surf -- all part of our wonderful world!  Standing on the edge of the ocean as the waves washed over my feet and then retreated, leaving me sinking in their wake, I realized that there are mysteries to our earth and universe that will never be understood during my lifetime -- and maybe never understood.  How does the ocean swell so beautifully and then rage into a relentless storm that destroys?  How does life exist in the ocean's depths without sun or heat?  How do creatures of the deep exist in such depths?  How does magma burn inside the earth where there's neither fuel nor oxygen?  And the sun -- how does it burn without the aid of oxygen in the vastness of space?  So many things I ponder when I'm in the natural world -- a world without concrete, buildings, air-conditioning, walls, and ceilings.  God lights up the sky at night, but how many of us actually go outside during the dark and gaze up at his marvelous heavens, which show his love for us?  I think most people have lost touch with the earth that God created and, because of that, no longer see the need for taking care of and protecting our precious, fragile environment.

Next time you go outside, take off your shoes, walk in the grass, lie down on it, watch the clouds pass by, inspect a flower (if you have any in your yard), find an earth worm, watch the butterflies, breathe deeply of a rose's fragrance, and truly take in all the beauty which surrounds us daily.  And after dark, step outside without the aid of a flashlight and gaze up at the heavens.  I expect that you'll be in awe at what you see.

Disturbing Reality

Nature has a way of teaching truth -- and again I was a witness to another truth today.

After spending a long weekend at the beach with my daughter, her husband, my grandson and my granddaughter, we returned to our gardens which had been blessed with rain in our absence.  Being away on vacation, no matter how brief, is always good, refreshing, and relaxing, but returning home to the familiar is always comforting.  I missed seeing my gardens while I was away.  So I've been enjoying the countless butterflies as they flutter from flower to flower, sipping the life-giving nectar that they crave. 

Late today, I had to pull out the hose again; it was a hot day, probably close to 96 degrees or so with oppressive humidity.  As I began to water the drooping flowers, I noticed a spicebush swallowtail that looked rather odd from my vantage point.  Upon further inspection, I discovered that it was being consumed, at that very instant, by another huge praying mantis.  Needless to say, I was greatly disturbed.  Suddenly, the insect that I thought to be my friend became an object of my anger.  How dare it kill beautiful, harmless butterflies!  It was supposed to, at least in my book, kill only those things that did harm to my plants, and here I'd caught praying mantises killing both a hummingbird moth and now a beautiful, fragile butterfly!  I stepped inside and grabbed my camera and documented the 'murder' again, but I thought I'd spare showing you another grizzly photograph. 

The praying mantis has taught me that what appears to be beneficial and should be beneficial can often be destructive as well.  There is not one human being -- outside of Jesus Christ -- that is good in every aspect, and I'm sure that every one reading this can think of at least one person who has done something to hurt you, even if they claim to love you.  People are fallible, deceptive, pretentious and manipulative, and all of us have been the object of harm at one time or another.  Just as the praying mantis is beneficial, he also shows no selectivity when it comes to catching a meal -- be it butterfly or grasshoppper, whatever comes near, he'll catch it and devour it.  Many things and people in this world appear to be good but are only concerned about their own welfare and will take down and destroy someone to get what they want.  As the word says in Matthew 10:16 -- "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.  Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."

Watch and pray, dear readers, so you'll not be snared by a praying mantis in your life.  It appears to be praying when in actuality it is waiting for an unsuspecting insect to travel close enough to snag, and even people who appear to be praying will wait until the opportune moment to snatch someone unawares. 

The Praying Mantis

As some of you know, I have quite a few flower gardens spread through my yard.  The back slope used to be bare ground but is now a perennial flower garden full of hollyhocks, sweet william, coreposis, black-eyed susans, lilies, bee balm, hot lips sage (yes, that's a plant!), butterfly weed, about 15 varieties of day lilies, Mexican hat (yes, that's a flower, too!), Canterbury bells, lupine, red hot poker (and again, yes!), lambs' ear, and several other flowers that escape my memory at the moment.  The slope is a riot of color which changes from week to week, depending on what's in bloom, and right now, the zinnias, which are not perennials but annuals, that I threw out to fill in the blank spots are in full bloom. 

Our rather large deck is surrounded by more flowerbeds which wrap around three sides of our house.  Because we sit at the end of a cul-de-sac, our front yard is very narrow, but the plot expands rapidly and incorporates .39 of an acre.  So with these multiple flower gardens, we have loads of butterflies, bees, and even praying mantises. 

Early this past spring, I found three praying mantis cocoons -- one on the side of the house, one on an azalea shrub, and another on a small cypress tree, and I was thrilled because a praying mantis can eat a lot of the bad guys that eat my flowers.  But on Sunday, I watched the demise of a hummingbird moth, and it wasn't a pretty sight.  I was standing at the step up into the garden, gazing at the beauty around me and trying to decide where I was going to put the sprinkler (watering has been a continual process due to a severe shortage of rainfall in our area) when I heard a frantic flapping sound.  I located the source of the noise and found a praying mantis that must have been least four inches long with a hummingbird moth in its vice-like grip.  Desperate to be free, the moth was flapping its wings madly, and I wondered if it actually was going to escape.  I called my husband over, and we both marveled at what we were watching. Quickly I ran inside and fetched the camera, and when I returned, the struggle was over, and the praying mantis had already chewed off the head of the hummingbird moth.  There would be no escape.  The praying mantis was the exact same color as the stems and leaves of the zinnias and blended in perfectly, and when the hummingbird moth came to sip nectar from a flower, he didn't see the death trap that was awaiting him.  That hummingbird moth did not harm my garden and was a delight to behold, but it fell prey to an insect that was designed by God to do what it does -- eat other insects.  The attached photo says it all. 

There's a lesson to be learned here.  Often we go places and don't see the dangers, disguised and attractive,  lurking there, and before we know it, we've been snared by the enemy of our souls.  Many times we don't think of the spiritual battles occuring in the heavenlies, and without diligence and protection with God's Word, we may end up like that unsuspecting hummingbird moth -- captured with no way of escape.  Stay close to God, dear friends, and don't fall prey to someone or something that blends in with the scenery around us.

Birthday Celebrations!

Last Saturday, we celebrated the birthdays of two of our grandchildren -- Niland, who turned 3 on July 19; and his brother, Ben, who turned 1 on July 20.  Yes, a day apart in birthdays!  The entire family showed up at their house, and, since it was raining, everyone pretty much stayed inside.  Thankfully, their house has a huge room over the garage that is the boys' play room, and it contained an air-filled bouncy contraption -- you know, you've seen them at parties and at fairs.  They have a blower that fills them with air, the kids get in and jump around, and the parents have to drag them out because they don't want to come.  So we had 3 toddler grandsons bouncing to their hearts' delight in that thing!  I got tired just watching them!  And Ben, even though he couldn't get in it, tried his level best to climb that inflated slide, only to slip back down into my awaiting arms.  He's a determined little fellow!

When I finally got to greet Niland, I hugged him and said, "Happy birthday, Niland!"  He hugged me back and said, "Happy birthday, Nana!"  It made my heart sing with laughter!  That's one memory that I will cherish in the 'too cute' category. 

Last March, we were at another grandson's birthday party, and Niland went with us.  After the cake and ice cream, we headed outdoors to let Niland use the swing that hung from a large tree in the front yard.  We were the only ones there for a while, but later, others flowed from the house to catch a breath of fresh air.  Niland let his cousins use the swing and decided to pick up some of the numerous pine cones that were in the yard.  As he wandered, he held up some of the pine cones in his hands to show one of the visiting mothers.  "Look!" he said as he held them up. "Wow, those are awesome!" was the animated reply.  Niland slowly lowered the pine cones in his hands and looked at them, clearly puzzled, and then he looked up and explained, "They not awesome!  They pine cones!"  And he was right! 

Have a blessed day. 

A Photograph is worth a thousand words!

A few weeks ago, I ventured outside to see the moon shining between  some storm clouds off in the distance.  It was dark outside, so I used the nighttime setting on the digital camera to capture this image.  I took a series of shots, and when my husband, who was working late, came home, he came outside and watched the spectacle unfold with me.  The moon and clouds changed by the second, and we were again reminded of the awesomness of God, who created everything and who put the moon in the sky to give us light at night while still allowing for sleep.  I often ponder why we, in this day and age, don't go outside at night other than to get in a car and go somewhere.  Rarely do we sit in our yards in the dark and gaze into the majesty that is right above our heads.  I used to be a Girl Scout leader, and every year when I took my girls tent camping, I'd take them outside into a field with only their flashlights to guide them, and then we'd spread our blankets on the ground and extinguish the lights and gaze at the incredible sky.  Many of the girls had never done such a thing before and were amazed at what they saw.  Most of us would be amazed, too, I think, if we'd simply stop and take a moment to look at what's around us -- trees, grass, flowers, ponds, lakes, the ocean, birds and bees, bugs of all kinds, cats and dogs, animals of all descriptions -- the list goes on and on -- endless!  Yet most of us simply go about our business without seeing the incredibly diverse world that exists right in front of us.  I think that's sad.  I encourage each of you to look up and look around as you go about your day.  You might be surprised at what you see -- for the very first time. 

God and Zoysia grass

As usual, a busy weekend. Saturday was the day of our Open Garden Party, where we invited co-workers, friends, and family to come visit us and our gardens. Despite thunderstorms within close proximity most of the day, the rain stayed away, much to my dismay, until shortly after 4:00 PM, when the event was wrapping up. Even then, the rain amounted to only a tenth of an inch, a paltry sprinkling for ground that is in desperate need of a good soaking. But at this point, I'll take anything that falls from the sky.

Now you're probably wondering about the title of this post. What do God and Zoysia grass have in common? Or you may even be asking, "What is Zoysia grass?" Well, we have a patch of Zoysia grass in our yard, and it is slowly spreading and taking over the entire yard, which is what we want to happen. Our yard, and most yards in North Carolina, is seeded or sodded with fescue, a clumpy type of thick-bladed grass that requires copious amounts of water to stay green during the heat of summer. We are also the not-so-proud owners of several areas of Bermuda grass, an invasive, fast-growing creeper that can overtake garden space while you watch! Our small patch of Zoysia is originally from my mother-in-law's house in Huntsville, Alabama, which was planted by my husband in 1960. While visiting there in 2007, we returned with a bag full of cuttings of the Zoysia grass, and Bob planted those sprigs in a flowerbed located in the center of our back yard (no, we did not put the flowerbed there -- the previous owners did, and I never saw the sense of a flowerbed in the middle of the yard). Without much care, the Zoysia grass rooted and started doing its thing -- sending out runners, both underground and on the surface. This is the third summer for our patch of Zoysia grass, and its toothpick-thin blades are so thick it's like a carpet and is many times larger than the original spot. As the Zoysia advances, we pull up and discard the fescue, and the Zoysia simply establishes itself.

During the Garden Party, the Zoysia was the focus of the interest of many visitors. Bob proudly explained how Zoysia grows, how it tolerates the heat and takes very little water to stay green in the summer. I think we sold the idea of Zoysia to most of our neighbors and fully expect that half of the cul-de-sac will be Zoysia within a year. We eagerly told our visitors of the benefits of Zoysia grass, and they could see the grass for themselves and verify what we said.

I woke up early this Tuesday morning and took a walk, and during that walk, God impressed upon my heart a truth that stung -- I eagerly tell others about Zoysia but not about Him. OUCH! The truth hurt. When He revealed that to me, I realized that He is much like Zoysia. All it takes is a little sprig of Zoysia to get it started, but after a few years, the grass will spread and cover an entire yard. All it takes is a belief in God, an acceptance of Him into our lives, and little by little, His character, His love, joy, peace and kindness, spread into every area of our lives, weaving a tapestry that covers all of the ugly things about our past. God, like Zoysia grass, can cover the dirt of our lives and create a beautiful carpet that invites people in to experience the same thing. How beautifully simple!

So I can sell you on Zoysia grass, or I can sell you on the God of the universe, who has created everything, including Zoysia grass. As for me, I'm glad to have Zoysia grass taking over and pushing out the fescue and Bermuda grasses in our yard, but I'm even happier about God living inside me and showing me such a thing as what I've shared.

How about you? Do you know the God who's like Zoysia grass?

Getting on With Life

So the book is finished, and now I wait for God's timing. But I'm not being very patient. I worked so hard to get the book in print, and now that it's done, it seems as if nothing is happening, other than me stabbing myself with a phillip's-head screwdriver when the screw went flying; my grandson Luke suffering a hairline fracture on his foot the first day of basketball camp; too much stress at work; Bob being stung by a bee; and someone somewhere in the world trying to use my debit card. I'm grateful for people who keep an eye out for these things, but this means that my debit card has been cancelled and a new one is being sent to me. I'm sure most of you have experienced something like this, and it makes me angry when someone thinks that they have a right to take something from someone else and inconvenience them. If they are so intelligent as to be able to steal my card number without ever seeing the card, why don't they put the brains the good Lord gave them to good use? I could go on and on about this topic, but I won't.

In the meantime, life goes on, and I'd like to know how in the world, when one is a grandparent, life can be so BUSY! This past weekend, for example, my husband and I had one of our pastors and his wife for dinner Saturday evening, so we spent the day preparing for that. But it wasn't just housework! No! We'd had a mowing edge installed around our gardens to prevent the newly-planted Zoysia grass from invading the beds, and the work left a great deal of dirt that needed to be mulched. So we purchased 15 bags of mulch and spent Saturday morning spreading it -- in the sunshine and 90-degree heat! EXHAUSTING! And then I had to go to the grocery store, clean house, and prepare food. The evening was very relaxing, and everyone had a good time, so the results were well worth the work.

Sunday arrived with its usual heat and humidity. I'm still trying to figure out how there can be so much humidity and no rain continuously; we are currently entering a moderate drought due to lack of rainfall, and we've experienced one run of 23 days straight of temps that reached 90 degrees or more. The lawns are parched and crispy, and I feel as if I spend my life watering the flower beds and vegetable gardens. I think we'll have to put our next water bill on time payments! I dread seeing it. Anyway, after church, we ate a quick lunch before my son and his wife brought over their two little boys, Niland and Ben. Niland will turn 3 on July 19, and Ben will turn 1 on July 20. Yep, one day apart in birthdays! In the meantime, my daughter and 8-year-old granddaughter Cami arrived. We filled the kiddie pool for Niland and Cami and tried to get Ben to take a much-needed nap, but to no avail. More than an hour later, we finally put him in the stroller and I took him for a walk, and he fell asleep within minutes and slept for well over an hour. I left him in the stroller in the shade of a tree, away from all the activity in the back yard, and sat near him and read, but soon I was fast asleep. I have no idea how long I napped. I was awakened by one of my husband's daughters arriving with her husband and 2-year-old son in tow, and shortly after, another daughter arrived with another son soon to be two in tow, and shortly after, the third daughter arrived with my mother-in-law in tow! BUSY place! At that time, little Ben awoke, a much happier baby than before. Soon even he was in the kiddie pool, along with his brother and step-cousins. I became drenched with one good squirt of the hose; Ben kept trying to climb on top of the child picnic table which held two 'lakes' complete with water, and virtual chaos ensued as parents endeavored to keep kids from dumping dirt into the pool and pouring water where it shouldn't be poured.

Thankfully, my daughter brought a huge pot of homemade pasta sauce, and my step-daughters brought fresh corn, so with the addition of grilled sausages, salad and bread, dinner was eaten by everyone, some inside and some outside. Later, when everyone was gone, I sighed as I began the cleanup, glad for such a blessing as family -- and glad that they all returned home!

I wasn't reluctant to fall into bed that night! Memories of the day -- Ben hugging me by leaning his head on my shoulder; Cami squirting me with the hose; Cooper singing "Happy Birthday" even though it wasn't anyone's birthday; Niland dumping dirt into the pool; and Wilson eating like no todler I've ever seen -- warmed my heart as I drifted off to sleep.

And despite prolific lightning and thunder in the distance this evening, still no rain at our house as I publish this post. Please, Lord, send us rain!