Wheel of Fortune

Home just in time for Jeopardy.

Denny and I watch Wheel of Fortune most evenings.  We are comfortable together with our novels in hand.  The current book we are reading varies, and sometimes we share a little portion or a clever idea one of us has discovered in our book.  We choose different genres and authors but appreciate what the other spouse is reading.  We can easily read and watch Wheel of Fortune simultaneously.

When the granddaughters pop in at this time, they watch too.  We all guess at the answers and clap and squeal when our selected contestant is winning.  I am sure they will always remember their grandparents watching this and Jeopardy.  They seem as interested as we.  It is a time marker of the day ending and evening beginning.  It is a shared activity, and it is a reason to sit and share our knowledge or lack of.  Son John sometimes comes in about this time and watches and guesses answers with us. We trained John and Adam to watch Jeopardy with us when they were young.  The boys became quite competitive at shouting their answers.

Sometimes my mind wanders and wonders what life would be like without Wheel of Fortune.  Would it be a Wheel of Emotion spinning constantly with the ups and downs of life? I remember when Den’s dad passed away; we came home and watched Wheel of Fortune.  We were numb but this created some “normal” for us.  Our emotions were suppressed and put on hold while we watched the familiar game format.

Reading becomes the balancing board as we peer over our glasses at difficult questions on Jeopardy.  The contestants are not unreasonable individuals or even peculiar.  They are citizens, regular people like we see in the grocery.  My mind rests, my body relaxes, and I acknowledge that evening is here.  No wheels of emotion.  Simply living life and marking time.

The B-I-B-L-E , that's the book for me.

Why Do I Continue To Read the Bible?

When I was a child, I loved to hear the stories of David and how he defeated Goliath, and how Joseph’s beautiful colored cloak was taken from him but replaced by the King’s favor and became governor of Egypt. I never tired of reading about the birth of Jesus, nor drawing the three hills with crosses that represented Jesus being crucified with two sinners on each side of Him.  Each of these stories taught me love and trust in my heavenly Father, but also how to act and react in time of hardships.

As I grew older, I was attracted to the Bible for the same reason.  I take the teachings of Jesus, Paul, David, and King Solomon as advice of how to walk this land.  Sometimes in the dessert, I must pray earnestly as Jesus did.  When wondering how to live life, I read and trust the Proverbs of Solomon.  David gives me courage, Joseph teaches me how to endure injustice, and Jesus teaches me unconditional love.  Without these teachers and friends, I might rely on my own thoughts or actions.  Many times my thoughts and choices have failed me. Then, I would return to the Bible and follow its plan and advice and be successful and gain understanding.

The Bible is a nutrient for my soul.  It enriches me, encourages me, and gives me stability.  I may not understand all of St. Paul’s admonitions or desire his sufferings, but I do acknowledge the truths he learned through his trials.  The Bible is a bit like a scrapbook of all my friends and how they handled adversity, life choices, and blessings.  I learn from them and can model after their choices.  I can see Jesus climbing Calvary for me.  My heart sorrows that the brothers of Joseph were so jealous of him that they left him in a pit to die.  My mind explodes with gratitude when I hear the prayers of Jesus at Gethsemane and on the Cross. I hunger for the new truth found each morning in the book I have cherished since childhood.  The Bible is my rock and my foundation.  Without it, I would be so lost.

New Chapter of Life

When New Chapters Begin

 

When children return to school, learn a new teacher’s style, and greet old friends but make fresh relationships, a new chapter begins.  They are innocent of how this chapter will impact their lives.  Some will love their teacher so much that she/he will become a role model.  A new friend may bring a life changing truth via a faithful friendship.  The art teacher may strike a chord within the child that turns her life into a creative challenge.  Impacted.  Directed.  Focused.  That should be the title of these back to school chapters.

As the seasons change, we begin to have new expectations.  Perhaps that is why we love each of the four seasons. They bring new opportunities for love, inspiration, understanding, friendships, travel, and experiences.  I cherish new seasons in my life. Yesterday, I reconnected with a Muncie friend, who had moved to California two years ago.  Now, she lives eight minutes from me.  We had a delightful afternoon together.  I showed her some of my favorite salad spots, my chosen consignment boutiques, and natural food stores.  We sat on Starbuck’s patio and shared what had happened in the last two years.  She had lost two hundred pounds in those two years.  She did it by diet and exercise. I call her amazing! She looks gorgeous, feels energetic, and has discovered new truths and understandings in her life.  We are both writers so see the universe with a creative focus and decorated with magical word choices. We have begun a new chapter of friendship.

I never tire of new experiences and changes.  They create life within me.  I begin reading a new novel because I know I am going to see a different perspective when I finish it.  I start a new painting because I paint intuitively, and I will find a new understanding in the creative process. When I write a blog, many times I have no clue what I will write.  I begin and an idea emerges.  Is it a new chapter for you or me?  I hope it pricks your heart or soul and send sparks enough to launch a beautiful day. Happy chapter making!

Let's Think and Pray

Minds Matter And So Do Prayers

I know I am not an engineer.  My family and friends will find that statement startling.  Not really, when my engineer son, John, sees me struggling with opening things without reading directions, trying to push random buttons to get my computer to function, or whine because I can’t assemble a new gadget, he looks at me with a blank, cold blue eyed stare. After 48 years, my husband realizes that I am never going to remember to flip things over to check if I am possibly trying to insert a part or a plug in the wrong end of an appliance or gadget. He marvels at my inability to use TV remotes. He has mellowed through the years, and says, “ Bring it here”, or sometimes I am a robot and just walk the item to him and ask him to “fix it”.  My brain works randomly and sometimes the obvious is not obvious.

Ask me to help you find a color palette, decorate your house, or create more room with innovative furniture arrangement, and I’m on that like a speeding mosquito. When my mind wanders, I look at landscapes and think what oil paint colors I would use to depict the beauty.  When I meditate, poetic phrases and Psalms dance through my mind.  When I first meet someone, I look deep within their eyes to see their soul and admire their wrinkles around their eyes that indicate they have laughed a lot. When I read face book requests, my heart hurts, really aches.  I take on prayer request like they are etched in my being. 

I admire my John’s ability to use numbers to define his world.  I envy his organizational skills.  Sometimes it is difficult to remember where he found those genes.  Many times he looks at me with disbelief.  Am I really his mother?

I share this because so many times when I was teaching, I would get students that didn’t like English and would not try or read one assignment.  As I learned more about them, I’d dig to discover if they were the John Baron thinker, or an Adam Baron learner who only wanted to know the big picture and how it related to man and spirit , or a random thinker like me, who was sensitive and needed to know things to help with relationships and perspectives.  I’d watch for doodlers and applaud them because they could multitask.  I’d cheer inside when students would ask me, how I knew something to be true.  Yes, they were the analytic learners.  Even though I no longer teach as a profession, I still try to know a person’s learning style.  I watch for clues in conversation and facial and body expressions.  Watching for these characteristics make living so interesting, learning exciting, and friendships secure. 

            As school begins, teachers will be trying to understand learning styles and adapting to each of their new students.  Pray for them.  Pray safety over our schools. Please pray for each of your children and grandchildren’s friends.  You may be the only one praying for them on a certain day and will make their learning or teaching an easier task.  You and I can make a difference.  Let’s do it.