Something Else That Scares Our Dog

We celebrated Dave\’s birthday with our daughter and grandsons. It was a nice time, and good visit, and a fine celebration. After everyone left the house, Dave and I took our usual Sunday nap. The house was quiet, and Dave and I just lounged around and enjoyed the afternoon.

I did notice, however, that our dog, Gracie, was acting strange. She kept pacing and jumping in the chair with Dave (not her usual behavior). She would go into the front den and lie down (not her usual sleeping place). Something was definitely amiss.

Pacing, pacing, pacing–she was about to make me nuts! What was going on with her? Dave got up and took her outside for a bit. She stuck to his leg like she was tied there (again, not usual behavior). When they came back  in the house, Gracie lay down in the living room; and then all of a sudden she jumped up and began barking wildly in the direction of our kitchen.

\”Did you lock the back door?\” I inquired.

\”Yes,\” Dave told me. \”Maybe there\’s a mouse in the kitchen, and she saw it or something.\”

Meanwhile, Gracie is barking wildly, the hair standing up on her back. Oh, good heavens!

I went to the kitchen and looked around, prepared to scream and run if I saw anything closely resembling vermin in my house. I grabbed my bottle of peppermint spray and proceeded to spray down all the drawers, the corners, the pantry–anywhere I thought a wild beast might be lurking.

Still, Gracie, growled and paced. And then she lay in the front room, as if hiding.

Bedtime came. I made my way from the living room, through the dining room and towards the kitchen. Something caught my attention as I passed through the dining room. There was movement to my left! I whirled and looked, and then I saw them–BALLOONS! Helium balloons. They moved and swayed as we walked past.

And Gracie is afraid of them.

Gracie is fine now, since Dave hid the balloons where she can\’t see them. She\’s fine, of course, until we run the vacuum cleaner, open a garbage bag, pop bubbles in bubble wrap, laugh or talk really loud, etc.

This life we live.

P.S. I tried to take a picture of Gracie. Guess what else she\’s afraid of?

*sigh*

 

I Just Do What My Mind Tells Me

When they were little, both of our children knew they had to stay in their rooms until their dad and I awoke each day. Our daughter, who was an early riser, tried to be patient and wait on us. But after sitting quietly for a few minutes in her bed, her little self grew impatient to get into the activities of the day. So she began her chant, “It’s time to get up. It’s time to get up. It’s time to get up. May I please have a get up?” This was repeated continuously, until one of us gave her permission to get out of the bed.

These days, it’s not my daughter that wakes me early each morning—it’s my mind. The hours between four and five a.m. are when my mind begins to chant, “It’s time to get up. You have to start the day. If you get up now, think how much you can get done.” Who can sleep with reasoning like that?

Rising early affords me an opportunity to get a handle on my day. The world is dark and quiet. The morning is calm, which helps me to calm my mind. Diet Pepsi and breakfast bar in hand, I head to my desk. There, I sort through the thoughts that woke me. I do my morning devotions, pray, pay bills, plan the grandson\’s school day, work on internet projects, and any other tasks that need my attention.  By the time our grandson arrives at the house for his school day, I have accomplished many things. There\’s a peace in that, you know?

Of course, there are some days that I find my mind was more alert than my body at 4am, and a short mid-day power nap takes over. By takes over, I mean that one minute I\’m sitting in my chair working on my latest crochet project, and thirty minutes later I wake up, still holding my crochet hook! While my husband finds that humorous, he also tiptoes around the room to allow me those few minutes of rest. He\’s thoughtful like that.

The other option when my mind begins its morning ritual is to just ignore it, leaving me with a feeling of being rushed and unaccomplished. Having suffered through a few of those days, I\’ve learned it\’s just best to obey my mind and get up. And if I\’m honest, I have grown to love these quiet mornings. It truly does help me begin my day with a good attitude and a sense of calm.

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*Bible verse from NASB; picture (c) Claudette Wood, 2017.

Life Under Construction–Surviving the Twilight Zone

Because of several accidents on Interstate 81, what began as a six-hour trip on a beautiful Sunday afternoon ultimately became an eight-and-a-half hour nightmare. It wasn\’t pretty. Before I even got to Interstate 81–the \”Hellway,\” as i lovingly refer to it–my GPS was warning me that this highway could become my worst nightmare. Accidents were slowing traffic down and would extend my trip by 45 minutes. Well, I\’ve done that before, so I shrugged that off.

It didn\’t take long for the slow-down to increase in time to 90 minutes; that\’s when I realized I might be in trouble. Thankfully, my very helpful GPS voice was able to re-route me off the Interstate to a quicker route. Yeah, not really. I got off as instructed, along with 1,000 other vehicles also listening to their GPS\’s. We traveled VERY slowly along the detour, which also had a back-up, causing a 15-minute delay along that route. It became 30 minutes, and this was only the first time GPS re-routed me. I left Interstate 81 twice more, both times following behind every other car on the Interstate and BOTH times resulting in slow-downs, adding at least 20 minutes each time to the detour.

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At some point, fear took hold and convinced me I was an episode of Twilight Zone. No matter which way I went, I was blocked by traffic and slowdowns. I had driven for hours and couldn\’t seem to make my way through the highway maze of Virginia. At some point, I lost all sense of decorum and began drinking my soda straight out of the 2-liter bottle. What do manners matter, after all, when you aren\’t ever going to be seen again?

After a very long SIX-AND-A-HALF HOURS I slowly puttered out of Virginia. I was never so happy to see the West Virginia state line! It was then I realized my Twilight Zone episode was over, and I was going to make it. I wiped the Diet Pepsi off my chin and continued my journey.

Dear children: I will go through hell AND high water for you all, but I will NEVER, EVER travel Interstate 81 on Sunday again. Never. Not gonna happen.

Life Under Construction–Home School Style

Recently, Dave and I made a retirement-altering decision regarding one of our grandsons. After learning that he has made it all the way through 5th grade without knowing his multiplication table, how to divide, basic parts of speech, etc., we have decided we will home school him for a year with the prayer for bringing him up to speed with his contemporaries–and who knows, maybe even surpass them!

When we talked to \”A\” about this, he loved the idea immediately. He simply can\’t learn in a classroom environment. Some of it is his inability to sit still for more than two minutes (yes, we tried those brain-dulling medicines; they calmed him down, but rendered him unable to process information); some of it is the fact that teachers are dealing with full classrooms of kids, some of whom don\’t speak English; some of it is that \”A\” acts out because he wants to take attention off the fact that he isn\’t learning, so they just put him in the back of the room and let him simmer while they teach other kids. I\’m not blaming the teachers–i know they have a hard job. There are many factors involved in the situation, but it simply cannot continue.

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One on one is what this kid needs for a while. We intend to offer that to him, and we plan to teach him the way his mind processes info. We are looking forward to an exciting year for us all!

Please pray for us as we undertake this opportunity. We home schooled our own kids for nine years, so we know it\’s a real commitment.

For those who might be concerned about \”socialization\” I say, we tried that for seven years. It\’s got him where he is today. He\’ll be fine.

The Big 4-1!

For 41 years — nearly two-thirds of our lives — Dave and I have been married. When we began our marriage in our early 20\’s, we made some important decisions:  \"\"

1) God would always be the head of our marriage, and the center, as well;
2) the word \”commitment\” would be real in our lives and would trump all other words that might fight to tear up apart;
3) we would say \”I love you\” every day, and begin and end each day with a kiss. Some days that was not as easy as others, because we had days when we weren\’t \”feeling\” it. Thank God that love doesn\’t require that we always \”feel\” it, but that our decision to love and honor each other has remained strong through it all. As marriages go, I\’d say ours is very, very good and strong.

Happy anniversary, my God-honoring, handsome, honest, fine man. I\’d do it all over again, as long as you are with me.

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Life Under Construction–Parenting is SO Easy

Parents, do NOT let other people guilt you into being \”their\” kind of parent. I had a neighbor once whose son was in his playroom and dropped his glass of milk. When he tried to pick it up, he cut his palm. This precious mother was so guilt-ridden over what other parents would think of her for leaving her son alone IN HIS PLAYROOM, that she was considering plastic surgery for the little scar that would be on his palm. For most little boys, scars are warrior trophies, anyway. \”Oh, this scar? It\’s nothing. You should see the other fella.\” Right?

My mother always said I watched my kids too close, yet my daughter got spooked by a Smurf at Carowinds, and before I realized what was happening she was gone and nowhere to be seen. I was very close to screaming for her when one of the other adults with us found her (she got away that fast, from ALL of us). Then there was the time she nearly got on the wrong train in DC while the rest of the family piled into the one on the other side of the track–and then piled off really fast when we realized she was missing. You understand what I am saying? This happens.

My grandson got away from me one time after an event. He took off running toward the direction of our car, I chased after him, and literally fell out a door, giving him greater distance between us. When I found him, he was standing beside our car, waiting for me. At three years old, he was a fast kid. It happens.

I bet you there is not one parent who doesn\’t have a story to tell of the time their kid managed to slip past their line of vision. The folks who revile you for that–also known as people who don\’t have kids–likely also revile parents who put their kids on a safety restraint so they can keep up with them. You cannot please people. Be your own responsible self and raise your kid without guilt of what \”others\” will think.

Be vigilant, take what measures you must to feel that your child is as safe as possible; but remember, kids are impulsive, and before you can even turn your head in their direction, they can disappear.

Also, if you are considering parenthood, just had a new baby, etc., consider these things:
1) There is no such thing as a perfect parent.
2) Making dumb comments such as, \”my kid will never do that\” are dumb; and you could very likely end up eating bitter words, mixed with salty tears.
3) Kids have their own personalities. Until you are a parent, you don\’t know what kind of parent you\’ll be, and you CERTAINLY don\’t know what kind of kid your kid will be.

Sunday\’s Here!

Check this out! Gaither vocal band

For many years, I spent the week between Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday (Easter) with my favorite musicians—Dallas Holm, Sandi Patty, and Don Francisco.  Early in the week, Dallas Holm’s cd, His Last Days, was played continuously. The music took me through the week, with special focus on the night He was betrayed, his trial, death, and resurrection. Who doesn’t remember his greatest musical accomplishment, Rise Again?

That week before Resurrection Day, I pondered the questions posed on the cd—Did I believe in Him? Did I trust His words? Did I understand and have full confidence in His ability to save me? I mourned the treatment of Jesus during that week, and I mourned His death. The musical ended with Rise Again, and my heart swelled with anticipation and joy of what I knew was going to happen early Sunday morning.  Of course, I knew all these events had occurred a couple thousand years ago in real time, but each year these events occurred again in my heart and mind. It was a ritual observed to remain focused on Jesus and what He did for me.

Every Easter morning I bounced out of bed and ran to the windows to watch the sunrise. As was my habit, I grabbed my cd player–already tuned up to the family’s “wake-up song,”–and turned the volume all the way up to Sandi Patty’s, Was It a Morning Like This? It didn’t exactly thrill our children to be awakened so, but they eventually got into the spirit of the day as we celebrated our risen Lord, Jesus Christ. Another resurrection song I played—very loudly—was Don Francisco’s song, He’s Alive. Talk about a celebration!

Life moved forward, and the rituals continued—our churches produced plays about the Easter week; I played Sandi Patty on Easter morning; I sang along to Dallas and Don; I mourned Jesus\’ death and contemplated what it meant for me. I once again settled in my mind that Jesus was who He said He was, and I could trust Him with all of my life.

What does Easter mean to you? How do you celebrate the week between Palm Sunday and Resurrection morning? It’s a personal journey, folks. I encourage you to give the events of the week more than a passing thought as we celebrate the risen Lord.

Our children are grown and now have their own families. I don’t know what goes on in their homes during these holiest of days for Christians, but our household will begin this Easter Sunday morning with a rousing rendition of our old favorites, and we will celebrate!

Shout it in the streets . . . He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Hallelujah.

#ChristTheLordIsRisenToday

\”It Is Written\”

As I read my Bible this morning, i was struck once again by the fact that the enemy knows the scripture. When attempting to tempt Jesus after His 40 days of fasting, the enemy said, in Matthew 4:6, \”…it is written…\” and then he quoted Scripture.

This is just another reminder to me that even folks who don\’t trust Jesus as Savior know the Word and that I must be careful to search the Scriptures and not be deceived. Unfortunately, some false preachers make their living off of trusting and Scripturally uninformed Christians. It is imperative that we Christians study the Word for ourselves and trust the Holy Spirit to teach us, so that when someone preaches the Word out of context, we are immediately struck with such a sense of dis-ease that we step back until we can research the Word for ourselves.

There are wolves in sheep\’s clothing out there–knowing the Word will help us to avoid being taken in by them.

Thank God for His Word.