July 6, 2012
Anybody remember STOP, DROP and ROLL? When I was in elementary school, one of our big events was to have the fire department come and explain the safety procedures in case of an emergency. The first thing they taught us to do in a fire was to STOP, DROP and ROLL.
I’ve thought about that warning a lot lately. Thankfully my recollection wasn’t needed for an actual fire but because I’ve been traveling so much. When I travel, I always ROLL up my clothes. It’s really amazing how much you…
June 29, 2012
A couple who had been married for fifty years were reflecting one day and the wife said, “Things have really changed between us over the years. You used to sit really close to me but you haven’t done that for a while.” Her husband said, “I can fix that,” and he got up and moved closer to his wife. She continued, “You used to hold me real tight.” So he wrapped his arms around her and asked, “How’s that?” Finally the wife said, “You used to nuzzle…
June 22, 2012
“I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.”
(Margaret Thatcher)
Patience is defined in the dictionary as “emotional quietness in the face of unfavorable circumstances, longsuffering, constancy, perseverance and steadfastness”. Simply put, patience involves a great deal of wait time and staying power in the midst of unpleasant conditions. That definition disqualifies “patience” from being my most favorite word and attribute. I am not very good at waiting. Waiting for something fun to happen, like waiting for the first day of…
June 15, 2012
The phrase, “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty,” has been around since 1983 and its purpose was to encourage anonymous deeds of consideration and caring as a way of “making someone’s day”. No specific pattern was to be followed, no set number of deeds was prescribed other than to be kind and do good to others because kindness positively influences people.
I first saw the phrase, “random act of kindness”, on a billboard along a major highway. The advertisement was simple and direct: “Do random…
June 8, 2012
On November 6th, 2008, I stood shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow, and shoe to shoe with 40,000 complete strangers as I readied myself to run the New York City Marathon. Training had been completed, my iPod was loaded with motivational tunes, power bars were tucked in my pocket, and I even had my cell phone in my pack. (Hey, you never know when you might need to make a phone call!) My stomach was in knots and I was freezing – the temperature that morning was…
June 1, 2012
Deciding what to wear on any given occasion is not necessarily an easy task. What style and color goes best with our hair, eyes, or figure? What is better to buy, something durable or something trendy? Should a dry cleaning only garment be purchased or left hanging on the rack? As difficult as it can be sometimes to decide what to wear, there’s a little piece of fabric that can be very helpful in the decision making process—a clothing label! Clothing labels are one of the best marketing tools…
May 25, 2012
My clothes closet was dedicated space for a uniform for the first 12 years of my formal schooling. A jumper, blouse, sweater for cooler days, saddle shoes, and knee socks were the only articles of clothing I wore for 180 days a year. Adhering to the school uniform dress code was serious business.
At the beginning of every school year, a letter was sent to students’ homes detailing “what not to wear” to school and what constituted a violation of policy that could result in demerits. In…
May 18, 2012
Have you ever noticed that the word peace is most often accompanied with the word “quiet”? We often associate peace with the absence of noise; for many of us a few quiet moments do bring a sense of peace even if it is just temporary. The word for peace in Leviticus 26 is the Hebrew word “shalom” and transliterated it conveys the meaning of completeness, soundness, welfare, health, and yes, even quiet and tranquility. 6 I shall also grant peace in the land, so that you may…
May 11, 2012
It’s interesting how we often confuse our wants with our needs. When my now grown niece was being painfully weaned from her pacifier, she would wail long and loud, “But I neeeeeeeeeed it!” It was a difficult process and many temper tantrums later, she eventually found out she didn’t need her “binky” as much as she thought. Even as adults, we often find ourselves feeling like a woeful toddler, confusing our needs and wants. But walking in the statutes of God shows us how He…
May 3, 2012
A few years ago a friend of mine used to walk around a track with her father and everyone who watched them remarked how much alike they “walked”. If you had been a visitor to the gym on any given day the two of them were there, you would have no problem identifying the relationship between them. She was immediately recognized as her father’s daughter. Everyone knew WHOSE she was without even asking to be introduced.
A person’s gait is significant. John Wayne, an American actor who began his career…
Anybody remember STOP, DROP and ROLL? When I was in elementary school, one of our big events was to have the fire department come and explain the safety procedures in case of an emergency. The first thing they taught us to do in a fire was to STOP, DROP and ROLL.
