Memory Monday

Just so you know, I'm working on the passage from last week. I knew mentioning chocolate rewards would motivate me. Just kidding. I don't save chocolate as a reward. :)

Here are a few verses that I spotted that I already know or wish that I knew better. There are a few passages in here, too, just in case anyone needs more of a challenge. I don't think I'll be trying to do one of those this week because I don't have the one from last week memorized yet.

 

Old Testament

• Job 7:17-18
• Job 9:32-33
• Job 13:15
• Job 14:1
• Job 14:14
• Job 19:25

New Testament

• John 10:9
• John 10:11
• John 10:27
• John 12:24-25
• John 13:34-35
• John 14:27
• John 15:13
• John 17:3

And the Passages

• Job 19:23-27
• John 14:1-7 (I memorized this one when I was in 2nd grade.  I can still quote it very well.)
• John 15:1-5

Are there any verses from our readings - this week or last - that should be added to the list?  Share them in the comments!

Frugal Beauty Tips

Those early days of marriage when Pastor Dad was in seminary at the same time that I was finishing up my bachelor's degree caused us to watch our finances very closely. We both had various jobs, "odd" or otherwise, to keep money flowing into the coffers but not enough that we didn't need to be thrifty which sounds so much nicer than saying we were cheap. Two babies were also added to our cozy home in those early years which helped keep the financial situation interesting, to say the least.

In other words, times were tough. Times are tough now, too, perhaps not as bad as they were then but we are returning in earnest to our cheap thrifty ways as we look for opportunities to cut spending again. Having a teenaged boy to feed and clothe makes one examine the finances minutely. I'm kidding. Taking a boy to basketball daily when gas prices are so high is more likely the reason behind it.

Whatever the reason, I began to make a list of the thrifty things we did when we barely had 2 nickels to rub together and here are the things I remember. I thought I'd share some of the beauty tricks I employed to stretch a dollar hard enough to make George Washington cry, "Uncle!"

• I stopped buying my facial cleansing/moisturizer/makeup package from an independent distributor.

Oh, how I hated to do that! Not only were the products good, but the retailer was my friend and she was trying to make extra money. But friend or not, I had to cut her from my payroll. Here is what I used instead:

1. Baby oil. This was slathered on first. It helped to soften the make-up and put needed oils into my dry skin. The object of any cleansing program is to remove dirt and make-up, not the skin's moisture. This step helped remove debris and protect the moisture at the same time.
2. pHisoderm cleanser. I'm sure any facial cleanser would work, but this is what I used. Even though it has been reformulated to remove certain chemicals that the FDA considers regulatory drugs it's still for sale and still inexpensive. Mine was especially cheap years ago(free!) when my dad worked for the company and gave me what came in his product boxes.
3. Alcohol. Yes, plain old isopropyl alcohol and half of a cotton ball (half because we're talking frugal here, you know). This step substitutes for toner and purifier.
4. Moisturizer. This is applied at the end, either before bed or a layer of make-up. I don't remember exactly what brand I used but any facial moisturizer to fit an individual skin type should do.

The next thing I learned to save was:

• Nylon hosiery

Since I wore panty hose almost every day I bought them in a multi-pack. Then if I got a run in one leg only I cut off the bad leg from the panty section which then left me with a pair of hose that looked like it was meant for an amputee. I saved that mutilated panty with one good leg until I had another one exactly like it and wore the two together, one over the other. (I hope I don't need to draw you a picture!) This worked well as stockings and doubled as a post-pregnancy girdle whenever that was needed, too.

* * *Speaking of pregnancy, those pairs of pregnancy panty-hose were really expensive! I didn't use this little trick then no matter what. Frugality is one thing, but I don't think binding a growing baby belly is a wise way to save money.

Now that I'm in those years where pregnancy is not much of a concern, but that the post-pregnancy belly has literally "hung around" a lot longer than I ever dreamed it would, I am seriously considering going back to this option. Buying hosiery that has the built-in panel is expensive and can almost reduce me to tears if I accidentally run them on the first or second wearing! Buying the everyday kind without support and doubling them up after one leg has been removed from each pair should help keep this expense in check.


Moving on. Specifically, we're moving downward from the legs to the feet.

• Shoes.

When a pair of shoes wore out I needed to decide if they truly needed to be replaced. "Needs" are one thing but "wants" are another. What did I really need?

1. Black pumps. They went with everything dressy and I wore a lot of dress clothes to my college classes, church, and even to school when I was teaching.
2. White pumps or dress sandals. These met the need of summer dressy outfits.
3. Gym shoes or similar casual footwear.
4. Boots. This was a necessity where we lived! I bought combination dress/snow boots in a shade of brown just so I could mix it up a bit with my black pumps.
5. (Optional) Casual sandals. This was a splurge when we had the money. Otherwise, I just made do without.

This list looks pretty austere, but these were all I had to have and did have. I was never the best-dressed woman anywhere I went but I was never barefoot even when pregnant! :)

Pastor Dad's "need" list was shorter than mine. He had 1 pair of dress shoes and 1 pair of gym shoes. He also owned softball cleats and we both had house slippers (when we received them as gifts, otherwise we just wore socks on the bare floors) but our closet didn't hold many shoes in any case.

I've got a few more tips for shoes.

• Clean them regularly. (Must I really say this? I'm a mom, so yes, I must.) Clean shoes will stay nicer longer than dirty ones. Children's patent leather shoes can be cleaned with petroleum jelly. Mild soap and a soft cloth will clean most anything else. Permanent markers that match the color of vinyl or leather shoes can help hide slight (and I do mean slight) blemishes.
• Allow shoes to air dry before putting them away. Usually this means at least 24 hours. This will not only help them smell better, but it will keep them from disintegrating as quickly. Never wear shoes that haven't properly aired. Pastor Dad has a couple of nice pairs of dress Florscheim shoes that he alternates just so they'll air properly.
• Store them properly after they've aired. Either keep the shoe box they came in or store them in plastic boxes made for the purpose. A honeycomb-type box made for the purpose will work as well. Just make sure they are not squashed into the allotted space. Crushing and flattening causes them to wear out quickly.
• Women should not drive in high heels. Wear gym shoes or other casual wear for this task. This is so the back of the heel does not scuff.
• Keep shoes away from the dog! Obvious perhaps, but I've lost a lot of shoes this way over the years. Dogs like the smell of your scent on the shoe. (I told you dogs are crazy!)

This post is linked to Frugal Fridays.

A Homeschool Chuckle

One of the young ladies that I have been blessed to meet in recent months - that means in person and not just in the blogging world - posted last week about a funny thing her 4-year-old son said. Read that here. It reminded me of a couple of conversations with The Bear when he was about that age and it seemed to be the perfect anecdote to follow the things I've written about homeschooling.

For instance, do you think homeschool parents sometimes have unrealistic expectations? Well, so do the homeschooled students.

When The Bear was 4 years old we were riding in the car with the newlyweds, Karen and Prince Charming. The Bear suddenly announced, "I'm going to learn to read this year."

Well, this was news to us, since the little dude didn't like books and wouldn't sit still long enough for one of us to read to him, let alone learn to read a book on his very own! He'd need to get over this allergy to paper and ink in a hurry if he were to actually learn to read. Perhaps that was what he was doing by making his announcement to his fellow passengers: making us all "accountability partners" on his road to recovery.

"You'll need to learn your ABC's first," I told him, meaning the actual recognition of the letters. Can't very well learn the phonetic tricks of the letters if you don't even know what they look like!

So began The Bear's journey into the alphabet. He studied strenuously to learn their shapes.

One day he was riding in the car with Pastor Dad and he felt he should confide something to his father. "Mom lied to me," he asserted.

"What?" Pastor Dad asked incredulously (or at least I hope that's how he asked).

"Yes, she said that I need to learn the alphabet so that I could learn to read. I know every letter but I can't read anything yet!" He was quite disappointed when Pastor Dad enlightened him to the fact that he had merely mastered Step 1 and that there were several more in the process.

Every so often The Bear still gets impatient when attempting to master something new and I remind him that there is a process to follow on the path to achievement. He still looks at me like he doesn't know whether to believe me or not.

* * *
Karen tweeted yesterday about Sweet Pea's attempt to sing the ABC song. Sweet Pea and Uncle Bear would make quite the dynamic duo, but then again maybe not. She'd never be able to get him to sing. :)

Our Decision to Homeschool is Tested

Yesterday I went back 30 years to the time when we felt the Lord leading us to homeschool. If you read that article you know that our first child was still in the womb when that event occurred. So what happened in the intervening years between her birth and the start of her formal education? That's Part 2 of the story. . .


By the time our first-born child, Karen, was 5-years-old and ready to begin school we were also the parents of another daughter, Lisa, the blogger who writes A Look In. She is the child we affectionately call Lulu because of her childhood antics. Lisa was 2 1/2 years old when Karen embarked upon her educational endeavors.

We had also moved within the previous year from the Midwest to the South because Pastor Dad had been called to pastor there. Our new congregation had recently merged their Christian school with another in the vicinity. The year that Karen was to start kindergarten was a year that the school was in need of a new kindergarten teacher. The principle approached me with a job offer. They needed a qualified teacher and he knew we had a child ready to start school. In order to meet the needs of both parties they would employ me and part of my salary would go toward Karen's education.

It sounded good on the surface. But there were a few things to be considered before we made our decision.

First, what about Lulu? I had to find daycare for her. It turned out that the school had a center so we would all be going to the same campus each morning.

Then there were our legal and pastoral obligations. When we first arrived in our adopted state homeschooling was illegal. This would not have been an obstacle in our former state of residence but we weren't sure how to proceed now. We also weren't sure if our new church would support our controversial decision. They didn't know us very well at the time and we didn't know them that well either.

Again, the Lord intervened. By the time Karen reached the mandatory school age the laws had changed. It was no longer illegal to homeschool even though the new laws were very strict and oppressive. This is why I say that we weren't pioneers in the strictest sense but followed along soon afterward. The true trailblazers battled state lawmakers at risk of their own peril. We encountered struggles with the state due to the stringent regulations but we never had to fear being arrested due to breaking truancy laws.

In weighing our options we discovered the following:

1. The teaching position would result in very little actual money being added to the family coffers because most of the salary would be eaten up in the barter system between my teaching in exchange for one child's education and another child's daycare. But homeschooling would result in no money being added to the family coffers. (Pro teaching: Some money is better than none.)
2. The teaching position would require that Lulu receive daycare from others. But homeschooling would result in Lulu receiving daycare at home from her own mother. (Pro homeschooling: I did not like the idea of not seeing Lisa except at the end of the day when I was tired and preoccupied with preparations for the next day's classes.)
3. The teaching position would mean that Karen would be in her mother's classroom during her kindergarten year. But homeschooling would mean that each child would remain in my "classroom" every year. (Pro homeschooling: Instead of my children passing through their parent-taught classroom one year of their education journey they would be directly tutored by me each year that we chose to homeschool.)
4. The teaching position would require that the wife and children would maintain the school schedule even if Pastor Dad's preaching appointments allowed him to travel. But homeschooling would provide the flexibility of taking school "on the road" whenever necessary. (Pro homeschool: The family unit would remain together as much as possible and travel would incorporate field trip and enrichment opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable, including visiting our families back home.)
5. The teaching position would allow our children to receive an education based upon our Christian world view. And homeschooling would allow our children to receive an education based upon our Christian world view. (Neutral, but leaning more toward pro homeschool: Any issues could be discussed in context immediately.)
6. The teaching position would allow our children to be tested yearly in a sympathetic environment. But homeschooling would require that the state test our children approximately every other year as per state law. (Pro teaching: Dropping the children off at the door of the local public school was an adversarial relationship because the state designed it to be so, including the intrusive questioning of the children about "non educational" issues without a parent or guardian present. This requirement was later changed but not before we had endured several such predicaments.)
7. The teaching position would require that I go on unpaid maternity leave in the event that other children should be added to the family. But homeschooling would allow new additions to the family without a loss of teaching income. (Pro homeschool: Two more children were later added to our quiver and homeschooling went on as scheduled.)
8. The teaching position would require that our children study the curriculum that the school required. But homeschooling would allow us to tailor a course of study for each child based upon learning styles, family needs, and time constraints. (Pro homeschool: At first, there were limited resources from public and private schools that could be adapted. Later, the popularity of homeschooling resulted in the development of a whole industry to meet the demands of the homeschooling market.)

After weighing the pros and cons it was obvious that homeschooling was the right decision for us. I wish I could say that we homeschooled just out of pure obedience to the Lord, but the fact that we researched our options proves otherwise. Or maybe it just proves that God allowed us to see some of the reasons why He led us in a certain direction. I don't think He needs to give me a reason for every thing He requires me to do but I am glad when removes the scales from my eyes. I'm also glad He protected us during those early years when a well-intentioned answer from a small child could easily have brought trouble to our door.

This will inevitably lead to the question as to whether I think everyone should homeschool. I can't answer that definitely. I may be a lot like the Apostle Peter in many ways, but in this instance I will not go so far as to say, "And what will this man do, Lord?" Pastor Dad and I will only be accountable to God for doing the things we know He told us to do. There are very specific guidelines that the Lord put in scripture that every parent is accountable to fulfill but I am not willing to say that every person must homeschool to meet their obligations. Perhaps we'll discuss those specific parenting guidelines in a future article and I will tell you how homeschooling has helped us meet those requirements.

Reminiscing About Our Homeschool Journey

It has been a full day. I got up early (for me, anyway) so that I could give the Princess a ride to work. After dropping her off The Bear and I made our way to a McDonald's so that I could fortify myself with a cup of coffee and he could indulge in blue Powerade. Yeah, it seemed strange to me at the time, too, but I didn't ask. Then he dozed in the backseat of the car until co-op started 45 minutes later. After co-op we made our way to his basketball practice and then finally back home where I made dinner and settled in for the night. I'm not complaining, you know. I'm well aware that most women follow a schedule that requires them to absent their home each weekday. It just made me somewhat reflective of the time when I, too, got up every morning and headed out to work. Those were the days when I received a paycheck for teaching other people's children.

This seemed like a good time to tell you how the Lord led us to homeschool. It's a long story, but one that always reinforces my belief that God led me in a certain path. Go back with me 30 years. . .


It had been a difficult school year. Without going into painful details that no one needs to know and that I don't wish to relive, let's just leave it at that.

Complicating things was the fact that two months after being hired as the school's newest teacher I discovered that I was also two months pregnant! After a year of trying to conceive, this news was very welcome indeed, even if it did present a few difficulties.

For one thing, the Christian school administrators were decidedly not happy with the news. It would mean finding a substitute during the last month of my pregnancy which would coincide with the end of the school year. School years are approximately 9 months long, as are pregnancies.

For another, it meant that each day's battle with morning sickness (ha! what a misnomer!) meant that I was not always at my best. "Excuse me, Tom. Could you stop reading for a moment? I'll be right back," I'd say as I bolted out the door heading to the nearest bathroom. Some days were worse than others, I assure you.

Things degenerated at the school and the denoument came when the church that housed the school split. I was not a member of that congregation, but their in-fighting gave me the opportunity that I needed to extricate myself from their turmoil. While it is true that I found myself suddenly unemployed it is also true that I found myself home each day preparing the nest. An added bonus was that we managed to quit going deeper into debt for gasoline. These were those horrible days where high gas prices and long lines at the pump meant that I was barely making enough money to fund my hour-long commute.

Pastor Dad got a substitute teacher certificate which enabled him to work in our local schools. He came home and regaled me with reports of the goings-on in the public elementary school that our child would attend in a few years.

We didn't know what to do. Our Christian school option had dried up. Our public school option was a nightmare. We prayed and asked the Lord to show us what He wanted us to do. We figured He had a little over five years to provide us with directions.

Within weeks the Lord spoke to us. Okay, the Lord used someone else to speak to us. That's the way it's done, you know. His voice didn't actually thunder from the sky, but the answer to our prayer would not have been any more obvious if He had chosen to do so. We were listening to Dr. James Dobson interview someone we had never heard before on the Focus on the Family radio broadcast. It was Dr. Raymond Moore discussing homeschooling. No mistaking it! This was our answer!

We had a few questions, though. Or maybe I did. I'm the type of stubborn individual who rarely does anything without asking questions first.

• Did people actually homeschool their children? We didn't know anyone who did.
• Who had actually ever heard of such a thing? Certainly not us!
• Could we (I?) do it?  I had my doubts about my own abilities, but this was our answer to prayer, after all.

We knew from that moment that we were going to homeschool our child. Pastor Dad and I never argued about it, we never really wavered in the decision, and even though our first child still had several months in utero (yes, that would be our Karen of Candid Diversions), her "school" decision had already been made.

Did people think we were out of our minds when we told them of our decision?  Yes, but then, it probably wasn't the first - and certainly not the last - time that anyone questioned our sanity about something.  But we knew without a doubt that this was what the Lord wanted us to do.  To not do it would've been out-and-out rebellion.  I'm sure of it.

The homeschooling years will soon be coming to an end.  In two more years this journey will be over and I will have completed 27 years of homeschooling. 

As I told The Bear the other day, "In two more years you will be done homeschooling.  You are nervously looking toward the future as you try to determine what it is that the Lord wants you to do.  But guess what?  In two more years I will be done homeschooling.  I am nervously looking toward the future as I try to determine what it is that the Lord wants me to do."  I distinctly heard The Bear's surprised laughter.  And even though I didn't hear the voice of the Lord yet I'm sure I will soon.

Speak Lord, for your servant heareth!

Remembering the Challenger Astronauts

Twenty-five years ago today we watched and listened in shock and horror as the astronauts of the Challenger traveled to worlds far beyond their expected destination. We honor their memory today.

Memorial located in Arlington National Cemetery
(Photo taken by author in June 2010)

A Moment In Time

Here is a picture taken exactly one year ago today.

 

The pictures posted here were also taken that same day even though they were not uploaded until a couple of days later. I remember being shocked upon our return home that little Fen had learned to crawl during that week that we were away. Now he runs circles around us all!

Ah! The memories!

Providence 365 - Week 3

The verses given as the project challenge this week seemed perfect for showcasing more pictures of my trip to visit my daughter last month. Lisa and I spent a few hours on the Sunday afternoon of my visit hiking and climbing on the rocks at Red Rock Canyon near Las Vegas, Nevada. Seeing pictures from my recent travels reminded me that the various terrains and biospheres contained within the continental United States are testimony of the greatness of our God!

If the assignment required that we do layouts using only pictures taken this week there wouldn't be anything to show except more pictures of snow here in the Midwest. But even reading the book of Job recently has shown me that God's handiwork is in the snow as well. (Job 37:6; 38:22)

For this page I used paper courtesy of Designs by Angel from the "A Mother's Blessing" kit. The name seemed serendipitous when used to display pictures of a mother visiting her daughter. :) I didn't use any elements because I didn't want anything to detract from the natural beauty of God's creation.

Things I've Learned from This Year's Travels

It has been a great year of seeing the USA. I don't think I traveled much in 2009 but 2010 was not lacking in suitcase packing! Here are some things I learned from my many travels.

• Jack Frost also takes his winter vacation in Florida.(Click here for that post.)
• Someone figured out that there was money to be made at the Texas Book Depository in Dallas. When Pastor Dad and I visited in 1979 a janitor let us inside to see "the window." Thirty-one years later it cost about $13 per person for the same privilege. (Click here for that post.)
• Elvis is dead. And there really is a Jungle Room. I held out hope that neither was true. (Click here for that post.)
• The Civil War -er- War of Northern Aggression is not over in some places. (No separate post for this fact. You'll just need to take my word for it.)
• Apparently every regiment from the state of Ohio that fought at Vickburg raised their own battlefield monument as opposed to erecting one to represent the whole state. (There was a brief post, but no pictures of the many monuments.)
• When someone in Texas tells you they're packing, they don't mean their suitcase! (I learned this on our second visit of the year to this state.)
• Evidently elected officials don't constitute the whole of the vermin problem in our nation's Capitol. (Click here for that post.)
• When Cincinnati Reds fans meet St. Louis Cardinal fans in a water taxi in Baltimore they will talk about how the Orioles are doing but will not discuss the pennant race that their own teams are experiencing if there is a storm perchance the boat capsizes and they need to be friendly enough to pull each other out of the waves. (No pictures or post, but it was scary. And I mean the water taxi in the storm, not the pennant race which we - the Cincinnati Reds and fans - ultimately won.)
• They don't turn the lights off and roll up the sidewalks at 8 p.m. in all small Kentucky towns, but in some the visitors can be identified as the ones who are still awake after that time. (Much to The Bear's chagrin and boredom.)
• Well, Pilgrim, this year Indian Summer showed up in Detroit during Thanksgiving week. (When we arrived there on Monday evening of that week the temperatures were well in the 70s. It was a most unseasonably warm day! And much enjoyed, too.)
• New TSA regulations mean that any passenger's anatomy can be viewed as scantily clad as a Las Vegas showgirl's except the passenger buys the ticket for the show instead of the viewer doing so. Doesn't seem fair somehow. (More on my trip to visit my daughter later. I'm still unpacking. And going to basketball games. And doing laundry. And generally resuming my normal life.)

I suspect my travels for 2010 are done. It has been so much fun to ride planes, trains, and automobiles as I've crisscrossed this wonderful nation of ours from east to west and north to south. I look forward to seeing where the Lord and Pastor Dad take me in 2011,  Hint! Hint!

A Life Well Lived

Just last week I celebrated my birthday. Even though I am no longer a child I still celebrate. I went so far as to remark on Facebook that there are only 49 years until my 100th birthday so my friends should mark their calendars now: October 10, 2059.

Was I being flippant? Not at all. I'm aware that I might not live that long and I'm not too worried about it one way or the other. I'm ready to go whenever. But I'm not in any hurry!

Amid the joking last week we mentioned a dear lady with whom many of us are acquainted. She would reach that 100 year milestone next October. But it wasn't just her longevity that made us marvel, it was the way she lived life.

I want to be just like her when I grow up.

I've only known this lovely lady for 11 years but I've known members of her family since I was in high school back in the mid-'70s. We discovered that I'd sat near her niece in the clarinet section in band. And then there's a man that we love from our first pastorate in Indiana over 30 years ago. The man is her nephew! Small world!

But it gets better.

This dear lady's family tree now intersects ours. My grandson, Fen, is her great-great grandson!

Given the fact that many events have been happening in rapid succession recently it would be no surprise if someone as young as Fen got the idea that our family parties every weekend. And I'm pretty sure that the social calendar on the other side of the family has been just as full as ours!

Actually, I know that to be true.

This weekend was to be their family's party celebrating Fen's great-great grandma's 99th birthday. And celebrate they did, but not as they hoped. They laid her body to rest today. Oh, she's still celebrating and so are they in a manner of speaking, but whereas she REALLY knows how to celebrate they can only celebrate a life remembered. Her faith became sight but they only see through a glass darkly right now.

As I thought back to my birthday celebration last weekend, I couldn't help but think about the things that we said. I'd like to share them in her honor. This is my tribute to a beautiful woman who knew how to live life to the fullest.

• She got older but she never got old. When she feared becoming a burden to her children she found a nursing home and went there to live. Stories were told of those going to visit her being told that she could only give them a few minutes because she was scheduled to be at the game room, beauty parlor, etc.
• Her mind was sharp all the way until the end. She knew each one by name, all the way down to her youngest grandchild, Fen.(I know the mental faculties were not her own doing, but some who have them don't use them well. She did.)When the family was called to her bedside this week she took names! She wanted to know where certain individuals were and when they would be there.
• Her family was her greatest joy.  She attended every bridal or baby shower that she could. It was her delight to be the matriarch sitting benignly in the wheelchair while her multi-generational brood frolicked around her.I loved watching her at these events.
• She knew how to suffer without being insufferable.  I don't remember hearing her complain about any regrets or struggles. Did she have them? Sure she did! She outlived a husband and a dear daughter but she was of that hardy breed that accepts the sorrows as well as the celebrations with grace and dignity.
• She knew her hope was in her Savior.Jesus paid for her sins. She trusted Him.

I pray that I remember these precepts if I live to be 100 or if I never live to see another birthday. Each day is a precious gift from God: a life well loved is a life well lived.

To her dear family, my prayers are with you as you remember the life of your wonderful mother/grandmother/great grandmother/great-great grandmother. May the peace that passes understanding comfort your hearts.

Spiritual Birthday

Yesterday I turned 36 years old. Spiritually, that is. On December 28, 1973 I stopped trying to work my own way to heaven and trusted Christ as my savior instead. I believed Him when He said:

• He is "the way" and that I was on the road to destruction.
• He is "the truth" and I am nothing but a liar.
• He is "the life" and I was following a culture of death.
• He is "the bread of life" and I was starving.
• He is "the water of life" and I was dying of thirst.
• He is "the alpha and omega" and I am extremely nearsighted.
• He is holy and I am sinful.

It has been a bittersweet journey at times, but since I am no longer traveling alone or without The Guide who knows every possible danger or pitfall, I know I shall safely reach my destination when my trip is done.

This is why I am making plans now to read my Bible through in 2010. It is something that I have done almost every year - if not every year - since I became a Child of God. The Bible is my spiritual GPS.

And this is why I am encouraging YOU to read through your Bible in 2010. Did you know that it only takes the average reader approximately 10 minutes a day in order to read the complete Bible in a year? Who doesn't have 10 minutes a day?!

So if you will commit with me to read through the Bible in 2010 grab my "Take Ten in '10" button and boldly proclaim it! This is not just for individuals using my reading plan. It is for anyone who will make the commitment to read through their Bible in 2010 and will let others know of their intention on their own blog.

The reason I'm posting my own schedule is because I cannot post others' without infringing on copyrights. But I did list several last week and encourage you to find one - any one - that will help you read through the Bible in 2010 by allotting 10 minutes or so each day toward the completion of that goal.

G.I. Joe Has Gone Home

By now we've all heard that the "Greatest Generation" is quickly leaving us. Those World War 2 veterans that remain are fighting another war now, namely battling ill health and sometimes the loss of memory as aging takes its toll on their bodies. Many are retiring from the final battle each day.

My family recently experienced the death of one of its own soldiers. My uncle, Joe, passed away last Thursday. He was not a blood relative but he was still my uncle. He had been married to my aunt for over 60 years before she lost her own battle in 2007. Then he was alone. They had no children of their own but there were nieces and nephews aplenty on both sides of their family.

(G.I. Joe and his sweetheart who waited for his return from war)

( Joe as he appeared in recent days)

Last week, Joe told the doctor and nurse who were attending him in his final moments that he was tired and ready to leave to meet his Savior. Those were his last words.

We are sorry to see you go, Joe, but we thank you for your service to our country, your love for us, and for letting us share your last few days on earth. I know we were no substitute for the sweetheart waiting at Home for you to finish your battle.

Welcome to Our World

Our blog world, that is. Lovingingly nicknamed the blogosphere, I think. Oh, what do I know?! I've only been here a little over a year myself.

A certain someone that we know has taken up blogging. Please make her welcome.

You'll notice that Lauren is a very lovely young lady. She always has been, but now I've noticed that she either got contacts or just never got around to replacing the eye glasses that were lost when her hap was to light upon the canoe zigzagging the river courtesy of my son, The Bear, and one of his friends. All I know is that her parents have yet to present us with a bill for new eyewear. :)

Pomegranate Peccadilloes

(Get out your dictionary and look 'em up. I had to get mine just to make sure I spelled the words correctly.)

So what could possibly be the faults of that luscious, nutritious fruit? Have you ever tried to eat one? If so, you know!

Our Kroger store had a great deal on pomegranates recently so I bought a few. When the girls were little I would occasionally splurge. I remember that the first one I ever bought came with a little paper telling how to eat it. That was back before Al Gore invented the Internet so the importers had to include instructions for all of us uninitiated.

I also remember that the purchase was quite expensive but the enjoyment rivaled anything that a doodad from Toys 'R Us could achieve and at less expense at that. I never bothered to tell the girls that it was good for them. Why spoil the fun?

Until yesterday, I had never eaten a pomegranate for myself. I may've sampled a seed or two from the ones given the girls but that's about it. Watching them get juice stains all over their mouths, hands, and clothes looked like the kind of fun I'd experienced as a child while picking wild blackberries in the thicket behind our house but tended to avoid as an adult who no longer desired to play with food.

So here I was with half a pomegranate in front of me and no idea what to do with it! Should I really just pick those seeds out and pop them in my mouth? I gave it a try. And immediately I decided to employ the help of a grapefruit spoon. It worked pretty well, I must say.

Lest you think I am a total ignoramus I will admit that I already knew I liked the taste of pomegranate as I have been known to indulge in bottles of juice and grenadine syrup on occasion. But my education is more advanced now as I came to understand why those bottles are so expensive!

As I was eating my seeds yesterday I decided to share them with the Bear. I wasn't sure he'd ever had the opportunity of sampling this fruit and my memories of his sisters just made it seem normal to want to indulge my nostalgia. I should've known better. I waited much too long to introduce him. He looked at me like I had two heads, then gingerly picked up a seed and popped it in his mouth.

"Not bad," he said before returning to his video game, which was the obvious signal that I was dismissed.

I see now that my approach was totally wrong. What I should've done was told him that under no circumstance was he to eat this fruit because it's on the list the orthodontist gave us of forbidden food items.

Every pomegranate seed in the house would've disappeared before the day was over.

What's It Worth To You?

I'd like to point out that I passed the 200th blog post a few days ago. I didn't say anything about it at the time for many reasons including the fact that the "blog police" might make me do something special like a "200 Things About Me" post. Ain't happenin'! Go read the 100th post twice if you wish. Actually, I did so myself because there were a few pertinent things in it to which I would like to draw your attention.

Numbers 16, 18, 27, and 50 are no longer true. I'm rarely alone these days and therefore I rarely get a lot done. I'm not preparing for any speaking engagements at the moment and I also am no longer the registrar of my local DAR chapter. Certain things were accomplished, certain jobs were completed, and a certain little boy was born who visits his Gram regularly and expects certain undivided attention. No complaints. Just updating the list.

I would like to draw your attention to #96. (Wow! Do I ever feel like a teacher again telling pupils to turn to page such-and-such!) In light of recent remarks about some birthday gifts I've received over the years I felt it necessary to remind my readers of this little caveat. Marilyn Monroe called diamonds "a girl's best friend" and I merely quoted her last week. I haven't been showered with sparklers through the years. Not very many birthdays are that special and my parents do not own Microsoft.

But twice my parents have seen fit to buy me a lovely piece of jewelry for my birthday. The first time was for my 18th and there was a surprise party involved. (I know! As if having Pastor Dad ask me out on a date for the first time wasn't surprising enough!) The gift from Mom and Dad was a birthstone ring with two small diamonds. My first diamonds. They beat Pastor Dad to the draw by about 10 weeks! Yes, he really did propose to me that quickly after we started dating.

The gift for my 50th birthday was a beautiful solitaire necklace and another small party. Should I be looking for Pastor Dad to produce another gem in about 10 weeks? Hmm. I kid! I kid!

It was mentioned that many of the birthdays between the 18th and 50th have not been so good. Several have been marked by grief as friends and relatives have either passed into eternity on this date or we've had their visitation or funeral services on it. They got to celebrate in heaven. We were left to mourn.

If you'll actually read #96 you'll find that the reason these gifts are so valuable isn't their financial worth. As special as the gifts are, it's the people who gave them to me that make them special to me. Marilyn Monroe had it wrong. It isn't "diamonds are a girl's best friends" it is "the people who give you diamonds are a girl's best friends." By my value standard, some of the baubles that my young children produced or my grandparents gave me when I was a child are just as valuable. If I'm ever robbed it won't be the loss of the monetary value of the items that upsets me. I've got a lifetime worth of memories in a jewelry box that contains very few actual jewels! But the memories those items represent are forever cherished as I wear them.

I'm also quickly coming up on my first blog anniversary. I can't believe I've been doing this for a year! I've had so much fun writing, meeting new people, and making new friends. Recently, I've had fun looking back over the past year by re-reading some old posts. Ah! The memories!

In conclusion, just let me say that I've already taken care of #99 on the list. City Gospel Mission received another donation in honor of my 200th post. And if I ever get more time in my schedule - which is probably still a few years down the road - I might begin volunteering there personally once more because people are definitely worth more than things.

Mother Knows Best

I spent the day with my mother. As a young child, I would want comfort from her whenever I was sick or scared. I guess things haven't changed much even though I am almost half-a-century old.

The men went golfing today and mom was with me. I spent some of the time confessing my sins. Boy, does confession feel good to the soul even at my age. Okay, I didn't tell her everything I'd ever done wrong. There is probably a statute of limitations on some things and as I've said before, there wasn't a whole lot that was done when I was a child that they didn't know about anyway. When you're an only child like I am, any acts of disobedience that are discovered are just automatically assumed to have been committed by the only non-adult in the household. And if I dared to disobey elsewhere, like say, at my grandparents' house on a Sunday afternoon there were almost 35 cousins to witness the event and to tattle on me. Not much got past my parents.

However, I did confess to my mom just how deep some of the depression went when I was a young mom. I told her of the suicidal thoughts that never went beyond thoughts and into action but scared me nonetheless. I confessed having fought from time-to-time with her beloved-son-in-law (Pastor Dad) without going into irrelevant details that might embarrass all of us. I told her that I'd left him a few times but that I never spent a night away from him while we were angry. An hour or so was about all I could muster and that was usually spent walking or driving.

I told her about the arguments I had with my kids. I mentioned that they sometimes hate(d) me and I wondered if I would lose my hold on sanity in the dark moments.

I told her about the abyss I found myself in when the chicken pox disfigured me and led me into the dreaded autoimmune system disorder when I was 29 years old. She knew that, but she never had been told about the dark days of not being able to rise from the bed because I was prostrated by the resulting depression.

And do you know what? My mother didn't look the least bit shocked. Instead, she smiled and basically said that I'm not a superhero. And she doesn't even read this blog! I had to go back and read my own writing about being Super Mom before slapping my forehead while uttering an audible, "Duh!"


So thanks, Mom. It's amazing how much wiser you are now than when I was a kid! :)

Floating Down the River

The subtitle for this post should be Speed Limit 2 because when an 8 mile canoe trip takes about 4 hours it means that one is barely moving. Of course, there was a stop for lunch along the way, but devouring the small amounts of edibles packed in waterproof containers doesn't take long. Plus there is the fact that there are no rest rooms so it might not be such a good idea to consume large quantities of food and drink.

The youth group and several youth wannabees go canoeing each summer. Pastor Dad and I have never gone before but we thought it might be fun. After all, we made our leg muscles angry a couple of weeks ago (read about it here at Speed Limit 20) and decided our arm muscles deserved equal treatment. Fair is fair.

When one is spending 4 hours in a canoe, one doesn't have a whole lot of options so I sat there people watching, which is just a polite way of saying being nosy. And because of this special skill of mine - coupled with a lot of time on my hands - I was able to compose this blog post. Oh, yeah. One more thing. I paddled, too, but I assumed you knew that merely by the fact that I was located in a canoe.

Canoeing was not a one-person endeavor. Two - and sometimes three - people were trying to steer their craft down the river while avoiding obstacles in the water like rocks, branches, sandbars, and discarded weed-whackers. I kid you not.

I thought about how much like life this day was. It is very important to pick the right person to be in your canoe. There were a couple of boys that Karen christened The Odd Couple (remember Felix Unger and Oscar Madison?) because they spent most of their time bickering over procedure. The fact that they spent time going around in circles made it a long day for them.

It is also important who you follow. At one point there were 2 canoes directly in front of us. One held a couple who seemed to have a clue. The other held the Bear, his friend, and his friend's female cousin. Since the Bear and friends are the only people I know who can turn an 8 mile trip into a 16 mile one by zigzagging from shore to shore, we wisely opted to follow the more sane mature couple. Choose your role models wisely.

Education can happen anywhere. As I was walking along the bank with Polly and Tigger while trying to reach the place where Bear and friends had overturned so that we could help hunt for the girl's glasses (never found them) we happened upon pristine animal tracks on the river bank. It rained a little yesterday so the tracks in the mud were fresh. I took the time to identify them for the girls. There's always something to be learned.

And what about us? Pastor Dad and I got off to a rocky start. Neither of us has been in a canoe in a long time. I know this because we've never been canoeing in all the years we've been married. It took us a bit to get in a proper rhythm where we were working together instead of counterproductively. (Kind of reminds me of the first time we hung wallpaper together.) We beached a few times, collided with other canoes, and basically fought the current instead of allowing the current to work for us. But once we finally got the hang of it the ride was so much more enjoyable. It was still a lot of work, but it was fun.

Yes, there's a metaphor in here. But you're all smart people so I'll let you figure it out for yourselves.

Must.Get.It.Together

I hope this quip isn't true: If I ever get it together I'll probably forget where I put it.

I can think of no better example showing the need to get it together than that of someone agreeing to watch her grandson for the day only to be awakened on the designated morning by her daughter knocking on the bedroom door while yelling, "Mom? Are you up? The baby is here. . ." and knowing that her daughter is going to be late to work because the grandmother wasn't clothed and in her right mind at the appointed time.

How can I describe how I, er she, felt at the very moment consciousness was restored? Hmm. Nope. Can't quite think of the proper words. Embarrassed and horrified don't even tell the half of it.

I, er she, hadn't forgotten that the daughter was dropping the baby off today. She even went to bed last night with that exact thought on her mind. And she even woke up early this morning thinking about it, but then, obviously, she fell back to sleep! I'm glad to say that after the heart-rousing wake-up call the rest of the day went pretty well, actually.

Then there is this whole homeschooling thing. My daughter, Karen, announced yesterday that she started her kids back to school. And I, er someone, is pretending that summer will never end. I, er someone, will need to order all of her son's curriculum. Seriously.

It is abundantly clear that -like it or not - someone better get it together. Now, where did I put that curriculum catalog? It seems to have been misplaced.

Happy "Birth"day, Little One!

This picture can say it so much better than I can. Yes, June 10th is now the birth date of the newest member of the family, our grandson. Welcome, welcome little one. We can't wait to see what plan the Lord has for your life. May you find it early and follow it always.

Baby arrived at approximately 1:30 this morning. He, his mommy, and his daddy are all doing well. All of his grandparents have survived so far, too. :)

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,

And feel the pride and joy he gives.

But greater still the calm assurance,

This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

(William and Gloria Gaither: "Because He Lives")

To God be the glory!

Those Little Artistic Touches

Two weeks ago I told how my oldest daughter showed an interest in finances at an early age. This week is about how our second child, Lulu, exhibited a love for remodeling when just a toddler. This is a skill that Lulu puts to good use now. When she and Dan bought their house in North Carolina four years ago he made the comment that when he awoke each afternoon (he worked nights) he never knew what color the kitchen would be. Lulu loves to paint!

Since Lulu is here in Ohio with us while Dan is away for further USAF training she has done a few painting jobs for us and my parents. We are all happy.

When Lulu was 18 months old we moved to TN. We bought a house that was in desperate need of paint so the couple who housed us during our weekend visits to town helped us paint the whole inside one weekend. As we put the final touches on the last wall we became aware of an unnatural quiet. It was unnatural because Karen was all of four years of age and Lulu was child who had been in perpetual motion since she learned to walk at the age of 9 months.

A search revealed Karen quietly playing. Lulu was found in the hallway with a box of crayons adding her own finishing touches to the newly-painted walls. Evidently she thought that Crayola colors were so much more exciting than the clean off-white we had chosen.

It seems we were not done after all. But Lulu's love of decorating has never wavered.