Winding Down October

When did the holidays start to blend together? We are not out of October yet and I'm seeing Christmas commercials on TV. Yesterday, J.C. Penny's had stuffed Frosty's and Rudolph's on sale. Christmas decorations were already on some of their shelves.

It seems like the holidays start earlier and earlier each year. Thanksgiving tablecloths and turkey platters have been on the shelves since early October right beside the ghosts and goblins for Halloween.

I love the holidays, but I like to enjoy one before I start preparing for the next one. We have become so commercialized that it's all about the marketing and exploiting of the holidays and not the joy of spending time with our family or giving thanks for our blessings.

I challenge each of you to start November as a month of thanks. Life gets us down and things don't always go our way. It is so hard to focus on the bad things we go through and forget the good. Purchase you a new journal or small diary. Every morning when you get up and pour that first cup of coffee or fix that first glass of Pepsi, write down one thing you have to be thankful for. Not just the majors: food, roof, family, health; but the little things. We all realize the big things even though we take them for granted sometimes. But dig down deep and find one thing about each particular day that you have to be thankful for. It may be the fact that you have a full tank of gas and won't have to stop at the station that day. Maybe you are having lunch with a co-worker who is special to you. Maybe you took the time to do your nails and love the new color. Whatever makes your day get off to a good start by making you smile, should be written in your journal.

You will be surprised how focusing on the "little things" will make the stress in your life lift just a little. Keeping our spirits up in trying times is one of the ways we keep our sanity. Find the joy in your life every day in November. On Thanksgiving morning, before you start your day, read the journal and smile at all the things you have to be thankful for.

Happy Birthday to the Internet

Forty years ago today, the first connection was made between remote computers at UCLA and Stanford Research Institute in which bits of data was transferred. This connection would lead to ARPNET, the forbearer of the Internet. The plan was unprecedented: Kleinrock, a pioneering computer science professor at UCLA, and his small group of graduate students hoped to log onto the Stanford computer and try to send it some data. They would start by typing "login," and seeing if the letters appeared on the far-off monitor. "We set up a telephone connection between us and the guys at SRI...," Kleinrock ... said in an interview: "We typed the L and we asked on the phone, "Do you see the L?" "Yes, we see the L," came the response. "We typed the O, and we asked, "Do you see the O." "Yes, we see the O." "Then we typed the G, and the system crashed"... Yet a revolution had begun"... Now, today, we not only see the L, the O or the G. We see each others thoughts and feelings. We see products that astound and deals we can't pass up. We can see a baby from miles away minutes after it is born. We can watch videos of our favorite music. We can talk for hours on instant messaging without paying long distance phone bills. We can send letters to loved ones in long detailed emails and attach photos without paying the price for stamps or printed photos. We can purchase a 99 cent item on E-Bay and have it shipped from Hong Kong with no shipping charges. We could start a new saving program. Put the cost of a stamp in a jar every time you send an email letter to someone you would normally send a letter to. Deposit the cost of a greeting card in your savings when you send out your Christmas cards as e-cards. Yes, you may pay anywhere from $10 - $30 per month for your Internet, but how much are you saving on the postage, envelopes, stationary, cards and calls. It is astounding if you stop to think about. So hats off to those brilliant minds who changed the communication of the future by asking, "Do you see the L"

Soar like an eagle

I was sitting here at my desk watching the river when an eagle glided down across the water and scooped up a fish. He flew into the trees across the river to enjoy his meal. Following close behind was his companion. She flew down the river and circled back and glided up into the trees to join him. What majestic beauty.

Watching the wild eagles never ceases to amaze me. Such a bold and beautiful creature. A symbol of courage and freedom. From their creation, they have stood for strength and honor.

Once they find their mate, they are paired for life until one dies. Bald eagles can fly to an altitude of 10,000 feet. During level flight, they can achieve speeds of about 30 to 35 mph. Such majesty is a site to behold.

We, too, should face our challenges with strength and honor. We should soar above the things in the world that bring us down. We should stay strong and keep the faith. We should stand proud and courageous.

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint." - Isaiah 40:31

Oh, the joys of blogging

I was so excited to start my blog. I have always wanted a place to put my random thoughts. I never realized how hard it is to have random thoughts until I had to write them down everyday. What to focus on today....Hmm... That is the joy of a blog vs. writing a book. Each blog can stand individually and you can pick and choose your topic of the day. Today I want to write about holiday excitement. Once Halloween is over, it seems like the holidays fly by. There is so much planning to do. I have already made my menu for Thanksgiving. Every year we have the same foods. Tradition. We even have the same basic desserts: pumpkin pie, graham cracker pie, pecan pie and a chocolate cake or brownie for the ones who don't like pie. Being a list freak anyway, the holidays cause me to become fanatic about my lists. We all have our own little quirks and I can't believe I am airing mine on the Internet, but here it goes: Even my lists have lists. I start with your basic menu...a list of every dish we want to fix. I place it in an excel form. Then I go through each item and make a list of every ingredient that is needed to prepare the dish. Then I cross reference the items, remove duplicates and walah! You have an instant grocery list. I then check the kitchen cupboards, freezer and fridge to see what we have already and mark it off the list. Over the next month, we will slowly stock up on the canned goods and non-perishables so we don't have as much shopping to do the week of the big event. As we buy something, I mark it off my master list. Now for the really ironic part of all this. My husband does the cooking and the main shopping, I just go along for the ride. He just picks up things off the shelf he knows we need and I discretely mark it off my list. With my month of preparation and my intense list making, he gets up the morning of the final shopping trip, opens cabinet doors and checks the fridge and is able to mentally make the list of what we need. AND HE NEVER MISSES AN ITEM. Oh, to be able to be that good and not need a list.

God's Work

God truly works in mysterious ways, and sometimes he works FAST. I have been struggling all week over something and in my mind, it had become very stressful. In church yesterday morning, I gave up the fight and prayed about it. Twenty minutes after church was over my prayer was answered. Think of the aggravation I could have saved had I only prayed about it a week ago. How many times do you struggle with plans or situations only to find that God had the answer the whole time, you just forgot to ask him for it. It's much like watching your little one learning to tie his shoe. He will struggle and mess it up and have to start over and try again. Yet, you patiently have to stand there and wait for him to ask for help. Even though your first instinct is just to bend down and do it. Our relationship with God is much like that. He watches us as we struggle to handle what life throws our way. It must be difficult for Him to watch, knowing that all we have to do is ask and He will step in and take control. So when life's problems get you down, no matter how big or how little, just let go and let God. He will provide a way.

Sunday's

We grew up in church. In our family, you started church as soon as you were old enough to take into public after you were born. They had a cradle roll and all new babies had little cradles on the wall with their names on one. My parents did not drive so we would walk about a mile to church every Sunday morning. Bad weather didn't keep us away. Back then, women and girls did not wear pants to church. I remember weather so cold and bad that we would wear pants and galoshes under our dresses and then take them off when we got to church. Many Sunday's we would go to Mamaw Eden's for Sunday dinner after church services. The whole family we go. My parents and siblings, aunt's, uncle's, cousins. There would be about 20 of us in a little one bedroom apartment. I think back about what did we eat, who ate where, how did we all fit in there. I don't remember much of those details, but I do remember there was always ice tea and lemon. I grew up in a family of tea drinkers. They love their ice tea. There was always a pitcher of it ready at any family get together. I was the oddity. I did not and still do not drink tea. The only time in my life I ever drank tea was at Mamaw Eden's at those Sunday dinners. Never figured out why I did it then. If we didn't go to Mamaw's, then Mom always fixed a big Sunday dinner. And most importantly, we almost always had cake or pie. My favorites were chocolate cake with chocolate icing and a big bowl of cold peaches to go along with it. We also had spice cake with caramel icing, white cakes and yellow cakes, chocolate pie, graham cracker pie, and lemon meringue pie. Now I've made myself hungry. Think I'll whip up a cake for Sunday dinner today.

The Date

Over the years, a marriage grows stronger and love deepens for that special someone. There are articles written, debates given and TV advice given that provides us with a wealth of information on how to have a successful marriage. We each attribute our marriage longevity to various reasons and everyone has their own opinion. For me, I think the keep is to not only love each other, but to become best friends with your spouse. Think back to those first days when you met. The excitement of going out on a day. What time will he pick me up? Where will we go? What will I wear? Too many of us lose site of those oh so special early days of a relationship. We get "comfortable" in our marriage. We know longer need to make sure our hair is done and make up on before they see us. They have lived with us and know us at our best and at our worst. But that doesn't mean they no longer have those same feelings they had when you were dating. Dating your husband is one of the greatest joys in life. It doesn't have to be anything elaborate. Just a simple dinner out, going somewhere you normally don't go or going back to a special place you enjoy. It can be as simple as shopping together for a special item or getting out of the house for the day and just being together. And even though he loves you just the same, makeup or not, take a little time to look special just for him. So fix that hair and slat on a little makeup and go out and enjoy the day together.