Almost two (2) weeks ago, Robert & I celebrated our 19th anniversary on Halloween day. Yes, I was a Halloween bride! No, it had nothing to do with any 'connection' to the day or fondness for Halloween. It just so happened that it fell on A Saturday that year:-).
We 'celebrated' this week, with a date night in downtown Columbus at the RiverCenter to see John Tesh performing with his Big Band tour. Have to say it was a great evening! John was great in person (someone that I've always wanted to see), very personable and charming, as I hoped. A good time was had by all, even if we did have to miss our favorite show - The Big Bang Theory:-)
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
The King's Speech
Happy Birthday to my Dad, who is 74 years young today! Love, Always :-)
I happened to watch "The King's Speech" today. Didn't think about the timing until I was well into the movie, but it hits really close to home. If you're not familiar with the movie, it tells the story of the current Queen Elizabeth's father, King George VI and his relationship with a speech therapist:
The current monarch and her father were not supposed to be on the throne. The Queen's father, then Prince Albert, the Duke of York, was the second-born son. The Duke only became king after his older brother abdicated the throne, to marry a woman deemed "unsuitable" to be Queen. Can you imagine if that had been the outcome of the Charles-Diana-Camilla triangle? At worst, he just has to deal with citizens who wish he'd voluntarily "step aside" in lieu of Prince William
The Duke also had a lifelong problem with stuttering. At the time, it was considered to be a major "flaw" and something to be ashamed of. It was something the Duke struggled with for most of his life. The movie tells the story of how the King worked Lionel Logue to gain control over his "issue".
The reason this resonates with me is that my wonderful Dad has also struggled with stuttering all of his life. He worked with speech therapists and the public speaking group, Toastmasters International, and now is a very well respected speaker. I'm so proud of how hard he's worked.
I happened to watch "The King's Speech" today. Didn't think about the timing until I was well into the movie, but it hits really close to home. If you're not familiar with the movie, it tells the story of the current Queen Elizabeth's father, King George VI and his relationship with a speech therapist:
The current monarch and her father were not supposed to be on the throne. The Queen's father, then Prince Albert, the Duke of York, was the second-born son. The Duke only became king after his older brother abdicated the throne, to marry a woman deemed "unsuitable" to be Queen. Can you imagine if that had been the outcome of the Charles-Diana-Camilla triangle? At worst, he just has to deal with citizens who wish he'd voluntarily "step aside" in lieu of Prince William
The Duke also had a lifelong problem with stuttering. At the time, it was considered to be a major "flaw" and something to be ashamed of. It was something the Duke struggled with for most of his life. The movie tells the story of how the King worked Lionel Logue to gain control over his "issue".
The reason this resonates with me is that my wonderful Dad has also struggled with stuttering all of his life. He worked with speech therapists and the public speaking group, Toastmasters International, and now is a very well respected speaker. I'm so proud of how hard he's worked.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Standing on the Promises
I love the classic hymns and from time to time, I may jot down some things that come to mind when I think of these classic words I grew up with (and maybe from time to time, some more "modern" hymns or worship music:-)
Standing on the Promises of Christ, My King, through eternal ages let His praises ring;
Glory in the highest I will shout and sing, Standing on the promises of God
Standing on the promises that cannot fail, When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail; By the Living Word of God, I shall prevail, Standing on the promises of God
Standing in the promises I cannot fail, listening every moment to the Spirit's call;
Resting in my Savior as my All-in-All, Standing on the promises of God
The tune for this song is what you might call "lively" and it fits. We aren't asked here to "whisper" our faith, but to Shout & Sing & Stand - all active, action verbs. God wants us to exhort our faith. Doesn't mean we make a nuisance, or be show-offy, like the Pharisees, but we find ways to keep it active: through prayers, devotions, worship in the corporate setting, in small groups(like a bible study) or just at home. As Psalms says "let the words of my heart and the meditation of my soul, be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."
The second verse addresses times when we doubt, the promises are still valid. I'm living proof that the answer to your most heartfelt prayer can be a clear and resounding NO, but that doesn't mean that God is saying that you're not worthy, or you don't belong as part of the "family" or that God has turned his back on you. What it means to me is that even if I get discouraged and I step away from God for a time - He's STILL there. This time, it's God who is standing beside me.
I love verse 4. I didn't skip verse 3 because we Southern Baptists learned to count as 1-2-4. This time the verbs are more sedate actions: Listening and Resting. I'm a couch potato by nature and can spend hours, when I have the time, doing all nature of 'solitary' activities: reading, listening to music on the iPod or any number or things. I married my total opposite: My wonderful husband can't sit still longer than absolutely necessary. He has this wonderful, active mind and spirit that I love, but I just can't manage to emulate. Add to that, I'm a procrastinator, and well, you get the picture! I think after almost 19 years of marriage, we may be starting to move a litllte more toward the middle. It's like a fun game of tug-of-war...which side of the line will we wind up at?! I dont know, but Will be fun to find out!
'I cannot fail' doesn't mean that I won't make mistakes, but that when I do, I want to learn something. It's the learning that keeps me from failing. That's where the listening comes in, trying to hear what the message is from our shortcomings, and the cool thing about God is that his "messages" are custom fit for each of us.
Lastly, "rest" doesn't mean to sleep, but more to stop, to take note and simply be AWARE that there is nothing we deal with in our daily life that God doesn't want to be a part of. He is
the 'end all, be all' (or all in all) as we like to say. This time, we are standig still. Its like the verb has become a noun, and the "thing" it represents are his wonderful promises, which are as many as the stars n the sky. We can turn our concerns and joys over to the Lord, knowing he'll walk beside us as we face the day.
Standing on the Promises of Christ, My King, through eternal ages let His praises ring;
Glory in the highest I will shout and sing, Standing on the promises of God
Standing on the promises that cannot fail, When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail; By the Living Word of God, I shall prevail, Standing on the promises of God
Standing in the promises I cannot fail, listening every moment to the Spirit's call;
Resting in my Savior as my All-in-All, Standing on the promises of God
The tune for this song is what you might call "lively" and it fits. We aren't asked here to "whisper" our faith, but to Shout & Sing & Stand - all active, action verbs. God wants us to exhort our faith. Doesn't mean we make a nuisance, or be show-offy, like the Pharisees, but we find ways to keep it active: through prayers, devotions, worship in the corporate setting, in small groups(like a bible study) or just at home. As Psalms says "let the words of my heart and the meditation of my soul, be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."
The second verse addresses times when we doubt, the promises are still valid. I'm living proof that the answer to your most heartfelt prayer can be a clear and resounding NO, but that doesn't mean that God is saying that you're not worthy, or you don't belong as part of the "family" or that God has turned his back on you. What it means to me is that even if I get discouraged and I step away from God for a time - He's STILL there. This time, it's God who is standing beside me.
I love verse 4. I didn't skip verse 3 because we Southern Baptists learned to count as 1-2-4. This time the verbs are more sedate actions: Listening and Resting. I'm a couch potato by nature and can spend hours, when I have the time, doing all nature of 'solitary' activities: reading, listening to music on the iPod or any number or things. I married my total opposite: My wonderful husband can't sit still longer than absolutely necessary. He has this wonderful, active mind and spirit that I love, but I just can't manage to emulate. Add to that, I'm a procrastinator, and well, you get the picture! I think after almost 19 years of marriage, we may be starting to move a litllte more toward the middle. It's like a fun game of tug-of-war...which side of the line will we wind up at?! I dont know, but Will be fun to find out!
'I cannot fail' doesn't mean that I won't make mistakes, but that when I do, I want to learn something. It's the learning that keeps me from failing. That's where the listening comes in, trying to hear what the message is from our shortcomings, and the cool thing about God is that his "messages" are custom fit for each of us.
Lastly, "rest" doesn't mean to sleep, but more to stop, to take note and simply be AWARE that there is nothing we deal with in our daily life that God doesn't want to be a part of. He is
the 'end all, be all' (or all in all) as we like to say. This time, we are standig still. Its like the verb has become a noun, and the "thing" it represents are his wonderful promises, which are as many as the stars n the sky. We can turn our concerns and joys over to the Lord, knowing he'll walk beside us as we face the day.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Auburn-LSU Game
Tomorrow is the game where the "Go Tigers" plays the "Geaux Tigers". I can't say it's one of my favorite series, because more often than not, it's a crazy nerve wracking game. From the Earthquake game in '88 to the year the old Arena in Auburn caught fire DURING the game and flames were visible in the skyline above Jordan-Hare, it's always one of the toughest games of the season. The old adage "2 yards and a cloud of dust" is good fit for this series.
My take on this years game: on paper Auburn has no chance, we're the same very, very young team that lost 90% of the players from our BCS championship team, playing the number 1 team in the nation and our QB will be making his first start in Death Valley. Talk about getting thrown into the fiery furnace :-). We may or may not win the game, but I'm liking how these young Tigers are playing. They make mistakes, no doubt, but they play to the whistle and I'm liking what I'm seeing as a foundation for the next few seasons. Will we win: won't know for sure until tomorrow, but I definitely wouldn't mind being pleasantly surprised :-)
War Eagle!!!!
Update: Auburn lost 45-10. Largest margin of defeat in this series. Oh well, We'll see the "LSWho" tigers in Auburn next year!
My take on this years game: on paper Auburn has no chance, we're the same very, very young team that lost 90% of the players from our BCS championship team, playing the number 1 team in the nation and our QB will be making his first start in Death Valley. Talk about getting thrown into the fiery furnace :-). We may or may not win the game, but I'm liking how these young Tigers are playing. They make mistakes, no doubt, but they play to the whistle and I'm liking what I'm seeing as a foundation for the next few seasons. Will we win: won't know for sure until tomorrow, but I definitely wouldn't mind being pleasantly surprised :-)
War Eagle!!!!
Update: Auburn lost 45-10. Largest margin of defeat in this series. Oh well, We'll see the "LSWho" tigers in Auburn next year!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Dan Wheldon
Was watching today's between the Falcons and Cam-olina (Carolina) Panthers when my twitter feed started exploding with reports of a 'big one' during today's race, that involved driver Dan Wheldon.
Now, I'm a NASCAR gal. Hubby works for one of the companies that's a lead sponsor for a driver, so we're fans of that driver & I'm also partial to JR. I knew NASCAR had their race last night, so wasn't sure at first which series this was. Turned out to be IndyCars. Other than the Indy500, I don't watch IRL racing. I'm a sucker for the spectacle that's The 500, from the Perdue band & Jim Nabors singing "back home again in Indiana" to the milk & roses for the winner, to the massiveness that's the Brickyard: it's an American as apple pie.
I remember Wheldon winning in flukey fashion this year. A rookie led almost the whole race, and was on his way to clearcut win, when, well...racing stuff happened. The rookie had an accident on the last lap, and Wheldon was in position to speed around and claim the race win. Today, just 13 laps in, what might have been a simple accident became a horrific 15-car, fiery crash with debris spread over a long stretch around Turn 4.
About 2 hours later, the announcer told the viewing audience that Dan Weldon had not survived the crash. Wheldon was 33, with a wife and 2 young sons. The remaining drivers took to their cars, some openly weeping and completed a slow 5 lap tribute to their fallen friend and competitor, to the strains of Danny Boy and Amazing Grace.
It was such a stark reminder that we truly don't know how long we'll grace this life with our presence. We know in our heads that it can all end in a moment, but there's a part of us that assumes we'll be allowed the maximum number of the "days of our lives". We really don't know how long we're going to have to "finish the race" so we need to make sure we make the most of our time, Count your blessings, love your loved ones, don't let wounds fester into something that becomes a deeper hurt, if you can. Let your time count!
Now, I'm a NASCAR gal. Hubby works for one of the companies that's a lead sponsor for a driver, so we're fans of that driver & I'm also partial to JR. I knew NASCAR had their race last night, so wasn't sure at first which series this was. Turned out to be IndyCars. Other than the Indy500, I don't watch IRL racing. I'm a sucker for the spectacle that's The 500, from the Perdue band & Jim Nabors singing "back home again in Indiana" to the milk & roses for the winner, to the massiveness that's the Brickyard: it's an American as apple pie.
I remember Wheldon winning in flukey fashion this year. A rookie led almost the whole race, and was on his way to clearcut win, when, well...racing stuff happened. The rookie had an accident on the last lap, and Wheldon was in position to speed around and claim the race win. Today, just 13 laps in, what might have been a simple accident became a horrific 15-car, fiery crash with debris spread over a long stretch around Turn 4.
About 2 hours later, the announcer told the viewing audience that Dan Weldon had not survived the crash. Wheldon was 33, with a wife and 2 young sons. The remaining drivers took to their cars, some openly weeping and completed a slow 5 lap tribute to their fallen friend and competitor, to the strains of Danny Boy and Amazing Grace.
It was such a stark reminder that we truly don't know how long we'll grace this life with our presence. We know in our heads that it can all end in a moment, but there's a part of us that assumes we'll be allowed the maximum number of the "days of our lives". We really don't know how long we're going to have to "finish the race" so we need to make sure we make the most of our time, Count your blessings, love your loved ones, don't let wounds fester into something that becomes a deeper hurt, if you can. Let your time count!
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Henry
Last month marked one year since we brought our then-latest canine addition into our home: a Lab~Austrailian Shpherd mix, that I dubbed "Henry". Henry's original puppy name was "Peter", which isn't bad, just didn't feel like the right 'fit' :-)
In early 2010, we lost two (2) of our dogs: Sam, a 12 y/o beagle and found out our 11 y/o Lab, Jake, had skin cancer. Jake survived longer than the normal time for that type of cancer diagnosis, but finally died in May. Have to be honest-that was a tough one! Jake was the first dog we had gotten as a puppy. He came home as a 12lb ball of fur and VERY quickly grew into a 125lb. couch potato.
When we got Jake, we weren't doing the "let's see if we can handle a puppy and if we do ok, maybe we won't screw up the baby" thing. We'd already been married 6+ years. I think at that time, I already had some 'whispers' in my head that our "when are you going to start a family" was turning into a 'hmm, something might not be right'. At the time I was just starting on a big work effort (remember Y2K??) and had that to keep from worrying about what 'might' be going on.
I knew Robert wasn't keyed up about adding a new dog to the house. Jake was the Gilligan to his Skipper: his big, little buddy. They'd been pals for almost 12 years. Jake was great with me, but he 'belonged' to Robert. Our 2 remaining dogs are also both 10+ years old. I just couldn't see us with an empty house - or having just one surviving dog, who'd always been part of a pack.
So.....I took the initiative and started looking online & on our work classifieds for puppies. Finally, I found "it". I found our new puppy. Still can't explain it....but something about the picture on petfinder.com website got to me :-) And...even better, he was just over in Auburn and not off in Nebraska, or Timbuktu. I contacted the rescue group and THEN told Robert ( but before SETI led out the application...promise:-) In 17+ years, this was first time I'd gone out on that long of a limb.
Call it a 'calculated risk', but I knew this was right for us...and a year later, it has been :-). I wasn't looking for another lab-promise :-). H was listed as an Aussie, but turned out to look like a mini-Lab, but hates water, is skittish, and well, just kind of goofy. Hismpersonality is nothing like his outer 'shell'. He had a lot of health issues to deal with - so in a sense, we both rescued each other. We gave Henry a home and he helped us get over our loss. At the end of the day...not sure who gets the better deal, but it's going to be fun finding out!!!
Henry
In early 2010, we lost two (2) of our dogs: Sam, a 12 y/o beagle and found out our 11 y/o Lab, Jake, had skin cancer. Jake survived longer than the normal time for that type of cancer diagnosis, but finally died in May. Have to be honest-that was a tough one! Jake was the first dog we had gotten as a puppy. He came home as a 12lb ball of fur and VERY quickly grew into a 125lb. couch potato.
When we got Jake, we weren't doing the "let's see if we can handle a puppy and if we do ok, maybe we won't screw up the baby" thing. We'd already been married 6+ years. I think at that time, I already had some 'whispers' in my head that our "when are you going to start a family" was turning into a 'hmm, something might not be right'. At the time I was just starting on a big work effort (remember Y2K??) and had that to keep from worrying about what 'might' be going on.
I knew Robert wasn't keyed up about adding a new dog to the house. Jake was the Gilligan to his Skipper: his big, little buddy. They'd been pals for almost 12 years. Jake was great with me, but he 'belonged' to Robert. Our 2 remaining dogs are also both 10+ years old. I just couldn't see us with an empty house - or having just one surviving dog, who'd always been part of a pack.
So.....I took the initiative and started looking online & on our work classifieds for puppies. Finally, I found "it". I found our new puppy. Still can't explain it....but something about the picture on petfinder.com website got to me :-) And...even better, he was just over in Auburn and not off in Nebraska, or Timbuktu. I contacted the rescue group and THEN told Robert ( but before SETI led out the application...promise:-) In 17+ years, this was first time I'd gone out on that long of a limb.
Call it a 'calculated risk', but I knew this was right for us...and a year later, it has been :-). I wasn't looking for another lab-promise :-). H was listed as an Aussie, but turned out to look like a mini-Lab, but hates water, is skittish, and well, just kind of goofy. Hismpersonality is nothing like his outer 'shell'. He had a lot of health issues to deal with - so in a sense, we both rescued each other. We gave Henry a home and he helped us get over our loss. At the end of the day...not sure who gets the better deal, but it's going to be fun finding out!!!
Henry
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Thoughts on 9/11
Our youth group from Edgewood Baptist took a trip to NYC back in the mid-80's (probably summer of '84 or '85). We stayed outside the city, near Peekskill (home of TV's "Facts of Life' :-), wend into the city to do outreach with several churches - we visited churches on Long Island, Queens and Jersey City, NJ.
We rode the ferry past the Statue of Liberty, which was under renovation for the then-future centennial celebration which would take place in the summer of '86 and introduce a young Sandi Patty to the nation. The Statue looked like a rocket ship out in the harbor: she was surrounded by scaffolding, but i could see the top of her arm and the torch just barely sticking out above the top of the girders.
On one of our fun excursions into NYC we went to top of the World Trade Center. Not exactly sure which of the towers we went in, but I believe it was the tower that housed Windows on the World restaurant. I do remember being disappointed that we weren't going to Empire State building or Bloomingdale's, too :-). What I do remember from that visit: the loooong ride to the top and the amazing view once we arrived at the observation deck - of course once we got there I forgot all about wishing we'd gone to the ESB :-) You could literally see for miles and to be above all the other skyscrapers was simply, a sight to behold.
When you see something that massive - even if only for one day - you can't imagine it simply disappearing in a matter of seconds. It was after work that day, before I was able to see with my own eyes what had been done on September 11th. I knew what had happened, thanks to news reports and conversations with Mom and other friends that morning. Not seeing with my eyes, somehow, some part of me kept hoping it just couldn't REALLY have happened. So even though my head already knew - I still well, just
hoped...
i found comfort in the days that followed in the following verses from the Psalms - "One thing I ask fthe LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life...for in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. Ps 27:4-5.
We rode the ferry past the Statue of Liberty, which was under renovation for the then-future centennial celebration which would take place in the summer of '86 and introduce a young Sandi Patty to the nation. The Statue looked like a rocket ship out in the harbor: she was surrounded by scaffolding, but i could see the top of her arm and the torch just barely sticking out above the top of the girders.
On one of our fun excursions into NYC we went to top of the World Trade Center. Not exactly sure which of the towers we went in, but I believe it was the tower that housed Windows on the World restaurant. I do remember being disappointed that we weren't going to Empire State building or Bloomingdale's, too :-). What I do remember from that visit: the loooong ride to the top and the amazing view once we arrived at the observation deck - of course once we got there I forgot all about wishing we'd gone to the ESB :-) You could literally see for miles and to be above all the other skyscrapers was simply, a sight to behold.
When you see something that massive - even if only for one day - you can't imagine it simply disappearing in a matter of seconds. It was after work that day, before I was able to see with my own eyes what had been done on September 11th. I knew what had happened, thanks to news reports and conversations with Mom and other friends that morning. Not seeing with my eyes, somehow, some part of me kept hoping it just couldn't REALLY have happened. So even though my head already knew - I still well, just
hoped...
i found comfort in the days that followed in the following verses from the Psalms - "One thing I ask fthe LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life...for in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. Ps 27:4-5.
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