Taking Out the Trash

In my continuing efforts to make my blog enjoyable to read and to view, I have decided to throw out "This Day in History".  I have replaced it, for now, with "Beautiful Butterflies" and "Quotes from the Bard".  Both are to the right, below the "About Me" section.  The William Shakespeare quotes are above my blog list, the butterflies are below it.  

My reason for removing the history link?  I have no control over what piece of history appears on my blog.  I was prepared for the possibility that some serious topics would be presented, which is to be expected when you are dealing with the history of humanity.  As I was checking my blog for new comments, however; I noticed the history entry for today was particularly difficult for me to read, especially given the nature of my blog.  I hope that everyone who decides to visit my blog is blessed in some way.  I did not feel they would be if they should happen to read today's history entry.  I felt the account was far too disturbing and graphic.  Since the bits of history are randomly selected there is no guarantee that something like this couldn't happen again.  I am not comfortable with that possibility.  I don't imagine I will have the same problem with the bard or the butterflies, but if they get out of line...out they go!!

If any of you caught today's history lesson before I was able to remove it, please accept my sincere apologies.  My commitment to you is that my blog will always be a safe place for you to hang out.  Be blessed.       

The Brothers M

Minkus, Magnus, Marvin, and Merriwether McGhee were the infamous brothers M.  Wherever they managed to go, news of their madcap exploits preceded them.  They were each born on a Monday, in the merry month of May, and how that came about was more than anyone could say.  Miranda was their mother, and Marcus was their dad; their pet was a mutt named Magoo, the best dog a kid ever had.  Minkus and Magnus were born in Montana, and Marvin was born in Maine.  Massachusetts was meant to be the birthplace of Merriwether McGhee, but he was actually born on a plane.  (It was flying over Vermont, somewhere near Montpelier!)  They were mad about Motown music and movies and museums (and Magoo loved opera at the Met), but they had to stop going when their mom said they may not bring their pet.  They had many books and magazines and model planes and cars.  They also had a million marbles in some mustard jars.  They spent most vacations in Miami, or maybe in Mexico (Minkus and Magnus love Mexico best because it's where the monarch butterflies go).  One Monday evening meal, over meatloaf and mashed potatoes, Marvin said he wanted to buy a Manx cat.  The next morning, with his mad money, he bought one (named her Mayonnaise) and that was the end of that.  Magoo loved Mayonnaise and Mayonnaise loved Magoo, and everywhere the brothers M went, Magoo and Mayo went, too.  Minkus, Magnus, Marvin, and Merriwether McGhee were (along with Magoo and Mayo) the best of friends, and they were also family.

(This is part of a children's book I am in the process of writing.)      

Your Honest Opinion Appreciated

I thought it would be fun to add a new gadget to my blog.  If you scroll down to just below the "About Me" section on the right, you will see it ("This Day In History", right above my blog archive).  I am not sure if I will keep it.  I may swap it out with quotes by William Shakespeare.  I may change its location to the very bottom of the page (where I used to have "Scripture of the Moment", you can see that gadget is now above the "About Me" section to the right).  Please let me know what you think.  I am interested in your honest opinion.         

Photo Op, Part 3

As you can see, I have added some new photos!  The top photo of my son, Nathan, in his class A's, was taken by me during our visit on his graduation day (08/07/08).  He gave me the photo below that.  He looks very handsome in uniform, doesn't he?  

We had a wonderful visit with him!  I was concerned about Brooklyn's reaction to him, 9 weeks away is a long time in her little life.  She recognized him right away when she saw him and they got along famously, as if he had never left!  It was hard to leave him when we took him back to the base at the end of the day but, hopefully, we will be able to visit him during his 18 weeks in Georgia.  I took some great pictures of Nathan, Sherry, and Brooklyn.  They may show up as a slide show on my blog, but I have to figure out how to do it first.       

"Life Is A Highway", Part 2

Well, Nathan has graduated from Basic Training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and is now en route to Fort Gordon, Georgia for 18 weeks of training for his MOS (Military Occupation Specialty).  John, Sherry, Brooklyn, and I are on our way home.  

Nathan's graduation ceremony was impressive.  215 other young men and women, from 37 states and 3 countries (if my memory is correct), ranging in age from 17 to 38 years, graduated along with Nathan.  They marched throughout Baker Theater, calling out their cadence, until they came to the section reserved for them and sat down, as one person.  Periodically, a Drill Instructor would say something and the entire company would respond in unison.  Each platoon was called up, with their Drill Instructor calling out a cadence to which they would respond as they marched up to the stage.  After they were assembled on the stage, each soldier came forward and gave his/her rank, last name, and home state (or country, as the case may be...Jamaica, North Korea, and South Korea were represented in addition to the U.S.A.), then marched back to his/her seat.  Each soldier was acknowledged by the applause and cheers of his/her family and/or friends in attendance.  When each platoon was finished, the entire theater broke out in cheers and applause.  What impressed me about this ceremony was that all 216 soldiers marched, sang, sat down, and stood up as one person.  I had a very strong reaction to this, which I could not have imagined prior to witnessing it.  My heart was stirred within me, tears sprang to my eyes, and I became aware that I was not only overwhelmed with pride, I felt that I was part of all this.  I was not prepared for the strength of my reaction, of my feelings. I am not talking about patriotism here.  I am talking about esprit de corps ("the feeling of pride, fellowship, and common loyalty shared by the members of a particular group; literally 'spirit of the body'").  Whatever your opinion of the Army (or of the military in general), one thing in which they excel is to instill within each soldier the importance of the other.  To understand they are each a part of something bigger than their individual selves.  All of their creeds and cadences convey this idea.  They speak of loyalty to country, to company, to comrades.  

This idea goes beyond the cadences to which they keep time as they march.  Every aspect of Basic Training is designed to get each soldier to think of him or herself as part of a company, a team; dedicated to a common goal and common ideals.  You might say, "that is nothing new, the Army has always done that", and you would be correct, but it is new to Nathan.  Not the ideals of selflessness, service, loyalty, cooperation, or thinking of others more highly than oneself, because John and I have tried to teach and model these ideals to Nathan all his life.  He also attended a vibrant church more than half his life, and attended private Christian schools where these same ideals were valued and promoted.  They just didn't seem to stick.  As an only child with a very independent nature, Nathan's frequent response to anything we tried to teach him was, "I know!"  Then he would often proceed to do what he wanted.  He has been resistant to mostly everyone in authority over him most of his life.  I was shocked when he said he wanted to join the Army and I wondered whether he would succeed.  I prayed he would.  I prayed that through this experience God would accomplish His purpose in and through my son.

My son has only just finished Basic Training.  He has barely begun his 4 years of service, but I have already noticed changes in Nathan.  To anyone else, those changes may seem too small to be significant, but I choose to stand in faith that they are a foretaste of things to come.  One of the changes I noticed was the way Nathan carried himself.  It wasn't just the way he stood up straight.  He seemed to walk with purpose and confidence, like someone who has somewhere to go and knows how to get there.  Prior to joining the Army, he just seemed to amble.  He had an air of "whatever" about him.  I did not notice any of that in his walk or his demeanor upon graduating.

A changed walk or demeanor is not all that is needed, there is more work yet to be done, but isn't that true of all of us?  We are all on a journey and each of us is on a different leg of that journey.  Remember, "life is a highway"?  As John, Sherry, Brooklyn, and I passed through Effingham County (in Illinois) today (08/08/08) on our journey home, I saw a water tower upon which was written the words: "Crossroads of Opportunity".  I believe that is where Nathan is on his journey right now, at the crossroads of opportunity.  He has a decision to make; an opportunity to become all he is meant to be (in God, not just in the Army), or to continue in the same attitudes and patterns of behavior that were not really working for him.  

Each of us has this same opportunity.  As we travel down the highway of our lives, we will encounter many crossroads of opportunity.  By God's grace we will make the most of the opportunities He presents to each of us.  By God's grace, we will always move toward growth in Him.  That is my prayer for Nathan, for myself, for you.              

"Life Is A Highway"

I have been traveling with my husband, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter.  We are on our way to see my son graduate from Basic Training.  I am very excited!  The closer we get the more my excitement grows, causing tears to well up as I think of finally getting to see him.  We are in St. Louis, Missouri, not quite 2 hours from Fort Leonard Wood, where he has been this past 9 weeks.  While passing through Ohio, we drove over a lengthy and bumpy stretch of highway.  Sometimes life is like that.  There are stretches along life's highway that are just difficult and seem to go on forever.  We have been through such a time with our son.  

From birth our son has been a strong-willed and independent individual, which has often made parenting him challenging.  When he entered adolescence, particularly his mid to late teens, those challenges increased and grew in intensity.  He made a series of rash and foolish decisions that had serious, life-altering consequences.  Actually, all decisions, rash or otherwise, result in life-altering consequences to one degree or another.  The decisions Nathan made carried the potential of devastating loss to himself and others.  Loss of relationship, of livelihood, of freedom, of his physical and mental well-being, even of life and limb, were all very real possibilities.  

At times his father and I were at a loss as to what to do or say.  All we could do was pray and trust God that He would protect and preserve Nathan and bring him through this bumpy patch of road.  As we rounded each bend in the road and continued to see more of the same it sometimes became difficult to do even that.  My husband became depressed and withdrawn.  Many times I felt as if I was carrying this burden alone.  Of course I wasn't, but that was how I felt.  I wanted to talk to my best friend, but he was so overwhelmed by everything with our son that he could only function in survival mode; basic self-preservation: sleep, work, and eat just enough to sustain life.  

At some point, in the midst of the stress, strife, and struggle of life on the home front, I went through a difficult year at work, as well.  I was contemplating leaving my job and went so far as to inform my principal that I might not return after summer vacation.  I considered employment elsewhere, but nothing opened up for me.  I did not have the option of retiring.  As September approached, I was afraid of what the school year would bring.  There was no apparent change at home and I did not think I could handle another year at work like the one before, but I had to find a way.  Whatever happened at home or at work, I had to find a way to cope.  

Coping was made easier by the strong support system I had among my friends and spiritual family at church and at work, and among certain members of my physical family.  I am eternally grateful to God for this great blessing.  Through it all, God kept me in the palm of His hand.  Through it all, His peace sustained me.  Difficult though it was, God was (is) my strong tower, my place of refuge.  Safe within this protected place of peace I know everything will work out no matter how it may appear, no matter how long it takes.  In the midst of it all has been His peace and the hope (like an anchor to my soul) that this difficulty would pass and that God would bring good out of it.  

Good has come out of some of it, but even though things have been better lately on all fronts, I know we are not in the clear yet.  I have traveled down life's highway long enough to know that the way is never smooth forever.  Rough road happens.  You can't always get around it, sometimes you just have to go through it.  The thing is, you never have to go through it alone.  You can stand in the peace the love of God provides and underneath it all are His everlasting arms.  The way will not always be smooth but His peace will get you through the rough places.  Even so, sometimes the way is just hard and all you can do is strap yourself in and ride it out.  As you travel down life's highway, you can do so joyfully if you remember God not only goes with you, He has gone before you and has prepared the way.  He is not surprised by the rough patches in the road, He knows the way.  He is the way!  Life is a highway, buckle up.                

A Noble Theme

Scripture Of The Moment:  "My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer."  (Psalm 45:1 NIV)

This is one of my favorite Scripture verses.  It is my desire to praise and worship God in a way that truly welcomes, blesses, and glorifies Him.  I want to set a place for Him at my table.  I want to be able to sing and speak and write of my love for Him in the way He deserves.  I want others to know His worth.  I know that He will not love me more if I am able to do this, nor love me less if I am not, but there is something within me that cries out: "Oh My God and King, help me to praise You more!  Help me to give You worship that is worthy of You!"  And so I sing to Him, or I write a love letter or poem to Him.  I want to give Him the best that I have, because He is worth it.  Others may hear or read my words and decide they are, or are not, good enough; that is okay.  They are not really my targeted audience.  I have an audience of One, and His opinion is what matters most.  If my praise and worship draws others to God, I am grateful, but even that is not my primary motivation.  My heart is stirred by the worth of the kindest, most loving, and most gracious Person I could ever know!  He is not only the recipient of my theme, He is the theme!