Blank Canvas

With each novel I write, I start with a blank canvas filling it with words that build colorful images for anyone interested to read.  It’s much like the blank canvas an artist would begin with before adding paint or ink to the board, creating a world all of our own making.

Wouldn’t it be something if we could start with a blank canvas every day?  All of our mistakes, stupidity, selfishness, etc. forgiven, giving us a clean slate.  The good news is that we can; you only need look up.  Pray for forgiveness.  None us of perfect, not even close.  It doesn’t mean that we should give up. 

Each new day we receive is a gift, a chance to begin anew.  We are given a fresh blank canvas.  What will you do with yours today?  My hope is that you fill it with color and share it with those around you – family, friends, and strangers alike.  You are blessed.  God’s love shines upon you.  Pass it on to everyone you come in contact with so that they may bask in the same warmth and glory bestowed upon you. 

Our lives are limited to only so many days, a rationed number of blank canvases.  How many of those are you willing to share with the world?  As for me, I have a lot of work to do. 

The Best Commercials

My favorite commercial series running on television right now are for AT&T4G.  I don’t know who the man that is always surrounded by kids is, but their conversations are so innocently funny that I have to stop what I’m doing to watch the commercials in their entirety.

Ah, to have that young perspective on life once again about general day-to-day happenings.  I can’t begin to imagine as the adult, how much fun these commercials are to film.  I wondered if they tried scripting these commercials or just bringing groups of kids in to simply film them, waiting for scenes to unfold in a comical way. 

After some research, I found that they tried scripting the scenes but only one came out close to something they could use so they do freely film.  Either way, I don’t know how this man keeps a straight face.  I certainly can’t!

I can't say that I have a favorite.  If you need a little chuckle, check out the following link to view the commercials yourself. 

http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?p=at%26t+commercials+with+kids

If you find a favorite, I’d love to know which one it is!

Fellowship

It’s better to eat Twinkies among friends then broccoli alone. – Pastor Rob Winger

We were not put upon this earth to be alone.  I cannot imagine what life would be without having my loving circle of family and friends.  As hectic as life gets sometimes, they keep me grounded and accountable.  They lift me up when I’m down, make me laugh without effort, and yes, even make me cry sometimes.  In the grand scheme of things, I couldn’t do life without them.

This gets me to thinking about those who aren’t so lucky.  Those who have lost close loved ones, those who have walked away from abusive homes or relationships, and those who are lost and have no one to turn to. 

I grew up in a small town community.  By age nineteen, I moved to the big city.  And in my late forties, found myself drawn back to the small town community.  The big city has many things to offer, the constant city lights that keep the inhabitants moving and grooving.  It also had a rude factor.  I couldn’t drive down the street without someone honking their horn or giving hand signals, or worse, tailgating me to the point I just wanted to slam on my brakes.  People were rude in parking lots and stores, concerts, sporting events, and many other events, large and small.  Broccoli became preferable to Twinkies just to avoid the crowd.

Now that I am in the small town community again, things aren’t perfect.  There is the occasional “honker” but my neighbors are friendly and like to converse (unlike those big city neighbors who barely waved when I passed them on the street or in my driveway).  My church is smaller, the community and staff are much more approachable.  There are a lot of elderly and lower poverty people in this area, but the community steps up to care for one another.  By friends and strangers alike, there is such love, respect and bonding here that I have come to cherish my surroundings.

Yes, it seems there are Twinkies on every corner.  So, if you’re stuck in the land of broccoli, come on over.  I’ll open a box of Twinkies (or Little Debbie’s if Twinkies don’t come back) and we’ll sit out on the patio and laugh and maybe even cry.  Tears shared with loving friends fall much easier than those cried alone. 

Blessings for Oklahoma

Footprints

One night a man had a dream...

He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord, and across they sky flashed scenes from his life.  For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand.

One belonged to him and the other to the Lord.  When the last scene of his life flashed before them, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. 

He noticed that many times during the path of his life, there was only one set of footprints.  He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. 

"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way, but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints.  I don't understand why in times when I needed you most, you should leave me."

The Lord replied, "My precious child, I love you and would never, never leave you during your times of trial and suffering.  When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."


As the tears of a nation are upon you at this time of trial and suffering for those in Oklahoma, I pray for you the peace of God's love as he carries each of you through this devastation. 

Family

This says it all.

Mini Carnivores

We have two Chihuahua pups, one is a miniature weighing 4.5 pounds, and the other is small weighing 6 pounds.  Blu and Biscuit keep our home full of puppy chaos.  They are good pups that love to bark at doorbells (real and television generated), use their sniffers to constantly vacuum the floor, fight and wrestle over their toys like kids normally do, take off with anything that hits the ground such as used dryer sheets, paper towels, or mail,  initiate a defensive bark at anyone who comes to visit (even when they’ve made many previous visits), clean my husband’s chest after every meal (just in case he dropped something), nap on my lap, strut around like they own the house, and share our bed at night.

Needless to say, we love them and couldn’t imagine our lives without them.  We have certainly been tied more to our home with them in our lives.  No more spontaneous trips to the beach or a quick weekend getaway.  We have to plan things out now.  Their crate keeps them safe for short runs of four hours or less.  For longer day trips away from home, they spend time in our master bathroom.  (It is quite big and allows them space to roam around).  The first time we left them there for the day, they did well.  The second time we came home to a bathroom full of shredded toilet paper!  It looked as though it had snowed inside!  All we could do was laugh – and we now remember to remove the temptation.

They love toys.  We have at least a dozen stuffed animals we play fetch with.  Not long ago, the animals began meeting their demise as our mini carnivores began to tear the squeaky bladders out of them.  Every day, one animal would have its white guts spread out across our living room rug.   They have since gone through every toy or animal we have and gutted them.  We don’t have toys anymore, just piles of torn cloth that once formed something cute and cuddly.  We’re not sure what we’ll do when the piles of cloth turn into tiny pieces of unrecognizable fluff and are placed in the trash can.  We refuse to buy any more toys that will end up being massacred by mini serial killers.     

I guess that for cute and cuddly, we’ll have to settle for the two of them just the way they are.  No matter what they destroy, they are perfect love in action.  Those big eyes and happy wagging tails make me laugh and bring me peace.  I only have to gaze at them cuddled together on their blanket to know that I wouldn’t change a thing.  I fell in love with them the moment we met…and they know it too!  I hope that if you have animals in your life, they melt your heart and bring you happiness as well.

Judge Not

I’m sure that most of you have been a lucky recipient of those infamous WalMart e-mails wherein they show pictures of people in various styles of dress (or lack thereof) with written captions beneath that usually give you a good chuckle.  And yes, I do laugh.  Seriously, I’ve seen some interesting characters when visiting the popular chain but none as visually stimulating as those chosen to be part of their annual e-mail blast.

Note:  If you have no idea what I’m talking about, I will make sure you get added to my mother’s e-mail list.  She can hit the send button faster than Superman when this annual gem shows up in her inbox!   

In hindsight, I suppose laughter could be considered as judgmental on my part.  The good book tells us over and over that we should be compassionate toward all people.  Some people easily fit that command and others do not.  There are all kinds of things that we judge others for; the above was just a silly opening that brought a visual to my ranting.  It is hard to be a person who consistently gives, constantly loves, is always reliable, and unfailingly dependable.  I don’t know one person who does this one hundred percent of the time.      

·         We are human. 

·         We make mistakes. 

·         All the time.

It’s hard to be compassionate for those who deliberately set out to harm others, for elected officials who vote or do everything but what we elected them for, for upper management locking in golden parachutes while those keeping their companies afloat are relegated to more work and less pay in order for them to achieve their contractual goals.  These points are only a few of the occurrences that make us, as a community of people, judgmental. 

Keep in mind that the world is not fair.  We often overlook our own faults in order to effectively judge others.  It is imperative that we do our best to walk upright and live the most wholesome lives that we can, to be as fair as we possibly can, and love others to the best of our ability.  I will strive every day to be the best person that I can be.  However,  I know that I will be opening the next WalMart e-mail.  I can’t help it.  And I will laugh.  My only hope is that I don’t run into one of the award winners in person.  That will definitely put an end to my WalMart shopping days. 

      ·         Is this judgmental?  Yes. 

·         Am I being honest? Yes. 

·         Am I human?  All the time.