I Need New Socks

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For those of you that are new readers, you aren't aware that I have an addiction to socks. You might think that is an odd addiction. True. I never said my addictions were run of the mill.

1. It's getting cold in Ohio.

2. I like this fact.

3. October is my absolutely favorite month.

4. I'm putting my flip flops away for the season.

5. I got into my sock drawer this morning.

6. I've noticed I've worn out a lot of my socks.

7. I need new ones.

8. Lots and lots of new ones.

9. Not plain white ones either....I like white, but I prefer a rainbow of colors.

10. And patterns.

11. I'm nuts. I know.

12. I aspire to be a sock fashionista--with warm tootsies.

And by the way...they don't have to match my outfits. I'm cutting edge that way.

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You Just Don't Know

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I have several friends that have lived with or are living with devastating news. I was thinking about that yesterday... One just never knows what others are truly going through.... Job loss, financial devastation, medical diagnoses, depression, a bleak prognosis, family members who take their own lives, death, divorce, children who refuse to listen. There are so many people, going through so many things. One just doesn't know.

 

Never assume that you know me

Because what I'm dealing with

is not what you see.

 

Many times because of pride,

I refuse to show

the hurt inside.

 

A diagnosis, illness, pain

cover me like

a gray, winter rain.

 

I go through each day

doing what I should

Not knowing what to say

Wishing I could.

 

I want to cry

I want to scream

I sort of try

to not act mean.

 

I need a hug

I need your smile

I need you to go

that extra mile.

 

When the prognosis, diagnosis...

Is too much for me to bear

I need your friendship

I need you to care.

 

Thank you for being my friend.

 

-------Dawn Gibson

 

 

 

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The Chilean Miners

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Did you watch the drama unfold in Chile, yesterday?

1. It's nice to watch GOOD news on TV, isn't it?

2. I loved watching the men hug their family members.

3. I teared up.

4. It must have been scary being in a hole for 60+ days.

5. One of the men told his family..."There were 34 of us down there, because God was there with us. He never left us."

6. That gives me chills.

7. I'm so glad they all survived.

8. We all NEED the good news.

9. People around the world watched the events unfold.

10. We were all cheering them on.

I wish them all well.

 

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Don't Underestimate Me

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One should never underestimate a woman with a bad case of arachnophobia.

I got home today and there were at least 50 brown spiders crawling around the door to the laundry room. The door off the deck to my bedroom. Hanging on the window screens, crawling on the siding.... I freaked out. It was like a bad scene from the movie ARACHNOPHOBIA.

1. I decided this weather was making the spiders want to come inside.

2. Uh....I don't think so.

3. After getting a stick and flicking the spiders off from around the door....

4. I ran inside, hoping nothing with eight legs would drop on my head.

5. And give me a heart attack.

6. Right there at the laundry room door.

7. Not the way I plan on going.

8. So, I looked around the laundry room shelves.

9. Ah ha!

10. A can of Raid.

11. If it could work on flies and ants, by georgy it would work on spiders.

12. Poison is poison.

13. And those suckers were GOING DOWN.

14. It sort of scares me, the glee I had at coating the spiders in the spray.

15. And watching them shrivel up.

16. After a valiant attempt at crawling...

17. And trying to get the heck out of dodge.

18. My maniacal laughter ringing in their ears.

19. Do spiders have ears?

20. Just curious.

21. So anyway, I blasted them.

22. Every one I could find.

23. Big, small, brown, black...whatever.

24. I took no prisoners.

25. That's what they get.

Let it be a lesson to all critters...never underestimate a woman with a big can of Raid.

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Being The Hands And Feet Of Jesus

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As a Christian it is important to not only "talk the talk" but, "walk the walk". Sadly, there are people who call themselves Christians, who have alienated those around them. They religiously do the "ritual" but, totally miss the relationship. This quote is funny and unfortunately so true, "Going to church and sitting in a pew doesn't make you a Christian...anymore than going and sitting in your garage makes you a car."  If someone is truly a Christian, he/she carries the name of Christ in that name. I know I am not perfect, but it is my desire, and what I strive for...to be more like Jesus.

In a world full of people who are in need, in pain, questioning and searching---I can be the "hands and feet" of Christ. I can reach out to others in love. Not because I am perfect. I am the farthest thing from perfect. Really. Not for self gratification or personal glory, nor fame or fortune. Only because God is good. That He would choose to use me, even in a small way is both humbling and extraordinary.

"Come you who are blessed by my Father....for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." ....."I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."  (Matthew 25:31-46)

Read those verses again. They are profound.

It is not easy. I'm not saying it is. I tend towards selfishness. Most of us do. It's easier to look the other way, than to see the scruffy guy on the street who hasn't bathed in weeks. It's too painful to watch the dying. Holding a hand is hard when the body is riddled with cancer, or one has to look  into the eyes of an Alzheimer's patient. The guy sitting in prison deserves it. He did bad things. He doesn't deserve visits. He should rot. Right? Our human nature is repelled by these situations.

And yet..... What would Jesus do? What am I called to do because I carry His name with me?  He told me what He expects. Whatever I do to those that are helpless, poor, widowed, orphaned, hurt, destroyed, hardened, and heartbroken....I have done it to HIM.

Forgive me Lord. I fail so many times.  Help me to have YOUR eyes. To see others as YOU see them.

Help me to be more like YOU.

 

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Food Stamps

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New York officials are trying to say that if one uses food stamps he/she shouldn't be able to buy sodas or sugary foods. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Statistics tell us that 41.8 people in this country are on food stamps. That's a lot of people. Is the government going to tell all of them, what they can or cannot eat?

1. Do most people really WANT to be on food stamps?

2. Probably not, for the most part.

3. There are those who are " takers" who don't really mind to sponge off others....but, I think most people would rather not be dependent on the government for hand outs.

4. On the one hand...if a person accepts food stamps, should they have to adhere to what the gov't tells them to eat or drink?

5. Or is that too controlling?

6. Who believes that the gov't should become the food police?

7. Today it is soda, next month might it be cookie mix? or anything that has food dye in it?

8. When does it stop?

9. Shouldn't people be able to make their own decisions?

10. Some people will make poor decisions and spend it on junk. They will have to live with the consequences.

11. Some people will choose wisely, and their health will benefit.

12. But the decision is theirs to make.

13. I mean don't we all have to make decisions that are best for us individually?

14. I'm going to be watching this story...

15. To see who wins this battle...personal freedom? or government control?

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Autumn Bliss

The nights bring a chill to the air

The sounds of football and marching bands become Friday night staples

I walk on crunchy, colored leaves

The candle light in the windows flickers in the evening dusk

A hot cup of coffee

A steaming mug of hot chocolate

Big, orange pumpkins for sale, by the side of the road

The honking of geese in the distance

Farmers harvesting their crops well into the night

Combine headlights looking like alien UFO's in the fields.

Sweaters pulled out of storage

Snuggling under soft blankets

The world is having one last fashion show of color

Before it settles into it's winter rest

 

 

 

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