tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45514353938694526892024-02-06T21:09:06.583-08:00Dear Squirrely GirlAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-3160111435249989272014-02-26T17:30:00.004-08:002014-02-26T20:41:22.445-08:00Toto...I Don't Think We Are In Kansas or Arizona Anymore...Thank God!!!<h3>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please let me stay in Oz...</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So...there are a couple of laws trying to be passed right now in Arizona and Kansas that will make it okay for people who don't like gay people or rather...do not agree with the homosexual "lifestyle" to refuse service to them because it might go against their 'religious freedom'. Um...what religious freedom exactly are they referring to? The freedom to be a butthole? When does serving a person who you think is committing a sin become a violation of your religious freedom? Do you know how many adulterers or fornicators or liars or gluttons you served in one day? When did you become the 'sin police'? When did you get to decide which sin is greater than another? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay...so I got a little over passionate there..but come on...give me a break. I remember when blacks were not allowed to eat in the same restaurant and or drink out of the same water fountains as white people...it was an ugly time. It was a time I thought we had overcome..and that when we knew better ..we would do better. Obviously I was wrong. Obviously, now that we cannot discriminate legally against other races...we can now discriminate on cherry picked sins. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's just..for argument's sake say...homosexuality is a sin...and you think baking them a cake for a wedding is you condoning that sin..let's just say that for a moment. So, when was the last time you baked a baby shower cake for an unwed mother? When was the last time you baked a wedding cake for a couple where one or both had been divorced? Or what about a birthday cake bought by the mistress of a married man? What about those cakes? How much did it hurt you to bake and decorate those?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And for the rest of us who are not uptight bakery workers...how many times have you sat beside someone in church you knew was a liar, a cheater, a gossiper, an adulterer, or a drunk... and you did not call them out on their sins? </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did you speak up? Did you declare that it was against your religious freedom to be forced to share a church pew with them? Well, if you did not...I am afraid there is little hope for you...other than the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ who is no respecter of persons (which means He shows no partiality and really does not care how you sin...only that you ask forgiveness and that you carry out his commandment to love and not judge others) ! Get your mind out of the bedrooms of other folks and on your own short comings...trust me...that should keep us all busy for awhile.</span></div>
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~ Squirrely Girl...just being Squirrely...</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-3664575199638319812014-01-06T20:31:00.000-08:002014-01-06T20:31:15.095-08:00Duck Dynasty and Wall Street<h2>
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">T.V and
Movies….They Are Not Just for Sunday School Any More…</span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">AND NEVER
WERE!!!!</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Two of the
stories listed in the round up of ‘biggest news’ for 2013: the uproar over Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty
fame’s comments and Martin Scorsese’s film “Wolf of Wall Street”. Two different issues, but same complaint: Somebody on TV or in a movie did or did not
teach society the right lesson.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m sorry…did
I go all Rip Van Winkle and sleep for a couple of hundred years? (Very
possible, the sleeping part anyway),,but when
did TV and movies become the moral compass of the United States of America and
all mankind? When did shows like American Idol and The Voice replace singers
and musicians developing their art in basements, dive bars or on street corners
to create a ‘real audience’ …play ‘real songs’….play an’ actual instrument’ and
maybe even write an’ original song’? And when did we look to reality shows or
films to teach us about sin and religion???<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I keep
hearing day in and day out how this country and the whole world is going to
hell in a hand basket and we wonder why…really??? On one side people are losing
their minds trying to defend a duck hunter’s opinion and obsession with a few
passages of the bible concerning homosexuality and how it is somehow connected
to bestiality (because they are mentioned in the same verse….you know…just like
adultery and murder is mentioned in the same verse…that means….every single
human who has ever lusted in their heart when married… is also gay, a killer and
in a relationship with a goat)! On the other side people are ticked off with
Phil because he stated his opinion in a magazine article (not even on his ‘reality
show’ mind you) and they wanted him fired because he shouldn’t be giving moral
opinions in magazines or on TV…then…those SAME people turn around and complain
because Scorsese did not condemn greed enough in “Wolf of Wall Street”. ????????????? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I typed a
LOT of question marks because I got a LOT of questions. Listen up people…God is
not up there keeping a score card on which sin you think is most disgusting. I understand the hypocrisy of movie critics
and the media, their job is to talk good or bad about a movie or TV show …for
money. It is shallow and worldly and no one expects more. I don’t know why they
would throw such a fit over Phil’s opinion then trash someone else for not
having one.… but the question remains…if we can get all our ‘lessons’ from
movies or TV…why did I spend all those years in school? I think I learned all I needed to know from
Captain Kangaroo and Andy Griffith way before first grade if we are rating our
morals on programming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But I can
promise you this… I don’t look to “Roots”
to teach me about the injustice of slavery. I don’t look to Gone With The Wind
to teach me about the Civil War, and believe it or not…I don’t look to Forrest
Gump to teach me about the horrors of Vietnam, I had a brother who was there to
give me a firsthand account. And I
CERTAINLY don’t look to a flavor of the month reality show personality for
interpretation of bible verses. I don’t
like the media and critics being wishy washy and crazy but they get paid good
money to go back and forth about the value of a film or news story and all they
claim to be is ‘critics and media’ nothing more and nothing less.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But if
we have reached such a low level of intelligence that we have to look to media
for our religious guidance…then…I do have a real problem with Christians using
a TV show or a fast food restaurant to show how much they love Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There…I said
it. Before you burn a cross in my front yard let me say this: I consider myself
a follower of Jesus Christ. I believe with all my heart and soul in the gospel,
the good news. I believe Jesus is the son of God and died for my sins and
through his resurrection I am washed in the blood, fully redeemed and claim the
victory!!! I am far from perfect, I fail at being ‘Christ like” every single
day, so I am not ‘preaching’ to nobody. I am just stating my opinion…just like
Phil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> I LOVE me some Duck Dynasty. It makes me
laugh. It reminds me of my own family in so many ways (minus the millions of
dollars) and I have to tell you…I agree with Phil on a lot of things. I admire
their family. I love the way he loves Miss Kay and his boys and grandkids. But
just like my own family, that doesn’t mean I have to agree with him on everything.
I am sure some of his family doesn’t agree with him either but they are right
to stand up for his freedom to voice his opinion. I stand behind his freedom to
voice his opinion and quote scripture all day long. What I will not stand
behind is the way he said it and the meaning behind some of the things he said.
And his meaning was perfectly clear and it was far from loving, therefore it
was far from being “Christ like”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have been
imagining if Mama Bess was here today and what she would say to Phil. She would
have been his elder and if Phil is the kind of guy I think he is…he would have
listened to Mama Bess and listened closely.
I can’t speak for her of course …but being raised by her and listening
to every word she said for most of my life I think Mama Bess would have said
something like this: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“Phil, ‘em
is some mighty purrty grand babies you got right there! </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Now… me and you need to have a little talk so sit
yourself down right here and let me get you a biscuit. You do know with great
power comes great responsibility, right? And you have great power. Your show is
watched by millions of people, you proudly proclaim your belief in Jesus Christ
and that made a lot of us Christians very happy and proud. You pray at your dinner
table and the show ends each week giving hope that families all over can return
to a closer relationship with each other and with Christ. That is nice, we
really needed that…and son, you have the freedom just like anyone else to say
whatever you think…but you also have a greater responsibility because more
people are listening and you put yourself in a place to represent Christians.
If you are gonna represent me…you need to know what you are talking about
before opening your mouth and you need to know the consequences.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Phil, I
love ya….and I know your reality show is all about entertainment and fun but your
remarks were crude and nasty and hurtful and untruthful….a long way from what
Jesus would say and I gotta tell ya, I was ashamed of you and embarrassed for
you. Jesus never described the intimate
body parts of a man and woman and how they were used in a sermon. Actually, Jesus never talked about sex in his
sermons. He talked a lot about love but never about sex. You seem a little
obsessed with sex Phil…that’s alright…most men are but you can’t go around
talking about it in those downright dirty words these days..with all that new
fangled digitoreryographay whatever it
is called..cause EVERYBODY is gonna read it, see it or hear it. How did you
feel when your grandsons heard you describing a woman’s vagina and a man’s anus
all over the world? Shame on you…sure it
got you ratings and it got a bunch of so called Christians boycotting A &E
and calling you a Christian hero…but you can’t have it both ways, Phil…you can’t
condemn others for sins you happen not to be committing at the moment… then
turn around and make money off committing the sin of judging others (that one
Jesus did talk about…a LOT). Do you
understand? Let me quote you some scripture ...John 3:17 “For God sent NOT his
Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might
be SAVED.” Remember that one? You do a great
job memorizing scripture … try some of the ones about salvation… you know… the
great commission…to go forth and spread the good news?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> We grew up
in a different time. You and I remember back when these things weren’t really
talked about. Oh, people knew of homosexuals, as a matter of fact I grew up
knowing a couple of ladies who lived together all their lives. They loved each
other very much. We all knew they were
different, but things like that were just not discussed. They didn’t bother
anybody and nobody bothered them. No one ever knocked down their door with a
message of sin and going to hell. No one did because no one condemned them for
loving each other…none of us knew what they did in the privacy of their own
home. Just like we don’t know what goes on between you and Miss Kay…you could
be swinging from chandeliers for all we know…but it is none of our business. You
said in your interview that you were a drunk and a mean man before you found
Christ and it turned your life around. So you of all people should know better. If your goal was to get a bunch of ‘Atta Boy’s”
from people who think just like you…you succeeded, if your true goal as a
Christian was to lead others to Christ…you failed miserably. My Paw used to have a saying…”You can’t feed ‘em
till you catch ‘em”. What you were saying was like trying to shove a T-Bone
Steak down an unborn baby’s throat. Do you think tons of unsaved people went
runnin’ to church after they heard you condemn them screaming…”I just can’t
wait to meet that God!! He sounds absolutely wonderful and loving! He only sends
non perfect people to HELL whooppeee” ??
You did a lot of stone throwin’, your
arm must be plum worn out. So I would give it a rest for a little while if I
was you. Listen… I am not about that new ‘feel good’ religion. I know that sin
is real and the bible has a lot to say about it but try this for a change Phil….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Let the Holy
Spirit and the word of God that is sharper than a two edged sword do the
convicting of sins and you stick with making duck calls and being a good husband,
father and grandfather. Nobody loves
the scripture more than me…but when you had an audience of millions of people…you
chose to harp on sin instead of the saving grace of Christ. I think people know
a whole lot more about sex and sin than they do about the love of Jesus. So I
want you to take some time and think about this Phil…..somewhere out there is a
young man or a young lady…several of them….maybe too young to even know what
you were so crudely talking about…but they know they are different and they are
confused and struggling and now thanks to you they feel doomed for hell and may
never even get the opportunity to hear a more compassionate description of
Christ who loves ALL people, even sinners such as you and I. And they will be too afraid to even talk to
their friends and family or pastor…they will take the bullying and the Duck
Dynasty mantra they hear every day around in their hearts and their minds until
they finally end their lives before they ever have the chance to hear the
message of grace and mercy of a loving heavenly Father. Think about that long
and hard and do not be deceived for….'When Jesus saw this he was indignant (that means ANGRY)… He said to them, ‘Let the little children come
to me and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such “. Mark 10:14 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Phil, you might
very well have hindered many young people with those crude thoughtless statements.
And you didn’t just hurt them… you hurt many parents and family members and
friends of gay people all over this country. I pray you never experience that
sort of prejudice, hate and pain. But
maybe you grew up in a world that taught you to be insensitive to others
feelings. Did every black person you grew up around and work with in the fields
truly seem very happy to not have the same rights as other humans or did they
just hide it really well? I grew up
during those same days, I remember my little girl looking up at me and asking
why the water fountains had ‘white’ and ‘black’ on them…I said, “Cause folks are stupid, Baby…and it makes God very sad.” </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I also read in that interview you gave in
that fancy magazine that you went to college. I never got to go pass 8</span><sup style="line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">
grade, too busy picking cotton, but I had enough sense to know black people
were NOT happier before they had the basic rights afforded all mankind, but
they might have been a whole lot safer, because many died trying to claim those
rights. Think about all of those families and how they suffered just to have a
vote, or sit in the same classroom as you and me. Those are some of the things
I want you to think about. See, there are lots of scripture in the bible and it
would do us all good to read more of them more often and in context.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> If you are
going to be on a show where millions of people watch you and you are going to
loudly profess to be a Christian…you are making yourself a spokesman for all of
us and there are so many things that need to be said and said loud! You need to
remember all those words too. You did say it was
your job to love everyone, but people will not let you love them after you just
said they are doomed for hell, have sex with animals and would be happier as
slaves. So get back to the real ‘message’.
When we know better…we do better. I will expect better from you now because I
think deep down you meant well. But in the
future…if you and your family want to make millions off of viewers who care more about what is on TV than
what is going on in their own home, community and church…please add a disclaimer
at the end of the show that says, “ This show does not represent all
Christians. Not all Christians cherry pick sins and most do not have time to
list the over 600 sins mentioned in the bible and since they can’t point them
all out to everyone every day, they just stick to worrying about their own
sins. That appears to keep them pretty dog gone busy.” </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the words
of my Paw…”Son, looks like your barn is a burnin’ down whilst you over here counting
the termites in mine” </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Thank
you and may God Bless you and yours. Tell Uncle Si I said “Hey, how’s your Mommer and ‘em..I got you some
sweet tea”!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">~Mama Bess<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">P.S. Uncle
Si would LOVE Mama Bess…she made the bestest sweet ice tea EVER!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">~Squirrely
Girl<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-69634463131126348912013-12-15T04:15:00.000-08:002013-12-15T05:51:56.088-08:00LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO MY BROTHER.... THE GATOR....<span style="font-size: large;">And it has nothing to do with football.... </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I really appreciate all the friends I have made over the last year on this blog. We didn't all agree on everything and I will admit right now....I have been wrong about a thing or two or three or maybe a hundred...but you guys have hung with me and dang...we are almost like a family now! </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A family where people can love each other and still disagree. Where you feel safe to say..."I think you have lost your ever lovin' mind...but Imma love you anyways ".... (yeah...we know those aren't real words...but we don't care)!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And that truly describes my 'real family'...you see ...I have been ULTRA BLESSED...I was born the 'baby' of a family who some people call 'entertaining"....and others call..."crazy as a sprayed roach' but we are the "McCormicks". Born to Daddy Frank and Mama Bess...the most romantic love story since Loretta Lynn and "Doo"! We are brothers and sisters who have experienced some of the most wonderful and a few of the most horrible things in life. We lost our precious brother, Dewayne many years ago ..then lost Daddy Frank on Christmas Day 1987 ...not long after lost our older brother Kenneth and then...Mama Bess in 2005. The four of us left didn't see how we would go on. But we have...and as much as I hate this overused cliche.... "MAKE NOT MISTAKE".....we will keep going and we will stand by each other no matter what. Which is the perfect introduction to this:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> over the top ...completely unashamed and blatant bragging about .</span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">..THE GATOR!</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The Gator.</b>..aka...Dwight McCormick...needs no introduction to anyone in the panhandle of Florida. I am pretty sure that... (and GOD FORBID) ..if the good Lord decides to take the GATOR home...there will never be enough churches, chapels, funeral homes, basketball courts, gyms...whatever... to hold his family, friends and admirers. We recently had a scare with his health and my Facebook and Blog messages lit up like a billboard with people wanting to know about <b>The Gator!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Isn't it always the case? That those who are extraordinary don't know how valued they are until there is a crisis? I told him when he had his little 'incident" (that is what the Gator calls every major event...a little 'incident')...I said "You know... Hank Williams was never really famous until he died!" He laughed as usual and said.'Well...Hank didn't have the internet and Facebook"!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I agree...so let me introduce you to my brother..<b>.the GATOR</b>... no....he does not pull for the Florida Gators..(we would disown him) He is a FSU Seminole inside and out. From my own recollections...the nickname "The Gator" came from him really hunting ALLIGATORS...way before all those reality shows! So there is a little fact you might not know!! I will let him fill in the details here...I still get a little squeamish hearing about his 'gator huntin' days'.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But more important...I want to tell you about my brother, Dwight. He is one of the most remarkable human beings I know. He is loyal and kind. He is funny, compassionate and extremely talented but humble. He is hilarious, witty, Godly and understanding. Not a common or likely combination. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He was the guy who called me up and said ...'you pick yourself up, shake yourself off ...and try it all over again until you get it right'...and the same guy who said...'you are my baby sister...I will love you whether you succeed or fail". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He was man enough to cry with me...to show me that being a real man doesn't mean you don't cry or hurt or need comforting...that being a real man sometimes means listening and loving you no matter what. He was the inspiration for more than a couple of songs I wrote because he didn't mind saying how he felt...not ashamed to admit that he hurt like anyone else. So he has always been accessible for those in need. The most Christ-like characteristic of all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I will not share the name...but as some know... the Gator worked with many inmates in a county jail for years. After one of the inmate's release, he told me that he owed his very life to my brother. That he never treated him like a criminal but as someone who still had worth...that when he was down to the very last breath he wanted to take...the Gator gave him hope. It was one of many stories I would hear over the years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have never had a heartache in my life when the GATOR was not there to hold my hand and soothe my soul...to pray with me..to let me know that no matter what...I was loved. </span></div>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">People say that me and my sisters are a lot like our Mama Bess....and we all three laugh at that ...because we know...deep down.... the Gator has more of our precious mother's traits than any of us. He has the perfect combination of the grace and mercy of our mother...and the steadfastness and no nonsense of our father. He is the Gator....He is our brother and our best friend...and we could never be more proud! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Happy Birthday Brother....we love you so very much! Never stop being YOU!!!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-85934285630069390162013-08-14T23:51:00.001-07:002013-08-15T00:27:21.846-07:00It is okay to forget!!!<h2>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 24pt;">Fear not....It is a
wonderful way to live...</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I just realized...this is the first year since 1995 that we have
not remembered our son Adam's 'new birthday'. His bone marrow transplant was in
July and we normally do a big celebration of his second chance at life from his
older brother Jeremy. None of us really mentioned it this year. But that
doesn't mean we have forgot how to be thankful, that means we are finally
getting the most precious gift of all...the point where cancer does not rule
our lives anymore. See…when someone in your family has cancer....cancer takes
over everyone's life. Adam suffered more than any of us will ever really
know...fighting this disease that seems bound and determined to take every
person and everything in life we love, but he was not the only one. As he has
said many times...watching the rest of his family suffer along with him made
the cancer even worse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">His brother was a junior in high school...just 16 years old. When
other boys his age were juggling sports and girlfriends...he was wondering if
his bone marrow might fail in saving his younger brother's life...a pretty
heavy load for any teenager. I remember the day that I called him at school and
as soon as he picked up the phone...I said..."Jeremy!!! You are a perfect
match!!!" He said, "I knew it...YES..let's do this!!"
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was not an easy procedure for him. He takes after his mom and
gets deathly sick from that 'sleeping medicine'. Just like most donors, he
never complained for a moment. When they brought up his bone marrow the bag
said, "To Adam..From Jeremy...I love you!" It was a special
moment every mother hopes she will never have to experience...one
child...sacrificing his life for another. It made me look at the gift our
Heavenly Father gave to us… the ultimate love...and the ultimate pain. But
"Bless the Lord...oh my soul and all that is within me, bless his holy
name."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">(This is a beautiful lullabye to that song)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfTmak8yk7M">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfTmak8yk7M</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> And then there was their baby brother Dusty...who was not
really old enough to understand why everyone in his family seem to just
disappear from his life for about 6 months. His Mema Judi (who I could have
never made it through without) brought him to us at Duke University
Hospital so we could celebrate his birthday that year. All I really remember is
he liked Power Rangers..the rest is just a blur. I was pretty much a walking
zombie at that point and God bless Jeremy and Dusty…. They just got what little
was left of their mama during those years...they never once complained. And
their Grandma, Mama Bess...if there could be anything worse than watching your
child suffer it has to be watching your child watching their child
suffer....she was our rock through the whole thing...but I know her heart was
breaking. Having my own grandson now...I have a glimpse at what she was
going through. Bless you Mama Bess. Our sisters and brothers...who wanted
so to lift our burden and did everything they could and my precious friends who
could really do nothing but just be there and talk to me day in and day out...you
will never know how much that meant. And the Hub...who worked at what ever job he could find in North Carolina to stay close to us and support me when most people would not have stayed in the same room with me most of the time...it takes a village and Adam had an awesome 'village'.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When I realized today that we had not 'remembered' that day..that
week..that month....even that year….it was the ultimate "Helllllooo?"
moment. Once the war has been won, we don't have to keep re-living the battles.
We don't have to keep remembering the pain, the hurt, or the mistakes. This IS
a new day that the Lord hath made and we SHOULD be glad and rejoice in
it!!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Doesn't mean we don't give thanks and honor the moment, but we can
now do that a new way, by not letting cancer keep us afraid that it will come
back. There have not been many days since Adam was 6 years old and first
diagnosed that I haven't lived with the fear of cancer taking his life...and
even now 18 years later...I lose my mind a little if he gets the sniffles. Fear
is not of God...so really I have been doing what I have told everyone else they
should not do. Isn't that just the way it goes? It all sounds fine until it
comes to living it yourself...then... not so easy. But my children have taught
me to "Stop it...you can't worry about us all every single minute or you
are going to miss out on enjoying us!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">So...I think our time is better spent being a comfort to those who
are fighting the same battles today. For those who have recently lost dear
loved ones to the enemy cancer and to those who are in the midst of the war
with any other illness...we will try to be here for you. We do remember when it
seemed impossible. We remember crying out to God for mercy and healing and for
strength if healing would not be His will. We remember all the children that
didn't make it and their precious families and the lessons they taught us. The
number one lesson was: Make today count and live it to its fullest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I remember kids in the bone marrow unit getting the most
devastating treatments, being so weak and frail and then five minutes later
they would all be in the hall racing their remote control trucks and cars like
nothing had ever happened. They let the bad stuff melt away quickly
and got on with the business of living and enjoying every second of this
precious thing called 'life'. They concentrated on living…not dying. So
if we are to go back to the year of Adam's cancer ever again.....that is where
we need to return. To the hope, to the courage, to the strength of children
with cancer and the lessons they were teaching all of us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Thank you Lord, for the opportunity to get to know every single
one of them and be with those precious families who lost their children that
year...they are all still in our hearts today. And help us take the lessons we
were awarded that year to help others and not live in fear but in victory.
Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">~<i>Squirrely Girl</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</h2>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-67279343576570770942013-05-15T22:00:00.001-07:002013-05-15T22:34:44.578-07:00I Saw A SHARK In The Clouds....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmAhWCb9jl8DKPk_39HaPh7Tq_9gBFelrQb0-QRDlKBs8E9GcO8b_8CvqXNyvaK3ljPiN0X2MbxKTsxX0subvWXN5RZUPzPNotyGfuyxyKQP-eB78JrxLU7ripJtuJPZFRUc2VO12Z3HsZ/s1600/eye+of+beholder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmAhWCb9jl8DKPk_39HaPh7Tq_9gBFelrQb0-QRDlKBs8E9GcO8b_8CvqXNyvaK3ljPiN0X2MbxKTsxX0subvWXN5RZUPzPNotyGfuyxyKQP-eB78JrxLU7ripJtuJPZFRUc2VO12Z3HsZ/s320/eye+of+beholder.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>I Saw A Shark In The Clouds…</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I really did…</b></span></div>
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I saw a shark in the clouds today. Not a cloud shaped like a
shark, the clouds surrounded the shark and the shark was just this big old Jaws
Great White Shark in the middle made up of nothing but beautiful blue sky. And
then I looked to left and I swear there was a big mouthed bass, and then to the
right… a catfish…all the same way. Now before you go thinking I was dipping
into Old Grandpa Cough Syrup or was out in the woods nibbling on mushrooms, let
me put your mind at ease. I was in the truck going down the road somewhere between
Florida and New Mexico. </div>
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See, we are a ‘travelin’ band’. We go from one side of the
country to the other to play our little songs, not because we think people need
or even want to hear our little songs…but because we are either…artist who must
pursue our craft…or …we are crazy as a bedbug. Most folks go with the latter. But
we travel long distances and we cover a lot of the country and up until today,
I let a lot of that go pretty much unnoticed. I am not proud of that.</div>
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I don’t know exactly what the term for ‘fear of traveling in
a vehicle’ is called…I am sure there is one. But I got a bad case of it. It is
unreasonable and just this side of insane, but I have horrible anxiety attacks
when I ride in any car or truck, train, plane, bus, motorcycle, little red
wagon, horse and carriage…you name it. It was not always that way. I can remember
loading up my kids and traveling alone from Florida to Memphis, TN without
thinking twice. The thought that we might be in a car accident or break down in
the middle of nowhere never entered my mind. I loved traveling, I loved
driving, and I loved seeing new places. And then it happened. I got ‘that phone
call’. You know… the one where they say, “Ma’am your husband and little boy
have been in a car accident. Your husband is at one hospital and your son is at
the Children’s Hospital, we are not sure if they are stable.” I had just met my next door neighbor, (who is
still one of my closest friends today) but I ran over and said, “Take me
somewhere…I don’t even know where, I don’t even know where the hospitals are
here.” </div>
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They were both okay in the end, but the trauma of seeing my
little boy in a neck brace and his head swollen like a basketball and not even
knowing the condition of my husband did something to me that day. A lady had just
pulled out in front of them…. just an instant in time… and our lives would
never be the same. I think that is when my mistrust of anything mobile started.
We all know the moment we get into a vehicle it is not just our good judgment,
but that of a million others that count, but it is probably not normal to worry
every second, then again, being normal is not something I have ever been
accused of. </div>
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Maybe if that had been the only incident, I would not be so
crazed, but add that to:</div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i><b>“Ma’am this is the Sheriff’s Department, we have your
husband at the emergency room..he was in an accident and someone finally found
him.” (He was okay too)</b></i></div>
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<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
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<i><b>“Mama, we were in a car accident, your grandkids are a
little shook up but we are all okay… the van is totaled but we can get another
van.” (Praise the Lord)</b></i></div>
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<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
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<i><b>“I don’t know how to say this but your Aunt and Cousin were
in a car accident, your aunt was killed instantly… your cousin is in intensive
care, you should come now.”</b></i></div>
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The last one was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s
back. I was convinced there is no safe place on the road. And the last one
about my Aunt and Cousin…..is what takes us back to the shark in the clouds.</div>
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I know you are wondering by now how the two could possibly
be connected. Well, I’m gonna tell you. My Aunt was married to my Uncle Junior
who was like my other father. He lost his wife and almost lost his only
daughter,( his first had been taken by breast cancer) in that accident. I didn’t think we would survive the whole
thing and (forgive the pun)… it put the nail in the coffin, so to speak, with
me and the love of travel. But my Uncle
Junior and Mama Bess told me I needed to get over that and gave the old adage “Get
back on the horse”, so I did. But the fear never completely went away. So I
will travel…but I also will be either reading a book, working, playing a game
or sleeping. Basically, I go into the ultimate denial stage and just pretend we
are not going down the interstate at 70mph. And this worked until a few years
ago…. the night an 80 year old man got confused and went down the wrong side of
the interstate hitting the car in front of us head on. Once again we were very
fortunate to have minor injuries, but I remember thinking, “See, I told ya’ll,
the road is not safe and we should all move into caves and protect our loved
ones.” I was back in fear mode once again.</div>
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Fear is a horrible thing. Fear is paralyzing and never leads
to anything good. Fear is the main ingredient that Satan uses in his prize
winning recipe to keep us from ever doing anything, enjoying anything, or serving
God in anything. He uses it like a drug. Fear is addictive, once you have
picked it up it is almost impossible to put it down without a strong
intervention. Uncle Junior passed away last week, it was very hard to let him
go. He was that rock you knew you could turn to in time of trouble. I think he
was also my ‘strong intervention’. Something happened to me when I said my last
goodbye to him. I was reminded of every conversation we ever had. One of those
conversations was about all the wonderful things we get to see on our journeys,
and I said, “Well, I don’t see a lot of things because I am too busy trying to
pretend I am not going down the road.” I laughed, but he didn’t. He said, “You
have to stop that, the best part IS the traveling and seeing all the different
things. Do you know how many people would LOVE to have a job where they got
paid to travel? I sure would. Most of us have to pay to go anywhere and you get
paid to appreciate and enjoy all the things God has made. You need to put those
books down and look out the window now and again.”</div>
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I said he was right and I would try, but I didn’t. Like some
other great wisdom that has been shared with me, I just put it in the back of
my mind with the excuse that he just didn’t understand how afraid I was, how
the fear had taken over any common sense. Not a fear for myself or my life. I
do not fear death… it is a different kind of fear and anxiety that is not
rational and not easy to explain. Then on the way home I got the call, he had
passed away and all I could think was what he had said so many times. “Today could
be it for any of us and we should probably act that way”. </div>
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When we left yesterday to go back on the road…. he was on my
mind so strong I found I could not read a book or write, or play solitaire or
listen to music. I just sat and looked out the window. And there it was…a
perfect shark in the clouds. I love the “name that cloud’ game and I still play
it with my grandchildren where we lay on the ground and say what the clouds
look like…but this was different. It wasn’t the clouds making the shape. It was
the sky making shapes around the clouds. It took my breath away. I had been
looking at it all wrong. Thinking the clouds were in control, when the sky was
in control the whole time. There was something very comforting in that thought.
A peace I had not felt in a long while. Don’t ask me why it was a shark…I think
my brother, Kenneth had something to do with that…he took me to see Jaws and
was an avid fisherman, AND he had a warped sense of humor just like me!! </div>
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But there it was, undeniably talking to me. I am not saying
Uncle Junior’s passing was a way to teach me a lesson. It was his time to go,
he had been anxiously waiting to go and join his wife and child, his Ma and Pa,
his brothers and sisters. But I do think… no… I KNOW he has enough pull up
there to make a couple of miracles happen. I imagine it this way. He went to
Mama Bess and said..”Well, she is still doing that whole ‘fear of traveling’
thing and missing out on some amazing things God is trying to show her…and Mama
Bess said…well you give it a try…she is obviously not listening to me and
Kenneth chimed in with ..make it a
shark.” And so there it was….I saw a
shark in the clouds…actually I saw a shark in the sky and it was swimming
through the clouds! I expect to see a unicorn and squirrel before this trip is
over. I don’t need to be afraid, fear is my enemy. Be safe, take all common
sense precautions, and then …what will be will be. Whatever happens will happen
but in the meantime I have been missing all the blessings around me. Fear is
the devil’s playground. He knows if he can keep us scared, he can keep us from
being a witness. He revels in stealing our joy. The worst Christian witness is
a ”miserable Christian”. Fear and
anxiety and worry can make you awfully miserable. The fear trap waits around
every corner in many shapes and forms. The bible says over and over, ‘Fear not”. I think fear is our need to be in control. The
enemy knows that and uses it against us. But…”Yea though I walk through the shadow of
death, I will <i>fear</i> no evil, for thou
art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me…” </div>
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I think I have taken so much for granted. Uncle Junior was
right. There are many people who cannot even get out of bed, who would love to
see all the wonderful sights we see every day, while I bury my head in a book
and pray for time to pass so I can get OUT of the truck. Shame on me! And shame on all of us who do not
make the very best of every single minute. The devil found my Achilles’ heel
and he has made great progress with me. I plan on stopping him in his tracks. My heart may still beat a little faster than
it should, I may never completely get over the anxiety of traveling, but I can
make an effort to appreciate the little things, open my eyes and my heart to
the enchantment of the earth God created. Heck, we may even seek out the world’s
largest ball of twine, maybe kiss a dolphin or pet a dolphin (whatever it is
you do with dolphins) stop at every ‘Historic Landmark” on I-10 and take a pic
or maybe I will chase a prairie dog or two
this trip and take one home to the McFarm. What I will not be doing this trip
is burying myself in ‘busy stuff’ to shut out the fear. We are all on a journey
of some sort and any number of things can happen to us along the way. Might as
well sight see….</div>
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Thank you Uncle
Junior for another lesson, and thank you God for Uncle Junior and for being
bigger than all my fears.</div>
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<b><i>~Squirrely Girl</i></b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-51518740638842879572013-05-06T00:19:00.001-07:002013-05-06T07:52:04.134-07:00GEORGE JONES DIED...AND THAT'S JUST FOR STARTERS....<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Who IS Gonna Fill Their Shoes?</span></h3>
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<h2>
</h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We were all saddened to hear about the death of George
Jones, one of the legends of country music. He died at the age of 81. He will
be missed greatly. He was one of the major influences of country music. I
know he gave me years of enjoyment and a great respect for traditional country
music. Nobody could sing a song like "The Possum". When he sang, "He stopped lovin' her today"...you believed it with your whole heart and soul...you could feel the pain with every perfect note. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We were playing in Vinton, La when we heard
the news and that night when we played one of his songs, I couldn’t help but
cry. One of the greats had passed on from this old world and I knew things would
never be quite the same. It was truly the end to an era. A generation of music. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But then today, the biggest loss to the world came and my life <i>will</i> never be the same. His name
was Roy Junior Carroll, he died at the age of 82. To many he was just Junior or Uncle Junior, to me he was and always will be <b><i>Unck</i></b>. That was my nick name for Uncle
Junior. I was blessed with so many wonderful uncles and aunts. They were all unique, they were all talented, they
were all funny, smart and amazing and they all hold a special place in my
heart.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But I only had one <b><i>Unck</i></b>…he was Mama Bess’ baby brother and she said from
the day he was born he was special. He had a spirit about him that is hard to
explain, because I don’t know who to compare him to today. As a matter of fact,
I am afraid that with the death of my <b><i>Unck</i></b>…much like George Jones…there may not
be anyone to “fill his shoes”. You see <b><i>Unck </i></b>was a different sort of man. He was
strong and dependable without being mean or bossy. He was spiritual and pure
without being judgmental. I can’t remember him ever saying a bad thing about
anyone, yet he could correct those he saw stumbling without being offensive. He
did it sternly in love. What a unique talent. What an incredible thing that is
lacking so much today. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I grew up just feet or yards or inches away from <b><i>Unck</i></b>…(he
always noted I had no sense of direction or distance, so I should be watched
closely at all times…basically what he said was, "You can't find your way out of a wet paper bag and the only child I know who needs directions on how to get out of a tree she just climbed"...hehe)! His daughters were like my sisters..some people call
it ‘cousins’..but we knew better. We knew that we were just sisters you could
get away from when you wanted to. <b><i>Unck</i></b> probably got on to me more than my own
parents because I practically lived at their house. I would show up…usually around
meal time (which was my second dinner or supper…yeah... back then we didn’t have ‘lunch’
we had breakfast, dinner and supper …’lunch’ was just something you got at
school) and I would bebop in and say, “Hey
<b><i>Unck</i></b>…what we having for supper?” And he would say, “Hard to tell, but from the
smell of it, I think it might be some peas and corn and okra, with something
fried and it better be cornbread, ‘cause you know we can’t eat without fried
cornbread.” (The man literally would not eat without some sort of bread on the table...now ya know where I get that little obsession).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think I pestered the living daylights out of <b><i>Unck</i></b> for most
of my life, but his quiet chuckle always assured me that he would love me no
matter what. See <b><i>Unck</i></b> was the baby of the family and I was the baby of the
family, so he understood that I had some strange belief that I was special and
could get away with anything. He even understood I was never even called anything
but “Baby” until I was like 35 years old. If someone said my real name, I knew
I was in serious trouble or at the doctor’s office. I think that was one of the
reasons we had such a special relationship, that and the fact that I spent
every other night of my life at his house with my ‘cousins’. He had no problem
coming and telling all three of us to ‘not make him come in there again’. I would start giggling so loud after he
closed the door, he would open it it back up and say, “And I mean it too!” I knew he meant business so I would bury my
head in the pillow and giggle until I fell asleep or passed out from lack of
oxygen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We reminisced about
those days just a month ago. It was the day before we left to go on the road. We looked at pictures and laughed at all the memories. When it was time to go, he held my hand a little longer, and I hugged him a little tighter than usual. Maybe somehow we both knew that might be the last time. I don't know, we were too busy laughing about the time we all went on vacation and wet chickens came flying out of our motel room when we checked in to think about such things as 'last goodbyes'. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">That is just a
sampling of the memories I have of my <b><i>Unck</i></b>. As the years passed we would share
many laughs, good times and some devastatingly bad times. We shared the loss of his
parents, my parents, my brothers, his brothers and sisters, both watched our children suffer with cancer and then...losing my favorite aunt and cousin….his wife
and daughter. I did not think we would
make it through some of those days. He could have acted all macho and strong
and resilient, instead he held me and cried right along with me, showing the
true strength of a man. I have seen him be angry but resolved not to let anger take control. I have seen him be humble and proud... <i>only</i> of his children,
grandchildren and recently his great grandchildren. I have seen him be silent
when most men would have raged and I have watched him take men twice his size
down with a simple look and kind but firm word. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Today has been a really bad day. I can’t seem to stop
crying. And it is not only because I am sad at losing a special family member.
I think it is because I am afraid. Not just that Uncle Junior has passed, but because there is
only one aunt left on Mama Bess’ side of the family. That means that whole generation is almost gone. And I am
afraid that somehow we might not live up to the standard they set for us. I
will admit I am more than a little worried that I don’t have what it takes to be
the leader, the example that Uncle Junior and all the others were to us. It is
scary to think that my nephews and nieces might look to me the way I looked to
Uncle Junior…what a dismal disappointment that might be. I am afraid of ‘stepping
up to the plate’ I guess.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">George Jones may have made a mark on the world in country
music, but my <i><b>Unck</b></i> made a mark on the world as a man of God who never sought anything
for himself and everything for others. There may be a young artist who can come
along to fill the shoes of people like George Jones, Conway Twitty, Tammy
Wynette, and Loretta Lynn. Someone that can reach out and touch people with a
song that leaves a lasting impression, but I pray that those of us who are now
the ‘aunts and uncles’… can come close to filling the shoes of people like
Uncle Junior and leave the lasting impression the world really needs. Be
patient with us all you young folks…we have some REALLY big shoes to fill. I
think the first thing <b><i>Unck</i></b> would have done is be honest and admit that he was scared about
being able to get the job done. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Rest In Peace <b><i>Unck</i></b>….I don’t know how I ever got special
enough to have you be a part of my life…but I thank God for it everyday!!!!</span></div>
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<h3>
<i>For you ...from your Squirrely Girl Niece~</i></h3>
<h3>
<i><br /></i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>"Will The Circle Be Unbroken"...Chuck Wagon Gang</b></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zwgfp1ZkcE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zwgfp1ZkcE</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-14492917073934034752013-03-01T04:13:00.001-08:002013-03-01T04:53:00.641-08:00DOES ANYBODY REALLY KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
Does Anybody Really Care?</h2>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBuUUBrC9eQ">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBuUUBrC9eQ</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Does it really get any better than Chicago? I think not. A
little rock, a little classical, a little jazz AND a little philosophy!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Does anybody really know what time it is, does anybody
really care, if so I can't imagine why..."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I can’t imagine why either. Do you know what year this is? It
is NOT leap year. You know what that means? No February 29th….I cannot for the
life of me understand why we can only get a February 29th every......4 years
(unless the year ends in 00’s). Oh I tried to read up on leap year in the Wiki
Tiki Taffy Pedia..but it started talking about the intercalary or bissextile
year and Gregorian calendars, lunisolar calendars, and astronomical and seasonal years…too many
big words and too much science for me. But do you know what they call a year
without February 29<sup>th</sup>?? A “common year”…and that’s why I don’t like ‘em. Who in their right mind would ever want a ‘common
year’?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I want every year to be special and who decided we could
just ‘add a day’ or ‘subtract a day’?? Who?? You know what this means? NOBODY
really knows what time it is. Nobody even really knows what DAY it is and
obviously NOBODY cares.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We have been traveling so fast across this great country
that even our smarty pants phones can’t keep up with the time….the Eye Pads can’t
keep up with the time. We don’t have a
clue what time it is or what day it is…until today…when I realized we lost
February 29<sup>th</sup>. Just flat out
lost it--an entire day…. I would have probably found a cure for cancer or
invented disposable clothes if I had just had that one extra day instead of
just another ‘common year’. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I am normally going to bed when my friends and family are getting
up to go to work. Not that I didn’t do that before I was on ‘Mountain Time’ but
I realize more and more that time is relative. When I call home three hours
behind my family and they say…”For the love of Oprah Winfrey and Tom Cruise,
why would you be calling us at midnight?” …I say, “Well it is only 9 pm here…get
up”!! I know that time really means nothing. It is just according to where you
are. And in just a few weeks the ‘powers
that be” will make it even more complicated by changing to ‘daylight savings’
time…like they are going to change how much daylight we have. It doesn’t matter what your clock or watch
says people…there will be the same amount of ‘daylight’ hours and ‘nighttime’
hours. The sun and the moon will do their thang regardless of whether we spring
forward or fall back…I promise. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">They try to convince me that the whole ‘saving daylight’ was
for the farmers…bull malarkey…farmers get up with the sun and go to bed when
the moon comes out.. they do not care what time you call it. No…the whole ‘daylight
saving’ time thingy was invented for 9-5 people to be able to go home and cut
their grass. They could have just changed their schedule and went to work one
hour earlier and saved us all the trouble. Nothing makes me madder than changing
time to ‘save some daylight’. Just means I have to get up when it is dark so I
can have a little more daylight to pretend to be doing something productive. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">And if we REALLY ‘add’ another hour on to daylight every year…why can’t we just
add February 29<sup>th</sup> every year? And how about a December 32<sup>nd</sup>???
I don’t know about you but I would like
two New Year’s Eves too..as a matter of fact I would like three December 25<sup>th</sup>’s
and at least four Thanksgivings. I already celebrate my birthday all month so I
don’t see why we can’t do that with every holiday. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The whole point of this rant is …well…I can’t remember the
point because I am too excited at the thought of celebrating Halloween for ten
days straight. Nothing better than a reason to dress up like the Walking Dead
or Marsha Brady…and while we are at it…let’s have National Chocolate day every
Wednesday…then it will no longer be burdened with that awful “hump day’
nickname. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Does anybody really know what time it is? No we do not. So I say it is 5 o’clock everywhere right now…so
you are all now officially off work...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Party on… <i>~Squirrely Girl</i></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-28377080371667082972013-02-18T05:06:00.000-08:002013-02-18T05:06:26.567-08:00SOMEWHERE BETWEEN....<h2>
</h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Forgiving and Forgetting...</span></div>
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<i>"<span style="font-size: large;">Forgiveness is an act of the will in which a person relinquishes any "right" to get even with an offender"~unknown</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Did you know that the
phrase 'forgive and forget' is not in the bible at all? It talks a lot about
forgiving and a lot about forgetting but it never once says ‘forgive and forget’
in the same sentence. Maybe it is a sign that as humans we are not capable of
doing both of those things at the same time? I sure hope so because it is HARD. Have you ever tried to do either one? Then you know it is no piece of cake...(chocolate cake with caramel topping and walnuts and cool whip with chocolate chips topped with ice cream and......... M & M's and.... crushed up Snickers Bars ..yuummmmm ..but I digress.). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Oh, it
is pretty easy to say, "I forgive you because that is what Christ did for
me" but somewhere--deep down inside--if you are completely honest...you
know you are saying: ‘Yeah, I forgive you alright...but I can promise you
this, I will Never Ever Ever Forget’!!! And maybe that's okay, maybe that is what prevents us from making the same mistakes over and over and over again. Like a built in defense
mechanism to protect us from CRAZY!!! Right??<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">But what does the bible really say about forgiving and forgetting?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> There's a whole bushel full of verses in the bible about <i>forgiveness. </i>Here's your top ten countdown: <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">#1 </span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Because we are sinners
we should forgive others</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://biblia.com/bible/niv/Matthew%206.14-15"><b><span style="color: #cd1713; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matthew 6:14-15 </span></b></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">For if you forgive men when they sin against you,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their
sins, your Father will not forgive your sins</span><span style="color: #244061; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">. (uhmmm…that is pretty strong language right
there..and uh…I didn’t write it…so…look it up!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">#2 </span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Be ready to forgive over and over again</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://biblia.com/bible/niv/Matthew%2018.%2021-22"><b><span style="color: #cd1713; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matthew 18: 21-22 </span></b></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how
many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me, up to seven
times?” Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven
times."</span><span style="color: #0f243e; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"> (Whoooaaa...<i>seventy times
seven ?? Get back Jack..that is a LOT of times ..how many times is that?? Work out the math and get
back to me..but I KNOW..it is a BUNCH!!)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">#3 </span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Confess and God will forgive you for your sins</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://biblia.com/bible/niv/1%20John%201.9"><b><span style="color: #cd1713; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1 John 1:9 </span></b></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. </span><span style="color: #244061; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">(<i>Confessing to anything is hard..confessing to being or doing something wrong is harder…I know this
..first hand.)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 17.15pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">#4 </span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Love will lead to forgiving others</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://biblia.com/bible/niv/Numbers%2014.19-20"><b><span style="color: #cd1713; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Numbers 14:19-20 </span></b></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">In accordance with your great love, forgive the
sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left
Egypt until now.” The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked.” </span><span style="color: #0f243e; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;">(<i>Love will build a bridge…in the words the
Judds or in the words of one of my favorite old gospel song "You're the only bible some people read" )<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">#5 </span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Priority when it comes to forgiving others</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://biblia.com/bible/niv/Matthew%205.23-24"><b><span style="color: #cd1713; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matthew 5:23-24 </span></b></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the
altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave
your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your
brother; then come and offer your gift.” </span><span style="color: #244061; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">(<i>I might need some guidance on this one…but it pretty much sounds like
if we do not forgive those who have hurt us…we can’t expect a whole lot of
acceptance from God…so if we are holding a grudge or pouting..we are pretty
much separating ourselves from our Heavenly Father..whew..that’s deep)</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 17.15pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">#6 </span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Forgive others rather than judge others</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://biblia.com/bible/niv/John%208.7"><b><span style="color: #cd1713; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">John 8:7 </span></b></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">When they kept on questioning him, he
straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be
the first to throw a stone at her.” <i>(</i></span><i><span style="color: #0f243e; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;">No commentary necessary)</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 17.15pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">#8 </span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Jesus is our Model</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://biblia.com/bible/niv/Luke%2023.33-34"><b><span style="color: #cd1713; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke 23:33-34 </span></b></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">When they came to a place called the Skull,
there they crucified him, along with the criminals – one on his right, the
other on his left, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what
they are doing.” </span><i><span style="color: #0f243e; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;">(the mega super duper example)</span></i><i style="line-height: 17.15pt;"><span style="color: #0f243e; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"> </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">#9 </span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Jesus’ command to us</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://biblia.com/bible/niv/Luke%2017.3-4"><b><span style="color: #cd1713; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke 17:3-4 </span></b></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">So watch yourselves. “If your brother sins,
rebuke him, and if he repents forgive him. If he sins against you seven times
in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says , ‘I repent,’ forgive
him.” </span><span style="color: #0f243e; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;">(<i>There's that math problem again and even more practice for patience, mercy and grace).<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 17.15pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">#10</span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> How to treat enemies</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://biblia.com/bible/niv/Romans%2012.20"><b><span style="color: #cd1713; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Romans 12:20 </span></b></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">... “If your enemy is hungry, feed
him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will
heap burning coals on his head.” </span><i><span style="color: #0f243e; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;">(I am soooo not making this stuff
up..seriously…check it out. It is right there in Romans 12:20...He said you gotta feed your enemy and give him
something to drink. Absolutely nothing...notta...not a single thing about blowing his brains out legally by ‘standing
your ground.)</span></i><i style="line-height: 17.15pt;"><span style="color: #0f243e; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"> </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><b>Now…If you were paying close attention, you will
notice that #7 is missing. You know why? Well, I will tell you why...and here
it is...<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>#7</b> <b>A remarkable example of
forgiveness<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://biblia.com/bible/niv/Acts%207.59-60"><b><span style="color: #cd1713; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Acts 7:59-60 </span></span></b></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>While they were stoning him, Stephen
prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried
out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell
asleep.</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Stephen was the first known martyr for the Christian faith and he prayed and asked God to please forgive those who
were stoning him to death--and then he had peace and ‘fell asleep.’ WOW…double
–triple-- quadtriple- -WOW! It was like he could not let go and leave this world until those
who had harmed him …were forgiven. Take
that in for a moment…yes…take a deep breath and let that sink in for a moment or two. He said “Lord Jesus, receive
my spirit…Lord, do not hold this sin against THEM”….against THEM??? That is
what Stephen was praying before he was stoned to death?? He didn’t say “look
what injustice they have done…Lord I hope you are going to heap a ton of Karma on their head". He did not whine and complain to God about how he
was being accused falsely and tortured, he simply prayed a selfless prayer of forgiveness
for his enemy-- just as Jesus had prayed, ‘Father, forgive them’ on the cross.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Stephen was being ‘Christ-like’. You know …that other word for
“Christian” the one that has nothing to
do with your church attendance or numbers or money or who you voted for or
did not vote for? Remember that message? The Good News? Being like Jesus, acting like Jesus, encompassing the essence of Jesus? Sharing the message of love and faith, of
grace and mercy and of forgiveness and maybe one day, although it seems impossible at times, we might also learn to 'forget'. Maybe we really can overcome our human nature to recall every wrong done to us or against us by others who wear the same robe of
flesh that we wear and realize we ALL make mistakes and at some point we ALL need
to be forgiven. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus was the example..He lived
it..He breathed it..He suffered through it…and He taught us the way and yet we
still think we know better. We think if someone does us wrong we have every
right to do wrong right back. That is certainly not what the bible
teaches about Jesus. We think we need more and bigger and better guns to
protect us from our enemies. But when Jesus was at risk of losing His life on
this earth he told his disciples 'two swords is ENOUGH.' --<span style="color: red;">Luke 22:38 “</span><i><span style="color: red;">And
they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, </span><span style="background-color: yellow; color: red;">It is enough!!!)</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i><span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And when people try to convince me
that it is God's will that we go into a war…all I can think about is what Jesus said <i> --</i><span style="color: red;">Matthew <i>26:51-52--</i> <i>And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand,
and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off
his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword
shall perish with the sword"</span>. </i> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I am no theologian or bible
scholar..but there is no way to take those strong statements out of context. Jesus' life was on the line..it would have been self-defense and more
than qualify for ‘stand your ground.’ He could have called ten thousand angels…he could have have formed a mighty army, he
could have done anything he wanted to do…but he came to live among men...as a man..who would face every temptation we faced and would show us how we could overcome without violence. Not only did he sacrifice
his life on the cross---because it did not start there and it certainly did not end
there---Jesus was teaching us a lesson about how to live, about forgiveness, about
putting others before ourselves. It was the ultimate gift of love and the
ultimate example of forgiveness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And what about that whole 'forgetting' thingy...well...here is my favorite verse and I hope this is one of those things we will NEVER forget:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Brethren, I could not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do--<i>forgetting</i> the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before."~Philippians 3:13</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><b><i>Stop looking back...you are not going that way..~Squirrely Girl</i></b></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-48580819888679411152013-01-29T12:29:00.000-08:002013-01-29T12:38:17.193-08:00Love, Life and Hershey's Kisses<h3>
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">I'm in the mood for love...or</span></h3>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chocolate by any other name....</b></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Valentine's Day is coming. It is right around the corner. A very good friend of mine shared that her church will be having a contemporary service called "The Sweetness of Life" where they celebrate the month of love...and 'chocolate'. I said "count me in"!! Unfortunately I had to leave before the service but the members of the church were ask to share their thoughts on the question, "What is love?" Since I can share thoughts from just about anywhere thanks to this internet thingy and I cannot get the question out of my mind, I will share them here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think everyone who has come within 2 ft of me or read anything I have ever written knows I love me some chocolate. L.O.V.E. love it! I don't know why exactly, there is just something comforting about chocolate and I also read somewhere that there is some sort of caffeine in it too that makes you feel better but too much of it is bad for you. I don't believe everything I read. So I eat chocolate when I feel the need. Moderation in everything I say. (Unless you are really stressed, then throw that saying right out the window and cuddle up with a bag of Snickers Bars.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What is love? What does it mean to you? Well-- there is my love of chocolate, something that makes me feel better and there is my love of the Wizard of Oz that gives me illusions of grandeur --then there is another love. If you have lived long enough you have experienced it. It does not always make you feel good. Sometimes it hurts. With love comes caring and emotions and when you really and truly love someone else, if they hurt...you hurt. If they don't love you back..you hurt. If you lose them..you hurt. It is a given that anything that can bring you so much joy will have the same ability to bring you that same level of pain. From one of my favorites:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"<i>Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain." ~Kahlil Gibran-The Prophet</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And so it goes. The love of a mother for a child, love for a friend, for a husband or wife, for a boyfriend or girlfriend, or for a grandchild. There are some pretty big risks involved there. So why do we keep doing it? Why are we drawn to love? I think because it is necessary to our very being. If we believe God created us in His own image and God is love...then we are love and being 'love' we have no choice but to need to love and be loved. But that doesn't really answer the question of "what IS love?"...I think it is different for every person. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think I found out about true love when I was very young. I knew without a doubt that my family loved me unconditionally, so I probably took that for granted. But I really found out about the true meaning of 'love' from my older brother Dwayne. He was the second oldest in our family, born with severe birth defects, he never walked or talked, never took a bite of food that someone did not give him. Never held a spoon or a fork, never placed both twisted feet on the floor, never spoke a clear word and never contributed anything to this world other than 'being Dwayne". But he touched more people and said more with his eyes, smiles,or frowns than most do or say in a lifetime. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dwayne could not change or affect his surroundings, he was dependent on those who loved him and would care for him for everything he needed his entire 24 years of life. If he was hurting from being in one position too long, he could not verbally tell us that...we had to watch him carefully, look at his eyes and see what they were saying. He could make some noises of approval and disapproval but we had to pay close attention to him to make sure he was okay. So I learned to listen...not to words spoken..but to actions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">He loved everyone and always tried to have a smile on his face, but he would get angry just like anyone else. If someone raised their voice, or he thought anyone was being mean to someone else or if an animal was being treated unkindly you could see his eyebrows rise and the look of angst in his eyes that could immediately put an end to any situation. So I learned to speak up when needed and to take up for others no matter what.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There was nothing wrong with Dwayne mentally, he was just trapped in a body that could not do the things he would have loved to do. So he felt all the emotions we felt, the frustrations, the anger and the helplessness. Some people were a little afraid of him and it was hard for them to look at someone who seemed so pitiful, deformed and different. It didn't bother him, he loved everyone because he saw them from a different perspective. So I learned to look at people in a different way and accept them for what they are not what I expect them to be. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Most people simply 'loved' Dwayne. He could not do a thing for them, he had no money to give, no compliments or flattery, no jokes to make them laugh and not even arms capable of giving them a hug. But they loved him very much. He touched everyone in a special way who took the time to visit with him and they would never forget that experience. He changed lives, without all the words, actions, or theatrics. He changed lives and made an impression through unconditional love. Love that demands nothing in return. Open and honest love without selfish motives. It was love in its purest form. So I have seen 'love' through the eyes of my brother and once you have done that..you can never forget that we are all here to very simply--love one another. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am sure Mama Bess and Daddy Frank must have questioned God at some point after Dwayne was born. When he went through 6 months of nothing but severe pain and cries of anguish. But they never mentioned it to us. We thought everyone must have a special brother like our brother. One that reminded you of what true love was every day. So we all learned that every human being has a worth that cannot be measured by what they accomplish in life but by how much they love those around them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am so thankful that I was asked once again to remind myself of that kind of love and how very lucky I was to have experienced it at such an early age. When Dwayne passed away, there were tears of sadness but there was also a celebration of his life and my prayer is that the celebration of that simplistic, unselfish and unconditional love will be with all of you--this Valentine's Day and every day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Love and a bag of Hershey's Kisses to you all~ <i>Squirrely Girl</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-18596961484162762092013-01-14T22:56:00.003-08:002013-01-15T16:49:43.472-08:00To Everything...Turn Turn Turn..<span style="font-size: x-large;">There Is A Season ..Turn Turn Turn..</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And a time to every purpose...under heaven..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I love the Book of Ecclesiastes and I LOVE that song. I love the way they were able to introduce a powerful message to the world through Rock n Roll. Imagine that. Pete Seeger took King Solomon's wisdom-- word for word and only added a couple of lines--'turn turn turn" and the ending line --"I swear it's not too late"--- then put it to some music and it became a number one hit for The Byrds in 1969. I love the The Byrds too. (Not to be mistaken for my crazy suicidal kamikaze<b> birds</b> who once ruined a perfectly good hair day and continue to taunt the <i>Ninja Squirrels</i> when they fly into my house or windows ..that is documented in an earlier blog...true story ..really).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My life is about to change and I really</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> needed to hear this song and I needed to read this scripture again. Turn...turn...turn...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">A time to be born, and a time to die;</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"> a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted;</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">I am leaving a job that I love very much, not by choice but because it is time and I am going to a job I love because it is time--and for that I am more than thankful. Some people work an entire lifetime and never find one job they truly love and I have loved several. I once heard some advice that I shared with some young people as a career counselor and decided to take it myself: 'find something you love to do, find a way to get someone to pay you to do it and you will never work another day in your life.' Hey, I was just lazy enough to take that serious. I can't imagine getting up early each day and going to a job I hate (I can't imagine getting up early PERIOD) but think how miserable I would be if I had to get up early AND go to a job I hated. I would not last long. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">I am only really good at a couple of things in life--talking and loving people. As long as I can do those two things in some combination, I am always going to be happy. Sometimes I<b> talk</b> through written word or through music or just running my mouth, sometimes I <b>love</b> people the same way. But no matter what or how--every adventure always ends up with me meeting and listening to people who bless me in more ways than I bless them. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">This will be my last blog from the comfort of my old home place for a few months. I am off to have an adventure, back on the road to play a little piano, tell a few jokes, meet some new friends and ...I am just guessing here but....probably talk to a few people. I will keep you updated as we go. It will not always be pretty...it may be a bit shocking at times...but I can promise it will always be honest and probably a little insane. My goal is to taste a different brand of chocolate across America and if I knew how to use my Smarty Pants Phone I would take a pic of it too. Maybe I will have the time now to get to know Mr. Fancy Schmancy Smarty Pants Phone and we can become friends at long last. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">Pray for us on the road, some crazy weather/ drivers out there. Pray for me as I struggle with leaving so many people I love and cherish and last but not least--pray for the Idgets in the band. They haven't heard me complain in quite some time...it will be a shock to their system. See ya on the road and maybe even in your country....let the whining begin!!!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">P.S. Just think of all the interesting questions I will get across the nation. You can all help me answer them. Oh what fun we will have and what trouble we will cause! ~Sigh~ </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">Change is good... unless it is a light bulb you can't reach... that is what I always say...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">Take Care and go do something you LOVE..."I swear it's not too late"...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"><i>Later ~Squirrely Girl~</i></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-48224457088827738642013-01-01T13:27:00.003-08:002013-01-03T19:09:06.051-08:00HAPPY NEW YEAR..LET'S SANG IT!!!<br />
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<span class="Heading1Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot …</span></span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Maybe...Maybe Not....</span></h1>
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Because I am a song writer (in my illusions of grandeur and
a few times by trade) I have always been curious about the song “Auld Lang Syne”.
Who wrote it..where did it come from..why do we all sing it every New Year’s
and don’t have a clue what we are saying? So... I did a little research that
makes me happy and sad.<br />
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Sad because the worst thing that can happen to a song writer
is for someone to steal your song…or at the very least, steal your lyrics.
Music comes pretty natural to most of my family and friends ..those who play
instruments can come up with all kinds of fancy licks on a guitar or piano but
when it comes to lyrics..those are special..those are words you write straight
from your heart and you expose your deepest feelings to the world to be
trampled, criticized and condemned. It is not easy..but if you are a writer,
you have no choice. You must write. It is as necessary as breathing. <br />
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So when I found out the guy who gets credit for a song used
worldwide for so many events-- like people passing out drunk on New Year’s
Eve-- probably plagiarized the whole thing..it made me sad. Seems old Robert Burns admitted that
he took most of the words of the song from old James Watson and several other ‘poets’ used the same words. I
guess ‘copyright infringement’ is not reserved for the 21<sup>st</sup> century.
I know all this is true because I read it in Wikipedia and we all know
Wikipedia would never lie and is completely dependable. Nobody on the internet lies or makes stuff up or
exaggerates anything. Right? All we really know for sure is that “Auld Lang Syne” means
something like ‘for old times’ sake’.The reason the song makes me happy is the next to last
chorus that most of us do not sing:<br />
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"We two have paddled in the stream, from morning sun till dine.<br />
But seas between us broad have roared since auld lang syne."</div>
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<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9;">I don’t know about you folks….but that little chorus right
there touched</span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Cambria, serif;"> my heart. </span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9;">It speaks of friendship and family ties
..about being there for each other during the toughest times, side by side,
through the good times and the bad. It means even if we might one day be
separated by miles or even in death, or disagreements--nothing will ever change
that love or that friendship. True love does not wane with time or space, it is
eterenal. You don’t have to work at it. I love my precious family and
friends who love me despite myself. I love that some are just as lazy about our
friendship as I am. Some would say we take each other for granted because we don't talk every day or even every year. That is not
true. We are so sure of each other’s love that we don’t have to work at it. It
never hurts my feelings if they forget a birthday or if they don’t call me for
six months. Our love and friendship goes way beyond that. We are so close we
can relax and take advantage of each other without ever being worried that someone will
get mad.. We all have enough to worry about. We give each other the freedom to not worry and not be perfect. And that is what makes our relationships..perfect!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">The reason we can do that is because we <b><i>TRUST </i></b>each other.
We have nothing to prove to each other. We know each other's weaknesses and strengths, we know at any time or moment if we called each other up ..and said come to me, I need you..no
matter how many miles away ...we would be there, either physically or
spiritually.. and that is all that matters to us. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">There are no perfect families or friendships. We
have all let each other down at some point in our lives. And those are the only times that should be "forgotten". That is when we should let the past stay in
the past and go forward. Letting go and moving on. Two of the hardest things we
will ever do. But one of my favorite stories (and I don’t remember the lesson often
enough) is one I found in Reader's Digest years ago when I needed it most. I am too lazy to look up it up on Wikipedia-- but it was the story of the buzzard and the hummingbird and went something like this:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> The buzzard floats
on the air currents around him, passively moving with the wind in search of
something dead or dying. His whole life is based on looking for the past. He
searches for something that was alive but is either dead or dying. His world
revolves around the suffering of others and their passing. He only sees the
negative things of life and yet he thrives. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">The little hummingbird propels himself through the air on
his own power and is in constant search for the cactus flower. He seeks out
only the sweetest nectar of life in a wasteland. He thrives on beauty and the
goodness of his world. He dwells in a positive state of mind. Both are birds
yet both have been designed to do what they are meant to do.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Are you a buzzard or a hummingbird? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">My wish is that we all bring out more of our ‘hummingbird’
and less of our 'buzzard' this year. And I am going to start by giving old Robert
Burns a break on stealing the words of the famous song from old James Watson…James
should have got off his butt and turned it into a song himself so stop whining Mr. Watson..you made it into Wikipedia..what else could you possibly want? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">May we all take a cup of kindness yet..for days of Auld Lang
Syne…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Happy New Year to all the nuts like me!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">~Squirrely Girl 2013<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-16405564182668077832012-12-26T22:29:00.003-08:002012-12-27T14:02:30.261-08:00Top Five Things That Broke My Heart In 2012...<br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Top Five
Things That Broke My Heart In 2012..</span></span></span></h2>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And How to
Prevent Them in 2013</span></span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>5. People are not what they seem. </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think we
all have images in our minds of how we see people, who we think they are and it
hurts when you realize some are just not what you perceived. It burst your
little bubble, it is like finding out there is no Santa Clause or Easter Bunny
and you just want to know why anyone would lie to you about what is real and
what is not! The fact is most of us are not as we appear. I have met people I
thought were total buttholes because they acted closed off and aloof and
downright unfriendly, but when I took time to get to know them…really know them….I
found out something awful had just
happened in their lives. That is why they were acting weird--they didn’t want
to meet another person they might love and then have to lose. Then and I have
come to know others who I believed in completely and they turned out to be
completely whacko. So we have to accept people where they are at the time and
not make any pre-conceived opinions or hold on to first impressions. That will
save us a heart break or two next year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>4. Religion
is not what it seems.</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have
decided I am not religious anymore…I don’t think I was ever really religious, I
think I have been “Christian” for most of my life because there is nothing any
cooler or beyond WOW than Jesus Christ…you just can’t beat His teachings-- so I
am happy to say I am no longer religious but a stronger believer in Christ…so that
is not what broke my heart. What broke my heart were all the people
masquerading as “Christians’ who would kick Christ right out of their own church.
Jesus loved everyone. He loved the sinner, the leper, the thief on the cross.
He judged no one and just loved them all regardless of their sins. Some
Christians had rather go have a Chick-fil-A sandwich in honor of someone who
hates homosexuals than give a meal to a child…I guess because it makes them
feel superior and separates them from those ‘bad people’. It broke my heart to
hear people say or sing in one breath how great the grace and mercy of a loving
God is and in the next talk about how He would also send people to a burning
hell forever and ever and ever for loving the wrong person or committing a
different sin from their sins. My heart broke to not see love come from those
that say they love God…but I will continue to love God. Next year I hope I
learn to love Him more and serve Him better.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3. NEVER
talk about religion and politics.</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sure we have
heard that all our lives but because I was raised in the backwoods…I didn’t
know any better. Maybe because my parents never agreed on anything political
and I learned more listening to them ‘debate’ than any school or college could
teach me. I just assumed that everyone was like my family. That you could state
your opinion about anything, disagree and then laugh and have a really good
home cooked meal later. But that is just not true anymore. People identify
themselves by their religious and political beliefs and if you disagree with
either, they feel you are attacking them
personally. So my heart did not break because someone did not agree with me…let’s
face it..I am pretty used to that….my heart was broken because they thought
maybe I liked them less as a person because I did not agree with them. And the
bible says if your right hand offends you…cut it off. I don’t think that meant
literally take a sword and chop off your hand…I think it means nothing should
be more important than letting people know that you love them. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Certainly not
your opinion about anything--even if you feel like it is important-- people will
not really listen to you if they don’t think you love them first. My heart is
broken by my own mistakes. Now that I realize that--I will be slower to speak
and quicker to listen next year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2. We Have
Become a Christian Nation of Fear</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sounds like
an oxymoron to me. Christian Fear. It
does not compute. There is a wildfire spreading across the United States of
fear. Be afraid of the government, be afraid of your neighbor, afraid of anyone
who looks different, acts different, worships different, if they even seem the
least bit different. I worship a God who says, “Fear not”, so it all confuses
me and I am sure it confuses those who do not know or believe in God. What are
we so afraid of? We are ready to put armed guards around our schools, we think
more guns will cut down on deaths by guns. We are buying up more and more
ammunition getting ready for some sort of show down with somebody and we are
teaching our children that the entire world is not a safe place to live. I don’t
think the world has ever been a safe place to live. We are enraged at the deaths
of 20 innocent babies and we should be but where is the outrage over thousands
of deaths of innocent children we killed in wars we should have never been
fighting? Do we just demand safety for those children who live within our
borders, if and only IF they have a legal right to be here? Jesus came to save
the WORLD—not just the USA. That breaks my heart and I am not sure what we can
do about that next year. Any and all suggestions are welcomed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">And the NUMBER ONE thing that broke
my heart this year is….</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I did not spend enough time doing all the things I should have to make things better. I
spent more time on “me” than I did on the mission to help others. I thought I
had it all right and that all I had to do was make people think like I thought
and things would be better. So my heart deserves to be broken into a million
little pieces and I need to pick them up and start over. I need to look at the ‘man
in the mirror’ or "Ninja Squirrel Queen in the mirror"( hehe) and start with me. “Let
there be peace on earth and let it begin with me”…that needs to be my motto. I
need to stop worrying about what other people are doing or not doing and sweep
around my own back porch as Mama Bess would say.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you all
for listening to my ranting and raving and craziness this year. I can’t promise
I will not continue BUT I can promise I will put forth more effort in the
coming year. I will stop…I will pause..I will take a couple of deep breaths,
count to 100,000… (maybe) and try to be a bit more understanding and less
critical. Ya’ll better PRAY FOR ME…haha<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">May you all
have the bestest New Year EVER!!!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>~Squirrely
Girl</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-80070551984900054352012-12-10T19:31:00.003-08:002012-12-10T19:31:14.551-08:00SEX, DRUGS, AND ROCK N ROLL...and...<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">.....PYTHONS and EVIL ELVES…</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will be going back out on the road soon with The Hub and
The Boys. Every time I tell someone that
they say something like, “Oh, that is exciting!” or “Oh, that sounds like so
much fun!” or “Wow, you guys get paid to
dress up and go on stage and play music and have a good time? That is AWESOME!”
But I think what many are thinking is “You
are insane, what kind of job is that? That’s not a real job.” or “I bet you all
do drugs cause everyone knows people in bands all do drugs, drink and ‘other
things’ we can’t even mention.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And I completely understand. Growing up in a small town, my
impression of ‘musicians and bands’ included: “ They are alcoholic druggies who
are too lazy to get a real job and just got lucky and have a little talent in
order to get paid enough so they do not have to work a single day in their
life. It just can’t be fair that people can love something so much AND be
allowed to do it AND get paid for it AND then enjoy it because it is so much
fun! That is just not normal and there must be something illegal involved
somehow somewhere.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So when I tell people that our family sometimes plays music
for a living and I see their eyes twitch a little, I know where they are coming
from. But because of my family’s history in music I was open and even encouraged
to explore the possibility that you can make a living using your love of music.
Daddy Frank played with Hank Williams Sr. until he said he about starved to
death, my great uncles, Pappy Neal and Uncle Earl spent all their lives playing
music. Everyone in our family plays an instrument, sings, writes, or at least
listens to the radio. You can’t survive if you don’t. But life on the road is not quite as
glamorous as it sounds. I will be doing a blog sharing the ins and outs and
break-downs and a few “Band On The Run/Running
On Empty / With The Runs” food critiques..that should be pretty interesting. So
stay tune for that. You can check out when and where we will be at The Southern
Soul Allstars’ website.. <a href="http://www.thessas.com/home.cfm">http://www.thessas.com/home.cfm</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I must say ..it is looking like a really COLD ..um..I mean a
really COOL tour. Oh well…life is a journey not a destination. And in the case
of our band …it is a journey that needs some sort of adult supervision…but why should
we start now!! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Speaking of adult supervision…why anyone in their right mind
would leave me to my own devices on Facebook is a mystery to me. I have been in
more trouble than a tumblin’ tumbleweed in a tornado this week. I chimed in on
a little conversation—which I have been known to do a time or two—about the big
old humongous PYTHON that was killed in Caryville, Florida. It was of interest
to me because I don’t live far from Caryville, Florida. All I said was…people
buy those suckers online and then when they get too big and after they eat
their house and car..they set them free and then they end up in places like
Caryville, Florida…where a little 13 year old girl had to shoot and kill it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well…some looney toon guy said I was crazy and that nobody
could buy a baby PYTHON online because it was illegal and I said..(because I
always have the right to remain silent ..but I never will) “Well here are a few
sites that say you can buy one online.” And he said..”Well the last 3 years that has
been banned and it is illegal NOW.” And I said GOOD! Then he said—PYTHONS can NOT
survive our winters here anyway and that I (Ninja Squirrel Queen) did NOT know
what I was talking ‘bout and I said—well, the PYTHON in Caryville, Florida that
was 11.4 ft long and 15 inches wide..I think it was surviving pretty dang good.
And then he got mad and apparently reported me to FB as a black market PYTHON
seller/oppressor, which is not true. I am not going to oppress or pet or hunt
or buy or sell NO KIND OF SNAKE. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But that doesn’t matter-- I got put on
probation on FB and could not post or like anything on my page for 24 hours until
I learned my lesson not to chime in on other people’s conversations that might
have looney toon friends. Lesson learned!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At first I thought I was banned for making fun of my nieces’
‘elf on a shelf”. Yeah…um…who came up with this idea and how many drugs did
they take first??? I want a ‘stocking on
a shelf’ one filled with as much chocolate as possible but I cannot imagine
wanting a little skinny elf on a shelf that gets up in the middle of the night
and wrecks havoc on my house, life and family. Who thought this would be fun???
ELVES are Santa’s little helpers. We all know this right??? They are at the
North Pole pounding away on toys or trying to be a dentist for God’s sake..they
are not roaming around your house playing tricks..that…is GREMLINS!!! Maybe we can pour water on all those creepy
elves and they will turn into FROSTY THE SNOWMAN! That is something I can use
around my house because I am having MEGA HOT FLASHES!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sure the title said Sex, Drugs and Rock N Roll..but there
will be no talk of sex in this blog. All that leads to is more human beings who
think Evil Elves, Pythons and Gremlins are a good thing!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Whatever Will Not Offend You (I am in enough trouble
as it is) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>~Squirrely Girl</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-33697114568193865302012-12-01T11:54:00.002-08:002012-12-01T17:22:50.214-08:00Cousins..who could ask for anything more?<br />
<h2>
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">COUSINS MAKE THE BEST FRIENDS and
CO-CONSPIRATORS </span></span></b></h2>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We all grew
up with our cousins. For the longest time I didn’t know the difference between
my cousins and my sisters and brothers. We all spent the night together so much
I thought we were just one big family who took turns with mamas and daddies. We
didn’t just play “musical chairs” we played ‘musical houses’. The girls would spend all day building a
playhouse of boards placed on tin cans to design our ‘house’ under the two big
oak trees beside my house appropriately named <i><b>“The Oak Tree”</b></i>. If we did skip a
night of spending the night together (we didn’t call it sleepovers) the last
thing we would say to each other at the end of the day was, “See you in the
morning at <b><i>The Oak Tree</i>!</b>” Then we would take turns walking each other halfway home which could sometimes take hours until we finally figured out we would all have to walk at least halfway home alone..that is usually when we came to the conclusion it would be best if we just spent the night at someone's house. That choice was made by whose mama was cookin' the best supper. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><i>The
Oak Tree </i></b>was magical. We would build our playhouse all morning and would sweep
the dirt and cook our mud pies and we even had some vines in the pretend
bathroom and if it had rained that day we would stand under them and shake for
a ‘shower’…something none of us had in our real houses. It was a master piece,<i><b>
The Oak Tree</b></i>. It was our secret club. Which drove the boy cousins completely
INSANE. They considered it a foreign country that needed to be attacked and
terrorized at every opportunity and they never failed to be creative in their plans
for destruction. This often resulted in mind games, like convincing us the
place was haunted by a giant monster with a size 24 shoe. That has not been
disproved completely to this day. We all saw the shoe print and no one could
ever explain how it got there. It was obviously a one legged giant monster
because there was only the one footprint, but it was enough to have us
screaming and running for safety. Clever they were..the boy cousins”.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just like in
real life, the girls were nesting and building a thing of stability and beauty
while the boys were trying to see who could kill each other first on the
makeshift obstacle course they had built to use their bicycles as deadly weapons. JTD,“Jumping The Ditches” was
the equivalent of the most extreme sport today. I don’t even know how many
bones were broke or dislocated over the years…too many to count..and they DID NOT report most of them because it was against the rules to JTD and the parents
would seriously WYB, 'Whip Your Butt" if they found out. Of course being the wonderful little caretakers and responsible citizens we
were, the girls would always immediately report all offenders. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That led to the inevitable and ultimate final battle between the girl cousins and
the boy cousins. You could see the smoke coming out of the boy’s ears with
thoughts of revenge while we just stayed up all night giggling and preparing
for the attack. This would go on forever, until we would all join forces and put
our differences aside for the UATE, "Ultimate All Time Experience". According to
the parental units, the most dangerous thing we could do besides go swimming
after eating (I don’t know how we all lived through that) was to go play on the DSP "Deadly Sawdust Piles". We grew afraid of three things in life: panthers, hell and the DSP. The more dangerous they said it was and how bad we would be
punished if they found out we played on the DSP, the more we would plot how we could go play on the DSP.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The
parental units AND grandparental units would say, “Sure those big sawdust piles
look fun, but they are old and they are rotting from the inside out and they
will cave in and you will be buried, your lungs filling up with rotted sawdust
and you will choke and eventually die a horrible death by suffocation.” And we
would say, “Oh yeah, we are DEFINITLY going to the forbidden DSP now!!!!!” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I think back and wonder...wasn’t there just one logical older cousin that could have spoke up and said, “Hey,
maybe this is not such a good idea”? Nope, there was not. So we all found a way to play on the DSP at least once a week and some weeks we didn’t get caught and there were no WYB sessions. Good times.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The thing
about growing up that close to your cousins is that it last a lifetime. A
perfect example is my cousin Dalton and my brother Gator. I wasn't even old
enough to remember all the trouble they got into as boys but I know what they
are doing now and I am sure it closely resembles their childhood. The Gator and Dalton have been 'workin' (and I use that term loosely) on
and off together since they are both semi-retired and here's a recap of a
normal work day for them:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Meet
early..the earlier the better...have some coffee and maybe a bite of
breakfast..discuss upcoming <i>'things that need to be done'.</i>..have some more
coffee...talk a little more about things to be done and decide on <i>one</i>...have
some more coffee...discuss other things of great importance..the weather..the
neighbors, religion and sin in general and how they could fix it all...have a little something more to eat
and a half a cup of coffee...change original thing to be done to something else
after re-evaluation of weather and level of arthritis. About 2 hours
later..start '<i>thing to be done</i>'. First stand and discuss '<i>thing to be done'</i> in
great detail and what is actually required to do the job...decide you don't
have it...go back.. get more coffee and discuss 'what we gonna do now'? Pick new '<i>thing
to be done'</i>. Go to lunch. Talk with all surrounding patrons at local café about
what the new '<i>thing to be done' </i>and decide if it is truly a priority. Go back
have a cup of coffee and discuss new '<i>thing to be done'</i> and whose opinion from the cafe you really trust and what was the underlying motive for their suggestions. Decide it is too late to
do new thing now and discuss what time to meet in the morning to discuss the new<i> 'thing to be done' </i>in more detail over a cup of coffee. Decide it needs to be early, the earlier the better. Discuss what
happened to the day because it just seemed to fly by. End the day with the usual farewell greeting, “Meet
me at <i><b>The Oak Tree</b></i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> in the morning."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love my cousins...say AMEN if you do too!!!</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-31478759736536977252012-11-21T13:48:00.001-08:002013-01-21T19:50:35.238-08:00Being Thankful and Confused...<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">Life and Death…And What Is In The Middle…</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We lost another loved one in our family this week.
Thanksgiving is tomorrow. My mind is not on turkey and dressing, my mind is not
even on the best sweet potato casserole ever made that my sister brings every
year or the nanner puddin’ my niece has become famous for or trying to make my
dressing taste as good as Mama Bess’ like I do every year. My mind is on the sorrow and pain that
comes from that empty chair that will be at a table tomorrow. So I guess my
mind is on what Thanksgiving is all about…each other. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I come from a HUGE
family, I mean when God said “be fruitful and multiply” we took that stuff very
serious. I love my big family. All the uncles and aunts and cousins and second
cousins and third cousins twice removed (whatever the heck that means). All I
know is that we are all very close and I would not change a thing. Most of us
grew up in the same community and even though many have moved away, we remain
very close. Every place I have worked
over the years has said, “Girl, you have more funerals than anyone we know.”
And it is true. The advantage to having a big family is there is ALWAYS someone
there for you when you need them. The disadvantage is you have more wonderful people
that you will eventually lose one day. And it never gets any easier. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Whether we lose one of our beloved matriarchs or patriarchs
who lived to be 90 or the sudden death of a young person, there is a void, an
emptiness that somehow we fill later with good memories, laughter and peace.
But today, I am sad. Today I don’t understand and I want to be a little mad and
I want to cry and maybe scream. Today I want to question “why?” Why do bad
things happen to good people? Why do children have to hurt? Why do we not know
what to say or what to do that might have changed things? I want to ask all the
questions and no one judge me or say I don’t have enough faith. I don’t even
want all the answers I just want to know it is okay for me to ask “WHY?” </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mama Bess always said she would not worship a God that would
not let her ask questions and she certainly wouldn’t teach her child to love a
God that had an ego so big he couldn’t be ask questions. She said we can bring
anything before him …even our questions, even our doubts.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He knows our hearts and he already knows we
don’t understand. It is almost an insult to think we can hide our hurt and
disappointment from an omnipotent God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I will come right out and say it. I am hurt and I am
disappointed and I wish I understood it all. I may never understand everything in
this life, but I find comfort in the fact I am not afraid to ask the questions.
That I feel secure to say, “Dear God…we are all hurting and we don’t understand
and we are asking for a peace in our hearts to accept what is and not dwell on
what could have been.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Words lack any power to help anyone’s pain but oh how I wish
they did. I would write and talk all the sorrow away. For now all I can do is
keep the faith that was instilled in me in as a young child.<i> “Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrew 11:1</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We are all born and one day ..we will all
die and all that will matter is what we did in the middle. And that is
happening now..right now as I type these words and as you read these words. We
all have the power to write our own story and determine how that story ends. God be
with all those who are struggling today with questions and loss and may we all
learn to control our reactions to each chapter in the book of our life. When the time comes...may we all be able to say.."I made the middle count." </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Thanksgiving, peace, love and comfort to everyone!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">~Squirrely Girl</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-13158977721758535502012-11-11T14:24:00.001-08:002012-11-11T14:36:11.558-08:00How Great Is Our God??? Seriously...how great?<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">How Great Is Our God? </span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sing It With Me….or not</span>…</div>
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There has been a whole lot of uproar about traditional music
vs. contemporary or “Praise/Worship Music” in churches over the last decade or so. I
really don’t care one way or the other as long as you are making a joyful noise
to the Lord and mean it. But I must say some of the “Praise/Worship Music” or whatever
it is called does repeat the same words a whole bunch of times over and over
and over and over and over and…...well you get the point. As a songwriter who
fidgets and contemplates every lyric I write, I kind of think that is cheating,
but I am probably just jealous and bitter that I haven’t found the perfect
words for a praise phrase to sing over and over and over and over and over
and over…..</div>
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But I really do like that one song, “How Great Is Our God"</div>
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How great is our God, sing with me<o:p></o:p></div>
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How great is our God, and all will see<o:p></o:p></div>
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How great, how great is our God”</div>
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You can hear it hear and sing along here…it is a wonderful
song. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKLQ1td3MbE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKLQ1td3MbE</a></div>
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I love the song because when you sing those words it lets
you do what we are suppose to do. Praise his name. Not just ‘worship music’….but
assisting in the worship of God. I love that. But let’s say that someone who might not know “our” God. hears us singing about how great he is but they
have never experienced his ‘greatness’ yet..they might be a bit confused if they have not yet heard of our God. The only thing they have to go
on is what ‘our’ God does for our everyday life, right? The example of His
power in our lives and the lives of others is really the only way they can understand
the words of “How Great is Our God" until we have shared the actual message. </div>
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So after the election when some of the same people I have
heard sing that song so passionately have been so angry, sad, disappointed and
downright ugly about how the election turned out, I have to wonder…what God
were they singing about? I mean if you prayed, as many did, that ‘our’ God’s
will be done and it turned out a different way than you thought was ‘His Will”…it
means one of two things. Either you didn’t really care about ‘our’ God’s will
OR.. ‘our’ God wasn’t powerful enough to rig an election. And this is why (although I have practically
been stoned) I have been saying for a year.... keep “our God” out of “our
politics”. Because I can guarantee you not all Christians prayed the same
prayer, so at least half of us were going to be disappointed and sometimes we
need to thank God for unanswered prayers in the words of Garth Brooks..(or
whoever wrote that song).</div>
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And another thing…. how great IS our God? Is he not
great enough to take us through anything? Did we really need the ‘right
political party or human being’ in a place of authority to have faith that God
is still in control? Do you really think if one man wants to ‘destroy this
country’ he can do it no matter what God wants? How great IS our God? </div>
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Have we become so selfish and so elitist that we think we
can ‘put in our order’ to God for what we want in this country and he will
serve it up like a fast food restaurant? I think God may have looked at the
whole hate filled, fear mongering, scare tactics done in his name and said, “These
kids need to be put in time out until they can learn to at least pretend to act
Christ-like”. Our mission is to spread
the love and mercy of Jesus Christ, not to promote one political ideology over
the other. If you can find the words “democrat and republican party” in the
bible, please message that to me ASAP. I have got to to see that. </div>
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Now I hear there are five states that have started petitions
to withdraw from the United States of America. Ooooohhh…kayyyy. Can we help you
pack??? Where ya gonna go? And what ya gonna do when ya get there? I heard a
bunch might go to Canada..but that can’t be true because they have that
HORRIBLE socialist health care system there. I heard a couple who were going to
Australia where they have a white Christian President…which is actually a
female atheist..but whatever. Or maybe you could go to some of the poorest
nations in our world and be a missionary there and see how bad we have it here.
I bet things will not look so sad, scary and desperate then. </div>
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From Psalms 146… “Hallelujah!
Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will
sing praises to my God while I have my being. Put not your trust in rulers, nor
in any child of earth, for there is no help in them.”</div>
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A lot of this madness and fear has been preached from our
pulpits..so How GREAT is our God??? Not great enough to handle the problems of
America? Not great enough to change the heart and lead any human no matter how
much you hate him? How GREAT is our God? If you are singing it with confidence
and not fear, if you are singing it with love and the compassion of Christ and
not hypocrisy and judgment..then sing it loud and sing it clear and share it from the top of your lungs. Otherwise, sing it in your sanctuaries quiet and
self serving and leave the rest up to our Great God. </div>
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May the peace and power of God be with us all…</div>
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~Squirrely Girl</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-52738972875083273642012-11-06T16:17:00.001-08:002012-11-06T18:28:24.608-08:00Let's Give 'Em Somethin' To Talk About<br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">And we REALLY need to talk about this...</span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dear Squirrely Girl,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before you read this long, boring, and sometimes sad
note, I want to clarify that I am not gay.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so we begin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Somebody asked me politely this week the following
question, “no offense, but are you gay?” Out of respect of the person who
penetrated the awkwardness into my lunchtime, I lightened up the mood by
stating, “If I were gay, don’t you think I would dress better?” Obviously that
might be stereotypical because I know some gay people who dress just as bad as
me, but I digress. I have heard that question, oh I would say, about a 7 times
in my life. I actually don’t mind people asking because it does allow me to actually
speak for myself as opposed to the whispering lips through the grape vine. It
is a question that I have grown to hate and love over the years. I hate it
because obviously I speak, act, or move a certain way that give people the
impression that I am into men. I love that question because it shows that there
are people left in this world who value honesty better than rumors; therefore,
this long, boring, and sometimes sad note is not to bash the people who think
or ask the question. This is a note that I feel God is calling me to write
because there may be someone who is struggling with the same situation . . . or
maybe I am writing it because I am bored and refuse to study . . . I think it
is a combination of both.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This all started back in middle school. Picture it,
January 2004, A small town high school. It’s lunch time and everybody is either
eating, walking around outside, or lounging around the entranceway into the
building next to the gym. I don’t remember the moments before this incident,
all I remember is this tall guy (I would never give names) shoved me out of the
way and said the following, “Move you f------g faggot”. Obviously, a chubby
little twelve-year-old is not going to stand up to a strong 6’5 junior or
senior. Thankfully, I saw a friend (who was a girl) standing nearby so I
obviously gravitated toward her. (She was a little older than me so she had a
few choice words to say to the foul mouth Neanderthal).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
That whole ordeal of calling me a “faggot” is not what upsets me. What upset me
so much about that day was a minor detail of that moment that I didn’t mention.
See, during lunch we have what we like to call “chaperones” that usually
consist of school personnel. On that day, two of them witnessed this little
episode. After witnessing this little (and yes, in the grand scheme of
worldwide bullying, I would consider a little bump and name calling to be
ranked kinda low on the bully spectrum) incident, the words that stick with me
to this day were spoken from the lips of one them, “if you’re going to
have girls sticking up for you then you might as well be one [faggot].”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Again, this long, boring, and sometimes sad note is not to bash the outspoken school personnel or their silent companion. In my heart I have forgiven the harsh words,
the bully, and the two in authority. But since that moment, I know that obviously
there is a reason why God made me . . . well . . . not so John Wayne-ish.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You see, I see people constantly bash others who are
different, and since we are on the subject of homosexuality I might as well use
it for example. We have all seen news segments about teenagers committing
suicide because they were bullied. I can hardly listen without my blood boiling
and my heart breaking. I am ashamed to say that I have also bullied gay people.
Whether it was by physical words or in my heart, I had judged and condemned
homosexuals for no purpose other than to mask or somehow justify the sins and
struggles I hide in my own closet so to speak.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
(I swear this long, boring, and sometimes sad note gets to a point)<span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
The point is (told you) WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT DAMMIT!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Nobody is perfect! Nobody is cookie-cutter. Nobody without the grace and
forgiveness of Christ is worthy to even clean the golden rimmed toilets of
Heaven.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
I say all of that to say this. If any of you are going through Hell every day
at school, work, or home . . . talk to me. I’m no Oprah, but I’ve been there.
I’ve been there when grown, educated adults who not only fail to protect you,
but push the thorn even deeper in your side. I’ve been through it all (ok not
all, but sometimes you have to say that in order to make a point). . .but I
didn’t do it alone. Thankfully, shortly after that incident I had the
opportunity to have a quiet time with God for me to just vent.(and yes, I
vented while sitting on a toilet seat. . . get over it). I didn’t know if I was
going to move schools, rob a candy store, or sacrifice a puppy. I just knew
that whatever I did, I needed to talk with Him first. Thankfully, in my heart
He told me to push through and continue on, and so I did.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
I finished school, I moved on, and BOOM! I run into this guy at Walmart. He
didn’t even recognize me. (Go figure). I hate to mention karma or any Adele
type scenario, but between you and me, he is not sporting the same body he had
in high school. . . or hair . . . or teeth.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>And
the school personnel.... I don’t hold anything against them. I
can come up with a bunch of excuses and explanations for what they did. . . and
at this point in my life I don’t care. I am glad that event occurred. Now when
I am faced with the temptation to judge, condemn, or bully somebody, I can
picture in my mind those two ladies and pray on the spot that I don’t repeat
what happened in that school house.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Ok, maybe this long, boring, and sometimes sad note doesn’t really have a
point, a plot, or a message. . . but it’s just what’s on my heart at the
moment.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
To truthfully answer the girls question, no I am not gay. I don’t support
homosexuality, but I also don’t support, adultery, fortification, lying,
drinking, pride, or any of the 667 sins listed at<a href="http://www.wogim.org/sinlist.htm" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b5998; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.wogim.org/sinlist.htm</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
But I do support the people behind each and every sin because in today’s world
we cannot rely on teachers, adults, or even families sometimes for protection.
We need God. And when someone doesn’t know God personally, that is where we
come in.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
That is the end of today’s lesson.<span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Squirrelly Girl, do with it what you like.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Keaton<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Dear Keaton,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Well the first thing I would like to do with this is go kick
some adults’ ignorant beeeehinnnds..but since you are being so forgiving and
insightful about the whole thing and have so much more maturity now than they
will have when they are 103 years old, I will contain my need for violence and
the satisfaction of making them feel as helpless as you did back then because
you are right….we have to accept people where they are. Maybe they really were
too immature, uneducated and untrained to be teachers and hopefully have
learned some lessons since then. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">And what I learned also from your “long boring, and sometimes
sad note” (which was not long, certainly not boring and really not sad…and I
will tell you why later) is that the kid who bullied you probably grew up being
bullied and more than likely from his own family and his only defense was to
strike out at someone he considered weaker than him. He wanted someone else to
feel what he was feeling. Sometimes when people feel the need to intentionally
hurt and abuse someone else they are not just evil (there are plenty of those
too I am sad to say) but they just want someone else to feel as bad as they do.
And it worked didn’t it? You had a glimpse into a little bit of the pain that
comes with not truly being loved. I am so thankful to know for a fact that you
had enough unconditional love in your life to recover from that temporary pain.
The saddest thing about your letter is that you and I both know there are so
many who do not have that support and when they face being bullied every day,
they do feel worthless and see no reason to continue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people and
bullying victims are 2 to 9 times more likely to commit suicide. </span><a href="http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/bullying-and-suicide.html" style="background-color: transparent;">http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/bullying-and-suicide.html</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> THAT IS
UNACCEPTABLE!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">I wish I knew the answer but I think you just made a very good
start. I think people who have been bullied have to share what that feels like,
they have to make themselves available to those going through a similar events
so they do not feel so alone. Teachers and anyone else in a position of
authority must be trained to deal with these situations and be easily
approached without fear of being bullied further. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">In plain language: If you are being bullied tell someone ANYONE.
Feel free to message me and if you would like to talk with Keaton I will get
you in contact with him. If you are a teacher or principle, any adult that deals with
young people and you do not feel comfortable dealing with bullying or have
never received proper training in how to deal with these situations and you
never want to read this type of story about yourself. Please we beg you, let
someone know.. seek out resources to assist you. Do not let your pride stand in
the way of not knowing the best way to deal with a bully. Some child’s life may
very well depend upon your actions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Keaton, my precious nephew, as far as people asking you if you are gay…from now on just say
something like this… “Can I ask you about your sex life, like who, when and what
and how many? Oh, I can’t. Yeah that
would be rude wouldn’t it? Good, glad
you agree… that means it shouldn’t really matter now should it?” Cause they are
idiots and it doesn’t matter what they think.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">So your note was not sad at all because it opens doors to the
unspoken problems many young people find themselves in today and you have just
proved that no matter what…they too can overcome the stupidity of others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">With Much Respect and Love and Gratitude to You<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">~Squirrely Girl<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-20940539129457222512012-10-27T19:36:00.003-07:002012-10-27T19:40:18.682-07:00Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep<br />
<h2>
<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">God is Great, God is Good or....</span></span></h2>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">What’s up
with all this praying stuff???</span></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear
Squirrely Girl,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I notice
that you say you are praying for people all the time on Facebook and you
request prayer sometimes too and I was just wondering, do you really pray that
much? I mean if you stop and pray for every person you say you do on Facebook
you would just be praying all the time. How do you have time to make a living
and write all the crazy stuff you write if you are praying all the time? Do you
think people just say they are praying for people to be nice? It all sounds a
little crazy to me because I am not really a church goer but I think prayer is
good I just don’t know if people pray as much as they say they do.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Signed, Amen</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Amen, (Well...AMEN!):</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That is an excellent question and I am going to do my best
to answer it as honestly as I know how. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do I really, actually, literally bow down on my knees and
say a prayer for every person when I say, “praying for you” on Facebook? No, I
do not. But I will tell you what I do. At that moment when I finish typing “praying
for you”, I stop whatever I am doing and I pray in my heart and in my soul. I
stop, I pause, I close everything else out and talk to God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I may be very wrong (it has been said I have been numerous
times) but I think praying is how we communicate with God. I
think a ‘personal relationship’ with God means I can talk to him any time I
want or any time I need. Just like my mama and my daddy and my sisters and
brothers and my best friends…I need to be able to call up and gripe, complain,
cry, laugh, be sad, be joyful, tell them I love them and how much I appreciate them. Sometimes I need to share my deepest feelings with someone
I know loves me, unconditionally. And I will be completely honest with you,
even your parents, family and friends are human and they might not always be
available…you know who is? God. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If I had a friend who was very sick and my daddy was the most
excellent physician in the world, I would call him faster than you can say Jack
Rabbit to take care of them. To me, God is the Great Physician and He is
available at all times..I don’t even have to make an appointment, all I have to
do is stop long enough to take my ADD brain off myself and focus on the needs
of someone else. The bible says all we have to do
is ask and it will be given to us. Now does that mean every single prayer is
answered to my satisfaction? Absolutely not, because I don’t always know what
is best for me or another person, but I trust that God does. It is called faith. So I pray for God’s will
to be done. It is not as mystical as it sounds. I once asked Mama Bess and
Daddy Frank for a monkey, a pet monkey to call my own. I whined and I cried and
I pleaded for a pet monkey or “Mighty Joe Young” because me and my sister had
watched that movie like 54 times and we were both convinced we needed one. Thank goodness, our parents knew Mighty Joe Young was not a ‘monkey’ but a baby
gorilla that would grow up to be bigger than our entire house. Over the years I have learned the difference between praying for what I want and what I need.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You said you are not much of a ‘church goer’ so I have some
really excellent news for you. You don’t have to go to church to pray. How ‘bout
that? AND..you don’t have to get dressed up or put on make-up or even move a
muscle physically. What you do have to do is a little harder though. You have
to be still and be present in the moment. You can’t text or FB and talk to God
at the same time. He pretty much needs your full attention as any good parent
or teacher would. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is an example of a prayer I had one morning when there
was no one around and no one else needed to hear it but God, but I still shared
it with some folks who were going through some of the same things: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Dear Lord, today I feel weak. My intentions are good but I
don’t think I have the strength to do what You would have me to do. Today, I
feel like the enemy is attacking me from every side and I realize I cannot do
it alone. Father, you are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
You said you knew me before the foundation of this world, so you already know
about my problems and my worries and I think maybe You are just waiting for me
to look up at You instead of down on me. I am putting my trust and faith in you
today. I am leaving the doubts and fears at the foot of the cross where victory
was won. And for just today I am going to forget how small I feel and remember
how big You are! Thank you for listening once again today…Talk to ya later. Amen</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To try to answer your question more clearly…I don’t think
prayer request and prayer chains are required for God to hear our prayers at
all. I think He said “Where two or more are gathered” to keep us connected to each other because He knew we should never face anything alone. Let’s get real... God knows He
would hear a drug addict or alcoholic cry out a lonely prayer in a gutter
without one single other human being around, but He also knows if that precious
person’s family and friends were also praying for them they would have a safe
place to come home to and heal. He knew we need each other. A prayer request, a
prayer chain a National Day of Prayer, whatever we call it, we need it! God doesn’t need to hear a number of prayers to answer one. He just needs a
number of people to believe one prayer can be answered.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hope this answered your question and you are right…. if I
had to go to church or be in a formal setting to pray, I would NEVER get a
single thing done. And who would rule over the Ninja Squirrels to defeat the Idgets??? I am so happy that no matter where I am or what I am doing,
I can talk to God. So go ahead and have
a little talk with Jesus! It does a body good!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Signed, </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Squirrely Girl</i></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-83274898590344305382012-10-18T15:31:00.000-07:002012-10-18T15:31:03.940-07:00GONE WITH THE WIND....<br />
<h3>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Or…</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></h3>
<h2>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Good,
The Bad, and The Stupid</span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dear
Squirrely Girl,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I thought
you might could help me with this, you seem pretty honest with people and don’t
mind hurting their feelings so…please HELP! I have been dating this awesome
girl for about 6 months. I really thought this was the one. She is the type of
girl you want to take home to your mama. She is a good Christian girl, sweet
and loving. She is pretty and has a good personality. We enjoy talking and
doing things together. She had just broke up with a horrible boyfriend. He
cheated on her, treated her bad and lied to her all the time.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She said she was
thankful to meet a nice guy like me and I thought everything was fine, but now
she says she needs to give him a second chance. So after all the good times we
have had she is going back to a scumbucket??? Why? Why do good girls seem to go
after bad boys? I don’t understand and not sure what to do. I know he will just
break her heart again…should I be here when she needs me again? I know you will
say no…but I really do love her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Signed, The
Good Boy</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear The
Good Boy (Bless Your Little Pea-Pickin’ Heart),<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I hope I have never hurt anyone’s feelings…unless
of course it was for their own good…then no apology necessary..but you have
come to the perfect place with this question. I will try my best not to hurt
your feelings but sometimes the truth is just downright brutal I must warn you. I can already tell you really are a very 'good' boy and I have some really 'good' news for you.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Your problem is not unique. Your problem goes all the way back to one of the
ultimate movies of all time <i><b>“Gone With The Wind”</b></i>. Remember how Scarlett thought she was all in
love with Ashley (<i>aka scumbucket</i>)? Sure, Ashley seemed like the “good boy” in
the movie compared to the“bad boy” Rhett (<i>aka hunk</i>). But that was just a brilliant
plot by Margaret Mitchell. Ashley (scumbucket) was ‘unattainable” …that is why
Scarlett was so obsessed with him in the beginning and that.. my dear Good Boy..
is exactly where the secret lies. Everyone thinks of Rhett (aka hunk) as being
the ‘bad boy’ because he was a rogue and treated her like the brazen independent
smart woman she really was…but she was not obsessed with Rhett..until….wait for
it….wait for it….he was ‘unattainable’ and by then…well, he frankly... just didn’t
give a damn. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You see, Ashley
was the ‘bad boy’ because he was weak and needy and seriously wishy
washy. Scarlett felt like he ‘needed her’.(<i>There’s
the magic words</i>.) Rhett, on the other
hand, was bold and unafraid. Rhett didn’t need saving and he knew Scarlett didn’t
need saving either. He knew she was a strong woman and a good woman. YES...Scarlett was a good woman despite her name. Who else
would help ‘birth the baby’ of the woman who took her man? Who else would make
everyone work in the fields so they could eat and not put up with their
constant whining, run a lumber mill, shoot an intruder and wear green velvet curtains to seduce a man? That
takes a woman who knows herself. That takes a good woman who was just a little screwed up. Rhett saw that and he saw so much more but
still Scarlett spurned him at every turn for whom? The one SHE COULD NOT HAVE
and the one she thought she needed to save.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So believe
it or not, a good girl choosing a ‘bad boy’ over you is actually a compliment.
Trust Squirrely Girl on this one. No real woman reads or watches <b><i>‘Gone With The
Wind</i></b>’ and walks away in love with Ashley <i>‘Scumbucket’ </i>Wilkes. No, they walk
away wanting and being passionately in love with Rhett ‘<i>Good Boy Hunk’</i> Butler. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before you
disagree with me, think about it. Rhett spoiled Scarlett rotten. He bought her
everything she wanted, he took her to New Orleans for their honeymoon where she
had the biggest tray of desserts I have EVER seen. He paid for her to fix up
Tara and then bought her a mansion in Atlanta. And what did Scarlett do? She
longed for ‘poor Ashley’. She decided being his “savior” was more important
than enjoying a relationship with her equal. I wish I could explain why girls
do this but I think it may have something to do with W, X, Y and Z chromosomes
or something like that, I don’t do biology, but I am sure there is some
scientific reason. The fact is …Scarlett grows up at the end of the movie. A
little late…maybe…but when she becomes a real woman she is no longer attracted
to the ‘bad boy’…she wants a real “GOOD MAN”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know it
all seems really stupid and makes no sense whatsoever. Well, as a woman I can
tell you, nothing we do ever will. The sooner you accept that little reality
the better off you will be altogether. But promise me that you will hold out
for the good girl who grows up to be a real woman who wants a Good Man like
you. And I promise you…it will be worth the wait!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Signed ~ Squirrely Girl</span></i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-37414302352401358172012-10-11T11:34:00.001-07:002012-10-11T12:34:40.784-07:00Mama Bess' Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits and Love<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">Maybe We Shouldn't Love People With Food...yeah...whatever...</span></span></h2>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">So many people have requested Mama Bess' recipe for the perfect biscuit, so I am going to share it. But let me say...the reason her biscuits were so perfect and special had less to do with the recipe and more to do with the love she put in each one. Keep this in mind as you have fun making these for your family!</span></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;"><b>Mama Bess' Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits</b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(<i>Preserved
with love and wonderful memories by Squirrely Girl, aka “that baby”)<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The stuff you will need
to make ‘em:<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. An iron
skillet is the best thing for making biscuits; if you don’t have one…then stop reading this right now and go out and get you one. Until then you can use one of those new fangled 13 x 9 baking pan
contraptions. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">2. A can of
Crisco or lard-depending on what decade you are living in. (directions to
follow on how to use the Crisco or lard.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. About 6 cups
of self-rising flour (Don’t go cheap on this. Get you some good old Martha
White, Gold Metal or White Lilly flour. Cheap flour makes cheap heavy biscuits
and it may say “pre-sifted” but they are probably lying. You should still sift
it again if you want a nice light and fluffy biscuit. So get yourself a flour
sifter, they are fun and the kids love siftin’ flour).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. Some
buttermilk-- I will get as exact with that measurement as I can later, so just
get you a gallon so you know you will have enough. And please for the love of
all that is good and right in this world, don’t get ‘fat free’ or ‘reduced fat
buttermilk’. If you are making biscuits, a diet should be the last thing on
your mind. Biscuits are for making memories and sopping up gravy, not for
making you slim and trim.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*<b><i>Extra
Mama Bess hint</i></b><i>: If you do not
have buttermilk you can use heavy cream mixed with a little water (gooooood) or
if you just have milk, add some sour cream for a really flaky biscuit.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So there you
have it. Everything you need to make a perfect biscuit. Skillet, grease, flour
and liquid, that is it! Now we will patty cake patty cake, baker's man, roll 'em up, roll 'em up....put it all together
and throw it in the pan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is how you make
‘em:</span></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sift your
flour in a nice big bowl, make a hole that looks like a little crater in the
middle of the flour with your fist, (or fork if you don’t like to get your
hands dirty…scratch that…if you don’t like to get your hands dirty…you can’t
make a good biscuit). But you can use a fork for this part .You will put in
about 1 cup of the Crisco/lard right
smack dab in the middle of the hole then add about…well…1 ½ cup of the
buttermilk to begin with (*<b><i>Mama Bess favorite saying, “You can always
add more but you can’t take it away</i>!”</b> Start mixing with your hands or
your fork until it has the consistency of ..well..not too sticky but not too
dry. You may have to add a little more buttermilk to get it into a nice soft
ball of dough. If you think you have added too much, if it is really sticky..add
some more flour.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">( Listen --this
is an art form, you may not get it right the very first time. You <i>will</i> start getting a feel for when the
dough is right…it is part of the fun. So--have fun with it. If you mess up just
roll it all out, cut it into strips and throw it in some boiled chicken broth
and you have dumplings, the next best thing to biscuits.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is when you put that fork down, roll up
your sleeves and get your hands into it. Just add a little flour and roll that
dough around until you get a nice little ball, not too much, the more you fool
with the dough the tougher your biscuits will be. Once you get it into that
perfect cloud of dough, you can roll it out and cut them out (if you want those
perfect little sissy city biscuits) or you can make a ‘real’ biscuit by pinching
off about a golf ball (for normal) or baseball (for cat’s head) size of dough in
your hand, roll it round ‘till it feels just right and place it in your greased
pan, then pat it lightly with love and just a tad bit of vegetable oil and put ‘em
in an already heated up (fancy folks call that '<i>pre-heated')</i> hot
oven around 450 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes depending on your oven. When
they look like they are getting a little brown around the edges (<i>and this is important</i>) you open the
oven, pat them lightly again with some more love to make sure they are rising
just right--then you turn the oven on broil and DO NOT leave that stove for any
reason whatsoever—(I mean even if your youngest child ‘that baby’ has her
finger caught in the “ringer” of the old washing machine and crying bloody
murder) you stay right there until they are the perfect shade of 'done'. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Then you
will take them out, put butter on top to make ‘em purty, then serve ‘em up hot
with jelly or syrup or mater gravy and look at the faces of your family. You
have just made yourself “</span><span style="line-height: 14px;"> indispensable</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">”!</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Much love and happy biscuit makin' ~ Squirrely Girl</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-80814390733487011332012-10-09T01:19:00.000-07:002012-10-09T01:19:01.008-07:00I Am The First To Say I Was Wrong<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Once Upon A Time….</span></h2>
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<br /></div>
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I started working with children as a pre-school teacher at a
church over 30 years ago and it changed my life forever. I was expecting my
first child but I was no stranger to taking care of kids. Most of my nieces and
nephews sort of ‘grew up’ with me and I was absolutely positive I was a much
better parent to all of them than their birth parents. They remind me often now
that they were pretty much ‘babysitting’ me the whole time and they would be CORRECT!
But I was so very blessed to be a part
of their lives. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The fact is, I was
only familiar with children who were loved, safe and secure most of my life
until that year. That year I saw mothers bring their children to me each
morning to go to jobs that did not pay enough to put food on the table or they
had jobs they were not properly trained for or the basic education to ensure
success and they were soon unemployed again. More importantly, I saw Annie. Of
course I have changed her name for her protection but I think her story may shed some light on my ...shall we say...somewhat strong opinions. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Annie had the biggest and most beautiful eyes that sparkled like the
stars. She would crawl up in my lap and look at me with a smile I will never
forgot. Annie understands why I am discouraged
tonight. Annie understands why we all must take a step back and look at things
a different way.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Annie was 4 years old when I met her, her little brother and
her mom. Her mom was definitely struggling with various problems. An abusive relationship,
addiction, lack of education, no formal training for any job and she lived in a
prison of fear and uncertainty. What I heard from many of the elders of the
church was she needed to take responsibility for herself and turn from her sins. But all I could see was Annie and her little brother who
did not understand any of those things.
Annie’s mother didn’t get the help she needed. The politically correct philosophy of the day said
it was all up to her and that we could not help those who won’t help
themselves. I believed them and soon put Annie and her brother out of my mind
until about 10 years later. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I saw Annie again, this time as her counselor in a summer
youth work program. She was just as
beautiful as always but did not have the same sparkle in her eyes. She was
still bright and did very well and I was so happy to have the opportunity to
work with her again, but six weeks of summer did not allow for the
intervention that Annie and her mother still needed. The next year Annie was
pregnant with her first child at the age of 15.
She faced some of the same problems her own mother faced. The politically correct philosophy of the day said it was all up to her and that we could not help those who won’t
help themselves and that Annie needed to learn to take responsibility for her
actions. I believed them and soon put
Annie and her child out of my mind until about 10 years later.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I met with Annie and her daughter in my office where they
came for assistance because they had been evicted from their home and were couch surfing between friends and family. So many problems and barriers for them both. The political philosophy of the day said….who
cares anymore what it says? The powers that be do not look at these faces
every day or every year or every ten years. If I had done the right thing by
Annie‘s mother years ago. If I had realized back then …whatever I did for Annie’s
mother I was doing for Annie and Annie’s children and one day their children….maybe
things would be different. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Of course we have to stress personal responsibility. Of
course some will take advantage of any help we give them. Of course we can
never predict which ones will and which ones will not benefit from a little
support. But I would much rather err of the side of too much help than not enough.
What is wrong with us? Why are we so caught up in the idea that all people who
need help are out to scam somebody?</div>
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<br /></div>
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I actually heard
these words from a church member very recently, “We just don’t help people on
welfare or food stamps anymore. It is just a form of slavery and we cannot encourage
or support those people on that path.”
Really?? Did that really just
come out of that well meaning wonderful person’s mouth? YES it did. And I wept.
And I believe Jesus wept also. You don’t
know what might have happened in any person’s life to be where they are. You
don’t know if a young and inexperienced person like me might have missed the
opportunity to offer the full support that the child and mother needed at the
time.</div>
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<br /></div>
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God forgive me and forgive all of us who do not stand up for
those who cannot stand up for themselves because they might not know how. It is
a sad reflection of where we are in this country when a comedian gets the whole
concept more than some preachers and church members:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i> “If this is going to
be a Christian nation that doesn’t help the poor, either we have to pretend
that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we’ve got to acknowledge that He
commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy <b>without condition</b> and
then admit that we just don’t want to do it” ~ Steve Colbert</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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If I see one more quote about welfare like “We work so you
don’t have to” I am going to ask whoever repeats or post it, “What have you
done personally to make sure they can work? How much time have you spent with
that particular individual to find out their whole story? Have you ever volunteered
to talk to them for an hour and see how you might help?”</div>
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<br /></div>
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I am not saying there are not abuses. I have done this for a
very very long time. I know that exist but I can tell you it is not as broad
as most think. And whose job is it to worry about that anyway? Our commandment
is to offer help to those who appear to be in need of help --not to evaluate
their motive. That will eventually take care of itself… I promise. There is a
huge misunderstanding that those of us who seek any government grants are just
adding to the problem by building a dependence on assistance programs. Most of
us are not doing that, we are just acknowledging that we all need a little help
here and there. I am all for people pulling themselves up by the bootstraps…I
just want them to have some boots to put some straps on..is that too much to
ask? </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hear the terms ‘socialist’ and ‘redistribution’ thrown
around like they mean ‘robbery’ or ‘burglary’. Half the time no one even knows their
true definition. Do we really believe that almost half of all Americans had
rather live off handouts than to be independent and successful on their own? If
we do... we are in much worse shape than we thought. Ambition
may not be instilled by a drug addicted mother who never heard the word or an
absentee father who has never sat across the table from his son. Have we truly
lost every last semblance of empathy? And I didn’t say sympathy, we don’t need
to feel sorry for people and give them charity, we need to give them
respect as a fellow citizen. That does not mean saying, “Cut them off
completely from any help to teach them a lesson.” That means giving them the
same tools some of us had growing up and a fair chance to compete in the game
of life. </div>
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<br /></div>
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People love to quote Reagan about the “City On A Hill”…but the original quote came from John Winthrop, a Puritan leader who also said:<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 6pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>For this end, we must
be knit together in this work as one man, we must entertain each other in
brotherly affection, we must be willing to abridge our selves of our
superfluities for the supply of others' necessities. We must uphold a familiar
commerce together in all meekness, gentleness, patience and liberality. We must
delight in each other, make others' conditions our own, rejoice together, mourn
together, labor, and suffer together, always having before our eyes our
commission and community in the work, our community as members of the same
body. So shall we keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, the Lord
will be our God and delight to dwell among us, as His own people and will
command a blessing upon us in all our ways, so that we shall see much more of
His wisdom, power, goodness, and truth then formerly we have been acquainted
with.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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I don’t know about you …but I think Winthrop…ROCKS!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Signed ~ Squirrely Girl</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-17023324788269157302012-09-30T09:19:00.001-07:002012-09-30T09:24:15.076-07:00The Wizard of Oz and Snake Boy....Or<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Everything you ever need to know about life and then some..</span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Snake Boy and Squirrely Girl Discuss Deep Stuff</span></h2>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Dear Squirrely Girl,</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">What is the story
behind your obsession with the Wizard of Oz? Why do you love that movie so
much? I know I grew up with my eyes glued to scenes of computerized dinosaurs
attacking porta potties and tween vampire lovers stutter through lines, but
what is it about the subtlety of Oz that you cherish? What are your thoughts
and feelings about the remake staring the dude who smoked a pipe in Pineapple
Express? Pop a bag of popcorn and snuggle on the couch next to your dog Willy
and think long and hard about this light hearted topic. Take us back to
19~cough~cough~70 something and paint us a picture of your childhood.</span><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><i>Signed ~<br />
</i><span style="background: white;"><i>Snake boy</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Dear Snake Boy, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Let me see if I can wipe the cobwebs from my brain and let the memories light
the corners of my mind to remember why<b> “The Wizard of Oz”</b> is the biggest, bestest,
super, duper, fantastical movie EVER made. You really didn’t have to kiss up by
saying my childhood took place sometime in the ~cough~cough~70’s. You know I
was a teen sporting the Farrah Fawcett, Charlie’s Angel’s wings’ hairdo in the
70’s. No, my obsession with the great and powerful Oz came in the wild and
crazy 60’s..not sure of the year, but I was probably just learning to walk
because it is my first memory. Why do I love it so? Well, I will tell you why…because….it
answers almost all of life’s most important questions and teaches us lessons in
both black and white AND Technicolor. Does it get any better? Plus…any movie
plot centered on a pair of shoes is a winner in my book. But here are the life
lessons:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><b>Lesson 1.</b> Family is important. And family is family, even if it is not
the ‘traditional family’. Dorothy lived
with Auntie Em and Uncle Henry. We don’t know why. We don’t care. Maybe her
parents died, maybe they were just on vacation, maybe they were in jail. We don’t
even think about it. We know Auntie Em and Uncle Henry love her very much and
she loves them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><b>Lesson 2.</b> Friends and co-workers are important. Sure-- Auntie Em scolded
Hickory, Hunk and Zeke when they were trying to save Dorothy from those hogs in
the pig pen and pretty much called them lazy bums but she turned right around
and gave them some cornbread because she knew they were looking out for her
precious niece who was just about to drive her crazy with that little yelping
dog. She had no idea that they would magically turn into a scarecrow, a tin man
and a lion before the day was done. But she saw great potential. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><b>Lesson 3.</b> Good neighbors are
important. There is nothing that can make your life more miserable than a bad,
ornery, neighbor who hates your pet and rides a bike or flies on a broom.
Although, Auntie Em taught us that even the most evil person who might hurt our
loved ones…should not be confronted with the “eye for an eye and tooth for a
tooth” philosophy…she said ‘For twenty years I have been wanting to tell you
what I think of you..but being a Christian woman…”.. then she ran away. We all
know she did that because she was about to pop a knot on old Miss Gulch’s head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><b>Lesson 4.</b> The Weather Channel is
important. The entire drama could have been avoided. Really--- who runs away from
home right in the middle of a major low pressure system??<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><b>Lesson 5.</b> Being spontaneous is important. Curiosity may kill the cat but
it will also get a small town girl out of the middle of nowhere and into a
brand new world where good witches have incredible fashion sense and live in
bubbles with munchkins who are born in bird’s nest and bad witches live in
castles with a long-nosed army and flying monkeys and …wait …did you say they
were re-making this movie with somebody who smoked something??? Sounds legit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><b>Lesson 6.</b> Hearts, brains, courage, and home are REALLY important. Let’s
face it, the whole movie sums up the most important things we should know as
humans in this world. We need to have a brain to function but the ones who
think they have one just keep getting in the way of the ones who actually do. We
all need a heart to love and be loved but occasionally it overrides the brain and
we just end up rusting in the rain, waiting for someone to come along and
rescue us with an oil can. We absolutely must have courage to use either one, but
no matter how brave we are..we still run in fear from the pain we cause by pulling
our own tail. But maybe with a small combination of all three, we just might
find our way home, where things were not perfect but people love us just the
way we are. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><b>Lesson 7:</b> The bottom line is important. And the bottom line is this: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">You can do okay on your own but the journey is much better with friends.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Family comes in all shapes and sizes but the love is the same…when you
hurt they hurt so stop pulling your own tail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Treat your employees and co-workers with respect cause you never know
when you might really need them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Our biggest enemy is not a wicked witch or lions or tigers or bears or even spooks.. it
is ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">People in charge are often not what they appear to be. So remember-- your
favorite teacher, preacher, boss, or politician may have just floated in on a hot
air balloon because they got booted from a traveling carnival where they once
wore a turban on their head and talk to themselves while staring at a glass
ball. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Maintain self-control-- even when you find out after the most terrifying
day and night of your life that you could have just clicked your pretty little
shoes together and been back in the safety of your own bed....Thanks a lot for
nothing Miss bubble ridin’ sparkly dress with a crown as tall as the Eiffel
Tower good yankee witch. I should knock you upside the head with this basket I
have had to carry for the last twenty four hours with only that 2 minute nap in
a poppy field....I digress…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">And last but not least, there is nothing more fun than linking arms with
some good friends and skipping while singing down a brick road. That actually
takes some coordination, did you know that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Everyone thinks the moral to this award winning epic story is there’s no
place like home but it is really about making your neighbors jealous that you
were the first one to get a color tv so you could really appreciate that one
scene where she opens the door to the Technicolor world otherwise known as
Munchkin Land. And if I had been Dorothy I would have stayed right there and
took the mayor’s job and run that itsy bitsy kingdom where all the Munchkins
waited on me hand and foot and fed me something chocolate with a side of
Hershey’s syrup every single day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">And that, Snake Boy, is why I am obsessed with <b>The Wizard of Oz…</b>the
limitless possibilities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><i> Signed~<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><i>Squirrely Girl</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-4456067311751358022012-09-28T15:50:00.001-07:002012-09-28T18:08:31.220-07:00Keepin' It Real<br />
<h3>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">WAKE UP..YOU ARE DELUSIONAL!...or</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is something very wrong with you….</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Squirrely Girl,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I sent you a message so I guess you only print letters that
you like or maybe you didn’t get it but I just wanted you to know that I don’t
agree with you on some things but I think that what you say about relationships
is always good. I finally left a bad relationship after I read what you said
about not staying with the wrong person because you are lonely for the
right person. You were right I am FINE. I am actually better than ever. I can’t
believe I thought I couldn’t make it. But
because I do like you a little I want to tell you something and I don’t want to
hurt your feelings but do you know that all the friends you have on facebook
are not actually your friends? It seems like you are talking to us personally,
but I don’t really know you so I can’t be your friend. I really don’t want to
hurt your feelings cause you seem nice but we are not really friends like my
friends I hang out with. But thank you for saying don’t stay with someone just
cause you are lonely. You were right.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Signed~</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>A Friend</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear A Friend (who is not actually a friend but sure acts
like one)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don’t think anyone has said “You were right” to me since….well..EVER!
With enemies like you …who needs
friends? I can’t tell you how very proud
I am of you. You were able to put in simple words the most powerful message: “I am FINE, I am better than ever!” There
really is a difference in being alone and being lonely. It sounds like a song
title but if you ever master not feeling lonely when you are alone..you have
transformed yourself into your own best friend. Once you are a good friend to
yourself, when you enjoy your own company, you will never be alone again and
you will become the bestest friend EVER to others. You are proof. Only a good
friend would tell someone else they are delusional and living in their own
fantasy world. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I must admit that I do treat my blog and Facebook friends
exactly the same way I treat my ‘real life friends’. I gripe and complain and whine and tell them
how to run their lives. I make them laugh a little, cry a little, rethink their
decisions a little and continue to be their friend even when they ignore me or
occasionally delete me when they can’t take me anymore. In return, they take
care of me, humor me, overlook all my shortcomings and imperfections, tell me
when I screw up and disagree with me but love me anyway. So whether you like it or not “A Friend” …you
are now “A Friend”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And you are right.. I am a little weird and delusional. I have
always considered everyone a friend until they prove me wrong. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Many, many,
many, moons ago in a land far far away there was once a world without Facebook
or cell phones or any other social media. You had to actually walk up to people
and introduce yourself in person and take the chance they would look you up and
down and decide you did not have on the right clothes or your hair wasn’t the
right length or your skin was not the right color, or you were too fat or too
skinny and you would be rejected (or as your generation would say, ‘not
friended’). We didn’t have the advantage of not knowing who was ignoring our
friend request it was pretty obvious when you were not part of the ‘click’. But
even then, I just pretended they had not snubbed me at all. How could they not
like me when they didn’t even know me? So I just kept talking to them and
stalking them or whatever it would be called today, until they finally said..”There
is something really wrong with you…but we kind of like it.” And I would say, “Told you so.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have been known to walk up to a total stranger and just
start a conversation that goes something like this:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> “Hey, do you know
Rob?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They will usually say, ‘Uh…I ..well …yeah..maybe..not
sure..Rob who?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> “Oh, I thought you
might know Rob, he said you might not remember him, I am his cousin twice
removed on his Daddy’s side. Ring any bells?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> “I’m sorry I don’t
think so ..but…wait..do you mean Bob? “</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Well, some folks call him Bob, I call him Rob or sometimes Robert
and occasionally Bobby, you know how he hates that. “</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And then they laugh a little and pretend they know what I am
talking about because they don’t want to hurt the ‘imaginary Rob”s feelings
and they are pretty sure I will tell him. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So they say, “Yeah..
it is nice to meet you. Your face does look familiar but I am really not good
with names.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next thing you know we are talking to each other like we
have known each other forever. Eventually they will say, I really have no clue
who you are and I say …me either but isn’t this fun?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So it is true, I don’t really have a clue who you are …but I
am glad we met. That is sort of how Facebook works. We get to meet people by
some really vague and distant relationship with someone else, the only
difference is I don’t have to get out of my pj’s, put on make-up, or do my
hair. How cool is that??</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But just in case we should meet face to face one day, please
bring something chocolate and maybe a pomegranate…I love me some pomegranates. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Your newest Friend~</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Squirrely Girl</i></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-26993303026337624882012-09-24T18:47:00.001-07:002012-09-24T20:28:39.302-07:00UPSIDE DOWN AND ROUND AND ROUND...Or...<br />
<h3>
<o:p><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Forgive Us ...We Often Know Not What We Do...</span></o:p></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span></em> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Note: I wrote this in
a note on Facebook January 19<sup>th </sup>of
this year but a good friend I met from the Philippines asked me to post to my
blog for her to share. If you have already read this…just ignore it and go eat
some chocolate instead.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I’ve been
thinking a lot about the word “Christian” lately because it has been taking
quite a beating. Between the Westboro
“Church” and the Republican Presidential debates where so called “conservative
Christians” applaud death on a regular basis; I think the word is getting a
pretty bad rap. The term was once synonymous
with love, compassion, and kindness. Lately it makes some people cringe and is
more connected with judgment, hate, prejudice and hypocrisy. Apparently, the t-shirts and arm bands asking,
“What Would Jesus Do?” hasn’t made much of an impact over the years. Well, what
would Jesus do? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“<em><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At Jesus' first public appearance he said, ‘I
have come to set the captives free and to preach good news to the poor.’ Then, through his teaching and life of
servanthood, he slowly and methodically turned the values of the powerful Roman
Empire upside down. He threw the moneychangers out of the temple because they
were exploiting the poor. He said that when we feed the hungry or clothe the
naked it's like we're doing it to him. He said to love our enemies, to do good
to those who hate us. Jesus changed the rules and ushered in an upside-down
Kingdom.” (Lynne Hybels )<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal;">That
is what He said, I didn’t make it up. It is right there in the bible, the Word,
our map of how Christ lived, the true meaning of the word “Christian”. So it is little wonder that the name is
taking some blows. If you ask most church
members what they believe they will say something like, “For God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in me shall
not perish but have everlasting life.”
And that would be correct, for sure. But Jesus went on to say something
else, something like this: <o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal;"><br /></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal;"> “I love you. I love you so much..so let me
make this real simple. There are a lot
of laws and a lot of commandments that would sure make your life a whole lot
easier if you obeyed them all, but if you will just remember these two things,
you will be okay! First, love God with all your heart, soul and mind. That is
really, really important. Second, love everyone around you as much as you love
yourself. That’s it. If you do those two things, you don’t have anything to
worry about. I am here to show you how to do it. I am showing you that it is possible to do
this because I am here, as a man facing everything you are facing so you can
see and then follow my example and know that it is possible. I did not just
come to set an example, I died so when you messed up, I got you covered. I paid
all your bills off for you in advance because I love you and I know you will
make mistakes, I understand that completely, but my Father has mercy and grace
overflowing, it is brand new every morning. So what you need to do is stop
worrying about all that stuff and get busy loving God and loving your neighbor,
ALL your neighbors. Not just the ones you like or the ones that live on your
street or in your country but everyone in the world, and yes, I mean your
enemies too. As a matter of fact you might want to throw a little extra love
their way, because they need it. And when you do, people will see me through
you and want to know more about me. That will open many doors and many hearts.
If you want to emulate me, if you want people to say ‘Hey, are you related to
Jesus, ‘cause you look and act just like Him?’ Then love God and love others.
Everything else will work itself out just fine. I promise.” <o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal;"><br /></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal;">Of
course, I am paraphrasing there. But that is what I believe the scripture is
saying in essence. I don’t think you
have to be Billy Graham or the Pope or graduate from seminary for the bible to
speak to your heart personally. I
believe the Holy Spirit does that for everyone. If we truly want people to take
Jesus seriously, we can’t say we are like Him if we are not. If we treat our
enemies like enemies, if we ignore the poor, the widows, the hungry and treat
people with disrespect and judge them, it will not matter how many times we go
to church, it won’t matter if we never commit a major sin, it won’t matter how
“perfect” our lives look on the outside, nobody is going to buy it. People will
forgive mistakes and failures, what they will not do is believe that God loves
them and Jesus loved them enough to die
for them if we say we are like Jesus and we don’t love them. If we have no compassion, patience, charity,
mercy or grace, how can we say we have the love of Christ in us? How can we
call ourselves “Christian”? I think Jesus knew exactly how overwhelmed we
would all be with just trying to manage life in general, so He taught us a
simple lesson to help keep us on the right track. Love God and love everyone
else. Maybe that will turn things
upside down again!<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal;"><br /></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Post
Note: We need to be turned upside down,
inside out and round and round until we are so dizzy we have to sit down and be
still and think about what we are saying and what we are doing in the name
Jesus Christ. People are seeking and they are also listening. Please do not
take for granted that they have ever been exposed to your church or your Sunday
school class…or your parents or grandparents or aunt or uncle or even your
country. <o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal;"><br /></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal;">Very Humbly Yours<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal;"><br /></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal;">~Squirrely Girl</span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119843512915505867noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551435393869452689.post-43741656963087748492012-09-21T17:09:00.003-07:002012-09-21T19:13:29.967-07:00A SKINK IN MY SINK....or<br />
<h2>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Do You Like Me?..Check Yes or No</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Squirrely Girl,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I almost like you but then I don’t. Because you say bad
things about Mitt Romney and he is the only Christian President we have. How
can you support a man that you know is a Muslim? And even if you don’t support
him, when you say things on Facebook that make Mitt Romney look bad you are
hurting his chances of winning which means we will be stuck with a president
who believes in abortion, homeosexuals, and socialism for another 4 years. Is
that what you really want? I can’t believe that because I think you are a
Christian and you would not stand for any of those things, so please don’t say
anything else like that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Signed~ Thank you</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Thank you (very much):</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I almost didn’t like you and then I did. I really appreciate you sharing your concerns
with me and I am flattered that you think I might have that sort of influence
on the choice for President of the United States. I wish that were true. You
know….sometimes I wish everybody just agreed with me--- wouldn’t that just make
things so much easier on us all? ~Sigh~ If we all just agreed and if we all had the
same opinions, the same religion, the same background, the same amount of
money, and so on and so forth we would have more time to do really important things
like eat chocolate and kill skinks in our sinks (that is a whole other story
and you are NOT going to want to miss it). But I
don’t think that is going to happen and it is probably not a very good idea
anyway. It is all the different thoughts and opinions that make life so
interesting. I learn so much more from people who do not
agree with me on much of anything. Actually, I just learned a great deal from
you. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For example, I did not know that Obama was a Muslim. Oh, I
have heard all the talking heads and political pundits and a few preachers say that
he is Muslim, but when I actually looked for any evidence of that….there was
none. He says he is a Christian, he
tells the story of how he came to accept Jesus Christ as his personal savior,
how the holy spirit moved upon him and he walked down an aisle and made a
public profession of faith and I cannot disprove that so he is just as
Christian as I am as far as I am concerned. The only one who can know a man’s
heart is God. Then they say, “Yeah, but he sat under that Wright guy who hates
whites.” And I say Mitt Romney’s Prophet
Joseph Smith once taught that blacks were a punishment to Cain. So unless I
hear Obama say he is Muslim or I catch him in the act of praying however many
times it is they pray a day facing Mecca. I will leave that up to God. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have also heard many say that Mitt Romney is not Christian
either, because he is Mormon and that Mormonism is a cult. (I have still not
figured out which is worse, Muslims or cults, it seems to change on a daily basis.) I cannot judge his heart
either. He also says he believes in Jesus and follows His teachings. So I will take him at his word on that too. I am going to assume from your letter that you
are a Mitt supporter and believe it or not, I have many friends who are also
Mitt supporters or rather they or NON-Obama supporters and have pretty much
told me they would vote for “Mr. Ed, the talking horse of course” before they
would vote for Obama. And I respect
their opinion even if I don’t always understand the reason for it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> When I ask
them to explain further they say, “ BECAUSE (they are usually yelling by now) BECAUSE, he
is a liberal and all liberals want to kill unborn babies and they believe being
gay is okay and not an abomination before God AND they think we should take
care of poor people, even the ones who don’t deserve it and that is SOCIALISM….
AND he wants to force us to buy health insurance just like I already have to
buy car insurance, just like those awful countries like Canada or France….and …well..some
other country we don’t like because they give all people the same health care.
And here in American you should “earn’ the right to be treated when you are
sick and people should get off their lazy bum and get out there and work just like
I do, I am sick of taking care of people who are too lazy to take care of
themselves!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Those are all excellent points. Heck, I can barely take care
of myself much less take care of half of America. So I sort of feel a certain
amount of pride when I realize my little bit put with your little bit and maybe
a whole bunch of people’s little bit can then be used to help a whole bunch of
folks. Then they tell me it is the church’s responsibility to take care of
people, not the government’s. But when I ask them if they would like to take in
a homeless family and support them until they can get back on their feet after
an illness or long lay-off from work, they are not exactly “thrilled’ about
that prospect and say, “Aren’t there programs to help with that sort of stuff?” So you see where I find myself in a dilemma? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now your question about gays and abortion is a bit more
complicated. So the simplest answer I can give you on that is I believe it is
impossible to legislate any morals or religious beliefs, even though it has been tried many times.
Drinking alcohol is dangerous, drinking and driving is even more dangerous but
all the prohibition and laws have never stopped either one. Driving without
your seatbelt is not smart and there are laws saying you should not do that,
but it doesn’t stop people from doing it. And what is the difference in voting for a candidate
who is pro-choice but cares about children after they are born and one that is
pro-life but could care less about a baby once it is born? Life is life. It is all precious. I realize
many consider abortion murder, but isn’t the murder of unborn children the same
as the murder of the neglected and abused children? And if we are going to tell
homosexual people how to live their lives based on the scripture, don’t we have
to tell heterosexuals to stop going out and getting a divorce when they get
bored or punish them for committing adultery? We would be awfully busy. See how
complicated things can be? I don’t have all the answers but I have certainly
heard all the questions and the only thing I can assure you of is that it is
not black or white-- it is a shade of gray that hopefully you will never have
to face. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If I were picking either of the presidential candidates as
my pastor or spiritual leader, I would just pass. But I am not hiring them to
minister to my spiritual needs… I am hiring them to run a country. I am not extremely happy about either one of
them, but I will cast my vote based on policy not where they go to church, just
as I try not to judge anyone’s professional life by their faith. I trust you
and others will do the same. Basically
what I am saying is until me and the Ninja Squirrels go take over, we really
are stuck with these two choices so we should all look very closely at the
actual facts and not listen to anything said on MSNBC or FOX NEWS…or at least
listen to both of them equally. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wish life was much simpler, I wish that we could all find
some common ground where we respect each other and more importantly, love each
other enough to agree to disagree without harsh judgment. When people tell me I
am going to hell because I do not support the right political party in America,
I worry about all those millions of people who do not live in America…how can
they possibly get into heaven when some have never even heard of America? The
world is so much bigger than our political views in the United States, but the
world’s problems are pretty much the same…too much hate and not enough love.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will promise to be good and not say anything bad about
anybody, if you promise to research things for yourself and not listen to
others to form an opinion. Deal? Okay…let’s
go get some chocolate and I will tell you about the Skink in my Sink. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>~Squirrely Girl</i></span></div>
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