Tuesday

It was an interesting day my friends. It started early, so I stayed up all night.

I went to the Ford dealership and got the reset I hoped and prayed for without having to pay.

The Explorer did not pass emissions. I was informed if I drove fifty miles at 55, it would likely pass later. (Have you gone 55 on an expressway lately? I felt like I was sitting still.)

Before trekking off, I stopped at Chick-Fil-A (Also known as God’s Chicken Place) for brunch. I sat there in an empty dining room, reading the NYT on my phone and crying over the news. Get your Covid shot, everyone.

The manager at BAM was my friend, so I stopped at the mall. I walked through Dillards and was accosted by a dress of Scarlett O’Hara Curtain Dress GREEN. A salesperson and I discussed it: beautiful design, but all out of my budget. If only!

My friend no longer works at the book store, but the staff knows me, so we chatted. I managed to leave without buying anything. (This is an incredible accomplishment for me, especially since the latest by Stephen King tried to wend a way into my hands.)

I drove to my hometown. I stopped and photographed my “Church in the Wildwood” and the Little White Church on the Hill. Both of these had hosted weddings of mine. I also stopped by the house I was buying when my world skidded into the deep.

The trip had not run up fifty miles, so I got back on the expressway and headed in the opposite direction. Everything on the road passed me. The trucks that appeared to have eating my rear bumper as their appetizer in mind, were a bit frightening.

When I returned to my home exit, I stopped at my cellular provider because my phone did not do data well, nor phone service. The young lady said she probably could not help. A male customer had just cursed her out for the same issue with the same make and model phone. I apologized to her for his nastiness. I asked her to try anyway. She did, and her fix was great.

I ate an early dinner of a green burrito, which cost $1.34 at Del Taco. Then I went back to get emissions done again. One of my club friends was there, and we talked. He has been going through a lot, and I tried to console him. Seeing him was like an angelic intervention. I was so happy. The Explorer passed emissions.

I went back and told the young lady that her fix worked fine on my cellphone. I told her not to let anyone else treat her disrespectfully.

I drove home and almost could not enter my house for Maui. All the dogs let me know their overwhelming displeasure with my being gone. I walked the three, and the day settled back towards normalcy.

Maybe that all seems ordinary, but I rarely go out and rarely encounter so many beautiful humans.

Be kind. Love is why all of us are here. People are precious treasures. You are included.

Picture and Poem

Interesting Times

When words buckle beneath the pressure to flow, all I know is to let go. I have not found a magic token to purchase creativity’s flow.

I kept hoping that my Facebook account would be reinstated, but it appears I lost it permanently on August 5th. It is sad. Friends have told me I should make a new account, but I think if they take mine, I can not begin again.

I am dog sitting Maui for Alex while he is in transition to a more permanent home. You might notice Tribble is least concerned and going her way.

I am not quite sure how I forgot in my troubleshooting to unplug the device, but I called Amazon for help. I felt about as dumb as ever.

The Samsung A32 is working far above my expectations. I love using my phone again.

Having a refrigerator is a blast. Almost three months without one, I am so glad that is over.

I am using Twitter a bit. My Facebook friends are not all on there, but it is okay.

Writing is an exploration of thoughts that come to mind when we march words onto the page. The war begins when we force them into intense sense by editing such that we bleed grammar and style.

Happy Labor Day! I hope you have time to enjoy a break.

Mama said..

I miss her, she would have given me some wry bit of hope when I reported what I learned.

The fact I sleep little for the pain leads me in to the Orthopaedist for shots in my knees. The conversation today was ominous.

What I did after was catch hold of God through the music that allows me to live:

The Anchor Holds, God is in Control, Fear is a Liar, Shine, God’s Not Dead, Greatness of Our God, Chain Breaker, Miracles, God Only Knows, Children of the World, I’ll Fly Away, How Great Thou Art, We Believe, and more but I am not sure what. I sing these with the music. I also sing acapella, Come All Ye Faithful, Holy, Holy, Holy, Down By The Riverside, He’s Got The Whole World, Kumbaya, and by the time I get through, I think I will do until He is done with me.

Degenerative arthritis is just another thing to get through.

Sleep though, I need to find that elusive state. My mind will not keep without it.

I pick up a tune, set it loose, realize I am not the engine, just the caboose. I trust the couplings to hold me, keep me in line. I cannot see all the journey, and I know challenges will overrun, but I was given a destination, holding on to Jesus to keep me until I get there. Heaven waits.

Today and Again

Do you ever have to slow down and find your center? It can take time to remember who you are and for what you are meant. We so easily get lost in chasing the things we need and want and plowing our souls under the toil. Stillness helps us see our persons; music can raise us; reading can picture us; art can show us reason; writing can free us.

We deserve to live creatively and with such love that we feel we can accomplish our hopes and dreams. Some find inspiration in a relationship with Christ Jesus; some follow other paths. As we meet in lives so often hectic, we need to share love and kindness no matter the circumstances in which we exist. Our differences make the world fascinating and rich. We learn much when we open ourselves to one another.

Stepping out of space and time to give ourselves peace to clarify our goals is worthwhile. Sometimes this is done in silence, some creation, some before the eyes of the world. Whatever our method, we must never give up. We are the outworking of the prayers of generations; our promise and purpose must continue.

Today is the moment we grasp; it is our time to build within. Letting it slip through our fingers is not an option—love, love, love. We should be a blessing in whatever places life carries us. Time and again, we can begin a better beginning, for we are living gifts.