Road Kill

     Driving to town today, I started thinking about all the dead animals we have driven past on the shoulders of roads and highways. People pass by usually never knowing what type of animal it was or if it belonged to someone; until eventually it disappears. Never to be thought about again by the thousands of people who drive past that spot. Like it never existed. Just think in our country of the thousands and thousands of animals this has happened to, run over, gone and forgotten. (and I'm not talking about just dogs and cats)
     In a way we are like that; here one minute and gone and forgotten the next. When we suffer a loss, it affects so many. After a while it gets put to the back of our daily thoughts and then years later, those that mourn will go on with their lives. Eventually they will pass away too. It might take a hundred years, but eventually there will be no one to remember individuals.
     Think of all the generations and great nations of the past. We read about their famous leaders, warriors and others, but there were millions of ordinary people too. They were once just as alive and passionate about life as we are today. Yet, they are forgotten. They had the same feelings, fear, love, happiness, sorrow that we do. They loved parents, spouses, children and grandchildren. They may be forgotten by man, yet, they aren't forgotten by God.  Every person is important to God.

The following verses say it so well.  If only we would read God's Word, everything is right there, everything we need to know.


“All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you. 1 Peter 1:24-25


"Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath. Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. "But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. Psalm 39 4-7

Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble. They spring up like flowers and wither away; like fleeting shadows, they do not endure.

A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.

But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more. As the water of a lake dries up or a riverbed becomes parched and dry, so he lies down and does not rise.....

If only you would set me a time and then remember me! If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come.
You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made.
Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin. My offenses will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin.

If their children are honored, they do not know it; if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it. They feel but the pain of their own bodies and mourn only for themselves.”
                                                                                                     Job 14: 1, 4, 10, 13-17 and 21- 22


For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten.  Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.                                                                                             Ecclesiastes 9:5-6


So count your blessing that you are alive today!

New Year Thoughts

Well, well, well....I made it to 2011.  Time flies doesn't it.  Can't believe that on January 14th  my first baby turned 32 years old.  Time seems to fly but also at the same time to stand still.  Strange.  Wonder how that is to God?  He sees it all from beginning to end at once.  We look back and feel like it was so long ago, but in reality, even 100 years is just a blip on a timeline.  What seems to be long is actually speeding by us.  Look at your child, turn around and they are grown and gone.  Maybe that is why God gives us the blessings of grandchildren.
I like the scriptures that talk about how fleeting life is, what man is in comparison to time.  How about these scriptures:

“Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure."  Psalm 39 4-5

People get so busy they don't realize how time is passing them by, but it says:

Now listen, You who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  
What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."  
James 4: 13-15

Life is short, much shorter than most of us realize. I'm at 52 years now and I realize that if I make it another 20 years I'll be really old.  I'm older now than the years I have left.  Scary thought.  I may not make it.  Who is to know?  Lisa surely didn't expect to have a major heart attack at 50.  She is now in the nursing home and maybe there for the rest of her life.

She hopefully doesn't realize it.  Who is to say what she thinks about, what she remembers and for how long she remembers it.  Sometimes I think that at least her worries are over.  She doesn't have to worry about a job, transportation, buying food, cooking, cleaning.  I think she remembers herself as young and skinny.  She doesn't even know that she is aging.  I think that is how it is with her.

Us "normal" people out here worry about so much stuff.  It can be overwhelming sometimes.  But life just keeps on going, doesn't it?  You can't just jump ship.  You are in it and there is only one way out.  Guess I'll just wait and see what the future brings.  That is what most people do, they live moment by moment and deal with whatever happens.  Could be good, could be bad.  Like wedding vows, we take the good with the bad.

People may have fears about the future but if taken moment by moment it can be handled.  The whole situation can change in a moment.  Besides if you have God on your side why worry?  And if you only have so much time, why waste it?

It's Still Cold, Even in the House!

I am so ready for spring to get here; will the cold never go away?  We had 2 days in the '50s but now it is rainy again and has dropped to a bone-chilling temp.  Our electric heaters are having to work overtime.  This house is old, built in the '70s.  It is drafty around doors & windows.  These windows aren't like the new ones people put into houses for energy savings.  To me, it feels like a sheet of saran wrap instead of glass.  I can feel air blowing in around the doors and outlets.  We've even taped along where the door closes and all the other edges of the door to block the wind. It was nice when we replaced all the old carpeting with floor tiles, but they are cold in winter.  Oh well, it supposed to get nicer this week.
This is the first day of March, a busy month in our family.
Birthdays:

• My sister Lisa, March 8
• My daughter Wendy, March 10
• My birthday March 14
• Kennedy March 16
• My dad's birthday March 17
• My anniversary (of my first marriage) March 18

I'll be heading to 52 this year.  I don't know what happened, one day I was young and now I'm not.
I feel like I've lived for a very long time, but at the same time, I don't feel like its been long at all.
I feel like I've lived different lives also, BUT not like those strange people who believe in past lives!  I mean different phases of my life.

• Childhood
• new bride at 19
• a mother to two daughters
• a widow
• a single mom to two teen daughters
• a college student
• a new bride again at age 37
• new mom again
• home-school teacher
• pastor's wife
• mother of the bride twice
• grandma...

Time goes on, so who knows what surprises the years ahead will bring, only God.

Valentine Banquet

Well, this is the second year that the men of our church have prepared a Valentine banquet for the women.  It was wonderful.  There are quite a few men in our church who like to cook and do it well.
We were served tomato soup (Thanks to my daughter Lori for the recipe), Fettucini Alfredo, Ravioli, Salad, Chocolate Strawberries, & Banana Bread.  Everyone went on and on about the soup.  I had to make 9 copies of it and make sure all the women had one.  The Alfredo dish was superb.  Our guest speakers were Ron & Tonia Woolever.  

Hamilton said...

Alexander Hamilton once said,   "The people of any nation, ancient or modern, who lose the liberty of freely speaking, writing, or publishing their beliefs, soon lose all their liberty and become slaves."

Sometimes I get the feeling that Christians are heading that way.  We are more and more forbidden to say what the truth is and attacked by the media about it.   What can we do?  Pray is one thing to do.

We are tempted to protest against all the evils in the world that rears up against us.  But how?  If we were to march or counter things that groups of people do that we know is wrong, then how are we perceived?  I know some Christians protest against homosexuality or abortions, (some go too far the other way) but then do we come off looking judgmental and violent when things get out of hand?  The media portrays us as being that way or make us out as a joke to "liberal" society.  I've got to think on this some more......
I know that it seems Hollywood runs things, but there has to be more of us who don't follow all the thinking that comes from there.

Bite your Tongue

Don't you hate it that we can't say what we really want to sometimes?  I have all these feelings bottled up that I want to express, but in order to avoid offending someone, I have to hold back.  So hard to do sometimes. 

Many times I want to say something, but I'm not good at confrontation either.  But gee, I can't even post things on my facebook or blog without the danger of someone getting upset, so I have to hold back my thoughts.

Mornings!

Got up at 4:44 a.m.   Didn't actually make it out of the bed, just laid there peeking at the clock until 5:00, then got up.  Why do we have to feel so puffy and swollen in the morning?  It seems like mornings are getting harder as I get older.  When we were kids, I don't remember the trouble getting up, except the part of the parents making us wake up.  Kids need more sleep to grow I've heard.

There is a difference between waking up and getting up.   Thank God for coffee!

Computeritis

What did we do before the wonderful world of the internet?  I remember back to when I got my first computer, a Packard Bell in 1992.  Ancient by today's standards.  I think I've gone through Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and now XP.  I used to have to call tech support with my first computer as I  (and I suppose the whole world for that matter) was just learning about computers.  Back then we had to get into the "guts" of the machine.  Typing in miles of code as the tech would tell us step by step what to do.  Things are so much easier now. Bet the techs are happy that things are simpler now. 

Always Learning

It seems like I'm always wanting to learn things.  I love history and read many books on early explorers, Civil War, WWII,  Indians, history of medicine/surgery, etc. 

It is fascinating to me about how people of so long ago were able to survive without all the modern inventions we now have.  Lewis and Clark's group of men certainly were out of touch with others for two years as they went across America.  There were no cell phones to call for a Care Flight helicopter in case of injury.

These men made it on their own, coming up with clever ways to survive through near starvation, diseases, illnesses, grizzly bear attacks, falls off of cliff sides, hostile Indians, extreme weather and hiking 18 or more miles a day through some of the roughest countrysides around and only in moccasins.  No hiking boots at that time. 

In one area, all that was around was prickly pear cactus to walk through for days and days.  Some tried to double sole their moccasins or wrap cloth on them to protect their feet, but it didn't help.  These tough men couldn't stop to pull out cactus spines as they were walking, they had to go on.  Foot care happened when they made camp at night.  The cactus spines were embedded in their feet. Clark pulled 17  1" long cactus spines out of his feet in just one night while sitting around the campfire!!! 

And we dare complain...