Dear Bachelor

I want to like you. For a while now I’ve kind of been a fan of yours, but now you are starting to trouble me.

I think it is humanly impossible to be “crazy about” 5+ girls at the same time. Perhaps you should develop a vernacular that can be used as a “rating” system.

I really admire your character
I think you are one of the most intelligent girls I’ve ever encountered
You are just the cutest thing ever
Seriously girl, you are making my heart race
I’m crazy about you

If you insist on telling everyone you are crazy about them, pretty soon you are going to experience “crazy” of catastrophic proportions.

Also, I question the wisdom of putting a girl with a physical handicap in a Roller Derby arena. Really? I think that girl is an amazing person, but that’s a little beyond intimidating.

And lastly………..pay close attention to the cutesy pie who says and does all the right things – (come on now, you know who I’m talking about.) Watch her body language and that of others when she is around. If people are circling her like a poisonous snake, take heed.

Oh, wait…..I have one more – lose the excessive tongue kissing with EVERYONE, that is really starting to gross me out.

Sincerely…….pick the girl from Arkansas, she seems to be the real deal.

CHILD.....ish OR .....like?

The older I get, the more I notice the maturity (or lack of) of people around me. You find lovely examples of it at home, in your family, the neighborhood and sometimes even at work.

I love to find those people who still embrace their inner child. The ones who have the ability to throw themselves into life’s experiences with the wide eyed wonder of a little kid. They greet each day as a gift, expect the best from it and are rarely disappointed because even if the day turns out to be a little less than, they find something to celebrate.

However, it is incredible to me to realize there are more CHILDISH than CHILDLIKE people running around. And there is a huge difference in these two characteristics. But just in case you need just a few pointers to help you recognize the ISHs…..here you go.

If someone is constantly looking for something wrong in you to justify their own bad behavior….they might be CHILDISH

If someone has wronged you and now cannot a) meet your eyes…or b) stay in the same room with you….they might be CHILDISH

If someone is constantly trying to make themselves look better or feel better at your expense….they might be CHILDISH

If someone does not have the ability to admit they are wrong, apologize and move on….they might be CHILDISH

If someone’s first response to every situation is to immediately bemoan the effects that situation has on THEM…they might be CHILDISH

If someone does not possess the ability to own their own mistakes, but must instead pass off the guilt…they might be CHILDISH

If someone is constantly unreliable and undependable in doing what they say they will do...they might be CHILDISH and could possibly also suffer from the other deadly ISH...SELFISH

But….if someone greets each new day as a gift. Or, smiles through their own troubled times. Or, perhaps, just tries to make everyone they are in contact with feel like they were important enough to engage with. Or, if someone just can remove their own needs and wants and truly listen to others and try to make a difference where they can……….They just might be CHILDLIKE and therefore, should be treasured.

Bless The Beasts & The Children

It has taken me this long to decide I want to have my say on the terrible tragedy at Sandy Hook.

First of all, I want to express my most humble gratitude to God that I only had to be touched by this from a distance. It is all too feasible that this could, and now we realize, CAN happen to any of us. There is no safe haven except in the arms of our Heavenly Father.

Secondly, I know I will never again take any encounter with someone I love for granted for truly THAT time could very well be the LAST time I have with them and for my own peace of mind I want to know I will have left them with the firm assurance they were loved by me, completely.

Violence of this degree can only be laid at the feet of one thing. It isn't a weapon, it isn't a sickness. It is EVIL. And evil is a very real presence in our world today. The more we turn from the values and morals that make us a kinder and more compassionate people, the more ground we yield to the encroaching evil.

I am not a fan of guns, but I know in my heart of hearts there is a need for them. Assault type weapons for private citizens, no. And please, before you try to talk me out of this, remember this is MY opinion and I get to have it just as you do yours. But while a gun is often used to create mayhem, we need to remember, a gun has to be in the hands of someone to be dangerous.

And a dangerous, evil person bent on destruction will use any method they can find. McVeigh used fertilizer, terrorists used airplanes, some will use knives, poison or merely just torture until their desired end result is achieved. Right here where I live, there was man so overcome with evil intent, he chased his ex-wife down with his car, and when she stopped, he stabbed her to death on a busy street corner in the middle of the day while her sister in the passenger seat watched the murder of someone she loved.

My point in this post is that we cannot remove evil from our world by removing guns. Basically because, those who are truly possessed by evil will always have a weapon, and it will most likely be a gun. All we will accomplish is to effectively disarm evil's potential victims rendering them powerless to fight back.

Delusional people think removing guns will make us all safer, but it will not. For the evil will find a way to arm its minions and the destruction will be great. And we, as a society will be judged by how well we teach, love, and protect the smallest, helpless and most vulnerable of our kind.

"Bless the beasts and children, for in this world they have no voice...they have no choice"

Speak people and don't stop. Push back against the mildewed rot of evil.

Say My Name…Say My Name

If you’ve ever been in an area full of Aspen trees – you know that when the wind blows, they sound like they are whispering.

It is kind of like a religious experience.  Like they are telling all the secrets of the forest on the wind knowing it will soon reach God’s ears.

In the New Year – I didn’t make resolutions…I decided to develop habits.  But I wanted those habits to involve someone other than myself.  And so, I decided that every day I would choose one person among my acquaintances (sometimes family, sometimes friends and sometimes just someone I barely know.) 

And, in choosing this person I commit myself to whispering their name in the wind to God and asking for Him to attend to their needs as only He knows and to bless them with his favor not just that day but for all the days to follow.

These people don’t know they are chosen, which makes it even more gratifying to me.  Particularly when the person I have chosen has not been particularly kind or gracious to me.  It helps me realize there is a need for them to be my focus and it helps me to know I am trying to put them in wind with God and sincerely hope He brings them divine favor.

Soooo, if sometime in the year, you think you hear your own name in the wind, I am praying for you to have everything your heart desires and maybe, just maybe…you will say my name as well.

Peace and contentment to you all.