Smile and Be Joyful

April 30, 2020 Hi  to my treasured Blog readers! There is a lot going on at my house today and I have not been able to find the time to write yet this morning. Thanks for reading my Blog each day and I will return tomorrow with whatever God puts on my heart! In the meantime...  Romans 15:13 says “  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”   Smile and be joyful!  

April 29, 2020 There’s an old oak in our front yard with a swing hanging from one of its limbs. Many children, grandchildren and great grandchildren have swung on that swing over the last 50 years. Cousins, neighbor kids, and quite a few adults have also pushed and pulled that old rope with a board balanced at its vertex. But in the last 5-6 years the old tree and its partner, the swing, have been pretty lonely. Not used much. Just leaning there. Just hangin’ there. Waiting for a new kid to come along. I’ve prayed for that tree and in particular that limb with the swing on it through several hurricanes. (Don’t laugh! My sister goes out in the yard and hugs her favorite tree while she prays for it before a hurricane.) The old tree and its limb with the swing have always been spared, even when others were not. But because it’s been through everything from high winds and floods to droughts in the last several years, I’ve lost some confidence in the limb and, actually, even the ol...

April 28, 2020 I think that one of the most important lessons that parents must teach their children is the difference between a need and a want. That’s a lot easier to do when you live on a tight budget. In fact, the more kids you have and the less money you have, that lesson kind of teaches itself. I have been so blessed to be a teacher, for so many reasons. And without a doubt, the biggest perk of the job was being home with my children every summer. (Summer is what being a kid is all about.) But on a “teacher budget”, creativity regarding entertainment is a must. At the beginning of June each year we would make a list of all the things we could do and places we could go, on our big break. The list had one stipulation. The activity had to be cheap, or even better, free! The (places to go) list included things like take a picnic to the park, explore antique stores, swim at Aunt Jamie’s, spend the night at Aunt Charla’s, go to the library and (the weirdest one) walk around Wal...

April 27, 2020 My grandmother used to say, “I am worried sick about that!”. I’m not sure if that’s a southern phrase or if people say it everywhere but for sure people do it everywhere. (Worry themselves sick.) Worry and anxiety go hand in hand. Some people have anxiety disorders and cannot avoid the tightness in their chest and feeling like they can’t get their breath. Their minds race and their heart beats too fast. Others of us have to work our way up to that intense feeling of helplessness. In his book “Anxious for Nothing”, Max Lucado says “Anxiety is not a sin; it is an emotion. (So don’t be anxious about feeling anxious.)”. One day when my two oldest girls were 3 and 5 years old the smoke alarm in our house went off while I was out in the garage. It was obnoxiously loud. (I guess no one would want a quiet smoke alarm.) Anyway I stepped back into the house to check it out and I’ll never forget what I saw. Before I could get two steps inside, I saw my oldest daughter run b...

April 26, 2020 One of the most negative statements I have ever heard is called “Murphy’s Law”.    It says: “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.”   What a terrible mantra to have coursing around in one’s head.   I don’t know anything about Mr. Murphy, but I bet he never made lemonade out of lemons or saw the silver lining in any cloud.   I decided to “Google him” and I was wrong.   It turns out that Captain Edward A. Murphy was part of a research team trying to see how much G-force a human could endure, to discover if pilots could safely eject from high velocity aircraft.   The concept of “Murphy’s Law” was applied from the aspect of thinking up all that could go wrong, so that they could fix it before it did.   So, it was not a negative statement, it was a positive “attack” on the possible bad outcomes.   I try to not go around looking for “what can go wrong” but I do tend to plan and prepare for the possibility.   For m...

April 25, 2020 Sometimes when driving down the highway things go splat on the windshield. No big deal. Just turn on the sprayer and wipers and it’s gone in a moment. Unless you’re out of wiper fluid. Then the wipers make the mess worse. At that point you can either focus on the bug guts or the highway ahead. Best to keep your eyes on the road. On the highway of life, bugs are going to hit the windshield. It’s our choice whether we focus on the mess directly in front of us or lift our eyes to look past it to what lies ahead. (It is also not a good idea to spend too much time looking in the rearview mirror... what happened yesterday.)  When something goes wrong in our day or in our life, it’s our choice whether we let it be wiped away quickly (Jesus, please help me handle this. I know you can.) or leave it there in front of us to bake to the windshield and cause us stress, anxiety and unhappiness. Maybe the stressful circumstance or the painful situation won’t immediately be ...

April 24, 2020 Has this quarantine really been going on for 40 days and 40 nights? No wonder I feel like Noah. I’ve been trapped on this ark with a bunch of animals and the same people (people I love) for nearly 6 weeks. Actually, it rained for 40 days and nights but Noah and his family spent over a year on the ark. Luckily the ark was 1/3 the size of the Titanic. My house is quite a bit smaller than that but I also only have dogs and cats. No bears, elephants or (thankfully) snakes. Noah also did not have Netflix and he didn’t have to do Zoom meetings. (Hello...there was no one to Zoom with...) But, ironically, on this 40th day of our quarantine some of the restrictions are beginning to be lifted. The county judge is “sending out a dove” to see if it’s time to unload the quarantine ark. I’m hopeful that people will follow the guidelines as we cautiously begin to get back some of the things we’ve been missing. Although it will feel nice to have the firm ground of a Target sto...

April 23, 2020 When my husband and I got married, my parents’ wedding gift to us was a tent for camping (because that’s what we asked for). This was no “pup tent”. In fact, our friends that we camped with nicknamed it, “The Big Top”. It was an eight man tent with a screened in porch to sleep two more. Perfect for the family we have right now but WAY big for two newlyweds. Let me just say that a person can learn a lot from putting up a tent, but this canvas giant offered more than its share of life lessons. I believe this may just be Day 1 of my stories about The Big Top (TBT). By far, the most difficult time putting up any tent is the first time. It’s all unfamiliar territory and everything is still wrapped in plastic (but at least you know all the poles are there). Our first experience with constructing TBT was in the dark on the bank of the Guadalupe River and we’d been married about a month. All our friends had arrived earlier (in the daylight) and were comfortable by the ca...

April 22, 2020 The phrase,”it’s a jungle out there”, usually refers to being away from the comfort and security of our own home. (like being at work or going to the mall on Christmas Eve) For me, it also refers to my literal backyard. We are blessed to have a nice big yard but it definitely comes with a lot of work (as many blessings do). The mowing, weed eating, hedge trimming, sweeping and sweating involved cause us to put this chore off for as long as possible. But when the grass gets so long that June, the chihuahua, is struggling to walk through it, and it’s about to rain for three days straight, the procrastination must end. Mary Poppins says, (in her lovely, musical, English accent) “In every job that must be done there is an element of fun.” Ok, Mary, I guess so. But I’m pretty sure the fun comes after the job is done, when we stand and admire the finished product. Unfortunately, it always grows back. It’s just like cleaning the kitchen or dusting the furniture. It’s bea...

April 21, 2020 The van was packed full of lawn chairs, picnic food in bags and coolers, 3 kids, (the older ones were off on their own adventures), 2 grandparents, my husband and me. It was Spring Break and we were headed to the San Jacinto monument. It’s not a grand destination, not even particularly beautiful, but these were the kind of quick, one day trips my kids looked forward to for weeks. An adventure with Granny (her purse full of candy and her youthful spirit leading us in singing “Down in the Valley” every time we went over a dip in the road) and Grandpa (with his funny made up songs and silly sayings) was a precious memory in the making. Spirits and anticipation were high as we packed and piled into the van. “Everyone in? Seatbelts buckled? Ok, shut that door and let’s go!” But the door would not slide shut. It was an automatic door, operated by pushing a button. So I pushed the button again. The door would not move. “Hold on, I’ll get out and close it!” The door w...

April 20, 2020 It was a beautiful, crisp fall day in East Texas. My husband was doing what he loved best; trudging through the woods with his gun and his dog, Reba. Everyone else had headed back home but he wanted one more hour in the great outdoors. That morning would be long lost in his memory, mixed with many other similar days of hunting and hiking if not for one fateful step. As he made his way down the sloped side of a dry creek bed he heard a loud snap and fell forward. Pain like he’d never felt coursed through him as he struggled to understand what had just happened. It was not until he tried to stand back up that he realized what was wrong. Somehow his right foot was now facing backwards. The snap he heard was the sound of every bone in his lower leg breaking in an instant. This story would be painful enough for him to recall without what all came next. If he hadn’t been alone in the woods... if cell phones had been invented, this could have had a more mundane conclusion...

April 19,2020 I think I was eight years old when my family went on vacation to New Mexico. Most of my memories of that trip come from old square photos with white borders that my mom put in an album. (Remember when we used to do that? Lol) But one very vivid memory from that trip is lodged into my brain forever. It plays like a slow motion movie, in color, every time I think about it. I’m pretty sure my parents must have saved their money all year for that vacation, although I’ve never thought about it until now. We stayed in an A-frame cabin in the mountains. There weren’t any other cabins very nearby. There was a river not too far from us with two bridges for crossing. One bridge was sturdy and made with heavy boards and had handrails made of rope. The other, which was shorter and located pretty near the first, was narrow and older and had nothing to hold on to when being crossed. My dad, my sister and I used the sturdy bridge. It was a little scary but we made it across. My mot...

April 18, 2020 Many years ago I was awakened in the middle of the night by an overwhelming feeling that someone (or something) was watching me. As my brain fog cleared I was torn between wanting to know and being too afraid to look. But the feeling was strong and I could hear breathing. So I slowly eased my eyes open and sure enough two eyes peered at me through the darkness. I screamed and sat straight up in the bed. It was my 3 year old. This happened to me so many times over the years that I honestly can’t say which 3 year old it was. Probably all of them at one time or another. “Mommy, I had a bad dream. Can I sleep with you?” Of course the answer was yes. And we’d cuddle up and (try to) go back to sleep. And in the morning I would wake up with at least one more of them by my feet that got up looking for her sister. Night time can be scary. Things I worry about or have on my mind always seem worse at night. My imagination runs wild with “what ifs” and “then whats”. My bes...

April 17, 2020 I was not very graceful as a child. (I’m still no Ginger Rogers.) I loved to run, climb the little Mimosa tree in our yard, roller skate and ride my bike. But I was constantly hurting myself. I would run fast, jump out of the tree, skate race my friends down the sidewalk and pedal my bike like I was running from the law. These days I walk more gingerly and I never climb trees or roller skate. When I was young and fell down I just hopped right up and ran to my mom (usually “crying and carrying on”) and she would clean me up, put some medicine and a bandaid on my wound and send me on my (clumsy) way. These days if I trip and fall down, I would not call my response “hopping up”. It’s more like “lay there and wait to see if anyone comes by to help”. There are a lot of things that can hurt us in this world, and not just physically. And a lot of people are hurting right now. They’re suffering financially, mentally and physically. Hard times are upon us. I believe that G...

April 16, 2020 When I was a kid, the only swimming we got to do in a big (built in) pool was when we went on vacation and stayed in a motel. After swimming in our little pop-up pool in the backyard, those pools looked huge to me. And deep. I was happy splashing around in the shallow end. I could swim, but not that great. The best part of those experiences was that my dad and mom could swim with us. We would yell “Look at me!” about a million times while we showed them our somersaults and underwater “tea parties “. Those are wonderful memories. When I was about 8, the company my dad worked for bought a “country club” and we were allowed to go there and swim. There was a diving board (in the deep end, of course) and I really wanted to jump off of it. Dad would sit on the side of the pool and say “Ok, just jump in and swim to the side. I’ll be right here.” I would walk out to the end of the board and stare down at the bright blue water (all of 3 feet below the diving board). But I...

April 15, 2020 On Saturday mornings I love to look at Pinterest. Not everything on there is helpful or lovely but I just scroll past the things that offend me or don’t interest me. I find things that make me laugh, pretty pictures, wise quotes and ambitious projects and ideas. And just like when I was a kid with a bulletin board (and thumb tacks) I pin my favorite pictures to my Pinterest boards. I’ve noticed that if I pin something, things like that start to show up more on my feed. One time I pinned a picture of a cute baby pig. I’m not a huge fan of pigs but this one went on my “Really Cute” board. After that, for days, there were pig pictures galore for my viewing. I think our brains work a little like Pinterest. Whatever we think about and focus on attracts more of the same. It’s important to fill our hearts and minds with positive feelings and thoughts. When Satan tries to throw things in front of us to cause us doubt, fear or anxiety we must not allow it. Our faith in God...

April 14, 2020 A while back (when I used to go places) I was out running errands and shopping and my phone battery was extremely low. My charger was not in my car. So I closed all my Apps (like my kids taught me) and for the whole afternoon I kept my calls short and didn’t text anyone. My phone still died about halfway through my excursion and then I worried the rest of the time that my family would think I was abducted by aliens or got lost trying to get home (see blog from Day 19 ) Basically, my whole day was affected by this phone battery issue. I couldn’t FaceTime my sister from the dressing room to say “Hey, how does this look?” I couldn’t talk to my girls while I saned around Target. (saned: (verb) meaning to wander aimlessly with no particular purpose). I definitely could not enjoy my day as much with this issue plaguing me. So, I cut my fun short and went home. I immediately went to plug in my phone but couldn’t find my charger. Minutes later, I found it. In my purse! I h...

April 13, 2020 I’ve always said, “I’m not very good at sitting around.” Probably because I have not practiced enough. Unfortunately, I’m getting better at it. The lack of structure in my days is starting to get to me. It’s not that there aren’t things to do. It’s just that there’s no particular order or schedule for doing them and my self discipline is wearing thin. I feel like I’m at a fork in the “quarantine road”. To the left lies meetings online only from my nose up (so I can keep on my PJs), endless hours staring at my phone and lots of chips and cookies. (Kind of like the Candy Land game from my childhood...all winding and colorful) It looks very appealing and bright. The fork in the road that veers right is plain and boring and lined with responsibilities, vegetables and has an elliptical machine on every corner. Which way will I go? Each road contains old habits that die hard. Which habits should I do away with? (“Cookies” or “Responsible Adulting”?) In order to make t...

April 12, 2020  We have a video of an Easter egg hunt from many years ago. One daughter is frantically scouring the yard for hidden eggs and tossing them in her basket. The other daughter is taking a more leisurely pace, following her sister. The first one’s basket is soon so full that (unbeknownst to her) every time she bends over to pick up another egg, one rolls out of the basket and onto the ground. The daughter who is following is reaping the benefits of her sister’s over abundance. In the end they both had eggs in their baskets so everyone was happy. It is a fond and funny memory. Whether we jump up and run to hunt eggs or have a calm and peaceful Easter morning it is important to remember what this day is all about. Matthew 28:1-7 is just one account in the Bible of the reason we celebrate Easter: “Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lo...

April 11, 2020 Usually when we think of “downed trees” because of a storm we picture the tree falling during the storm. (It’s limbs flailing to and fro in a high wind, battered by heavy rain and lightning.)  But it doesn’t always happen like that.  Night before last we had a quick moving, typical, springtime Texas thunderstorm.  Some trees on our street were lost. One that I drove by and looked at probably happened during the storm. It’s trunk was broken off about four feet above the ground. I’m sure there was a loud snap and a great crash as it lost its fight with Mother Nature. Another that went down did so very quietly. In fact my neighbors across the street didn’t even know they lost their tree until the next morning. A while after the storm went through, quietly and without great drama, the old oak fell. It lost its grip in the ground and quietly began to lean to one side. Once it’s descent began nothing could stop it, not even the iron fence next to it, as it ...

April 10, 2020 I’m working (typing) against the clock this morning.    My phone is about to die. My computer is dead.    Our power has been out since 5:30 yesterday evening.    Storms took out two trees on our street.    Thankfully no one was hurt except the poor old trees.    It was a long, hot night.    Even still, I flipped the switch in the bathroom this morning expecting the light to come on.    I turned on the faucet expecting water to come out.    (Around here, no power, no water well pump...)    But when I walked up to the Keurig and started to make coffee things got real!    So what did I do? Opened the blinds in the bathroom. (Light)    Used Purell on my hands.    (Good bye germs!). Boiled water on my (gas) stove and thanked God for instant coffee.    A girl’s “gotta make do”.    Quarantine with a power outage and no water “ain’t for ...

April 9, 2020 My mom used to rearrange the living room furniture in our house every couple of weeks. I’m not sure why. Maybe she liked variety? Maybe she was never quite satisfied with the arrangement?   Maybe she was just trying to “keep us on our toes”.   One time I was (sneaking) in after midnight and did a Dick Van Dyke flip over an ottoman in the dark. (There were no cell phone flashlights back in the day).   “Home improvement” projects are a popular weekend activity for a lot of people.   Remodeling this... painting that…   For me, home improvement on the weekend usually means dusting, sweeping and mopping.  Even just doing that makes my house feel newer and I feel happier with how it looks and feels. (and smells)   That’s probably what my mom was up to when she moved the furniture around.   She wanted that “new feeling”.   Since starting my blog I feel like I have done some “home improvement” in my relationship with God.   I...

April 8, 2020 You know you’ve said something to your kids a lot of times when you start to say it to them and they say it first. Unfortunately, it usually comes back with a “Yes, mom, I know....” in front of it and perhaps a bit of frustration. “Yes mom I know: Don’t just go when the light turns green. Look both ways.” “Yes mom I know: Clean up the kitchen when I’m done.” “Yes mom I know: Be grateful. Lots of people have it worse than me.” Some people might call it nagging. I call it raising children who are now safe, neat, grateful and compassionate. In my defense, research says that people have to hear something 7 times in order to get the message. So when they say “Yes, mom, I know...”, hopefully they do. In his book, “How Happiness Happens”, Max Lucado says, “Scripture has more than twenty-seven hundred passages that contain words like joy, happiness, gladness, merriment, pleasure, celebration, cheer, laughter, delight, jubilation, feasting, blessing, and exultation. Our joy ...

April 7, 2020 When I began teaching Math in 1983, I wrote on a blackboard with white chalk. (I’ll let you figure out how many years ago that was. YOU do the Math.) I wrote out worksheets by hand and then “copied” them on a ditto machine by cranking a handle. If the principal wanted to tell us something they posted a note on a bulletin board or placed a note in our (literal) mailbox in the workroom which we were required to walk to and check at least three times per day. I averaged grades on an “ adding machine” with a paper tape print out. (No, not on an abacus, I’m not THAT old.). Parent communication was a handwritten note (stapled shut) and sent home with a student or on the phone which was connected to the wall and had a rotary dial. Fast forward 37 years (How was your math? Did you get it right? Use your red pencil to give yourself a check mark.) and you will find me teaching on a giant wall mounted touch screen that I can “write on” with my finger, using a presentation with...

April 6, 2020 Yesterday I saw a heron walking down the side of the street in my neighborhood. Seeing those awkward long legged birds is not unusual here but usually they’re in a nearby pond or flying. I thought, well, maybe he’s social distancing. Or maybe his pond is a little overcrowded. After all he was headed AWAY from the pond. In our nest here at home right now, there are early birds and night owls.  Some of us are good at nesting and others are suffering from not being able to "fly".  I think it’s important to let every bird be themselves. Each of us has our own schedule, our own responsibilities and our own anxieties.  We are all affected by stress in different ways.  I’m just glad we are all here together to help one another.  Romans 15:5 says: “May God who gives patience, steadiness, and encouragement help you to live in complete harmony with each other—each with the attitude of Christ toward the other.” And Numbers 6:24-26 says this: “May the Lo...

April 5, 2020 Some of my most vivid childhood memories are of waiting. Trying to fall asleep on Christmas Eve, the drive to my cousin’s house (“Are we there yet?”), waiting for Dixie Dog’s 9 puppies to be born, all stretched my young patience to the limit. One such experience was helping my dad assemble a “snap up” swimming pool in the backyard. I recall waiting for what felt like HOURS for it to be ready. It goes without saying that it was HOT during this process. (Texas... summer... and usually July before we convinced him we really needed a $10 pool) But my dad was not one to rush through and do a half way job. He also never said “Hey, y’all go sit inside in the air conditioning while I put this together.” First we had to scour the area for things that could potentially poke a hole in the bright blue lining of the pool. Then my sister and I would help him form a circle with the flimsy siding, spreading our little arms as wide as we could to keep it upright as he draped the lin...

April 4, 2020 One of the loudest “alarm bells” for a mom is silence. Ironically, it is also her greatest desire. The thought, “It’s been too quiet in here for too long,” in my life, has been followed by many memorable discoveries. There was the child who was blue. (Not blue, like sad... blue like the color.) She used a (not washable) marker to turn herself into a Smurf. And the time the twins took an amazingly long nap that I didn’t want to disturb. The escape artist one put EVERY piece of clothing and nearly every toy in the room in her sister’s crib. When I finally peaked in all I could see of the one in her crib was from her eyes up. (Obviously the “nest cam” had not been invented yet.) I always crave peace. Peace in my house. Peace in my life (no problems, nothing breaking for 5 minutes, please). Peace in my soul. I think we all do. I read this quote today (author unknown): “Peace. It does not mean to be in a place with no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the mids...

April 3, 2020 My lack of a sense of direction is legendary. I once tried to go to the Galleria and ended up in Baytown. (If you’re not from the Houston area, just trust me, these are nowhere near each other. At least that’s what I’ve been told.). In my defense, this was in 1980 and there was no Mapquest. However, I get lost even WITH Mapquest. I mean, when the map lady says “head west on Smith street”, I’m like, “Girl, if I knew which way west was, I wouldn’t be lost right now. Just say left or right.” (By the way, I’ve switched to a different navigation system to avoid this problem.) I absolutely hate being lost. I get so scared. I panic. One thing I have figured out is that if I’m lost I should NOT just keep driving. (Hello, Welcome to Baytown!) I should pull over to a safe place and get my bearings. This same principle applies to my life in general. When I start thinking I know where I am and where I’m going in life and I’m not relying on God’s direction I end up lost. This us...