And a Happy Birthday to my Sister, Kelly Ann!

Fifty-three years ago today I got up for my last day of sixth grade at Fruitville Elementary in Sarasota, FL.  My mom was standing at the stove stirring fudge she was making for my end-of-school party, counting her labor pains as she was stirring.  I helped get my other two sisters ready for school, and we all got on the school bus with excitement, hoping it would be the day we finally got a brother!

My grandmother called me at school later in the day to tell me that we had another sister.  I had a moment of keen disappointment; but I was the oldest, after all, and had the good sense to know that I wasn't supposed to be disappointed--unlike my sisters who wailed that they still wanted a brother instead when I went out on the playground to tell them.

Little did I know that this blonde-haired, blue-eyed angel would become my little pet!  I loved dressing her up in ruffles and doing her hair and taking her with me on the Kensington Park VW bus to Ringling Shopping Center to give her 10-cent rides on the mechanical horse outside of the Rexall Drug Store.

After another sister, we finally got our brother 4 years later; and I'm so very thankful for the siblings God gave me!  But today, here's to you, Kelly--a great friend and kindred spirit as well as a sister to be proud of!  It's been fun sharing grandparenthood with you this year; and, as you said, glad they're a boy and a girl so they could be the uncontested cutest of each!!

Stepping out of the Three R's

Nothing has been more freeing in my adult life than to know that I can choose to leave those attitudes behind of Resistance, Resentment, and Revenge.  My testimony may have been at one time "What's a Nice Girl Like Me Doing in a Place Like This?" but oh the truth of that little poem my mother taught me:
There was a little girl who had a little curl,
right in the middle of her forehead;
And when she was good, she was very, very good;
And when she was bad, she was horrid!
Suffice it to say that I strongly relate to the poem even though my hair is straight as pins!

Along with other challenges, I have committed to the study of Your Whole Life with a friend, addressing my much needed weaknesses of diet and discipline!  I guess you could say my stomach flu over the weekend was a blessing in disguise, since I lost 7 pounds!  Today in the devotional from the book, she had us list people who were influential in my life.  I've done this many times before and expressed gratitude to those on the list, but it seems we're always the old dogs learning new tricks!

My mom is always at the top of that list, being the first influence in my life; and I thank God again for giving me such a nurturing and loving cheerleader in my corner, instilling in me a sense of right and wrong and morality that is sorely lacking in this day and age.  Her creativity and encouragement were always a huge thing in my life!  I was reading my distant cousin's blog a few minutes ago http://thekarin.net/, whose mom was spared from death after suffering an aneurism late last year, and I rejoiced with her that she does still have her mom with her and for all the things God has proved sufficient for in that whole process--because you do miss the phone calls; the sharing of your latest news, good or bad, with someone who will unconditionally share the laughter or tears; and the hugs when you see them after a long separation.  The only thing that could possibly increase the joy I feel with my granddaughter, Sofie, is to share her with Mom--Mom loved her grandkids and greatgrands dearly after raising six kids of her own, and I'm glad she was still here for them to know and love back!  Thanks, Mom--I hope I was always there for you like you were for me, even though I was often that horrid child!

And some new understanding of "seeking the face of God" today.  Scripture has some concepts that we just take for granted because we've heard them for years, but it really is a treasure trove of new and fresh life lessons!

  

The Dovetailing of Elephants and Hyacinths

I'm sure I would have quit reading Elephants again had I not remembered that on my Blogspot I committed to finishing the book this time!  (My life is so full of unfinished projects and commitments, and I remember a devotional in Swindoll's Seasons of Life book that addressed that.)  And what a blessing to have it dovetail this morning with the hyacinths feeding my soul.  Since God has been so pointedly dealing with me on Resistance since last summer, I am totally amazed to see how many times people use it in print!  The convicting quote yesterday in Jesus Calling was "When things don't go as you would like [Little Miss Control Freak and Thumb Sucker When They Don't Go Your Way!"], accept the situation immediately.  If you indulge in feelings of regret, they can easily spill over the line into resentment  (italics mine).

Here is me sulking at a Fowler Family Picnic at Uncle Earl's place in Lanham, MD, probably around 1956.
Below is Mandy at the exact same place in 1980 at a Fowler Family Reunion.  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!!

WOW!  Was that talking to me or what!!  Then this morning was on finding treasures throughout our day that are God-ordained, including trials that "shake us free from earth-shackles."  And my Klemmer book - "Context changes content," and it is my job to set the context for wherever I am.  My quality to work on today is my strong life one (Marcus Buckingham) - Creativity.  What will happen today as I allow God to use that in treasured ways and contemplate tonight on what the best thing was that happened to me today?  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that enables empowered thinking and doing for me in ways I never dreamed . . .

Jesus Calling

I am so grateful for Sarah Young's devotional book that my husband gave me last Christmas--it's tracking my life in an amazing way; but why are we always so surprised that God can do that?!  This week the Elephant book encouraged me to develop a hunger for something important, desiring it as much as the air I breathe.  Well, haven't I been a Christian for 50 years and wanted to follow and please God with all my heart?  Sadly, it's the usual "Yes, but . . ." answer.  And I know this is where the rubber meets the road!  I take WAY too many chicken exits in my life and have WAY too many conflicting commitments.  Then I spend WAY too much time beating myself up and not running to God and being totally dependent on Him.  I'm so thankful for His patience and lovingkindness for me in my frailty, so thankful for the faithful words that He gives me through friends and books and His righteous Word!  Resistance, Resentment, Revenge--these are the three negative emotions in the bottom of the Change Chart that I have been ruled by and plagued by my entire life--and God has made that so clear to me since last summer and continues to give me opportunities to turn to Him in the realization of my own sin and shortcomings.  So today I'm thankful that I don't need to "resist or run from the difficulties in [my] life"--they are tailor-made, after all, to cause me to run to Him.  And what a safe place to be--in His arms!

Why Elephants and Hyacinths?

It's May and it's Monday--a new month and a new week, something that always motivates me!  So here I am, beginning a blog, mainly to keep myself accountable to those things that are important to me.  If you read blogs and like mine, welcome.  If you don't, that's OK, too--I need the journaling to keep me honest!


Why Elephants?  Because I am using Brian Klemmer's book Eating the Elephant One Bite at a Time as I begin this blog.  Brian died on April 7 of this year, but the impact he made on so many lives, including mine, will never die.  I guess this is my own small way of honoring that in my life--by reading this book once again, and this time--FINISHING IT!!  I know the first chapter by heart practically, but how many times can you think about your choices to be coffee in life--changing the boiling water of your circumstances rather than becoming limp like a carrot or hardened like an egg?  I choose coffee today!


Why Hyacinths?  Love them--their beautiful color, their delicious smell, and the poetry they have inspired.  As an English major in college many moons ago, I was so touched by these lines:

Hyacinths to feed thy soul

"If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,

And from thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left,

Sell one and with the dole

Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul."           

--Saadi (c. 1210-1290)

Blogging is my hyacinths and my coffee today.  Carpe diem!