Lili's first Christmas: a gift for us all!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
A Proper Perspective Heading into the New Year
I recently received my notification from the eye doctor telling me that it's time for my examination. That's good because I've noticed that I've been experiencing a few difficulties seeing things lately. It isn't so much that my sight has changed, but there are scratches on my lens that are distorting my vision. My perspective needs help.
I often need my perspective adjusted. Many times, the things I'm seeing - or think I'm seeing - are not quite in focus with what really is. With a few adjustments, things look better.
For instance, have you ever awakened in a bad mood for no apparent reason but when you sit quietly and think about it you realize that you had a bad dream about something totally outside of the basis of reality? Okay, maybe I'm the only one who has ever had that experience. Happily for me and those who live with me, once I figured out the cause of my moodiness I was able to put things in the proper perspective and get my day moving in a more positive direction. This had the effect of making everyone's day a bit brighter. "When momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy," as the old quip goes.
I've been doing much thinking lately about perspective. As a consequence, I'll be doing much writing about perspective. There! You've been forewarned!
I've reached the time of life where there are decisions to be made due to life's changes and I've got to get out the spiritual and emotional lens cleaners and wipe some of the grime off so that I can see better when handling these changes. I've also got to ask the Doctor (the Great Physician, in case you needed a clue) to help me remove a few beams so that I use the kind of sight that only faith brings (oh, that kind of perspective) and is necessary for making proper decisions.
So . . . my vocabulary word for 2011 is "perspective." Stick around. Maybe something will be said that will help your eyesight, too.
I often need my perspective adjusted. Many times, the things I'm seeing - or think I'm seeing - are not quite in focus with what really is. With a few adjustments, things look better.
For instance, have you ever awakened in a bad mood for no apparent reason but when you sit quietly and think about it you realize that you had a bad dream about something totally outside of the basis of reality? Okay, maybe I'm the only one who has ever had that experience. Happily for me and those who live with me, once I figured out the cause of my moodiness I was able to put things in the proper perspective and get my day moving in a more positive direction. This had the effect of making everyone's day a bit brighter. "When momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy," as the old quip goes.
I've been doing much thinking lately about perspective. As a consequence, I'll be doing much writing about perspective. There! You've been forewarned!
I've reached the time of life where there are decisions to be made due to life's changes and I've got to get out the spiritual and emotional lens cleaners and wipe some of the grime off so that I can see better when handling these changes. I've also got to ask the Doctor (the Great Physician, in case you needed a clue) to help me remove a few beams so that I use the kind of sight that only faith brings (oh, that kind of perspective) and is necessary for making proper decisions.
So . . . my vocabulary word for 2011 is "perspective." Stick around. Maybe something will be said that will help your eyesight, too.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Do You Speak the Same Language? (Case D)
Do you speak the same language as your ancestors? Before you answer too quickly let me clarify my question. I'm not talking about a foreign language. I'm specifically referring to local dialects. Knowing how your ancestors pronounced certain words, including names, can provide important clues for locating documents.
Those of us who have ancestry that runs through the south, particularly the Appalachian Mountain region, might encounter some difficulties due to spelling. Part of the problem in the early records was illiteracy but spelling errors continued to occur long after literacy was restored to the area.
When the search began, no death certificate could be found in either the indices or in a search of the state archives. After lengthy attempts of spelling phonetically according to local speech patterns, the following document was finally located:
Those of us who have ancestry that runs through the south, particularly the Appalachian Mountain region, might encounter some difficulties due to spelling. Part of the problem in the early records was illiteracy but spelling errors continued to occur long after literacy was restored to the area.
I could give numerous examples of what I mean by this but I'll use Terrill Thompson to make my point. In Case C I discussed the difficulty in finding a death certificate for Matilda Tewksbury based upon information gleaned from her tombstone. In that case, Matilda had remarried (actually, she had remarried twice) but nothing on her grave indicated her forays into the holy estate of matrimony beyond that of her marriage to Thomas Tewksbury. It took a chance encounter with her name next to her daughter's on a census record to eventually locate her death certificate under a different name than the one found on her grave.
This case is somewhat similar. The spelling of Terrill Thompson's name and the information concerning his death was obtained from his headstone. It was assumed that his death certificate would be easily obtained. That was not to be!
This case is somewhat similar. The spelling of Terrill Thompson's name and the information concerning his death was obtained from his headstone. It was assumed that his death certificate would be easily obtained. That was not to be!
When the search began, no death certificate could be found in either the indices or in a search of the state archives. After lengthy attempts of spelling phonetically according to local speech patterns, the following document was finally located:
The name rendered "Terrill" on the headstone was given as "Turl" on the death certificate. This is not an isolated incident and colloquial pronunciation should always be considered when documents cannot be found using proper spelling. The letter "r" is particularly a troublesome one in some regional pronunciations. Vowels are also confused or used interchangeably. Alex is pronounced "Elick" and might be spelled that way. Dabney morphs into "Dabner" on his paperwork. Juanita may be spelled "Woneety" or "Neater." Josiah becomes "Sire."
This article is in no way intended to be mocking or insulting. These examples are from my own personal research.
As for Terrill's wife, Mandy? I've yet to locate her death certificate and suspect that an irregular spelling might be the cause. If anyone can offer assistance, I would be grateful.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Take Ten in '10, Week 52 Reading Schedule
Bible Reading Schedule for December 27-31, 2010
Monday, December 27th
Job 32, 33
Psalms 141, 142
Tuesday, December 28th
Job 34-36
Psalms 143, 144
Wednesday, December 29th
Job 37, 38
Psalms 145, 146
Thursday, December 30th
Job 39, 40
Psalms 147, 148
Friday, December 31st
Job 41, 42
Psalms 149, 150
Thanks for reading with me this year! I hope you've seen how important it is to read God's Word each day and that you'll continue to do so thoughout the coming year. The new schedule has been posted and begins on Saturday, January 1st. A tri-fold copy will be sent via email as a Word file or as a paper document via snail-mail.
Happy New Year!
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