Small word, big meaning...

I guess since my life is pretty much the same day in and day out, I can’t imagine that much that happens in it would be of interest to anyone, so I find that I am using this mode of communication to share things that are on my mind or that have caught my attention in one way or another. If you find these blogs boring, just disregard and check back later......maybe there will be something of interest in the future.....who knows! That’s the beauty of blogging! My thoughts right now though are of a simple word that caught my attention the other night and I have had it on my mind since it was spoken. That one word is ‘thanks.’ I called a friend over the weekend who has been going through a super tough time lately. I called because I wanted to talk to her, know how she was doing and just catch up. We had a great conversation, funny and serious, then before we hung up, she said, "Thanks Dianne, for making me LAUGH!" Now we never have a problem laughing together....that gut level laugh that always feels so good....and even joke about how much we think alike, but knowing what all she has been through and just the inflection in her voice, I knew she meant those words from her heart. I think the inflection of it is what has stuck with me the most. I said something to blow it off like it was no big deal, but for some reason, even days later, I keep hearing those words of thanks in my head and it is making a huge impression. It was just a sweet thing to say and it meant a lot to me that she felt I was able to help get her mind off things even for a little bit, but in turning it around, it has made me wonder if I say ‘thanks’ as often as I should to people who make a difference at certain times when I may need it. I do make a habit of saying ‘thanks’ to cashiers in stores, to people who hold the door open for me, to waiters and waitresses, to people I work with, etc, but I wonder if I say, ‘thanks for listening,’ ‘thanks for thinking of me,’ ‘thanks for helping with that,’ ‘thanks for including me,’ ‘thanks for.....(whatever may be happening),’ as often as I should (and with the emphasis that I should) to the people who really do have a place in my life. Granted it has been a while since I have had a true crisis situation to deal with, but I want to be mindful that I never show more gratitude to a stranger who is passing through my life than I do to friends or family, crisis situation or not. Life is just filled with SO many lessons. It took nothing more than a heartfelt conversation with a friend to show me how much simple words can mean when they are from the heart. I have no doubt that we are made to be encouragers, but isn’t it funny how we can both GIVE and RECEIVE encouragement at the same time? I was the one thanked, but I was on the receiving end the other night in a BIG way. I stand amazed at how God works! "Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." -- 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Take the time......it is definitely worth it.

"At Day's End"

Is anybody happier because you passed his way?
Does anyone remember that you spoke to him today?
The day is almost over, and its toiling time is through;
Is there anyone to utter now a kindly word of you?

Can you say tonight in parting
with the day that's slipping fast,
That you helped a single brother
of the many that you passed?

Is a single heart rejoicing
over what you did or said;
Does the man whose hopes were fading
now with courage look ahead?

Did you waste the day or lose it?
Was it well or sorely spent?
Did you leave a trail of kindness
or a scar of discontent?

As you close your eyes in slumber
do you think that God will say,
"You have earned one more tomorrow
by the work you did today"?

-- John Hall

This has LONG been one of my favorite poems. I continue to be reminded that we don't always know what another person may be going through so my prayer is that we would all take the time to be this kind of blessing to someone each and every day.

My namesake and my mom

This is from the wedding I went to on Saturday night....the end of my busy week. It is a picture of my mom (on the right) and her friend Brenda, one of her best friends that I am named after. (The other person I am named after is Brenda's sister, Dianne....funny, huh?) Anyway, it was a very nice wedding...absolutely HUGE, but very nice. Unfortunately Brenda's husband died last March, so the bride's nephew gave her away. That was both extremely sweet and sad at the same time....my sister didn't even need to look at me, she just passed the tissues! Good thing she knows me so well!

Anyway, my mom sent me this picture tonight, so I thought I would post it along with a funny story from when they were teenagers. My mom didn't have the best home life with my grandparents, so she spent LOADS of time with Brenda and her family growing up. One time when they were teenagers, before they could drive, they were in the car with Brenda's mom, Mrs Bowman and they asked her to drive by the house of this guy that was good looking and they sort of liked. Well, this guy lived in a cul-de-sac and was out in the yard cutting grass, so my mom and Brenda both hit the floorboard to hide so they wouldn't be seen as Mrs Bowman went down there to turn around. Brenda was yelling at her mom (rather anxiously!), "Just turn around....turn around mama!" So, here's what Mrs Bowman does...she rolls down the window and hollers, "David....DAVID....I have Brenda and Anna Jean over here hiding in the floorboard. They just wanted to drive by and say 'hey'!" Brenda is, in the meantime yelling at her mom, 'MAMA!!!......Just go!' If my memory serves me correctly, he came over and poked his head in the window and spoke to them! This story STILL makes me laugh to this day. Brenda's spirit is infectious and I just adore her, but with a mom like that, it is easy to see where that comes from! I was glad to get a chance to visit with Brenda and her mom last night. I asked my mom how old Mrs Bowman is now and my mom said she has to be at least 81 or so, but she still looks great, has a sharp mind and has her fantastic sense of humor. If I get a picture of her via e-mail, may post it too just because I love her and want to.

Aren't blogs great?

Time flies

(Not an original, of course, but applicable to children and adults in our lives...I know it spoke to me!)

One Sunday I was entertained in a farm home of a member of a rural church. The intelligence and unusually good behavior of the only child in the home, a little four-year-old boy, impressed me. Then I discovered one reason for the child's charm.

The mother was at the kitchen sink, washing the intricate parts of the cream separator when the little boy came to her with a magazine.

"Mother," he asked, "what is this man in the picture doing?"

To my surprise she dried her hands, sat down on a chair, and taking the boy in her lap, she spent the next few minutes answering his questions.

After the child had left, I commented on her having interrupted her chores to answer the boy's question, saying "Most mothers wouldn't have."

"I expect to be washing cream separators for the rest of my life," she told me, "but never again will my son ask me that question."

Author Unknown

Busyness, break-ins and blessings

Don’t you hate weeks when you feel there is hardly time to breathe? This is one of those weeks for me. I am glad to be busy, but looking down the tunnel of this week, I can’t help but to say, ‘UGH!’ It all started Sunday, which I knew would be busy, because after church I was going to the mall to get a gift for my sister and I to give at a wedding we are going to on Saturday, help set up for a reception at church on Sunday night, attend a bonus rehearsal for choir, then church and the reception.....but what I hadn’t banked on was my car getting broken into during church! In making a somewhat long story short, we had already gotten into the choir loft and church had started, then someone told me I was needed in the back hallway.....after about 3 tries of getting me to understand what he was saying....since church had already started and I couldn’t imagine anything that couldn’t wait....I crawled over everyone on my row and got out...only to be told that my car had been broken into and the police needed to talk to me. So I was taken around to a policeman who put me in his car and drove me to where my car was parked. They made me look through it to see if anything had been taken, etc, they asked me a bunch of questions, then I was fingerprinted. If you can see me in your head, in my choir robe, standing in the parking lot with policemen all around, being fingerprinted. I am sure it was such a sight. My hands were all nervous and shaky. They had already caught the guy that did it, they just needed fingerprints to positively identify him. After all that, the same policeman who took me to my car rode me back up to the church and I got back just in time for the sermon. I eventually calmed down, but I was distracted for a while, no doubt! Anyway, this is the rest of my week: Monday: Dinner with friends Tuesday: Dinner with my mom, her husband, my sister and her family (my mom is here from Florida) Wednesday: Children’s choir planning meeting and choir practice Thursday: Birthday celebration for my mom (she will be 65.....hope she doesn’t know I do this and find out I printed her age all over the internet) Friday: CD recording for a CD the choir is making Saturday: Wedding I really do like being busy, but it makes me tired just looking at this week! I am already looking forward to my Sunday afternoon nap. I do want to say something else though about the guy that broke into my car. He did not take anything, there was absolutely no damage and there was nothing to entice him to pick my car over any other one in the parking lot. If anything, I would have thought that the ‘anti-theft system’ sticker on my window would have deterred him, but it evidently didn’t. I had left my windows cracked because it is so hot these days, but he evidently picked the lock then grabbed the top of the inside of the window to open the door. This is where the police got his fingerprints from as far as I know. A neighbor had seen him trying to get into my car and yelled at him to stop, the guy yelled some obscenity at him, then the neighbor called the police and I suppose gave them a description of what this guy was wearing and that is how the police were able to catch him so quickly. I wish I knew who the neighbor was so I could thank him. I find my thoughts this week going to my appreciation for the person that reported this and also to the poor guy that broke into my car. The police said he was evidently homeless and was probably looking for money. This area has changed so much since I grew up and it is very sad to think that there are homeless people here in this community. Everything always seems to happen to ‘someone else’ or somewhere else, but now that this has happened to me, even though it is a very minor incident, and again with no damage except the fact that I was shook up for about an hour, I have found myself, even during church, praying for this guy and that something would make him turn his life around or that he would get some break to help him get on his feet. I understand that what he did was a crime, but I am sure he felt there was/is nothing else to do about getting money, so he did the only thing he felt he could. I am not sure how I would feel if I were having to deal with all of this if he had broken a window or something and I was having to haul my car around to leave it to be repaired, but this is how I feel for now. After all, it is only a car..... I guess mostly this drives home to me the point that I am a very blessed individual even if I don’t realize it as fully as I should a lot of times. I have had an easy life and have never faced the issues I am sure the guy that broke into my car faces. I am the first to admit that money is tight sometimes but that is usually a monster of my own making. I have certainly never been without a roof over my head, clothes to wear or a little money for a meal. I think that I take those things for granted. I don’t mean to, but I think I just do. I am grateful, I just don’t think that I stop to realize exactly HOW blessed I am a lot of times. I had parents who taught me what was acceptable and what wasn’t and who provided MORE than what I needed materially for a comfortable life even if I didn’t realize it at the time. I had parents who took me to church as a child and I have had a few good role models as well. I have never been without a Bible, the knowledge of God, positive influences in my life or discipline.....believe it or not, I did get spankings.....quite a few! I haven’t always made wise choices, but I have never had friends who have tried to sway me into anything I didn’t want to do. I’ve just had a blessed life so far and I know it. I have thought a lot this week about the contrast of the life I have had versus what this guy that broke into my car has probably had, so I am going to be praying for him and others in this community that may need it. I hope you will too.

Two sweet girls

Some of you have either met or seen my nieces before, but my sister took pictures before they left for school on Thursday morning and e-mailed them to me, so I thought I'd share one of them since so many of you have posted pictures of your children......I feel like these are mine! I certainly would take both of these girls to raise in a heartbeat. They are as different as night and day in so many ways, much like my sister and I, and indeed we have even joked about my sister raising 'us' on occasion....funny how that works! They have been nothing but a blessing since the day they were born and I am so appreciative to my sister for allowing me to have such an active role in their lives. I am definitely one grateful sister and one lucky aunt!

A matter of perspective

Just something I found and thought I'd share. Unfortunately, I have probably been guilty of praying this way myself at times.....
As my five year old son and I were headed to McDonald's one day, we passed a car accident. Usually when we see something terrible like that, we say a prayer for those who might be hurt, so I pointed and said to my son, "We should pray."

From the back seat I heard his earnest request: "Please, God, don't let those cars block the entrance to McDonald's."

There is nothing like the honesty of a child's heart!

A word about teachers

I have two nieces in school in Henry County. One goes to Mt Carmel Elementary and the other to Luella Middle School. My sister is going to be the PTO President at Luella Middle this year, so with their open houses both falling on the same night and my brother-in-law working, the charge fell to me to take Grace to her open house at Mt Carmel last night to meet her teacher, visit with her friends, and visit for a minute with the teachers she'd had in kindergarten and first grade. It was a fun night, but it got me to thinking, yet again, about what a huge responsibility teachers have to educate these children. Following is an e-mail I got a while back and kept because it speaks wonderfully well of the honor some, and I hope most, teachers feel about their roles in these children's lives.

What Do Teachers Make?

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach."

To corroborate his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Susan. Be honest. What do you make?" Susan, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness, replied, "You want to know what I make? I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ feel like the winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor. I make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall in absolute silence."

"You want to know what I make?! I make kids wonder. I make them question. I make them criticize. I make them apologize and mean it. I make them write. I make them read, read, read. I make them show all their work in math and perfect their final drafts in English."

"I make them understand that if you have the brains, and follow your heart, if someone ever tries to judge you by what you make, you must pay no attention because they just didn't learn." Susan paused and then continued, "You want to know what I make? I make A DIFFERENCE. What do you make?"

Just food for thought......and my sincere thanks for all of you who are teachers.

For cat lovers only

Rules for cats to live by -- (Although these are not original, they are true and good for a giggle at the very least.) BATHROOMS: Always accompany guests to the bathroom. It is not necessary to do anything. Just sit and stare. DOORS: Do not allow any closed doors in any room. To get door open, stand on hind legs and hammer with forepaws. Once door is opened, it is not necessary to use it. After you have ordered an "outside" door opened, stand halfway in and out and think about several things. This is particularly important during very cold weather, rain, snow, or mosquito season. CHAIRS AND RUGS: If you have to throw up, get to a chair or bed quickly. If you cannot manage in time, get to an Oriental rug. If there is no Oriental rug, any quality carpeting is good. When throwing up on the carpet, make sure you back up so it is as long as a human's bare foot. HAMPERING: If one of your humans is engaged in some activity and the other is idle, stay with the busy one. This is called "helping," otherwise known as "hampering." Following are the rules for "hampering:" 1) When supervising cooking, sit just behind the left heel of the cook. You cannot be seen and thereby stand a better chance of being stepped on and then picked up and comforted. 2) For book readers, get in close under the chin, between eyes and book, unless you can lie across the book itself. 3) For paperwork, lie on the paper in the most appropriate manner so as to obscure as much of the work as possible. Or pretend to doze, but occasionally reach out and slap the pencil or pen. 4) For people paying bills or working on income taxes or Christmas cards, keep in mind the aim: to hamper! First, sit on the paper being worked on. When dislodged, watch sadly from the side of the table. When activity proceeds nicely, roll around on the papers, scattering them to the best of your ability. When being removed for the second time, make all four legs flail around wildly in order to push pens, pencils, and erasers off the table. 5) When a human is holding the newspaper in front of him/her, be sure to jump on the back of the paper. Humans love surprises. 6) When a human is working at the computer, jump up on the desk, walk across the keyboard, bat at the mouse pointer on the screen and then lay in the human's lap across arms if possible to hamper typing in progress. WALKING: As often as possible, dart quickly and as close as possible in front of the human, especially on stairs, when they have something in their arms, in the dark, and when they first get up in the morning. This will help their coordination skills. BEDTIME:Always sleep on the human at night so he/she doesn't move around too much. LITTER BOX: When using the litter box, be sure to kick as much litter out of the box as possible. Humans love the feel of kitty litter between their toes. HIDING: Every now and then, hide in a place where the humans cannot find you. Do not come out for three to four hours under any circumstances. This will cause the humans to panic (which they love) thinking that you have run away or are lost. Once you do come out, the humans will cover you with love and kisses and you will probably get a treat. ONE LAST THOUGHT: Whenever possible, get close to a human, especially their face, then turn around, and present your butt to them. Humans love this, so do it often. And don't forget guests. Any other 'rules' you can think of?

My Inspiration

Grace's glasses and my sweet inspiration...

(and don't forget the case for them, she's proud of that too!)

I would LOVE to see the world through those eyes.

A song, a shower and a lesson

“The Power of a Moment”

A song by Chris Rice, but also an undeniable truth –

Nothing much has really gone on with me out of the ordinary this week, but I did have the opportunity on Tuesday to go to a luncheon shower for one of the first children I ever babysat – she turns 30 on November 30 this year! EEK! I know I am aging myself to say that, but I will say, even further back, that her oldest brother was the very first child I kept and that has probably been about 34-35 years ago! We all laughed about that…..I absolutely do not know where the time has gone. Anyway, it was a small crowd for a shower, but as I sat there, I couldn’t help but to feel a bit nostalgic about what this family has meant to me for the bulk of my life. There is so much to say about them and what they have meant, but in making a very long story short, there are some things in life that you ‘just do.’ This shower was one of them. Work has been incredibly busy this month and I really didn’t have the time to take off, but since they have been like family to me since I was about 9-10 years old, there was really no discussion on the matter. There is no way I would have been anywhere else. It was wonderful to see the mom and daughter, but as nostalgic and sentimental as I get from time to time, it has made me very mindful of the impact that our lives can have on each other.

From my perspective, as a child at the time, literally 9 or 10 years old, the mom in this family was more of a friend to me than an ‘authority figure’ and is truly the first person I consciously remember God bringing into my life to make a real difference as a spiritual influence. Even though there was a 10 year age span or so (she and her husband were newlyweds), we developed a special friendship in that I would always race next door to tell her my newest joke (which I, of course, thought she was just DYING to hear), help with whatever she needed done, and eventually be the babysitter for the children mentioned above. She always made me feel like we were friends, and for that, I remain grateful to this day. Of course, time passed, they moved, I grew up and so much of life has changed, but I have absolutely no doubt that God put her in my life as a spiritual influence, an encourager and a role model. Age has helped me to see these truths soooo clearly and He has also provided us with a friendship that endures even to this day. The ‘moments’ we have shared are priceless and it was very sweet to sit across from her on Tuesday just knowing how God has worked in my life by her example and our friendship.

In tying all this together, this Chris Rice song came to mind because we are all given opportunities to make a real difference in the lives of the people we come into contact with whether casually or closely, and whether with a child or an adult. I'm sure I am as guilty as anyone else of letting those moments slip by unnoticed on occasion, but we never know when God may drop someone into our path that we may be able to encourage for a lifetime, or even for a day. We all have the same number of moments in a day, and our use of them can be powerful………

"I get so distracted by my bigger schemes

Show me the importance of the simple things

Like a word, a seed, a thorn, a nail

And a cup of cold water

You know the number of my days

So come paint Your pictures on the canvas in my head

And come write Your wisdom on my heart

And teach me the power of a moment”

Teach me ‘The Power of a Moment.’

Yardwork!

Yardwork. Man alive if that is one thing I have not spent much time on, nor had much interest in, in my life! This whole home ownership thing has been a huge learning curve for me, but I have to say that I have enjoyed it. I am posting this picture because those who have been to my house know that when I bought it, there were two ugly trees out front where that big bed with one tree is now (other plants will join that tree later). I had the yucky trees taken down about two months ago and got other trees and plants from my dad's tree farm. I had two trees taken down and between the front and back yards, had 7 put in! My sister has a horticulture degree, so she is the one that decided what needed to be done. Believe me, I had NO idea what to even say I wanted! Keeping all of it watered has been a job, but it think it is all finally starting to settle in, so I thought it was time to post a picture...besides the fact that I slaved away when I got home today getting my grass cut in hopes of that ever elusive rain that they are sort of promising for the weekend...or at least that is what I last heard. Good gosh it was hot and I was WAY tired by the time I got though with of it, but it looks crisp and maintained right now, so I knew I better be snapping! Unfortunately, it won't last long!

See What You Say...

A friend of mine has a devotional journal that she keeps online....the link on mine titled 'Inspirational Journey.' Below is one of the first posts she wrote. I don't know why this has been on my mind so much today since I was practically secluded in my office and didn't even see the light of day, but it has been on my mind LOTS, so I thought I would pass it along. It is sort of 'heavy' compared to what everyone else is posting today, but it is certainly worthwhile. She uses several 'everyday occurences' as the basis for her writings, so if you are ever in the mood for a good devotional, you should check it out. This one in particular is one of my favorites:

"Here’s an animated thought. What if our words could be seen? What if every time we spoke a word it would take form before our eyes? What would our words look like? Maybe our words would become what they represent, like the word “flower” would come out looking like a flower, and then literally turn into a flower. That’s easy, but what would abstract words look like? What would hate, love, selfishness or generosity look like? Maybe if we could actually see our words hanging in the air we would be careful how we use them. After all we would not want to bump into them later. I know I’ve spoken many words that I would not enjoy bumping into.

Since we can’t see our words after we speak them, we should remember that our words hang in the heart of each person they are spoken to, and they do take on a life of their own. Our words have the power to harm or heal, encourage or tear down. Proverbs 18:21 says, “… Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” Then there’s that verse in Ephesians 4:29 that says, “When you talk do not say harmful things, but say what people need-words that help others become stronger. Then what you say will do good to those who listen to you.” (NCV)
Let us daily ask for the Lord’s help to make our words beautiful, and edifying. Sincerely let’s pray “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

WOW.

Sweet Kitty!

Since Tracey got busy posting pictures of her cats, I decided I needed to weigh in on the debate too, so, not one to be left out, here is mine....

Now THIS is one sweet kitty........literally! Actually, I am ashamed to say that 'Sweet Kitty' is her name since I was unable to think of one that I liked well enough to use....I found myself, when I would talk to her, saying 'Hey Sweet Kitty...' and never thinking beyond that, so it just sort of stuck. These days, she answers to 'Sweet Kitty,' 'Sugar,' or 'You dumb cat!'.....whichever one seems more applicable at the time.....It is probably about even on all counts! Actually, she came from a litter my sister had at her house and when I got her, I got another one as well. I got them back in 2001, I believe, and they were inside cats for a while, but after about 4 or 5 months of that, it was time to hit the big outdoors! Unfortunately, this is when I lived across the street from the church...I rounded the corner by the Worship Center on my way home one day and saw the other one had gotten hit, so hence, that left me a single cat owner, both literally and figuratively. She is sweet though and this picture was taken back in January. I was getting ready for work and she perched herself right there in my sink and begged me to take her picture. She's not big on being photographed, so when she begs (or at least cooperates), I comply. As they say, 'Dogs have owners.....Cats have staff.' As lovable as they are, this is true! To Jennifer, I say, 'Go for it.' They are independent, but it is WAY worth it!

Spreading Sunshine...

Okay, so I spent a day not doing much more than getting this blog set up and figuring out how to upload pictures, talking on the phone, watching almost week’s worth of Days of Our Lives (don’t tell anyone!), and taking a nap, but I did go to Wal-Mart tonight for a few essentials. So as I’m standing in line to pay for my stuff and start to unload it from my cart, the lady in front of me turns around and starts looking my stuff over. I smile at her, wonder what she’s thinking about these items that are soon to be mine, and believe she’s just looking around waiting for her turn to pay, but then she says, “Wow….the big thing of orange juice!” I just said, “Yeah….” Then she says, “I can’t drink that anymore, it gives me heartburn too bad these days…” So I just smiled at her….I didn’t really know what to say, I don’t guess. Just stood there….looking and smiling…..smiling and looking. You know me. I mean, what do you say besides, "Ohhh"? Luckily it was her turn to pay soon after that, so she moved on and proceeded to tell the cashier that she and her friend were on their way to see their boss and they thought it would be nice to take his wife some flowers…..It just struck me funny….then she and her friend bounded out of the store on to their next mission…

Some people reach out to others no matter where they are.....Maybe I should take some lessons.....Who knows what I may be missing!

Count me in!

With several of my friends doing this now and knowing how much I have enjoyed reading their posts, I have been thinking about joining the ranks of the blogging world for days. I wasn't going to do it though until I had a screen name and a blog name I was happy with. My screen name comes from a nickname that I was given by a friend's child many years ago...he is well into his teens now, yet the name has somehow stuck, but that's okay because it's always nice to have a nickname that comes from special people and special times. The blog name is another story.....I have two nieces who I absolutely adore....Kate, who is 11, very soon to be 12, the other is 7. Her name is Grace. She knows the song isn't about her, but every time 'Amazing Grace' is sung in her presence, she blushes! haha. The theme of her third birthday party was 'Amazing Grace,' so that is probably where that thought started, but it is funny to watch her. At any rate, Grace had to get glasses a couple of weeks ago for reading and she was SO excited because her older sister wears glasses or contacts too. In thinking about this blogging experience and wanting to have a good name, somehow 'Glasses of Grace' just seemed like a good name because it is so easy to look around and see how many glasses we are given of God's grace every day....from the small miniscule provisions that we may not even think about to the huge things that can only be acts of God. So while I am new to this mode of communication, I am excited to have a new way to correspond with friends, near and far, and hopefully we can all share our 'Glasses of Grace' together!