COMMON MATTERS

2012 and A Couple of Other Changes On My Mind

I think this is going to be a very exciting year.  This year we will be inundated with politics as America decides who will lead us forward.  While I await the name of who I will vote for next November, I contemplate how that choice makes a difference in my world here in Lawton, Oklahoma.

I want a president who will expand our nation's use of our own natural resources.  Namely, I want to see more drilling in America's oil-rich areas, tapping into America's natural gas sources.  Since Oklahoma has a bunch of natural gas, I think it would help to have someone in Washington who thinks Oklahomans should benefit from the production of such abundance.  In Alaska, thanks to former Governor Sarah Palin, the oil companies have to pay Alaskans some of their profits.  Maybe, gas companies could share their profits with Oklahomans?  I make no claims to understanding the politics or business ends of all the particulars, but it seems that if California allowed drilling off shore, then their state should receive a big chunk of the resources pulled from their area given they are taking the risk to their own environment.  I may be dreaming, but it seems to me that many of our states need to find new ways to get revenue for their own services.  Speaking of services:  

I noticed that one of Oklahoma's politicians says we need to do more restructuring of state pensions and perks for our firefighters and police force.  Personally, I think the men and women in those two services take more risk and give more of their lives for us than any other that we taxpayers support.  I think they need more of our support than any other.  After all, many of the paid firefighters, when they aren't on duty, turn around and volunteer their time to fight fires all over the region.  Wouldn't you think we should consider their expertise and willingness to help keep us safe and protected as a premium necessity worthy of compensation?  Many of these folk can't live on the salary they receive.  Most often their income must be supplemented by part-time work when they are off-duty.  I just hope as our state representatives work in OKC to restructure the packages on these men and women that they consider long and hard before they take away from their benefits for their retirement at a time when they are no longer able to work and do not receive social security to help them as they age.  These are our children and grandchildren protecting us today.  Surely we can protect them tomorrow.

I admit I have a soft spot for our firefighters and police officers.  My father was a volunteer firefighter most all his life.  He also worked for years as a sheriff's deputy.  He was a civil servant after serving in the Navy during WWII.  I witnessed his financial struggle firsthand as I grew up.  Yet, Dad was so devoted.  I now have a grandson who is a firefighter.  I see his love for his job and his desire to make a difference in more ways in his community.  Through my grandson's involvement, I see his co-workers dedication.  It's not easy work.  I find it rather ridiculous that a congressman or woman, or senator in Washington, gets a lifetime pension even if they serve one four-year term.  I think it despicable that they receive so much and can vote themselves raises on whim while the rest of America struggles to buy a gallon of gas to get to the grocery to purchase a can of beans and loaf of bread.  Don't you?

One Week Later

Not much has changed--other than our datebooks and calendars.  I'm bracing for change, though, lots of them.  This month my entire lifetime of memorabilia and collection of bric-a-brac and furniture will be sold or given away.  No longer will I have as far to walk to my kitchen or bedroom.  My 42-inch flat screen will move closer toward me.  No longer will I do laundry in the garage; my washer and dryer are stacked quite neatly in my new bathroom.  I won't spend money on gasoline to visit my daughter because her door is ten-feet away from mine.  Haylee and Kinsey can pop in for a back-rub and hug anytime they want.  It may be quite interesting as we all adjust to the close proximity of one another's life.  I can't say I'm totally concern-free.  After all, we each have our own habits and will have to accomodate those of others.  But then again, doesn't everyone?

Unless we're hermits, we each live within the space of another.  We must each make compromises, allowances and concessions for the way others are, how they think, the way they mix with us in our space.  Otherwise we'd be like stone statues--totally inflexible.  A friend of mine, who's facing a pretty rough time right now, recently wrote she was "just going with the flow".  Sometimes in life, all we can do is go with the flow.  Other times we need to be the boulder in the stream that changes the course of things.  Personally, I think our country is at one of those times.  We need some courageous folks with backbones to stand and be counted for the necessary changes to redirect the course of our nation.  Current leaders have been going with the flow and following the same course of action for far too long.  Someone needs to toss a few boulders in that stream and stop the flow, build a dam, then station monitors to release the flow only when necessary.  And "necessary" does not mean whims, foolishness, and handouts for those who are able to work for their educations, save for their homes, and finance their own habits.  Some folks think they are entitled to everything that makes everyone in the world happy by right of citizenship.  In America we are only guaranteed the right to pursue happiness.  If we all got our happy-thoughts met by the government, then we'd all be on permanent vacation and taking electives in school.  Life is not a sun-filled sky.  It comes with clouds, storms, deluge, drought...and responsibility.  

If people continue standing with their hands out, who will turn the cranks, run conveyors, drive the tractors, plant the fields, pick the fruit, and haul the veggies?  America has produced a spoiled generation.  When my dad retired from the multiple jobs he held, he received a pension and social security to help curb his expenses as he aged.  My husband, I, and my children helped pad his social security check and medicare supplements as we made FICA payments from our earnings.  I do not regret that portion of my check being stashed away for my dad and my husband's parents.  I knew one day, it would be my turn to benefit from what my children and grandchildren did for me.  Yet, now, it seems the senior citizens are the bad guys.  The leaches of society.  The useless and obsolete. I do wonder what they'll do when they reach senior status.  You can't have it all now and pay later at our age.  Things just don't work that way.  America hasn't changed that much.  

As The New Year Approaches

I'm not about to make any silly resolutions.  Weight loss.  Eating habits.  Exercise commitments.  Why set myself up for failure?  Seriously.  New Year's Resolutions remind me of political promises.  We make them because they sound so good to us.  And in some cases we genuinely intend to keep them.  However, as mama use to say, "circumstances alters cases".  Often we encounter situations that dramatically change the course of our best intentions.

For instance, in November I promised one of my granddaughters I would take her to see the movie adaptation of a book she had read in school.  It wasn't playing in Lawton when she visited so I couldn't take her.  Then it came here, and I'd planned to take her last week.  But she didn't get to come for our usual Christmas celebration, so now it isn't playing in Lawton for me to take her this week.  If I want to follow through on my promise, I have to drive to Oklahoma City.  Therefore, I've decided I'm not going to carelessly make promises like that anymore.  I hate to disappoint folks, (especially my grandchildren).  In a sense, that is a resolution, isn't it?  Resolving to be more careful when making promises?  My daughter has the five-minute rule:  "Don't tell the kids we're going to do anything until five minutes before it happens".  That's not a bad idea, is it?  The only thing wrong with that rule is, it leaves out the joy of expectation.  The fun of hoping, getting excited about the future.  Hope can be a risk.  Risk breeds success as well as disappointment. I've had successes, but I understand that disappointment.  I've had several in my lifetime.  I'm sure you have, too.

Life is like that.  It tends to discourage us at times.  Just when you think everything is going along in a positive direction, "wham, bam", circumstances alters cases.  We get blindsided by rejection, financial crisis, illnesses, deaths, or broken relationships.  Somehow all the resolutions and "rules", five-minute or otherwise, must be revamped, reworked, and negotiated.  Compromises must be made.  Often when our commitments are not met, we feel like the failure.  No matter what the world does to destroy our dreams, hopes and goals, we take it personally.  We view the "pink slip" as our inadequacy.  We see the illness as deserved, or the broken relationship as our fault.  To be honest, sometimes it is our own fault.  But not always.

I'm stepping back and looking at last year and thinking through some of the things that didn't turn out quite the way I had planned.  I'm not going to beat myself up over mistakes or poor choices.  Instead, I am going to use them to make plans and goals for today.  And possibly tomorrow.  The past is the past after all; carrying it forward robs me of today.  What I can do to correct some mistakes, I must do.  What I can reconcile, I must reconcile.  Situational paralysis will destroy me if I let it.  I tend to agree with something I read this week:  I'd rather live life with more "oh, wells" than "what ifs".

Yes, life has a way of changing plans and intentions.  But isn't it better to live with hope than to live without it?  Don't you think it's better to strive for that which is best, and settle for that which is better than to live with regrets of accepting the status quo.  I think so. I can think of several things that need changing in our country, our community, and my life as the new year approaches.  But that's a column for another day.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Celebrate safely!

Seventy Percent Prefer It

“A recent Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 70 percent of American adults prefer retailers to use ‘Merry Christmas’ signs. Twenty-four percent of those polled would rather see ‘Happy Holidays.’ According to the survey, many adults across almost all demographic groups prefer ‘Merry Christmas,’ with young adults feeling as strong as older adults.” (The Christian Post, Dec. 5, 2011)

Seventy percent.  The majority of Americans.  Yet, some folks let a minority tell them what they can and cannot say. Seems to me, that some businesses are shooting themselves in the foot with their efforts to appease the minority. The U.S. constitution ensures us the freedom of speech.  The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof".  Therefore, if we want to, we should be able to greet one another with Merry Christmas even if it is July 4th.

I don't know about you, but I haven't encountered anyone who has not returned my "Merry Christmas" greeting with one of their own.  I love the Salvation Army Bell-ringers.  They all say "Merry Christmas".  It feels so good to be wished a season of happiness to remember what these hurry, scurry, hustle, bustle days are all about. The news media would have us believe that we are in the minority.  It's sad that Christmas programs at school have evolved (or dissolved) into all things Santa, Rudolf, and Christmas gifts.  Not a whisper of:

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. -Isaiah 9:6"

When I was a child, our school Christmas carols included O' Little Town of Bethlehem, Away in the Manger, and Silent Night as well as Jingle Bells.  We saw the Nativity displayed in our classrooms along with The Ten Commandments.  I ask you, how does talking about faith and living a life free of theft, murder, lying, and cheating, hurt the character and mind development of a child?  Since the removal of prayer in schools, and replacement of Bible reading with government controlled curriculum, we have more and more self-aggrandizement, self-sufficiency, and self-centeredness.  Life is all about "me, me, me".  Ironically, because some are offended by the mere whisper of the name of God, we have fewer schools teaching The Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.  Patriotism, pride in our country, is undermined.  This is visible in our world by the Home Owners Associations that are prohibiting flagpoles on lawns.

This is America.  Land of the free, home of the brave.  Yet, so often we see more and more prohibitions to our freedoms.  We see less and less bravery.  We shiver and shake and cower when we should stand up and "trust in the God" we have stamped on our coins and dollar-bills.  That God, my friends, is THE God who sent His only begotten Son, born of a virgin, to give His life as a perfect holy and acceptable payment for the sin and stupidity of man.  When we place our faith and trust in Him, He is faithful to cleanse us from all our rebellion against Him.  Jesus came to reconcile us to the Father...to bring peace that the world and all their powers, bombs, and armies could not give.  It is our choice to believe or not, and it's our choice as free Americans to say, "Merry Christmas" if we want to.  So for the 70 percent who prefer it, let me say Merry Christmas to all.  I pray God blesses you and your family with peace, and goodness, mercy and love in the coming days. 

 

 

One More Week

Are you ready for Christmas?   I have a plan.  Whether or not the plan works out remains to be seen...but I have one.  I know what I want to get everyone on my list.  I think if I waddle my way around the various stores this week, I'll be able to cross off the gifts without too much trouble.  

I didn't decorate my house this year.  I haven't baked any Christmas cookies.  I didn't put out any lights to let the world know that the Light of the World was born over 2000 years ago.  I miss my various trees and the little nativity sets I place all around the house.  I have attended a couple of choir specials at church, but haven't made it to any Christmas parties yet.  I wrapped one gift for a dear friend in Kentucky and managed to get it in the mail.  Other than that, I've been too wrapped up in dental appointments, selecting essentials for our new home's down-sizing project to think much about Christmas and all its trappings.  To be honest, some of the trappings are just that.  Traps.  Some folks allow themselves to step into the trap of pleasing everyone they know who are simply impossible to please.  

It's kinda like trying to make the professionally unemployed happy.  No amount of benefits, housing, and care that the government gives them is enough.  They always want more, expect more, demand more.  They're like selfish children in throes of Christmas frenzy.  They get so caught up in getting presents that they forget to be grateful for what they receive.  

I see that atheists down in Texas are up to their normal Grinch-ism.  They're trying to have one town remove the Nativity scene from the town square.  All I can say to that is, "don't mess with Texas"; they aren't going to let some narrow-minded minority voice tell them how to celebrate Christmas.  I also read where a school somewhere banned the shoebox ministry wherein Christmas boxes are sent free to children around the world.  They stopped children from bringing in items to fill them.  Seems the school was upset that the packages contained... get this-- a message about Jesus and his birth.  Uh, yeah.  Isn't that what Christmas is all about?

We took our little granddaughters to see the lights in Elmer Park in Lawton.  They were so excited to see the dancing trees, snowmen, and colorful displays.  They liked them so much we took them through the neighborhoods to see how people decorated their homes for Christmas.  They oohed and aahed and were thrilled with every snowman, santa, and reindeer.  Only a handful of all the houses had any reference to religion and Jesus.  However, that did not stifle the spirit in 5-year-old Kinsey.  As we were nearing our house, she announced, "Grama, I just love Christmas!  Cuz it's Jesus' birth!"  You have to love the innocence of her statement.  Amid the Santas and Snowmen, the Savior was born to give man hope for eternity and Kinsey knew it.

There is so much hope in knowing that amid the "things" of earth which so easily capture our attention, that God still offers the greatest hope.  He doesn't change His mind about His gift.  He doesn't take it back.  He doesn't exchange it for something else--there is none better.  He gave us His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will have everlasting life.  Not trimmings.  Not cookie crumbs.  Not lights that come down after December 25th.  No.  He gives us the real deal--it doesn't fall apart or breakdown or lose it's power.  The perfect Gift of His Love and Light:  Jesus, Emanuel.

'Tis the Season

The pundits and predictors were stunned that Black Friday produced so many shoppers, and more than that...SPENDERS.  That's right.  Lots of times tradition may pull turkey-stuffed folks off the couch and away from mega-screen television sets to battle the throngs in local stores.  However, this year, not only were throngs out in record-breaking numbers, they were spending all that hard-earned cash they'd been squirreling away.  Or...using that easy-come plastic in hopes of prosperity on the horizon.  Shoppers were buying electronics, computers, wii systems, and new slippers.  But don't get excited.  It's not about the season of giving.  It's not about Christmas.  It's not about you.  It's not about others...according to surveys.

Surveys say why folks are buying what.  And the main reason people are spending is to grab bargains for themselves.  No longer are they waiting for Christmas.  No longer are they depending on Santa.  They are getting their wide-screen televisions, and Kindles, and whatevers, for themselves.  I can't say that I'm surprised.  In an environment of Occupy Wall Street, Dallas, Atlanta, and other cities, a world of greed and me-first folks are breeding.  "What's in it for me" seems to be the mantra of our world.

Hubs and I were sitting in the middle of Lawton's Central Mall on Saturday.  We were enjoying eggrolls and fried rice with four of our granddaughters at the cafe court.  As we sat there laughing and chewing, a group of teenagers entered the mall.  One fella looked up and pointed to an elaborate garland hanging above our heads.  He said, "This is suppose to be the season when we have fantastic decorations everywhere; and this is what we get?"  I looked around the food court, and had to admit, that there was not a New York Times Square grandeur.  However, the garland he pointed to was very pretty.  I wondered, what is "enough" for him?  What would meet his expectation of grandeur? 

My granddaughters came up from Texas the night before, to make our contribution to the Gingerbread House competition at our church.  It's become a tradition since we lost their daddy to make our "Petersen" mark on the world each year.  This year we didn't get the least bit flustered or intense about constructing a fancy elaborate house to be the "best".  We just grabbed some icing, a few nutty-butter bars, and a bit of green icing for ice-cream-cone trees, and decided to keep it simple and just have fun.  We didn't really have a plan at all.  Lo and behold, on Sunday morning they announced the Petersen's house won First Place.  We were tickled pink.  But our "win" paled in comparison to the elation we experienced on Friday night as we joined our Iraqi friend at our table and shared the Christmas joy of being part of a family.

I had a friend tell me last week that Christmas isn't the time of year to be concerned with the tinsel, the garland and the wrappings..."it's about the heart". The heart that cares about others.  The heart that reaches into a pocket and drops the change one has into the kettle in front of most stores.  The heart that sacrifices one's own pleasures to give pleasure to others.  The heart that pulls an angel from the tree and purchases items for needy families who have no one to play Santa. The heart that says "Thank you, Jesus, for leaving the grandeur of heaven and coming to earth to save us from our greed and selfishness.  Instead of demanding the best, You accepted the least."  And the "least" is enough when we have the Father dwelling within our hearts. May we live like we believe that this year.

 

A Couple of Interesting Dittys

I found a couple of little dittys (ditty: what I call a short thought-provoking group of words), on the internet the other day and they made a whole bunch of sense.  Since so many things today make so little sense, I thought you'd like to see what I read, too.  "When you think too much about things, you tend to make a problem of something that was never a problem to begin with." 

I'm guilty.  I do this.  I have a ton of thoughts that run through my brain in any given hour.  Sometimes I find myself dwelling on something I can do absolutely nothing about.  Or I think about something I failed to do, or messed up and cannot go back and change.  You know...Jesus said not to "worry about tomorrow, for sufficient to the day is the evil thereof".  Another little ditty that I found was, "Focusing on the past brings depression.  Focusing on tomorrow brings anxiety.  Focusing on the present brings peace."  For the most part, this is true. Although, I do have some things in my past that bring joy, and comfort.  I enjoy thinking about the way my son use to sneak up behind me and give me a huge bearhug.  I love to recall how funny he was when he called and told me every single detail of his day because it was so wonderful and at the end of an hour and a half, he'd say, "I wish you coulda been here, Momma.  It was unbelievable!"  I like focusing on those times.  But, of course, that is not the point of that ditty.  Focusing on the past and dwelling on mistakes and failures and what could have been, can lead us to feel sorry for ourselves, to wallow in pity, and paralyze any forward motion.  Hence, the depression.

The other extreme is dwelling upon and fretting about the future.  I have a friend who thinks about every single thing she says and does then analyzes what she could have said, should have said and would have said.  Whenever anyone deviates in the least bit from what she's come to know as norm for them, she sets in motion a quandry of questions. Then she conjures up problems that aren't even there.  She does the same thing with the future.  She plays "what-if" with a situation so much that when a situation doesn't turn out like she thought it should have, she is confused and anxious, and nerve-wracked.  I'm forever telling her to forget about it, just relax and enjoy the moment.  Which brings me to the last part of that second ditty.  When we focus upon the present, we have peace.  We have peace because we are actually able to do something about what we are experiencing.  Though a problem may exist in our lives, we can still actively participate in solving it.  This brings about peace.  It's kinda like the Serenity Prayer: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the wisdom to know the difference."  When we live our lives this way and rest in the power and grace of God, we are able to meet the days ahead without the stress the world wants to press upon us.  I pray this week you see the goodness of each moment and find something positive for every hour of the day.  That's what I'm planning to look for and focus on.  And I'm starting now. How about you?

Sometimes I'm Not Too Grateful

I have to confess, there are some things for which I am not grateful. I am not grateful for the Super Committee of 12 which was suppose to meet and fix the deficit problems we face as a nation.  As Newt Gingrich, candidate for President in 2012, said, "That is the dumbest idea they've ever come up with".  I'm not grateful for the argumentative dialogue that's come out of that committee, nor do I have any hope for them coming up with anything which will help America's economy.  Democrats seem to want to take away so they can give away more of what we don't have and never have had.  Republicans seem to want to stop giving away so they can stop taking away.

When you read this, we'll be picking the bones of the turkey, and wondering how in the world we could eat so much and have so many leftovers when the economy is so bad and Americans have so little.  In between saying grace, chowing down on Turkey legs, and watching football, many folks are pouring over ads and shopping their telephones, ipads, and what-nots for the cheapest "thingy" for the lowest price.  Many stores have decided to open on Thursday instead of Black Friday to get a jump on some other stores and grab up all the earlybird shoppers.  Many of those shoppers will be using credit cards to grab up the bargains they cannot afford.

However, many folks who are out shopping for these cheaper "thingys" are buying them up in order to turn them into major profits on eBay when folks can't find the "thingy" that companies under-produced in order to create higher demand.  It's always kinda intrigued me that Thursday is the day for Thanksgiving and the very next day (in fact, within hours of the last bite of pumpkin pie), Friday is for Greed. 

How quickly we exchange gratitude for greed.  For this attitude, I am not grateful.  Have we always been this way?  Have we always wanted more and more and not been satisfied with the abundance we have?  I am ashamed to say that many times this has been true of me.  Today I own no credit cards--for that I am grateful.  Very grateful.  I will not get any credit cards.  I think they have been the downfall of America.  I tell my grandchildren not to get credit cards, to save for what they want.  I learned far too late in my life that "buy-now-and-pay-later" sucks the life out of you. You are a slave to your debt.  It's the very reason America's in the shape she is in today.  We are indebted to China and half of the rest of the world.  If we do not stop borrowing to pay for things we think we have to have, we will never get out of the mess we are in.

Christmas is just around the corner.  Gratitude for all we have gives most of us a heart to share what we have with others.  It is virtuous to share what we have with others--but not what we don't have.  We are downsizing our 3-bedroom home to the space of a garage.  Not everyone has to do this.  I do it because it is time to help others by living with less.  I can't fix America.  I can only fix me.  Contentment comes to those who are satisfied with what they have and are grateful for life, family and the love of God.  In this I rest today.  I hope you do, too.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Man's Best Friend

This week, I thought I'd share one of my blog-posts with you.  I watched a news clip of a great organization that prompted some thoughts about dogs (For a wonderful way to provide comfort to someone, you might be interested in this program:  Angel On A Leash.   Rowdy is my adopted monster mutt.  We inherited him. I wrote about him a few years ago when he had to have one of his front legs amputated.  He is six years old and thinks he was born three weeks ago.  He doesn't seem to realize he has only three legs.  He chases skunks, armadillos, coyotes, other dogs and cats.  He roots out giant moles and truly believes he is protecting us from all harm.  When he is not chasing varmits, he believes that his "space" in life is lying smack dab in front of my daughter's front door.  He can be the most annoying, aggravating knot-on-a-log you ever had to deal with.  It's nearly impossible to get in or out of the house, because he weighs 85-plus pounds (ten of which is his stubborn head).  Most every ounce of him is solid muscle.  You have to push the door with all your might to slide his wad of sinew, bone and muscle out of the way.  Depending on his mood, he may or may not raise his head to see who is shoving against him.  When he does look up at me, he wags the stub of a tail and stares with yellow eyes that seem to smile and say, "I'm sorry, I'm just so comfy lying here in front of the door."

His bark is a lion-size bellowing roar.  For anyone who does not know him, Rowdy is a formidable force to reckon with.  UPS men shudder.  Strangers stay in their cars.  Rowdy doesn't realize how big and threatening he is.  He still thinks he is a puppy (I don't think he ever yapped), only bellowed.

A couple of weeks back, we had a humongous bonfire.  It was made up of piles of fencing, various chunks and slabs of leftover wood, and carboard boxes.  It spread out about 40 feet round and 8 feet high.  I sat on the front porch of the new construction which we hope to soon call "home". I stared as blue, green, red, orange, and white flames lapped the evening air.  It was mesmerizing as we watched dust-devils twirl from the midst.  The kids pulled a wagon and played with the neighbors in front of its brilliant light.  Several adults monitored its flames.  Rowdy lumbered out from behind a scaffold on the porch and settled down on top of my feet. What a great footwarmer.  I had almost forgotten how much I love him.  He often lay at my feet when I visited my daughter.  At times he was a great footstool.  

For so very long Rowdy's lived with my daughter out in the country.  She's cared for him since my son died on Mother's Day 2005.  He makes it particularly difficult to carry in a casserole, or giant fruit salad to add to our family dinner on Sundays.  It takes two of us to get inside the door when one is struggling to balance a bowl or hot casserole.  Can't count the times he got ups and shook all over following a romp in the mud-pond.  His muck flies all over Sunday clothes.  He doesn't like to be disturbed. I've often wondered if he is thinking "Take that!" when he gets up, shakes, stretches, then plops back down.  He's such a nuisance that I've really failed to give him the love and attention he deserves.

I've been particularly melancholy lately.  Yet, as I stared at that bonfire, and listened to my grandchildren giggle in the distance, I felt the comforting presence of Rowdy's 85-pounds at my feet.  Warmth seemed to fill me from the inside out. I felt loved.

I wondered if God feels this way with me at times.  I can be such a nuisance.  Stubborn.  I get in the way as He's trying to move and bring blessings through the front door of my heart.  I don't like to be disturbed when I settle in and get comfortable.  But when I get quiet and settle in at His feet, do I give Him a similar warmth of pleasure?  I think so, don't you?  selahV

 

 

Earthquakes In Oklahoma

Meers has a gadget that measures the activity of earthquakes in Oklahoma.  They say we get a bunch of them each year; we just don't feel them.  Well, I felt Saturday night's earthquake.  I was sitting in my recliner watching the news when "sha-bam!"  The blast sounded like Ft. Sill missed their normal target and exploded a quadruple round in my backyard.  My recliner started shaking like a mega vibrator, and seemed to drop down into the ground.  Immediately, I thought it was an earthquake.  No sooner had I yelled to my husband, than the reporter on the news said, "Uh, I think we just had an earthquake.  We'll have to wait for officials to confirm it, but I do believe we just had one."

My husband thought our back porch had fallen down.  It hadn't.  But it sure sounded like it.  My dining-room chandelier was rocking back and forth.  A crack trails all the way across the ceiling now.  I wondered where the quake's epicenter was.  When I heard it was east of Oklahoma City, I could only thank God it wasn't downtown Lawton. 

This isn't my first earthquake experience, mind you.  One time I sat in my living-room in Kentucky and watched walls move from side to side as the pictures hung perfectly straight.  It was the weirdest thing I ever saw.  I didn't feel anything.  I can't imagine what it might be like to be those poor people in Japan last year.  I heard on the news that all that debris from their quake is floating across the Pacific ocean and Hawaii is going to get a direct hit by tons and tons of cars, stoves, refrigerators, trash sometime this next year.  It's going to be one massive mess.  Hawaii will have an instant garbage dump.

In church this week, someone mentioned that if we'd stop drilling for oil and natural gas we wouldn't have these earthquakes.  Some folks think taking all of that underground fluid from cushioning the movement beneath the earth's crust disrupts the make-up of layers.  I'm a bit gullible, but I'm pretty sure they were joking.  I do consider it though.  Look at how much damage it does to one's back when the fluid in our disc's herniate and fluid seeps out of pocket.  Bone against bone may not make the earth move, but it will certainly make a body stand still.

Supposedly, our quake was one for the record books in Oklahoma.  The big one in comparison to all others.  I pray we don't get anything any bigger.  Those things are scary.  How do folks live in California and deal with those shakes and shudders every day?  I want my feet on solid ground.  Conversations about Oklahoma's "big one" of 2011, could be heard throughout the church on Sunday morning.  One man noted that it was a sign of the times...the "end times".  He could be right, especially with rumors abounding about Israel's probability of bombing Iran.  Any student of the Bible knows these are some warnings we are given. Yet, we are not to fear.  When the preacher mentioned the quake just before his sermon, my granddaughter, Haylee, tugged on my arm so she could whisper in my ear:  "I slept with mommy and daddy, last night, Grama.  All night."  I asked if she was afraid, and she said, "no".  That's how I feel.  Each night I sleep with my Heavenly Father.  With Him in my life, I have nothing to fear.  Nothing at all.