* Once again ... Inspired by Darla
Darla made a comment in her response to Jaci about "old women dancing in the moonlight". Man, what an image that brings to mind. And it really is more than a shadow in the dark, more than an image on a screen. It speaks of things beyond the physical.
I think of women, and men, who have experienced life. They are those who have lived, loved, lost, shared, given, cared for... Their laugh is hearty, their love is rich and their tears are easily shared. They give beyond measure and hug those to whom they are the closest.
They are those who have not been afraid to embrace life in all it's forms and have experienced the full range of emotions there are to share. And then once they have taken it all in, they are willing to express themselves in ways that others may consider intimate but are only fully understood by those to whom the emotion is offered.
Those are my thoughts. What do you think. Share with me.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Sunrise...
* Inspired by Darla Royal (almost a month ago...sorry it took so long)
Yes...I am a morning person. The older I get, the more 'morninger' I become. I am one of these people who gets up when they wake up. Ususally I get up a few moments after I wake up. I take a quick assessment of my self, evaluate how I slept and decide whether or not to get out of bed. My usual length of sleep is around 6-7 hours. Sometimes I really wish I could sleep a bit more but I have learned not to force sleep on myself and have found out that it will come when it comes.
I enjoy the quiet of the early morning. The world has not totally woken up yet and I really do not like the world to intrude into my solitude until I am ready to let it in. I sometimes can get a few chores done in the quiet of the moment, feed/mess with the cat and get the newspaper from the front lawn. Sometimes I get up so early I beat the paperperson to the throw.
To step outside in the early morning is sooo cool, regardless of the season, though I admit that I really enjoy a cold, crisp winter's morning. I often stop on the front sidewalk and enjoy the show that the heavens put on. So early in the morning, especially on a cold night just after a day of strong winds out of the north, the sky is crystal clear, the stars sparkle, the planets shine so bright and the expanse of the sky seems to be a dark blue rather than your traditional black. It's almost as if you can see forever. And, sometimes I feel as though I am exposed. With the daytime blue gone, knowing what is really out there but not seen, it is almost as though I am being looked at. It is a time when I can truly marvel at God's handiwork and wonder what it is like to see it up close.
To watch the sun come up is awesome. I have done this from my bed, the living room, the backyard, on the road... But my favorite time that I did so was in the mountains of southeastern New Mexico. I had gone on a camping trip one summer with our Boy Scout troop to a national camp area outside of Ruidoso. I could not sleep that night. Just one of those nights when my mind would not shut down. While the others around my snozzed, I sat on a cooler and watched the stars rotate around the sky and meteors slide by. Finally, around 3:00 am, there was a faint glow in the eastern sky. It was so faint that I almost did not notice it until it was very obvious. I sat there for about three hours as the hue of the morning grew brighter and brighter. The stars and planets began to fade and slowly disappear. As the colors of the morning began to creep across the sky, it was almost as if the heavens were slowly pulling a blanket up to put the night to bed for the day.
To get up early with the anticipation of the day is almost as if one says...
On your mark!
Get set!
And when the sun is finally fully up...
Go!
Yes...I am a morning person. The older I get, the more 'morninger' I become. I am one of these people who gets up when they wake up. Ususally I get up a few moments after I wake up. I take a quick assessment of my self, evaluate how I slept and decide whether or not to get out of bed. My usual length of sleep is around 6-7 hours. Sometimes I really wish I could sleep a bit more but I have learned not to force sleep on myself and have found out that it will come when it comes.
I enjoy the quiet of the early morning. The world has not totally woken up yet and I really do not like the world to intrude into my solitude until I am ready to let it in. I sometimes can get a few chores done in the quiet of the moment, feed/mess with the cat and get the newspaper from the front lawn. Sometimes I get up so early I beat the paperperson to the throw.
To step outside in the early morning is sooo cool, regardless of the season, though I admit that I really enjoy a cold, crisp winter's morning. I often stop on the front sidewalk and enjoy the show that the heavens put on. So early in the morning, especially on a cold night just after a day of strong winds out of the north, the sky is crystal clear, the stars sparkle, the planets shine so bright and the expanse of the sky seems to be a dark blue rather than your traditional black. It's almost as if you can see forever. And, sometimes I feel as though I am exposed. With the daytime blue gone, knowing what is really out there but not seen, it is almost as though I am being looked at. It is a time when I can truly marvel at God's handiwork and wonder what it is like to see it up close.
To watch the sun come up is awesome. I have done this from my bed, the living room, the backyard, on the road... But my favorite time that I did so was in the mountains of southeastern New Mexico. I had gone on a camping trip one summer with our Boy Scout troop to a national camp area outside of Ruidoso. I could not sleep that night. Just one of those nights when my mind would not shut down. While the others around my snozzed, I sat on a cooler and watched the stars rotate around the sky and meteors slide by. Finally, around 3:00 am, there was a faint glow in the eastern sky. It was so faint that I almost did not notice it until it was very obvious. I sat there for about three hours as the hue of the morning grew brighter and brighter. The stars and planets began to fade and slowly disappear. As the colors of the morning began to creep across the sky, it was almost as if the heavens were slowly pulling a blanket up to put the night to bed for the day.
To get up early with the anticipation of the day is almost as if one says...
On your mark!
Get set!
And when the sun is finally fully up...
Go!
Thursday, February 08, 2007
HiHo! HiHo! It's Off To Work I Go! *
* With apologies to the Seven Dwarfs.
Dana was writing about how her job can be so all consuming and overwhelming. Been there, done that, designed and wore the T-shirt! There have been times that work was the be all and end all of my existence. Not that work was more important but I made it the most important thing that I did. I let it take over every other aspect of my life. I am ashamed to say it was over my wife and kids and even those times that I took a day off. I actually felt guilty about taking time off for me or the family, even if I had the time off coming.
I don't beieve that I ever whistled going to work but in some demented way I really enjoyed getting up and being productive. I now see work as a means to an end, something that will help me get to where I am going. I have learned to seek balance in my life and not let my employment take me over. I see it as what I do for 8 hours (10 counting the commute and lunch) just so I can support the rest of my life financially.
The most important thing in my life is church and my relationship with God and His people. Even though I do not spend more time during the week doing "church work" than I do "on the job", it is definitely a better quality use of my time and effort. In many ways my secular employment has helped prepare me for what I do for God. I have been blessed so much by God since I reevaluated my life and placed church #1.
So, Dana, do not let work overtake you. It will only cause you pain in the long run, I promise you. Find the balance in your life that God affords you. Wake up every morning and think that since you are walking upright and able to take a deep breath, you are blessed beyond measure. Each day has it's challenges and they should be welcomed and met head-on. Just don't let them "take you out".
Just some random thoughts. What do you think. Share with me.
Dana was writing about how her job can be so all consuming and overwhelming. Been there, done that, designed and wore the T-shirt! There have been times that work was the be all and end all of my existence. Not that work was more important but I made it the most important thing that I did. I let it take over every other aspect of my life. I am ashamed to say it was over my wife and kids and even those times that I took a day off. I actually felt guilty about taking time off for me or the family, even if I had the time off coming.
I don't beieve that I ever whistled going to work but in some demented way I really enjoyed getting up and being productive. I now see work as a means to an end, something that will help me get to where I am going. I have learned to seek balance in my life and not let my employment take me over. I see it as what I do for 8 hours (10 counting the commute and lunch) just so I can support the rest of my life financially.
The most important thing in my life is church and my relationship with God and His people. Even though I do not spend more time during the week doing "church work" than I do "on the job", it is definitely a better quality use of my time and effort. In many ways my secular employment has helped prepare me for what I do for God. I have been blessed so much by God since I reevaluated my life and placed church #1.
So, Dana, do not let work overtake you. It will only cause you pain in the long run, I promise you. Find the balance in your life that God affords you. Wake up every morning and think that since you are walking upright and able to take a deep breath, you are blessed beyond measure. Each day has it's challenges and they should be welcomed and met head-on. Just don't let them "take you out".
Just some random thoughts. What do you think. Share with me.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
And Now...For Something Completely Different! *
What is up with all the weird letters before you publish a response to a blog!? Half the time, even though you type in the correct letters it does not let you publish! You then have to retype these crazy letters I-don't-know-how-many-times before it lets you publish. And who is the person who has the job of selecting which letters to go before any given response!? What is their purpose other than to give you something alse to type before you publish?
*Just some food for thought and a little light hearted jabber.
*Just some food for thought and a little light hearted jabber.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
I Hope This Makes Sense
I am secure in my relationship with God. I have been his child since Wednesday, October 31, 1973. With the aid of his other children and the Holy Spirit, He has helped me through innumerable circumstances, blessed me beyond measure and kept me safe when I have acted outside of myself. I cannot imagine the future that awaits me but I know it is there and that it will be beyond anything I could hope for. I do have Hope. No question about it.
The immediate future is where my concern is. With Amy's upcoming surgery, for some reason I am a bit apprehensive. I don't know if it is just the uncertainty of the outcome of the surgery or what. I am restless. I am finding it hard to relax and be peaceful.
I am concerned for what the doctor's might find. I have confidence in their skill and prognosis, but when it comes to the actual surgery, that is another story. To turn my wife over to them just takes everything out of my control. I know that I have very little, if any, control in this life but what little I have is hard to give over to another person. And sometimes the comfort and prayers of friends just does not seem to do it for me.
Ray hit the nail on the head last Sunday night. Even though I have heard this umpteen times, it hit home. When two people get married they "cleave" to one another. Their lives become so intertwined that they become inseparable. Many of my married friends have been together for so long that it just seems so natural to say, "RobertandJackie", "RayandNell", "JonathanandDralena", "MomandDad"... It is hard not to see one person without the other partner. To say one name without the other...that's just not right! If something should happen, I just cannot imagine her not being here. This is so hard to put in writing...to actually verbalize this thought. To actually see the thought in writing. I don't want to sound as though I doubt. Maybe this is my way of facing my mortality. Not real fun. I hope this makes sense.
The immediate future is where my concern is. With Amy's upcoming surgery, for some reason I am a bit apprehensive. I don't know if it is just the uncertainty of the outcome of the surgery or what. I am restless. I am finding it hard to relax and be peaceful.
I am concerned for what the doctor's might find. I have confidence in their skill and prognosis, but when it comes to the actual surgery, that is another story. To turn my wife over to them just takes everything out of my control. I know that I have very little, if any, control in this life but what little I have is hard to give over to another person. And sometimes the comfort and prayers of friends just does not seem to do it for me.
Ray hit the nail on the head last Sunday night. Even though I have heard this umpteen times, it hit home. When two people get married they "cleave" to one another. Their lives become so intertwined that they become inseparable. Many of my married friends have been together for so long that it just seems so natural to say, "RobertandJackie", "RayandNell", "JonathanandDralena", "MomandDad"... It is hard not to see one person without the other partner. To say one name without the other...that's just not right! If something should happen, I just cannot imagine her not being here. This is so hard to put in writing...to actually verbalize this thought. To actually see the thought in writing. I don't want to sound as though I doubt. Maybe this is my way of facing my mortality. Not real fun. I hope this makes sense.
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