1. The funeral home on Broad Ripple Avenue is opening it's doors for little ones to "Trick or Treat": Really? Who takes their kid to a funeral home for candy?
2. The Hubler commercial jingle is to the tune of "Are you Sleeping?": Really? How inane is that?
3. Speaking of which, does Terry Lee really think I want to build a relationship with him over a Honda? Really? Why would he think this is a good sales strategy? (TLC = The Terry Lee Commitment...Maybe it should be TLSBC: Terry Lee should be committed)
4. Starbucks double espresso plus energy shots are great to get you through a deadline. Really? Yes, really, but then you can't stop talking in a rapid, high pitched voice and you laugh A LOT at yourself and people start backing away...I'm just sayin'
5. There's a guy in the park who points out squirrels to his dog to chase. Really? I must be a bad dog owner, but I kinda think that's my dog's responsibility. How will he learn if I never let him have the chance to break out, try new things, fail, try again?
6. Wouldn't it be cool for all the really cute marketing mascots to get together and make a movie, or a video? Really? Seriously, the Geiko gekko, the AFLAC duck, what about the toe fungus dudes. Someone's gonna take my idea, run with it, and make a fortune: you'll see!
7. Since we are now all coughing into our elbows, I think we need to have special anti-bacterial interior arm patches. They could come in different colors and textures. Really? YES, really, it's a good idea and you wish you would have thought of it by now!
8. We are finally getting sidewalks in my section of Broad Ripple. Really? Yes...it's only been about 20 years of waiting...we have hit THE BIG TIME. I think we should have a side walk party...kind of like Carmel having a round about ribbon cutting. The only thing is that you can do more thematically with a round about party than a sidewalk celebration. For example: you could serve all round food: pizzas, bagels, donuts, etc. What can you serve at a sidewalk celebration? Strips of bacon? Twizzlers?
9. Some of the people who were railing against government and that "awful, nasty, dangerous" flu vaccine are now mad because they can't get it. Really? We are a crazy group, we Americans!
10. Michael Jackson, in the news EVERY SINGE DAY! Really? What is that all about? What about some of the TRUE hero's and talented peeps in the world who don't do freaky things to themselves or others? Could we give a little attention to them?
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Secret of Dad's "Big Fat Wallet" revealed...
I went home Saturday to spend a couple of days with my mom. We are still getting adjusted to not having dad in this world. He was a force to be reckoned with, and so that force is certainly missed.
Mom wanted to show me his wallet and what she had recently discovered. Mind you, this is an interesting thing. We Gray's don't look in each other's personal items, such as purses, wallets, etc. That being the case, we have all been more than a little curious as to what Dad has been carrying around in his wallet.
He got so little as disease took more and more of his physical body, that I think the sheer size and weight of that wallet became more prominent to us. Curiosity!
So what did mom find in his wallet? Scads of dollar bills or credit cards (nope, he didn't use a credit card, and kept only a bit of "pocket money" on him, but not a lot of bills)...discount cards for shops, etc. (nope, not that either!)...so what made it so "FAT"?
Dad had pictures of we kids and his grand kids and of his wife. He had a "credit card" size prayer for a teacher. He was a teacher to the end, that's for sure! But the one thing I will never get over, is a card I (and it must've been 8 or 9 years old) had written to him. He had folded into fourths to get it to fit into his wallet. I won't tell you all that I had written him, because it's just too precious to reveal, but I will tell you this. What I shared with my dad meant enough to him that he kept it close. It didn't get thrown away, it didn't get filed, and it didn't get mis-placed. It was precious to him. I LOVE that. I can't tell you what that has meant to me.
It made me even more clear about the fact that while on this earth, we need to "say what we need to say" while we can, while we are able, because tomorrow is not a promise. I'm SO glad that I did, but I think of times I have not, and I know that those times are opportunities missed.
Did I love my dad? of course! Did my dad love me? No doubt about it...he let me know in a million different ways. He used to say "Love and Like ya Sher", before I went to bed as a youngster, and as I grew up, he still said those same words!
It's a lot like my Heavenly Father...He loves it when I send love letters to him through prayer or acts of service and kindness on his behalf. I don't imagine He has a wallet, but I know He cherishes each one. Do I love my Heavenly Dad? More and more each day. Does my heavenly dad love me? No doubt about it! He continues to tell me through His people, His word and His world, "Love and Like ya Sher"
Mom wanted to show me his wallet and what she had recently discovered. Mind you, this is an interesting thing. We Gray's don't look in each other's personal items, such as purses, wallets, etc. That being the case, we have all been more than a little curious as to what Dad has been carrying around in his wallet.
He got so little as disease took more and more of his physical body, that I think the sheer size and weight of that wallet became more prominent to us. Curiosity!
So what did mom find in his wallet? Scads of dollar bills or credit cards (nope, he didn't use a credit card, and kept only a bit of "pocket money" on him, but not a lot of bills)...discount cards for shops, etc. (nope, not that either!)...so what made it so "FAT"?
Dad had pictures of we kids and his grand kids and of his wife. He had a "credit card" size prayer for a teacher. He was a teacher to the end, that's for sure! But the one thing I will never get over, is a card I (and it must've been 8 or 9 years old) had written to him. He had folded into fourths to get it to fit into his wallet. I won't tell you all that I had written him, because it's just too precious to reveal, but I will tell you this. What I shared with my dad meant enough to him that he kept it close. It didn't get thrown away, it didn't get filed, and it didn't get mis-placed. It was precious to him. I LOVE that. I can't tell you what that has meant to me.
It made me even more clear about the fact that while on this earth, we need to "say what we need to say" while we can, while we are able, because tomorrow is not a promise. I'm SO glad that I did, but I think of times I have not, and I know that those times are opportunities missed.
Did I love my dad? of course! Did my dad love me? No doubt about it...he let me know in a million different ways. He used to say "Love and Like ya Sher", before I went to bed as a youngster, and as I grew up, he still said those same words!
It's a lot like my Heavenly Father...He loves it when I send love letters to him through prayer or acts of service and kindness on his behalf. I don't imagine He has a wallet, but I know He cherishes each one. Do I love my Heavenly Dad? More and more each day. Does my heavenly dad love me? No doubt about it! He continues to tell me through His people, His word and His world, "Love and Like ya Sher"
Monday, October 5, 2009
Passion vs. Action...gets me to thinking... about "stuff"
I have very passionate friends (no surprise there, I'm a pretty passionate person myself!), some of whom I agree with, and some with whom I "agree to disagree". Right now there seems to be A LOT of passion about A LOT of things. You name it...and someone, somewhere, is "up in arms" about it.
It's been a good thing for me to watch and to be part of. It makes me more mindful of my own passion and the way I communicate and act around things/issues/people I strongly believe in. In other words, it's making me really consider what I say vs. what I do. Here's an overt example:
I have a friend who is passionate about "life issues", especially "right to life" and all things "anti-abortion". It colors her day, every day, and in all aspects of her day. She writes letters, marches, holds signs up at events, etc. She makes it a consideration for every thing shes does: charitable donations, voting, relationships, etc., etc. She is passionate.
Don't get me wrong, I respect a lot about that ( and by the way, I'm definitely not pro-abortion)... However, I'm also not sure of all the things that "pro life" seems to entail/stand for based on the passion and rhetoric around the issue. It's hard to hear the real issues amongst all the noise. I also don't think it's a simple issue either.
Here's what I do know though: it's easy (really easy!) to write a letter to the editor, sign a petition and go to the voting booth. All these things are effective and right, but can easily be "checked of the list" and one can feel pretty good about it. However, where are the passionate advocates in the "mundane, not-so-exciting, very "daily" endeavors that would support the very people for which they are showing such passion? What about taking in and letting a young unwed mother live with you? What about mentoring a new mother? What about financially supporting agencies or people who do exactly that? What about the real "boots to the ground" work? The show and not just the talk?
Today a baby was found in a dumpster in Indianapolis. While signs were being held up downtown to protect our unborn children yesterday, a barely new born child would be abandoned to the trash heap in a very close time period. How desperate someone must have felt to do that. I don't condone it, not one bit, but I wonder if anyone offered this mother a place to stay or any help at all...we may never know...but I wonder just the same.
Reacting to, "railing against", being indignant about...(whatever), is easy, feels good, and doesn't really demand much except showing a lot of emotion. Serving, spending one's self on behalf of another, sacrificing...now that's the hard stuff, the real stuff...that's the stuff we should all be made of, because I believe it's the stuff we were born for, and the stuff that will make a lasting difference!
It's been a good thing for me to watch and to be part of. It makes me more mindful of my own passion and the way I communicate and act around things/issues/people I strongly believe in. In other words, it's making me really consider what I say vs. what I do. Here's an overt example:
I have a friend who is passionate about "life issues", especially "right to life" and all things "anti-abortion". It colors her day, every day, and in all aspects of her day. She writes letters, marches, holds signs up at events, etc. She makes it a consideration for every thing shes does: charitable donations, voting, relationships, etc., etc. She is passionate.
Don't get me wrong, I respect a lot about that ( and by the way, I'm definitely not pro-abortion)... However, I'm also not sure of all the things that "pro life" seems to entail/stand for based on the passion and rhetoric around the issue. It's hard to hear the real issues amongst all the noise. I also don't think it's a simple issue either.
Here's what I do know though: it's easy (really easy!) to write a letter to the editor, sign a petition and go to the voting booth. All these things are effective and right, but can easily be "checked of the list" and one can feel pretty good about it. However, where are the passionate advocates in the "mundane, not-so-exciting, very "daily" endeavors that would support the very people for which they are showing such passion? What about taking in and letting a young unwed mother live with you? What about mentoring a new mother? What about financially supporting agencies or people who do exactly that? What about the real "boots to the ground" work? The show and not just the talk?
Today a baby was found in a dumpster in Indianapolis. While signs were being held up downtown to protect our unborn children yesterday, a barely new born child would be abandoned to the trash heap in a very close time period. How desperate someone must have felt to do that. I don't condone it, not one bit, but I wonder if anyone offered this mother a place to stay or any help at all...we may never know...but I wonder just the same.
Reacting to, "railing against", being indignant about...(whatever), is easy, feels good, and doesn't really demand much except showing a lot of emotion. Serving, spending one's self on behalf of another, sacrificing...now that's the hard stuff, the real stuff...that's the stuff we should all be made of, because I believe it's the stuff we were born for, and the stuff that will make a lasting difference!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Things that make me go "hmmmmmm...." My top 10
1. How can so many people be out and about during the work day? Why aren't they working? OR, what is their work, and can I get the same kind of job?
2. How come regular potatoes in the microwave aren't nearly as good as the one's you buy at the supermarket that are already wrapped and ready to microwave? Really? Is the plastic rap EXTRA special, or some SUPER SECRET kind?
3. What's the unsweetened version of an Arnold Palmer called? Faux APalmer? ArnoldParmer, wienie version?
4. Why is water from the toilet more tasty to my dog than good ole fresh tap water from the kitchen sink? Seriously...
5. Why do squirrels hide walnuts in my planters every year...only to have me dump them in the spring? Do they not remember where they hid their nuts? OR, is it their "ER squirrel food"...only to be used if there is a nuclear holocaust or a rodent war?
6. Why can't gas tanks all be on the same side of every car made? By asking that, am I now a Socialist? If I'm a socialist, does that mean I don't have to shave my arm pits or legs anymore?
7. I actually found a pudgie pie maker for sale in a magazine. However, it was a little to much...advertising the makings of a brie and turkey pudgie pie: are they kidding? Pudgie pie makers should only make wonder bread and canned cherry pies...that's their God-given reason for existing, so don't go trying to make it more cool than it is...sheeeeeeeeeesssshhhhhhh!
8. Why did it take so long to design the roller wheel suitcases? Seriously...they've only been around 20 years or so...we can put a man on the moon, solve serious mysteries, but this took 20+ years? What else is waiting out there that we are being "all cave man" about?
9. How come there are people at work who simply WILL NOT respond to emails, meeting requests, etc. until you copy their boss on the correspondence? Seriously...how come that continues to happen? DUH!
10. And lastly, how come each and every year that I have lived in my current home I get a letter from the power company telling me that they will be in my area and trimming trees in my yard...and yet they have NEVER done any trimming...NOT KIDDING: 8 years straight!
These are the mysteries that I ponder...I can't figure out why I never made it in academia!
2. How come regular potatoes in the microwave aren't nearly as good as the one's you buy at the supermarket that are already wrapped and ready to microwave? Really? Is the plastic rap EXTRA special, or some SUPER SECRET kind?
3. What's the unsweetened version of an Arnold Palmer called? Faux APalmer? ArnoldParmer, wienie version?
4. Why is water from the toilet more tasty to my dog than good ole fresh tap water from the kitchen sink? Seriously...
5. Why do squirrels hide walnuts in my planters every year...only to have me dump them in the spring? Do they not remember where they hid their nuts? OR, is it their "ER squirrel food"...only to be used if there is a nuclear holocaust or a rodent war?
6. Why can't gas tanks all be on the same side of every car made? By asking that, am I now a Socialist? If I'm a socialist, does that mean I don't have to shave my arm pits or legs anymore?
7. I actually found a pudgie pie maker for sale in a magazine. However, it was a little to much...advertising the makings of a brie and turkey pudgie pie: are they kidding? Pudgie pie makers should only make wonder bread and canned cherry pies...that's their God-given reason for existing, so don't go trying to make it more cool than it is...sheeeeeeeeeesssshhhhhhh!
8. Why did it take so long to design the roller wheel suitcases? Seriously...they've only been around 20 years or so...we can put a man on the moon, solve serious mysteries, but this took 20+ years? What else is waiting out there that we are being "all cave man" about?
9. How come there are people at work who simply WILL NOT respond to emails, meeting requests, etc. until you copy their boss on the correspondence? Seriously...how come that continues to happen? DUH!
10. And lastly, how come each and every year that I have lived in my current home I get a letter from the power company telling me that they will be in my area and trimming trees in my yard...and yet they have NEVER done any trimming...NOT KIDDING: 8 years straight!
These are the mysteries that I ponder...I can't figure out why I never made it in academia!
The summer of discontent...
'Mulling over the "summer of discontent" (who WASN'T incensed about something?), I can't help but think that all the "change" that everyone declares is needed, has to start with just ONE: that would be me, that would be you...that would NOT be WE! This is most true of the Body of Christ's believers right now. I'll explain my thinking, as I read and hear from other brothers and sisters
1. A call to prayer for the repentance of the country's leaders and country's citizens
*Where is the call of repentance for ourselves and our body of believers?
2. A call to "speak (yell) out" against the evil leadership in our country
*Where is our call to pray for our leaders (NOT blindly obey, but to pray for) and to
"speak the truth in love"?
3. A rally against those who do not share our value of life...at all stages
*I have yet to see even one Christian take in a pregnant women and help her so she can
either learn how to care for herself and her baby or to give her up for adoption...
*Fighting against government run healthcare/programs and yet cashing Social Security
checks and signing up for Medicare just like everyone else. For those who are so against
these public programs", there are ways to "religiously object" and not pay into them, and
thus not receive those benefits (or just deny to use them, period). I know of only one
person who has ever said they have done this..
*Attending rallies in battery operated wheelchairs, to wave posters of our President with a
Nazi mustache, when that very wheelchair was provided through a federal disability
program...one that we all pay into, so that we can take care of each other when any one
us is no longer able to care for themselves. I suppose that's socialism...but if it is,
it sort of works.
*A young lady declaring that we should all just "take care of each other" and there would
be no need for government assistance. 'Sounds awesome: are there enough Christians
to staff the hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices that are needed? Other than "pastoral
visits", I'm not really seeing a lot of that kind of sacrifice going on.
4. Using anger and passion to get a point across, versus prayer and service
*Believe me, of this I know, I to want to react when I see some of the
stuff that's going on "out there" (and sometimes fail and do react!), but it's not what I'm
called to and/or designed for...
5. The call to fight over this "God ordained democracy"? Really? Since when did God design
a democracy? He is over a KINGDOM...and I don't read anywhere that in HIS kingdom that
we get to vote on His decrees or laws. What we have here on earth is what we have on
earth, and it's my belief that we do the best we can, but truly...it's EARTH- NOT HEAVEN!
6. Can we just get over ourselves a little bit?...just a little bit? We think we are better than
other countries, people groups, leaders, people in general. Pride vs Humility? It's pretty
clear what the Holy One prefers and blesses...
I am blessed to be part of the body of believers, and I love and am thankful for brothers and sisters in Christ...but I am disappointed in us a larger group. I'm disappointed in myself as part of that group. So what do I do now? I pray...I listen...and I pray. I stop focusing on my disappointment in the "collective we", and I put my hope in Him alone who never disappoints, always forgives and will ultimately make all things new, holy, and just the way should be. That He will never make heaven on earth for us, but He can, will and does build heaven in our hearts so we can eventually share that with Him and each other forever...
Whew! Glad I got that off my chest...good that no one really reads this...it's my safe place to get it all out...forward I go!
1. A call to prayer for the repentance of the country's leaders and country's citizens
*Where is the call of repentance for ourselves and our body of believers?
2. A call to "speak (yell) out" against the evil leadership in our country
*Where is our call to pray for our leaders (NOT blindly obey, but to pray for) and to
"speak the truth in love"?
3. A rally against those who do not share our value of life...at all stages
*I have yet to see even one Christian take in a pregnant women and help her so she can
either learn how to care for herself and her baby or to give her up for adoption...
*Fighting against government run healthcare/programs and yet cashing Social Security
checks and signing up for Medicare just like everyone else. For those who are so against
these public programs", there are ways to "religiously object" and not pay into them, and
thus not receive those benefits (or just deny to use them, period). I know of only one
person who has ever said they have done this..
*Attending rallies in battery operated wheelchairs, to wave posters of our President with a
Nazi mustache, when that very wheelchair was provided through a federal disability
program...one that we all pay into, so that we can take care of each other when any one
us is no longer able to care for themselves. I suppose that's socialism...but if it is,
it sort of works.
*A young lady declaring that we should all just "take care of each other" and there would
be no need for government assistance. 'Sounds awesome: are there enough Christians
to staff the hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices that are needed? Other than "pastoral
visits", I'm not really seeing a lot of that kind of sacrifice going on.
4. Using anger and passion to get a point across, versus prayer and service
*Believe me, of this I know, I to want to react when I see some of the
stuff that's going on "out there" (and sometimes fail and do react!), but it's not what I'm
called to and/or designed for...
5. The call to fight over this "God ordained democracy"? Really? Since when did God design
a democracy? He is over a KINGDOM...and I don't read anywhere that in HIS kingdom that
we get to vote on His decrees or laws. What we have here on earth is what we have on
earth, and it's my belief that we do the best we can, but truly...it's EARTH- NOT HEAVEN!
6. Can we just get over ourselves a little bit?...just a little bit? We think we are better than
other countries, people groups, leaders, people in general. Pride vs Humility? It's pretty
clear what the Holy One prefers and blesses...
I am blessed to be part of the body of believers, and I love and am thankful for brothers and sisters in Christ...but I am disappointed in us a larger group. I'm disappointed in myself as part of that group. So what do I do now? I pray...I listen...and I pray. I stop focusing on my disappointment in the "collective we", and I put my hope in Him alone who never disappoints, always forgives and will ultimately make all things new, holy, and just the way should be. That He will never make heaven on earth for us, but He can, will and does build heaven in our hearts so we can eventually share that with Him and each other forever...
Whew! Glad I got that off my chest...good that no one really reads this...it's my safe place to get it all out...forward I go!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Waves of Mercy...
rolling over me. What would I ever do without it? If Grace is not getting what you deserve, and Mercy is getting what you don't deserve, then I have a life full of Grace and Mercy!I had a really fun-filled three days with one of my best buds from the past. Isn't it just THE BEST when you have an unspoken understanding of someone, and they of you?...there's just a comfortableness that washes over you that simply can't be match by those who don't have that shared history and richness of experiences, memories and words.
Anyway, that ended with a call that my father was ill...which is an ongoing battle for him and our family, but I hopped an earlier flight and came home to be with my precious family. Before I left for home I got to see this...it soothed my soul, it comforted me and it humbled me. The waves were HUGE (hurricane David, Daniel, some D name... had just finished it's move inland) and the majestic noise and view could not be matched. GOD made that happen...GOD created it...GOD is the "blessed controller of all things"! Such a great belief through the flight home, and the following days to come in hospital rooms, waiting rooms, etc.
Waves of mercy my friends, Waves of Mercy...I hope they keep washing over me again, and again, and again...
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The Lion sleeps
I remember visiting my gramma and seeing the framed picture of JFK on the wall...reading the JFK "coffee table" book together with my grampa. I remember grampa and I walking down the road, or picking raspberries and talking about JFK, Bobby, Rose and Eddie. I grew up with the Kennedy's being part of my very own "American Royalty"....
Later in college, I actually saw Bobby Jr.'s family play football on the IU Student Union grounds...and was behind the barricades (streets were blocked off in B-town) when he married a Southern Indiana native (Emily Black? I'm not sure that's correct!)...
I bought the very 1st "George" magazine produced by John Jr., and waited in hope that his plane really didn't go down, but was lost. I mourned with so many others when the truth of that horrible accident was revealed.
I have applauded the quiet grace and presence of Caroline...and of course shook my head at the "bone-head" stuff the younger Kennedy's did... The reality is that family, is like many of our families. We love, we fight, we do STUPID things, we forgive, we grow up, we (hopefully) learn from our indiscretions and grow wiser, and we face Painful, Painful things in our relationships.
Teddy wasn't perfect, but he was passionate and full of conviction. I don't agree with him on everything, but loved his work ethic. He really LEARNED the issues and the ins/outs of programs, services, agencies...I doubt many others have done the same in our current senate.
I'm leaving for Boston to visit a friend and much of that city will be both mourning and celebrating this epic figure: a husband, father, friend, foe, servant...
SO...Ted...here's to you! Thanks for your service; thanks for growing up; thanks for showing all of us that redemption and recovery can and does happen, and that hard work really does bring about wisdom that passion can never achieve on it's own!
Later in college, I actually saw Bobby Jr.'s family play football on the IU Student Union grounds...and was behind the barricades (streets were blocked off in B-town) when he married a Southern Indiana native (Emily Black? I'm not sure that's correct!)...
I bought the very 1st "George" magazine produced by John Jr., and waited in hope that his plane really didn't go down, but was lost. I mourned with so many others when the truth of that horrible accident was revealed.
I have applauded the quiet grace and presence of Caroline...and of course shook my head at the "bone-head" stuff the younger Kennedy's did... The reality is that family, is like many of our families. We love, we fight, we do STUPID things, we forgive, we grow up, we (hopefully) learn from our indiscretions and grow wiser, and we face Painful, Painful things in our relationships.
Teddy wasn't perfect, but he was passionate and full of conviction. I don't agree with him on everything, but loved his work ethic. He really LEARNED the issues and the ins/outs of programs, services, agencies...I doubt many others have done the same in our current senate.
I'm leaving for Boston to visit a friend and much of that city will be both mourning and celebrating this epic figure: a husband, father, friend, foe, servant...
SO...Ted...here's to you! Thanks for your service; thanks for growing up; thanks for showing all of us that redemption and recovery can and does happen, and that hard work really does bring about wisdom that passion can never achieve on it's own!
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