What did one volcano say to the other?
I lava you.
You guys know I am just picking my favorite jokes off Google, right?
Wednesday Laugh Off…
Category: babies
Books, Books, and more Books…
While I’m not currently reading anything aside from the Bible, I could literally fill a book with all the titles of books I’ve read over the last 54 years. I think I’ve read so many that it really would take a book to write them out… well, maybe not a whole book.
I’ve read so many books that it would be easier for me to go to the library and just start picking them all out… I’ve written in the past about my days working in a library, as well as my love for books. As a child I would watch the calendar for the school years Scholastic Fair, saving any and all change, as well as collecting cans in the area to trade for nickels at the nearby 7 Eleven Store. I was a willing gopher for my mother during the month prior to the upcoming event, and shamelessly hoarded any coin or bill laying around, if it wasn’t nailed down or already claimed. When my mother walked me through those school house doors on Scholastic Day, I sounded like a walking Piggy Bank in those echoey hallways.
I will always remember with fondness, the whole of the process of walking through the lines in the library to look at the different books, sitting with my mother to mark an X in all the squares that held my future books, and putting the order form under my pillow to reread every day until Book Pick Up.
Books, my friends, have the same New Smell experience as that of a new box of Crayons. Unwrapping the clear plastic cover slowly, pulling the book open for the first time, and finally running my hands across the fresh new pages… this was what all those gopher days, sticky can hands, and dumpster diving were all about. I can remember getting this same thrill as I walked my own kids through their Book Fairs, though looking back, I am pretty sure my girls felt the same as I had back in my childhood. I know this because I too wound up getting a Three for One Gopher deal for nearly a month each school year.
Throughout my life I have read many different Genres depending on the phase I was in at the time, from Sci-fi to Science, from Romance Novels to How To Improve your Love Life self-help resources, from Fictional Adventures to real life Autobiographies, and on and on and on…
During the last 5 years of Life Interruptus stuff, my reading came to a standstill. I struggled to even pick up my Bible. I stopped writing as well, which nearly undid the fibers of my being. It was God alone that completed the demolition of my reading/writing Roadblock!
Aside from my study of Gods Word, I am not currently reading any particular book. I spend a good many hours every day working on writing my own Novel, as well as reading and responding to what my friends write about here on WordPress. I did actually read a book last year called “Night Driving” by Chad Byrd. Very good read!
I have to admit that I miss reading terribly, but at the same time, I only experience discomfort and frustration while attempting to get into a good read. Until my eye surgeries at the end of the month, these peepers are limited to a bright screen sitting no more than 18 24 inches away… forget about reading my phone, remember when I re-recorded my own voicemail thinking it was the doctors office who called. Forget about reading a Calendar, as we also know that I can’t seem to get to a single appointment on time, even though it is written on the board right in front of my desk.
The number ONE thing I am looking forward to from surgery will be to hold my own Bible and read God’s Word while tracing the lines of text with my fingers, or writing in the margins. I miss such simple things that were taken for granted all of those early years. As a writer it is imperative that one manage three tools for the trade… our minds, our eyes, and our hands… lose even one of the three and our world implodes.
One of the things that actually helps me have patience while waiting for my procedures, is to come up with a Bucket List of sorts, for books I want to read… once I get new eyes.
I know this might sound silly, but I want to go back and reread some of my favorites! I have settled on rereading the entire Brian Jacques Redwall Series… I used to own the entire hardbound collection before Life Interruptus. If you’ve young adult readers in your home, this is a fantastic series.
I would be happy for any suggestions of books you’ve had a chance to read… it’ll give me a few different directions to go look for what I want to dip my eyes into next…
Here, instead of a cookie, this Book Bunny wants to read you a story about a carrot…
Tuesday Thoughts and Things…
In and out of Boxes
When it comes to being a writer, I’ve mentioned before how I like to answer the prompts because they help me to think outside of my writing box… write about things I normally wouldn’t, or in poetry or other forms that I am not used to doing. I try to stretch myself as a writer, so that I can develop a deeper skill and literary depth, for writing that which is in my heart.
Thinking outside the box has been an adage used for far greater a time, than even I can remember. It’s a fantastic analogy for more than just writing, as it comes into play in every corner of our internal processing. In every part of us there are boxes of beliefs, boxes of opinions, boxes of hurts, boxes of memories, and boxes of behaviors… all of which eventually get full, or sometimes hold nothing at all. What do we do with them all, when there is no more room to even cross the floor, without walking on or stepping in differing boxes to get there?
On the flip side, what if the room were vacant with no boxes at all? Humans need boxes to navigate the crossing of the room to the doorway in the corner.
Boxes are just boxes… benign… neither good or bad… just useful in sorting through life’s experiences. What we do with the box is a whole different ball of wax. Do we seal them up with packing tape, pushing them to the sides of the room to be forgotten? What if there is something useful we may need later? Just in case, we might take a sharpie and put a label on the box like, *Remember me when you are ready to throw in the towel*. We seem to live in some of our boxes, refusing to come out and cross the floor, finding comfort and safety in the familiar surroundings of things unchanged by outside forces. The flap on these boxes are worn, tattered and torn… no longer able to be completely closed. Neither of these two extremes is very healthy.
That is where thinking outside the box comes into play… maybe even evolving into something like Navigating the Ins and Outs of Boxes. For this we need tools… mental, emotional and spiritual tools. I wandered for most of my literary life, existing for the most part, sealed inside boxes of my past… one that cannot be altered or undone, no matter how long I hid myself within those boxes.
I sort of think that our painful journey over the last 3 years, actually tore the lids off all my boxes… forcing me to come out into the light. Had things not gone badly, as they did, I would still be sitting in my recliner, there in Virginia, over 100 lbs. heavier, completely doped up on medications, and so hopelessly depressed that suicide was actually looking good, and I am not being flippant.
Fast forward to now, living the way we do and writing the way I currently have been, I can say with certainty that Brutus would not be possible, could never have been born into my imagination… were I still back there in that old recliner (box).
I like living freely… skipping from one box to another, moving items from one hidden corner, and bringing them out into the light to organize and sort through for the useful stuff. For me personally, living this way has brought that which I had sought for all my days… Joy in the Journey… I found it!
These Wheels Were Made for Rolling…
No… this is not a picture of our House with Wheels. As I was putting this response together, I realized that I have no actual pictures of our RV on the outside. I suppose I never thought to take any proud pictures in the beginning of the journey, as it was a pretty painful start for us when we first hit the road. One day I will take some shots of her, after she gets the new roof on, along with a new paint job (wishful thinking).
While there are a good many places I would certainly love to visit and travel through for a short bit, as Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home”.
I cannot believe that I am listening to myself say this, but, I love living on wheels… not just living but thriving. I am so grateful to live in a country where there are some of the most breathtaking and beautiful places in the world… this is my favorite part of the world, and while I could enjoy visiting different places outside of our patch of green, I will always come home to this land, the land of my origin.
Over the years I have done a good bit of traveling abroad, but always got homesick, craving the comfort of familiar surroundings… my roots run too deeply into the soil of America. I may not have much faith in the ones running this country, but I love this land… not just for its beauty, but for the people living throughout this country, who make The United States of America the place our RV wheels will always roll…
Here, have a cookie for the road…
Ok… technically, it looks like a muffin, but is it… really?!?
Monday Messages…
This week is my writers week… a full seven days without any appointments or obligations that might cause me to exit my abode. I am going to be spending it fully immersed in Brutus, as I wish to get several chapters ahead of what you’re reading, so I can place them remotely on the days of Surgeries, naps and covered eye patches. I begin that portion of my journey on the 29th and it will be several weeks of surgeries, post ops, and rechecks… as well as strange schedules of sleep, eye drops at all hours, and most likely, a very new and brighter world. You know that my personality would not let me just leave you guys hanging out by yourselves on the days I may not be able to be here. Just know that I will be in the lobby in spirit, if not in person on certain occasions in the days to come…
You guys do realize that you can just go out and pick any funny joke you find, within reason, and post it on Wednesdays? I didn’t want you to think that I was expecting you to come up with new ones… who wants to think that hard in the mornings about a joke?!
Live Novel Friday continues with chapter 7 of Brutus… if you are just joining us of late, feel free to go back into the archives and find the beginning.
Saturday will be #14 in the Note To Self series for those interested.
Live Wire Sunday continues into the book of Exodus as we follow Gods people into their wilderness.
Oh, and I added the next episode of My Truths in the Lobby for those following the story.
Passion…
Who would want to go through life without something to look forward to, something to pull us out of bed everyday so we can keep grinding out the hours that can earn us a dollar?
We use Vacations to give us something to plan for with excitement and anticipation… work hard so you can relax.
Vacationing… Shopping… Movies… Parties… dinners… Holiday Celebrations… etc. Pinterest is the perfect platform to keep as many pictures as you wish, of the things that you could make, buy, or design in your personal DIY fashion… or how to change your hair, makeup, clothes and/or surroundings, to fit who YOU are! What is the one element that flows up, over, around, and through all these different things? Passion!
We use many things to bring us happiness as we journey through life’s ups and downs. We have days that we wonder why we are doing this whole existence thing, not being able to see a clear direction in life that might make a difference. I’m saying this because I get it! I am a Christian Woman of Faith, and I have days that make it really really tough to stand in my faith… to walk forward in that same faith.
I discovered early on in my walk with God that having a passion for the journey would be a must! I was in need of a reason… a purpose to keep traveling. In all my years of walking with God, my passion has waxed and waned… sometimes seemingly absent altogether. I didn’t say that it was gone, it just felt that way for some time… but anything that God begins will always end GOOD!
All those times that I thought I had lost my passion, felt that I couldn’t go on… my passion was still there, I just misplaced it in all the Life Interruptus boxes laying around my world. Don’t we always love it when we find something in an old box in the attic we thought had been lost or destroyed? The discovery of the item brings with it a rush of pleasurable memories.
I guess maybe that is what comes to mind when asking myself if there is anything that I found and have kept for any length of time. The answer would be My Passion! For this girls human heart, my passion for God surfaces in everything I do… from dishes and housework all the way to writing here every day. I simply want to do the best I can with what I have, leaving things a bit better than I found them.
Passion gets me out of bed every day, driving me to move forward toward doing that which fuels my spirit. Whatever happens… come what may… may I never lose hold on that which carries me home…
Here, have some biscuits with Jam…
Live Wire…
Timing
Could you imagine if you and I were trying to start up a major life plan in our senior years? In todays society, the average human begins to slow and break down anywhere from 60 to 70 years old… some much much earlier.
As I was studying the life and events of Moses and the Israelites, I discovered several things I had not seen before, one of which was the fact that both Moses and Aaron were in their 80’s when God brought them before Pharaoh… a different one, by the way, from Moses Adopted Grandfather. God waited until that Pharaoh died, as well as anyone who would have tried to kill Moses.
Another thing that I read and am still processing, is where God tried to Kill Moses at the encampment, right before he met with his brother Aaron. I believe that it all came down to obedience … God is not one to ignore even in the most minute things that must go according to His plan, His Covenant, and HIS purpose! I don’t believe that God would have killed Moses, just as He interceded with Abraham on that mountain… just before he slay his own son to show God his true obedience.
God was preparing each and every step Moses would need to take, and there would be no overlooking something like not circumcising his own sons. I sometimes forget that Moses was brought up with an Egyptian culture, not the Hebrew one that he was born into, so I can see how it may have not occurred to Moses about the importance of the circumcision law set down by God. This is why I found it so important to read as many different translations and history of that time as possible… context is everything!
Timing is also very crucial here, as there was no way that Moses, nor his brother Aaron, were prepared to simply walk in before the Pharaoh and boldly command that the people be released… Moses was still being prepared to do what God had called him to do, and that would not happen overnight… it could, but I know how we humans can be, so God, in His infinite patience for us, chose the timing of each and every phase of the process of Freedom for His people.
I can understanding the lesson being short and sweet if it were only for a single souls path, but to change the heart of a nation of Taskmasters with a desire for comfort, wealth and power, the letting go lessons had to be big ones.
Not only did I see God work in the smallest of details in Moses Obedience, I understand more of why God set things up to ensure the people would be set free. The signs and wonders to be displayed before the people were not only to strengthen the Israelites faith to pack up and bravely leave the only life they knew, but also to make the Egyptians want them gone.
God repeatedly hardened Pharaohs heart right on the heels of each Wonder performed, because He already knew that it would take all of His signs and wonders to change hearts… not just one or a few had to believe. ALL the steps had to be taken to break every tie that held the Israelites in bondage. This process was just as necessary for the people of God as it was for Pharaoh and his people. Just as the Taskmasters needed to want them gone, the Israelites needed to be brave enough to get up and go.
Several times Pharaoh even tried to trick God into thinking he would finally let them go, even before it says that God hardened his heart, so the man was definitely playing a game of poker here and God finally called his bluff… at the cost of his firstborn son.
We follow a God that whispers, but f.y.i. He is not a fool and most assuredly, no bluffer!
What God is, to me, is a God of infinite patience, mercy and grace, and the most tolerant of all parents. If you understand anything about being a parent, it’s that we love our children enough to discipline them for their betterment. At some point, we realize that we cannot always be their friend, our parentage will guide them through those times… even if they don’t like us very much… we have to think of the long run, their end game. Parenting is not for sissies!
And…….. you guessed it… GOD IS NO SISSY!
He is the parent of all parents! I am so grateful that He showed us this all the way back in our history from the very beginning. His timing worked in every place I have studied, so this gives me confidence and great comfort in knowing that my life, which is in His hands, is traveling along in HIS timing, and not mine!
There is a song by Josie Buchanan titled, “Whatever Your Plan Is” that seemed to be fitting this morning. May it bring you encouragement in your day as you remember that whatever your plans are, God will always do you one better!
Now for the goodies… It’s Fast Food bliss from here on out...
Here is for the heartburn…
Here is for the tummy…
And, here is for the couch…
Have an awesome day everyone… May God Bless you richly in all you do… hugs…
Laundry be gone…
Though we all must do this chore, it is not my favorite… mainly because I am unable to easily carry baskets back and forth from the laundry building two doors down from our RV. Til I can get my bum arm fixed or a magic washer/dryer magically materializes inside our RV closet, clothes will just have to get done when I get around to it.
Note To Self…
In todays world of Bigger Better Faster Stronger Smarter Prettier Wealthier and on and on and on and on… it is easy to feel like little ole me will never be enough, never measure up and most likely will never be remembered for anything worth mentioning.
Where does that leave us then, all of us that will never be enough?
That point in ones life where we feel this kind of reality is different for everyone. Some learn this early on, while others will go much of their life before getting smacked in the face with this moment of clarity.
Once we arrive at this moment, what do we do then? When I accept that I will never measure up to the Worlds’ standards, what am I left with? I still want to feel valued, appreciated and loved for what I can offer… otherwise, what the heck are we trying so hard for?
That is where my relationship with God enters this conversation… He chose me first and not the other way around. Isn’t it funny how, for the most part, God always chooses to work in the lives of nobodies like me and you… regular old messed up lives of everyday folks like us.
Rather than chasing rabbit holes of the Whys of things, I simply choose to believe that God is actively working in my life, and my successes are met with His approval while my failures are met with His Grace. He is the author of my faith, and the only one who believes in me more than I do. It is more important for me to follow His will and purpose, than to seek my own earthly ideas of where I need to be. Even though I know this to be true, there are still those days… you know, the days where we need reminding of who we are in Him, and who He is in us!
I find it amazing every time I pick up my bible, how many places throughout this book where God leaves us reminders, messages of hope, and reasons to pursue Joy… His love and desire for us has been intricately woven throughout the whole of scriptures. Not just that, but everything we will need to make it through to the end of things… it’s all there… we just need to look for it!
When I am having those days… like the one I was mentioning earlier, sometimes I need a reality reminder of why I am truly still here on this earth. For this reason I chose a scripture passage that reminds me of whose plan and purpose I can follow by faith, and it is actually not about me at all! The plan and purpose are His and not mine…
Note To Self #13
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16
If I do anything good or leave anything behind when I go, it wasn’t my idea, nor my perfectly designed plan, but HIS! I remember that it won’t be you standing there looking over my life on the day I am called home, but God, and not a single word of approval or praise by the world will ring louder than “WELL DONE MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT”! Those will be His words, not yours or mine…
In or Out Famous, Which Is It?
Anyone who knows me, understands how this question could easily go in several different directions, possibly good, or even possibly bad. So the question I could fire back might be something like, Do ya feel lucky… well, do ya? That was Clint Eastwood, by the way.
In the WordPress Prompt Sandbox, I shall play nice… for now…
It’s important for me to begin by looking up the definitions of both Famous and Infamous just to sound smart for everyone. You shouldn’t think that I am guessing or anything.
According to Merriam-Webster,
“Famous means “widely known.” Infamous does not mean “not famous” but rather it means “having a reputation of the worst kind.” It may help to remember that infamous is related to infamy which means “evil reputation brought about by something grossly criminal.”
Famous is good peeps and Infamous is bad! That’s the basic difference between my choices here, and I can say I have met both… whether you have to think they are or not wasn’t terribly clear in the question nor the definition.
While I could say that meeting ALABAMA in person, back stage after their concert, when I was only 15 was the most famous group of folks, my first face to face with Jesus changed my world. There will be no topping this guy for being who He is!
I will say that I have come across at least 3 very very infamous people… the problem with meeting someone truly Infamous, is the fact that no one in public ever sees them. You may think that Infamous people will have names and pictures all over media and history books, but most truly Infamous Ones remain in the shadows. For myself… I will give them no honor of seeing their own names in print, or hearing one mention them, as they crave power above all else and I shall give them NONE!!!!!!!
Here, have a cookie…
Journey With Me! 