One Part Inspiration...

I started a post last week about how I was preparing a seminar on Motivation. In the same post, I talked about Procrastination and how I struggle with it. I never finished the post. What do you suppose that means?

I am told that if you press "Shift" + Control + Right Arrow Key, and then the Delete Key it will Highlight ...delete....delete....delete.... a ll you shouldn't say . . For the purposes of this post, I'll just call it the Highlight ...delete....delete....delete . .. .button. This happens to be my most favorite computer trick of all. It saves time. It saves face. It goes like this: typing, typing typing, asdjflkas;dfjask;ldjk ..... oh man, that's not right........... Highlight ...delete....delete....delete.... typing, typing typing, asdjflkas;dfjask;ldjk...no that's not good either ......... Highlight ...delete....delete....delete.... try, try again. What would be even better is if I could use this in conversations that go bad. How much nicer would life be if this button was available when" AWKward " conversations happen. I could just think: "Wow. That went badly. Highlight ...delete....delete....delete.... ". and the...

I wish I could say that I have gotten beyond struggling with procrastination. I certainly espouse the virtues of getting on with the job, when I give the pep-talks to my kids. " Why don't you just start on it?" I say. " If you just spent some time doing one page, then you'd be well on your way ." I repeat this lecture a hundred million times a month to them. [this is no exaggeration] And then when it comes to my own 'to-do' list, I fight with the exact things about which I remonstrate. "I d o n't f e el li ke it". "I'll do it to mo rro w." "I'm no t in the m ood." "I c an't handle doing on e mor e thing". "I'd rather sit and have a cup of tea.... Read a magazine.... Talk on the phone..." When I was in school, it was a lot easier. Now, I have so many places I can procrastinate. Laundry. Dishes. Taxes. Checking the oil. Putting away my winter clothes. Contacting the school about ch...

This has been a week of remembrance. It was one of celebrating the lives of people who have impacted my life with their passion for their Lord Jesus Christ. At one service, this song was played and sung. It has been going through my mind all week. I am comforted. My Heavenly Father knows. I cling to this knowledge like a tiny little baby who grasps the finger of the loving Father. I need not fear. He Knows My Name.

Every once in a while, I get to organize a song or two for the staff choir to sing. This time, I chose " You Needed Me " , sung by Anne Murray. I decided to change up the words a little. Since the idea is for us to say thank you to the volunteers for what they do all year round, I thought it might be good to change "I" to "We". I will just caution anyone who uses the " Find " and " Replace with " buttons, that it doesn't always go as planned. I won't bore you with all the changes, but this is what happened when the program found all the " I "s and made 36 replacements of " We" . I cried a tear You wiped it dry I was confused You cleared my mind I sold my soul You bought it back for me And held me up and gave me dignity Somehow you needed me. became: WE crweed a tear You wweped wet dry WE was confused You cleared my mwend WE sold my soul You bought wet back for me And held ...

On his trip to Hawaii, my #2 son bought a ukulele. It is very portable. It came with a hard case and some quick lessons from the vendor on how to play. Since returning, he has spent a lot of time on the internet, downloading songs. He watches tutorials on how to play the ukulele. He practices long into the night. He takes it to school and practices during the hours he waits for me to pick him up. He has definitely got his money's worth. Tonight I was helping him with an English project. He had to write a 'concrete poem'. We decided to write about the ukulele. This is the poem (before he makes it into a concrete one). The Ukulele I play the ukulele, It means ‘the jumping flea’ I practice morning, noon, and night I play it masterfully. I play in four-part harmony, My fingers flying true. The ukulele is unique And played by very few. It’s compact, and so portable, I take it everywhere. If I practice well, then one day soon, I’ll...

In the middle of the week, we received a phone call from our long suffering neighbours. It seems one of our sheep had wandered over for a visit to their place along with her lamb. In the process they had fallen into the neighbour's manure pit. The neighbour had managed to pluck them out of the pit, and wondered if we wanted to come and pick them up sometime. If you need proof that sheep are not the brightest light on the block, this is it. We went over to collect them. The three dogs greeted us with loud barking. I stayed as far away as I could, while still looking supportive. My husband took the grain bag and shook it for all it was worth. The sheep and the lamb came running. Bleating loudly. "Give me thaaaaat graaaaiinn." Actually they didn't really run. They meandered. Every patch of grass was more interesting than the grain. My son and I were given the job of keeping them off the lawn. No use making the neighbours suffer more than necessary. We think w...

Although I haven't said much about it, this is a year of milestones. In nine weeks, my #1 son graduates from high school. Two years ago, we were being initiated into the ranks of 'parents of a graduate' by my daughter. How different this milestone has been. My daughter had definite ideas about what she would wear, and what extra outfit she had to take to the photography session, and how she would wear her hair. My son? When I asked him what he wanted to wear to his graduation, his answer was immediate. "A rain barrel and suspenders". I took him half seriously. If anyone could pull it off, it would be him. These decisions will come soon enough. There's only seven weeks to get ready. Knowing him, we'll be out shopping a few days before to make sure he is outfitted properly. Guys don't have the same options as girls though, so it shouldn't take as many trips. Maybe we'll make it a one-stop-shop and then head out for a slushie.

Every once in a while, I get to be a guest. One of these occasions was on a trip that my sister and I made to visit some very good friends of hers. Although they didn't know me well, they made me feel very welcome. Our hosts had a spare bedroom that my sister and I shared. The second night we were there, the security alarm woke my sister up. She got up to find out what it was. I woke up because she woke up. Together, we listened to it's soft beep. Every ten seconds or so, it would sound. It was soft enough not to wake anyone else up, but loud enough that neither of us could go back to sleep. We talked quietly about what our options were. Finally, I suggested that she go and wake up our hosts because we didn't know if it was something that was a security issue or not. I would have done it, but they were her friends and I thought she'd have better luck. (Besides, I usually try to send her to do the dirty work) So off she padded down the hall to their room. She stood at th...

I'm not really sure why I need a new password when I open a new account or join a social network or get a new bank card. I mean, I do understand that a password is what keeps me 'safe' from fraudulent use. But, please, I am begging you! I am having such trouble remembering my passwords, and keeping them all straight! Couldn't I just please, pretty please, use the one that actually sticks in my brain? When I was growing up, we used a simple lock to keep us safe. Or a key. I remember feeling anxious about the fact that I would have to remember the numbers for the lock in order to get into my locker. " How in the world would I be able to remember four numbers?" And how would I be able to dial them in every day in the right order? " By the third day of school, it was old hat, and I laughed off how silly I'd been to be so anxious. But this password world is a whole new game. I can't use the same password twice. I have a lot of cards. And ...

In choosing the program for Easter at my #1 job, I did some sleuthing on various songs I could use. I ran across this song which is a version of "Londonderry Aire" and was struck by the message in it. I decided to share it with you cyber readers as a way to celebrate the message of Resurrection Sunday. I also found a beautiful version of it played by a brass ensemble, so if you would like to read and hum along, you can. I tried to embed it into this post, but it won't let me, so you can copy and paste the address into another tab if you would like to listen and follow the lyrics. http://www.cimarronmusic.com/audio/CM211.mp3 I Cannot Tell (William Fullerton) I cannot tell how silently He suffered, As with His peace He graced this place of tears, Or how His heart upon the Cross was broken, The crown of pain to three and thirty years. But this I know, He heals the brokenhearted, And stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear, And lifts the burden from the heavy lad...

About a week ago, we were at The Pokeaway. My job was to sweep up and tidy the corners. There's so much dust and dirt and dry wall kibbly bits and sawdust, and nails. I fashioned a corner-getter from a rogue bit of wood and got as much as I could. I was being very careful to avoid the nails. On one of my trips back from the dumpster, I found one sticking out of the concrete. Unfortunately, I didn't see it before I stepped on it. It went through my shoe, into my foot. Man that hurt! I ignored it as best as I could, but by the evening, I was hobbling around. I fought off the infection by soaking it in epsom salts and putting Aloe Vera gel on it. Two days later, I was able to wear shoes again. However, all week, it felt like a combination of a giant bruise and walking on a frozen pea. Yesterday my foot didn't hurt as bad. Perhaps that's because when my husband was taking down the board I was holding, which were held the French Doors in place while the silicone ...

As I mentioned, we will have new doors soon. But doors don't come with door handles. When you think about this, it seems a little strange. After all, would you buy a vehicle without a steering wheel? Or how about a stove without burners? But doors, don't come with handles. When it came to doors, we looked around carefully. A front door especially makes a statement to visitors. We wanted our message to be "Welcome" even if the visitors would have to have a small step stool to reach the door at the beginning of this journey. Our budget is fairly small, and so it required asking many questions and trying to barter what ever deal we could get so that we could come to the front door, and open it. For several months I have had visions of answering the door by having to remove nails from a 5X8 board and then lifting it out of the way. Nothing says "Come on in" like that. However, last Saturday, we were able to nail down the deal which would ensure a simple...

I was watching one of those decorating shows a little while ago. The couple was having trouble deciding what they should do with a certain room. The decorator was making suggestions to them, such as " You could change up the cabinets, and put an island here ." and " Why don't you consider changing this paint color ?" I commented to my daughter, who was watching with me, that if this show had my husband on it, he would have gone through the house and said "See that roof? GONE!" "Look at this kitchen...let's rip it all out". Being married to a visionary is how we have gone from this: to this: The second window is now above the bathtub. The Master bedroom now has two windows, and the front door is now at the back of the house. The song " Upside down you're turning me " comes to mind every time we go to the Pokeaway. Upside down Boy, you turn me Inside out And round and round Upside down Boy, you turn me Inside out An...