The Keys To Your Heart

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to good manners and elegance. In love, you feel the most alive when your partner is patient and never willing to give up on you. You'd like to your lover to think you are optimistic and happy. You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please. Your ideal relationship is comforting. You crave a relationship where you always feel warmth and love. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred. In this moment, you think of love as something you don't need. You just feel like flirting around and playing right now.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

Does Anyone besides Me see a Problem with this?

Japanese Researchers Find Dolphin With 'Remains of Legs'

TOKYO — Japanese researchers said Sunday that a bottlenose dolphin captured last month has an extra set of fins that could be the remains of back legs, a discovery that may provide further evidence that ocean-dwelling mammals once lived on land.

Fishermen captured the four-finned dolphin off the coast of Wakayama prefecture (state) in western Japan on Oct. 28, and alerted the nearby Taiji Whaling Museum, according to museum director Katsuki Hayashi.

Fossil remains show dolphins and whales were four-footed land animals about 50 million years ago and share the same common ancestor as hippos and deer. Scientists believe they later transitioned to an aquatic lifestyle and their hind limbs disappeared.

Though odd-shaped protrusions have been found near the tails of dolphins and whales captured in the past, researchers say this was the first time one had been found with well-developed, symmetrical fins, Hayashi said.

"I believe the fins may be remains from the time when dolphins' ancient ancestors lived on land ... this is an unprecedented discovery," Seiji Osumi, an adviser at Tokyo's Institute of Cetacean Research, said at a news conference televised Sunday.

The second set of fins -- much smaller than the dolphin's front fins -- are about the size of human hands and protrude from near the tail on the dolphin's underside. The dolphin measures 8.92 feet and is about five years old, according to the museum.

A freak mutation may have caused the ancient trait to reassert itself, Osumi said. The dolphin will be kept at the Taiji museum to undergo X-ray and DNA tests, according to Hayashi.

I found this on the Fox News website. First of all, why can't they just be an extra pair of fins from a mutation. That really wouldn't be all that unusual. Secondly, as I remember Evolution, the water creatures sprouted legs and moved to land NOT the other way around!


GEEZ!!!!

The Real Heros

To my friends in education:

"Where are the heroes of today?" a radio talk show host thundered. Many blame society's shortcomings on education. Too many people are looking for heroes in all the wrong places. Movie stars and rock musicians, athletes, and models aren't heroes: they're celebrities.

Heroes abound in public schools, a fact that doesn't make the news. There is no precedent for the level of violence, drugs, broken homes, child abuse, and crime in today's America. Education didn't create these problems but deals with them every day.

You want heroes?

Consider Dave Sanders, the schoolteacher shot to death while trying to shield his students from two youths on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Sanders gave his life, along with 12 students, and other less heralded heroes survived the Colorado blood bath.

You want heroes?

Jane Smith, a Fayetteville, NC teacher, was moved by the plight of one of her students, a boy dying for want of a kidney transplant. So this woman told the family of a 14 year old boy that she would give him one of her kidneys. And she did. When they subsequently appeared together hugging on the Today Show, even Katie Couric was near tears.

You want heroes?

Doris Dillon dreamed all her life of being a teacher. She not only made it, she was one of those wondrous teachers who could bring the best out of every single child. One of her fellow teachers in San Jose, California said, "She could teach a rock to read." Suddenly she was stricken with Lou Gehrig's Disease which is always fatal, usually within five years. She asked to stay on the job.... and did. When her voice was affected she communicated by computer. Did she go home? Absolutely not! She is running two elementary school libraries! When the disease was diagnosed, she wrote the staff and all the families that she had one last lesson to teach....that dying is part of living. Her colleagues named her Teacher of the Year.

You want heroes?

Bob House, a teacher in Gay, Georgia, tried out for Who Wants to be a Millionaire. After he won the million dollars, a network film crew wanted to follow up to see how it had impacted his life. New Cars? Big new house?

Instead, they found both Bob House and his wife still teaching. They explained that it was what they had always wanted to do with their lives and that would not change. The community was both stunned and gratified.

You want heroes?

Last year the average school teacher spent $468 of his/her own money for student necessities...... workbooks, pencils..supplies kids had to have that could not afford. That's a lot of money from the pockets of the most poorly paid teachers in the industrial world.

Schools don't teach values? The critics are dead wrong.

Public education provides more Sunday School teachers than any other profession. The average teacher works more hours in nine months than the average 40-hour employee does in a year.

You want heroes?

For millions of kids, the hug they get from a teacher is the only hug they will get that day because the nation is living through the worst parenting in history. An Argyle, Texas kindergarten teacher hugs her little 5 and 6 year olds so much that both the boys and the girls run up and hug her when they see her in the hall, at the football games, or in the malls years later.

A Michigan principal moved me to tears with the story of her attempt to rescue a badly abused little boy who doted on a stuffed animal on her desk......one that said "I love you!". He said he'd never been told that at home. This is a constant in today's society......two million unwanted, unloved, abused children in the public schools, the only institution that takes them all in.

You want heroes?

Visit a special education class and watch the miracle of personal interaction, a job so difficult that fellow teachers are awed by the dedication they witness. There is a sentence from an unnamed source which says: "We have been so eager to give our children what we didn't have that we have neglected to give them what we did have.

"What is it that our kids really need? What do they really want?

Math, science, and social studies are important, but children need love, confidence, encouragement, someone to talk to, someone to listen, and standards to live by. Teachers provide upright examples, the faith and assurance of responsible people.

You want heroes?

Then go down to your local school and see our real live heroes....the ones changing lives for the better each and every day!

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"And that's all I have to say about that."

Pick And Choose

I'm amazed at how people want to "pick and choose" the parts of the Bible that suit them. A movie was given a PG-13 rating not because of profanity but because the dialogue discussed God! Parents needed to be warned of this!? NBC has edited Veggie Tales to get rid of any religious language because that might unduly influence someone or offend them. (Amazing how they defend the right to show trash saying parents should monitor what their kids are watching. That the remote has an off button!) I heard on the radio that a female minister left a denomination because it taught against homosexuality saying "those scriptures really don't apply to today." I hear of people arguing against tithing because it is an "Old Testament" teaching. (What do they do with the seventh chapter of Hebrews?)

My question to people is how can you just pick and choose the parts you LIKE!? Can you remove the eggs from a cake once it has been baked? NO! If you don't like eggs or are allergic to them then you must not eat the cake! God inspired the entire Bible. Nowhere do I find that He says we only have to abide by the commandments or the passages that make us feel good! Nor does the Bible indicate that any part of it is merely for our reading pleasure!

What kind of society would we have if we got to pick and choose the laws we want to obey! "You know, I don't like that law against stealing. I really want that man's Beamer so I'll just steal it. My defense will be that that stealing law offends me."

This may seem ridiculous, but it is how we want to treat God's laws! No we can't pick and choose which laws of the land we want to obey and we CERTAINLY can't pick and choose which of God's laws we want to obey! It's all or nothing, folks. Your only choice is to accept it completely or reject God completely. Just remember that for every choice you make, there is a consequence.

The Name Game!

If you have seen The Dawg Howse recently, then you know about the quest for "What's in a name". In other words, why did you name your blog what you did. Here is my "why."

My name is not really Libby. It is a nickname my mother gave me ... I guess almost since birth! She had a little neighbor girl that had blonde hair and blue eyes whose family nicknamed Libby. She thought the girl and her name were really cute so tagged me with it. That's ok with me. My name is unique enough that I rarely meet someone else named Libby. If I'm in public, and someone yells Libby I can be pretty sure that I'M the Libby who should turn around and look.

The... err... side effect to my name, however, is that all through school I had the Libby's canned goods jingle sung every time I was introduced to someone. (If you're not old enough to remember, it went like this: Libby's Libby's Libby's on the label label label. You will like it, like it, like it on your table, table, table.) People were always sure they were the first to think of it. I just let them believe that.

Instead of getting ticked off about it, I decided to use it to my advantage. When introduced to someone who seems to be having difficulty with my name I will say, "You know. Like Libby's fruit cocktail?" They seem to never forget then.

Fruit cocktail seems to be a food that describes me anyway. I love bright colors and each scoop is different from the last so you're never quite sure what's coming next!

Kinda Puts Things Into Perspective

Antares is the 15th brightest star in the sky.

Makes you realize how insignificant we are compared to this universe God created yet he knows the number of hairs on our heads.

What If......

You could see your own funeral? How would you want it to turn out? What would you want people to say? How do you want to be remembered?

I attended the funeral....no... the celebration of the life of a wonderful woman today. Although I cried many tears, it was still a joyous occassion. The lives she touched. The smile she always wore. The love she always shared. She truly exemplified Christ in the life she lived. Every story, every song, every remembrance pointed to the joy she had and how she shared it with others. Even if one knew her for but a short time (as I did), you would immediately see Christ in the joy of her heart.

This funeral was very much like what I would want for my own. Celebrate for I have gone to a better place. Sing joyous songs unto the Lord for He is worthy. Dance for God's glory. Worship the Lord for who He is. But most of all, preach a message of salvation for those who may never darken the doors of a church. This could be the only time you have them as a captive audience.

Thank you, Margaret Loraine Karns (sp?), for the life you lived. It was and is an inspiration to all who knew you.

"So you've had a bad day. ..."

There is a joke in my family that you never want to go out to eat with me because something ALWAYS goes wrong. Tonight supported that theory.

I was going to grill ribs but needed charcoal so I went to the store to purchase it. When I got home I asked my son to start the fire. He got the grill ready and poured the charcoal in. Upon inquiring as to why it was taking so long I discovered he couldn't find the lighter fluid. Someone has put it away but no one seems to remember doing so. By this time we decided it was getting too late to cook so we went out to eat.

At the restaurant we ordered 2 pizzas and a calzone. When the pizzas came, the large was a medium and the medium was a large. Not a major issue but my daughter's calzone was non existent. We waited patiently. Finally the server comes over and tells us that another server mistakenly gave the calzone to someone else. It was the wrong kind so they had to start another one. We waited and we waited AND we waited some more. When the calzone finally arrived, the rest of us had finished eating AND it was chicken instead of steak!

Earlier I had gone to Lowe's regarding the door I had painted for my daughter's room. I waited about two weeks for that door. I painted it as described in the post "Yesterday". I had to sand and repaint some places where the cheap paint ran. I then carried the door to her room to be hung. My suspicions were correct. The door had been delivered slab length instead of finished length. In other words, they didn't take into account the length that the mounts for the top and bottom of the door would take up so it was too long. When they tried to reorder the door properly there were MORE difficulties. The system tried to charge me extra for a special order door!

The title of this blog actually comes from a song. I love the song that has this line. It was the theme song for youth camp this year. It talks about taking the bad and turning it around for the good. I could have just as easily titled this post "Blessings or Cursings".

My son remarked jokingly that "The curse of Mom has returned" when our order got so fouled up. I in turn replied, "But how many times have we gotten free meals as a result?" The family had to concede. Tonight was no different. They gave us our daughter's meal PLUS two free deserts!

Because of the mistake at Lowe's and because of my trouble they gave me the special order door at the standard door price AND gave me a 10% discount to boot!

So my question to you is this. Would you choose to avoid eating with me because chances are good your meal will be messed up or would you want to eat with me because you might get a bargain? :) In other words, do you see the blessings or the cursings in your circumstances?

Yesterday!

Yesterday was a very hectic day. I had picked up the door for my daughter's bedroom a couple of days ago so it was in our family room where I could lay it flat to paint it. Now the downstairs family room is between the living room and dining room, open to view from both. On Wed. I painted one side of the door and was letting it dry before turning it over. After church a couple came and told Darrell that they were intending to elope, but decided they wanted him to marry them just before they took off. When asked when they wanted to do this the response was, "Tommorrow!"

There are several activities that generally take place on Thursday nights at the church. The couple wanted to keep the wedding a secret until after they at least left town so this presented a situation (I've been told to use this word instead of problem. It softens the blow if you will.) Now my son is in band camp right now which wasn't to get out until six and was to be at church for Yuitsido by 7:15. It was decided we should do the wedding at our house at 6:30 in order to maintain secrecy. WOW! OK, we can do this.

It was 9:30 pm by now on Wednesday. I wanted to make their day as special as possible so I decided to use a couple of the nice table cloths from church and whatever else I could find to decorate. I went to the storage drawer. No table cloths. Now, I figured someone had taken them to wash them and to be truthful there was only one person at our church who would have done such a thing so I picked up my husband's handy dandy cell phone to call her. I felt a little guilty about this because she had missed church due to illness AND it was past her little ones' bed time, but I was in a pinch so I made the call hoping her husband would answer. Rats! Foiled again! They had employed the use of their handy dandy answering machine! It would have to wait until morning.

I went home and turned the door over to paint the other side with the other color of paint chewing myself out all the while for buying cheap paint in this color. The first side covered in one coat. This side took THREE. The expensive paint was about a third more in cost but covered in one coat so I actually LOST money buying the cheap paint. Lesson learned; moving on.

I folded the clothes I had washed while letting the paint dry between coats. Finally, I got to go to bed.

The next morning, after taking my son to band camp (still no license because he still hasn't cleaned his room) stopped in a grocery store bakery to get a single layer cake decorated for the wedding. After getting all the information from the lady behind the counter, I began to place my order. She then explained that the decorator was off duty that day. Now what?! I went home and went to plan B.

I called Amber and asked if she had gotten my message about the table cloths. "Yes, ...this morning. Who's getting married?" "I can't tell you, but she likes black, white and pink. Do you have any ideas?" "Yeah, I have several things left over from a shower, all in pink and white." "Great!"

I told Darrell about the cake dilemma. He said I could tell Amber who was getting married since I needed to ask her if she could decorate a cake. "Amber, can you make a wedding cake for me today? I want it to say 'Congratulations __________ and ___________' but you don't know them. Remember, I can't tell you who is getting married." We thought it best to spill the beans under the circumstances.

Amber didn't have any icing ready, but she found someone to make the cake for me. (Thanks, Amber.) Back to the business at hand.

I checked the paint on the door. It didn't need another coat (Thank you, Lord!), so my daughter and I carried the door upstairs. I taped off the doorway and painted the other half of the inside. (2 to 3 coats again!) I cleaned up the paint, then went downstairs to get to work. I carried up the paint cans, folded the drop cloth and removed any other signs of painting. I had my husband carry the metal shelf that the door was on down to the basement. Then the cleaning began. I went to get my son at lunch time. Did the lunch thing at home and took him back.

I continued cleaning until three at which point I took my shower. (Ashley did all the floors while I was gone. Darrell also helped as he could, but remember, he's doing the ceremony. He had to put that together.) I picked the decorations up at 4 from Amber's house then went to Wal-Mart to get the other supplies: flowers, cake topper, tulle, candy kisses, nuts. I then picked up the cake and and dinner mints at the grocery store and was off to pick up Daniel with 15 minutes to spare. Luckily, the band director let him out 15 minutes earlier than my note requested (it was now 4:45). Back home we went.

Darrell took the kids to pick up McDonald's while I decorated. After eating, I finished decorating, then we all had to get ready for the wedding. WHEW! 6:15 and we are ready, waiting on the couple and the other witness. (Darrell is the officiate and the kids are too young so we needed one more witness besides me.) Finally they arrive.

The bride had lost weight since she purchased her dress so we had to do some quick pinning (wish I had that problem). When she felt comfortable, we began. My 13 year old did the filming and my 16 year old was the photographer.

The couple loved the decorations and the little reception we created for them. It was a simple but beautiful wedding. The names of the new Mr. and Mrs. will be announced Sunday at church while they are away on their honeymoon.

Now that that's over I get to go back to my remodeling job which was preempted. But first, I have to pick my son up from band camp.

See what I mean about "Now my life will return to the speed of light"?!

It ... Is ... Finished!!!!

At long last, we are finished remodeling Ashley's room. With all the setbacks it took nearly two years! If I can find the before pictures I will post them but for now here are the after pictures!

Time to Get Back to My Routine

This has been a very busy summer, but one of the best I can remember. It actually started early. Just before school let out, my daughter left for NYC where her choir sang at Cargnegie Hall. One week later we left for camp meeting, just over a week later our kids went to youth camp where both were awarded the Camper of the Year Awards. After church on July 2nd, we drove to the St. Louis area. We took our kids and one of our nieces to Six Flags on July 3rd then spent the Fourth with family there. On the fifth we left for Atlanta. We got stuck in a traffic jam and almost missed the Cardinal vs. Braves game at Turner Field we were headed for. As we sat in the heat, we changed seats so Daniel could get in hours for his permit as the other drivers watched. I explained what we were doing. 2 lanes over another driver told us if we could cross the lanes to the on ramp, go up it the wrong way then turn left we could get to a highway which would bypass the jam. Daniel was driving at the time. He did something neither his father nor I have done and that is cross 3 lanes of stopped interstate traffic and drive the wrong way up an entrance ramp. We made it to the game just after the first inning began.

The next morning we headed for Orlando for Daniel's 16th birthday. We didn't do any parks. We just went swimming, went to a couple of movies and spent some family time together. 10 days after returning home we went to Port Lucaya, Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas. If you have read Darrell's Blog then you know what a great time we had there. In the midst of all this, we finished remodeling Ashley's room. (Whewww! Deep breath!)

Now I start to get busy. School starts in three weeks and life will be at the speed of light once again. Pictures of my summer adventures will follow so stay tuned!

Happy Birthday, Daniel!

Daniel will be sixteen on Saturday so we are taking him to Florida for his birthday. Six Flags, family visit, MLB game, Pirates of the Caribbean: Deadman's Chest, miniature golf, swimming and surrey rides are on our agenda. I hope it really is a "sweet sixteen" for him.

Having his permit means he will get to help us drive. That should make the trip less tiring. Since we will be out the state on his birthday, he won't be able to get his license until we get back. (That's ok with me. Our insurance doesn't increase until he is officially licensed!)

I'll give updates when we return. Until then! Have a great summer and happy Independence Day!

Happy Birthday, Monkey!

Today is my daughter's 13th birthday. Both kids are teenagers now (oh boy)! I just wanted to say Happy Birthday Ashley. We love you!

BTW folks. This beautiful girl (quickly becoming a woman) and her Handsome (Albert Ingalls looking) brother made youth camp history last week! It was the first time in the history of IL youth camp that relatives took both the male and female Super Camper awards in the same year!

Please indulge me for a moment while this very proud mother brags on her (not so baby) babies! (I'm a firm believer that all parents should brag on their kids from time to time.)

Blessings

God says, "Give and it shall be given unto you." I am not here to preach the "prosperity gospel" that we hear on television so much of the time, but I am here to talk about God's principle of giving. I have heard one single mother say "I can't afford to tithe." yet she smokes several packs of cigarettes each week and seems to struggle financially. Another said she couldn't afford to give but she and her daughter tan regularly and get pedicures and manicures often. We always seem to have money for what we want. Still another single mother pays her tithes and God blesses her with a new car. None of these people has a job making tons of money, but their priorities are different. I'm not trying to pick on single parents here. I know raising children alone has to be very difficult in many ways not just financially, but God's principles work no matter your situation.

I have witnessed the same types of comparisons in two parent families of similar income. The one which does not give to God saying they can't afford it constantly struggles the other is blessed. Satan has convinced those of you who don't give of a lie. You cannot look at your checkbook and determine the giving! If you set your mind to give God what is His first, everything else is taken care of!

I'm sure people think that my husband and I make a lot of money because our house is big and we are able to travel, but that just isn't true. In fact our income is low enough that if our son wants to go to Harvard he can go for free! However, we understand that all that we have is not really ours, it is God's. If God asked us to give up our home (which He has) and move, then we must do it. If He asks us to give up our jobs that we love and pay well (which He has) then we must do it. The thing is, every time God has asked us to give something up, He has always blessed us many times over.

When we gave up our 2400 square foot home in West Frankfort to move to Lincoln and live in about a 900-1000 square foot parsonage that had mushrooms growing up through the bathroom floor to pastor a church, we did it. I gave up my big beautiful home, but was blessed with a wonderful job. The community was economically depressed, yet I had one of the best paying jobs in the area which paid full family insurance! 3 in my family had to have surgery within about a year and a half's time and all it cost us was a small co-pay for the initial Dr. visit. THAT is being blessed. Not only was my job well paying with great benefits, I loved working there as well! We were able to purchase vacation timeshares while we lived there. My husband was able to keep his promise to his daughter that one day he would take her to Disney World. We have visited Disney, Universal and Sea World parks numerous times since then.

God then asked me to give up my job to come to Galesburg. I had to start the tenure process all over again, I took a paycut (I make over $10,000 less here) and family insurance would be almost $700 per month now. We can't afford that so we carry an individual plan on Darrell and the kids which costs a little less than half but has a deductible of $2500 on each of them ($7500 total if all were sick in the same year)!

In man's eyes I'm sure we looked nuts. Yes, Darrell would be making more, but it wouldn't make up for what we were giving up in my job. There also wasn't a place to live. We had to find a place to buy or rent within a couple of weeks.

We knew we were supposed to come to Galesburg so we trusted God. He provided us with a home that is approximately equal in size to our home in West Frankfort PLUS the one in which we lived in Lincoln! It is worth more than TWICE what our house in West Frankfort was worth, but only cost $30,000 more than that house did! That is GOD BLESSING!

We thought we would never be able to take our kids out of the country, just couldn't afford it, but we will be traveling to the Bahamas next month! The total cost of airfare and hotel for seven nights for all four of us totalling less than $500 (that's including port charges)! Tell me that God doesn't bless when we are faithful! God doesn't have to provide money. It is ALL His! Not just money but everything! We need to get past the idea that if we give $10, God will give us $100. We need to recognize God doesn't do things OUR way but HIS!

We once had a $10,000 debt completely wiped clean! God didn't drop the money in our laps. He simply got rid of the bill!

If you are obedient, God will bless you beyond your dreams! When you don't tithe you are in disobedience! I want to be obedient to the one who created me and all things of the universe! We don't give to see what blessings God will bestow, but it certainly is fun watching what He does when we are obedient!

Are You Missing Something?

I just thought I might be of help to those of you who have lost precious articles within the past few months. I believe I have found where they disappeared to.

We have been after our kids to clean their rooms for some time now and though they go and spend HOURS in them supposedly cleaning somehow the rooms look no better when they come out. Amazingly, they often times look WORSE after the kids have "cleaned"!

My niece and her family are coming to stay with us this weekend so I decided it was time I took matters into my own hands. My daughter's room is the worse so I chose to risk life and limb and start there. As I entered with my mountain climbing equipment, picks and shovels I began digging through the pile. (It's just one huge mountain. To have separate piles would imply there is some sort of organization.) As I dug, I began pitching clothes to the hallway to be rewashed (fully aware that 90% have probably not been worn since the last washing,but since they had been trampled on numerous times, I figured it warranted a rewashing). To my surprise I found not only mounds of Ashley's clothes and shoes that she outgrew right after we moved here, but I also found her brother's clothes, her brother's underwear and socks, a variety of shoes belonging to numerous people, her DAD'S jeans, her dad's underwear, school papers from second grade, half eaten food from who knows when, a ziploc bag of some unknown substance which looked and smelled like vomit (which I almost did when I found it)....you get the idea.

I came to realize as I shoveled and climbed that MANY lost treasures (among other scarier things) might be in this room! So...if you have lost something valuable just let me know. I'll mark it and set it aside for you. All I ask in return is a small finder's fee...you know for taking my life in my own hands for your service.

Oh, by the way. You might want to add my children to your prayer lists. Otherwise, when asked about them my response may be, "Ashley and Daniel WHO?"

I'm BAAACK!!!

Well, almost. The therapist says I am responding well so I should be able to be back at work in 7-10 days. I smiled when he said this because the 24th is the last day of school. The last day of finals is the 22nd! The Dr. did say I had really improved with therapy and may be able to return to work by next Friday so he wants to see me again next Thursday. The school year may be a wash but at least I'm getting my life back! I do have a really good sub so I am thankful for that. At least the end of the year hasn't been a total loss. I'm looking forward to summer and next year to get a fresh start.

I love fresh starts. The wonderful thing about them is you get to have them pretty much whenever you choose! Just look to a good starting point in the future and brace yourself to get there!

Thanks for all your prayers. I KNOW that is the real reason I have recovered so quickly.

It's the End of the World As We Know It!!!

At least that's what our children think. As you know if you have been reading the Garrett blogs, Darrell and I both have been pretty much out of commission. As a result, our portion of the "chores" have not been done.

I have made the kids cook some simple meals a couple of times. I figure it's good for them to learn this responsibility anyway. They each have been cooking certain things for years, but to just put the two of them alone in the kitchen without supervision.... Well, I do believe this was the first time I have been brave enough to try it. Bravery really had nothing to do with it. It was actually one of those "between a rock and a hard place" situations. I was absolutely amazed to find that a child with an IQ of somewhere around 160 can't follow the directions on the seasoning packet for tacos! However, everything turned out okay in the end. As you can see, I lived to tell about it! No one died or got food poisoning.

The second reality shock that has hit our children is that Mom and Dad do all the laundry. With my injury, the bending and lifting that goes with laundry have prevented me from doing much. As a result our son has actually had to dig through that pig sty of a room of his and find clean clothes that have been buried for ...well... probably for months now. I think he had been rotating the same three pair of underwear through the laundry until this happened and mom hasn't been able to do laundry daily!

He is also starting to learn the value of finding his clothes the night before because several times he has tried to get ready for school and been unable to find any jeans! (He refuses to wear shorts to school.) I have intended to teach him to do laundry but have been trying to get him through this school year first. He has been so overwhelmed with homework, there has been little time for anything else. Thank God the AP Calculus class just took the AP exam yesterday so homework from that class will be minimal for the rest of the year now. I have a feeling his system is going to be in for a shock.

In addition to doing some of our chores, the kids still have their own. To be perfectly honest, I haven't had the where withal to be after them as much as usual so my living room looks like a bunch of pigs have set up camp. It is at the point of driving me crazy. I would be truly embarrassed if anyone were to show up at my house right now. (To the honery ones of the congregation, this is not an invitation to come over and embarrass me.) If the kids don't get their rooms clean, at least they are upstairs hidden from sight, but EVERYONE sees the living room!

My kitchen floor is also embarrassing. I mentioned to the therapist yesterday that it really needs to be mopped. He just smiled and said, "Just look at it and think about how you don't have to do it!" Yeah right! All I can see is the filth. Somehow God has given my children special vision because they never seem to notice the juice they spilled on the floor or the food they left on the counter. All spills of any kind completely miss them. I wish God had given them my vision! I don't really want theirs. The health department would be shutting our HOUSE down!

All in all, I am having a much better day so far. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to sit here long enough to write this. It is just 8:15 though, and I took a break in the middle.

I go back to the Dr. next Thursday to find out how much longer. I just want to get "my world" back to normal. This whole experience has taught me something, though. I realized I "have a life" as they say. I am normally a very active person not just busy. And I have been blessed with the ability to do many things. I have been taking the ability to do house work, painting, cleaning my yard, teaching, cooking, being able to be in the sun all for granted. I can assure you, I will appreciate those "everyday chores" much more after this is all over.

Update on Lucy

The Dr. has some concerns regarding my reaction to the meds. I'm not healing the way I should and the spots are not what he initially thought they were. He sent me to get blood work to check liver enzymes, white blood cell count, etc. I haven't gotten the results as yet.

He has also ordered physical therapy and I am off work indefinitely pending weekly re-evaluations and and evaluations from the physical therapist.

I was in such pain after sitting on the Dr. furniture that I had to come home and take some pain meds. It has made me nautious. My system must still be sensitive from my last reaction so I am not tolerating meds as well.

Thanks for your prayers. Please don't let up.

MAY DAY! MAY DAY!!!

It is May 1st which is May Day. Most people don't celebrate May Day anymore. From my understanding, on May 1st people would dance around a "May pole" interweaving ribbons in celebration of this date. It seems I read somewhere that this was actually a pagan celebration, but I don't have the energy to research that right now and my mind is too fuzzy to remember all the obscure facts I once knew.

However, the title of this post is actually a pun. It is May Day, but I AM calling for help. I go back to the Dr. today for a re-evaluation. I know that I am still having pain, but I don't want to stay home if I am able to go back to work.

How can you help? Pray for my healing and my Dr. that God will give him wisdom. My Dr. is a Christian and also believes in healing so I know the faith is there as well.

Why Not Vote?

Why do so many Christians think that being involved in politics is wrong? If Christians don't run for office or justice positions, we are leaving the running of this country to the unsaved and we wonder what has happened to this God fearing nation?!

The same reasoning holds for schools. I have been criticized for teaching in public schools instead of a private Christian school. First of all and most importantly, this is what God has called me to do. But aside from that, if we take all the Christian teachers out of the schools, what influence have we left for the young people of the U.S. to follow and look up to as role models? If we take all the Christian students out of the schools, what peers have we left for other students to be influenced by. I truly believe my children are missionaries on a mission field.

I am not putting down anyone who chooses home schooling or private Christian schools. You must do what God has directed you to do, but I do think sometimes we try to isolate ourselves from the rest of the world! Not just politically, not just in education, but we do it in our churches as well! We fail to become friends with the unsaved and spend all of our time with other Christians. How are we going to reach the lost if we are never around the lost?

The Bible says we are to be in the world but not of the world. I understand that to mean we live and function in daily lives as normal people. We just don't partake of sinful things. Jesus made his closest friends people that most people at that time wouldn't give the time of day to. They weren't the holy saints from the synagogue. He befriended them, taught them, discipled (trained) them. They weren't "good Christians" when Christ met them!

We are to be the salt of the earth. Salt doesn't just "sit" on the meat or other food and look nice. It chemically changes and reacts with the food, preserving it and changing its flavor. We can't change lives of the unsaved if we don't get involved with them! I don't mean go drinking at the bar with your coworkers. I do mean going to dinner with them. Sitting and chatting with them at work. Spending time building friendships, then they'll notice something in you that they lack.

I do believe this includes the political realm. I had a friend at the school where I worked in Lincoln, whom I loved dearly and still keep in touch with by email. She openly confessed she was not a Christian. She knew exactly where I stood. She would tease me sometimes calling me a closet liberal because I didn't look down on her for her beliefs, but she was keenly aware of my stand on abortion, gay rights or other "conservative" issues. She knew I disagreed with her, but still gave me the opportunity to express why I believe what I believe. She allowed me this right because I had become her friend.

Schools, politics, work, little league, the GROCERY store, these are all areas where we can let the love of God shine through! We should not limit where God wants to use us. We need to be involved in ALL everyday aspects of life! Especially those that affect the moral direction of this country.

Growing Up Pentecostal

I recently read a book titled "Growing Up Pente- costal". It was written by J. Stephen Conn. Some of you may have noticed that he occassion- ally posts comments on mine and Darrell's blogs. You may read seven of the chapters on his blog. Click on the highlighted title or the image to link to that site.

The book tells of experiences both bad and good that Pastor Conn experienced as the 3rd child (of 12) of a Church of God minister. I laughed at many of the antics Pastor Conn pulled as a child. I became angry over the way he was treated at times. I felt saddened at times. I read of experiences like some of my own childhood. And I learned some things about the history of our denomination which helped me to understand why some people do the things they do. WE taught them to be that way!

I wish I could have read this book early in our ministerial lives. Perhaps it would have helped me to cope better with folks I considered to be "holier than thou". Some of the older folks in our denomination can't seem to break loose from the holiness-on-the-outside perspective they grew up with, but I thank God that changes are taking place. I just pray we don't follow the swing of the proverbial pendulum and go too far the other way.

Those who have not been raised in our denomination will find insight into some of the "why we do the things we do" and hopefully learn from the mistakes of our past so that we don't repeat history.

It is an interesting book. A great read-at-the-beach or on the porch swing kind of book. What I liked most is that I didn't have to read it cover to cover. I can choose a particular chapter of interest then go back to another later without losing any understanding. In this give-me-a-tidbit-and-let-me-run-world it is the perfect book.

You can get the book at Amazon.com or your local book store.

"Lucy! You've got some 'splaning to do!"

Well, I'm home again! I went to work on Monday, but was in such pain by 3rd period I was in tears. I called the Dr. At my appointment he prescribed 2 additional meds and took me off work until after he sees me monday. "Great!" I thought because I had a guest speaker and a field trip to Six Flags planned for this week.

The speaker came without me and the Art teacher is taking the physics students on their field trip so they don't lose the money they paid. I'm still trying to convalesce.

I started the meds as directed. I didn't sleep well last night. I woke up this morning with my thighs itching like crazy! I got a slight sunburn on the top of my thighs Saturday so I just figured it was worse than I originally thought and now I'm peeling.

WRONG!!!! Upon taking a closer look I realized I had broken out in red welts all over my legs! I called the Dr. AGAIN. When the nurse called me back, I gave her the low-down. She instructed me to stop taking all meds (Well, duh!) she would call back again after speaking with the Dr. He agreed with my diagnosis that it was an allergy to one of the meds. He called in new scripts. A steroid to get rid of the hives and a new anti-inflammatory. Because the latter was not generic I had to pay $50 just for it. Apparently, insurance companies don't care if you are taking a name brand because you are allergic to the generic!

I ate something and took the flexeril (muscle relaxer). I called my mother to give an update. She informed me that flexeril broke her out into a rash which started on her legs, itched terribly, and moved up her body to her arms and face. DING! DING! DING! We have a WINNER! These were the exact same symptoms as mine.

The nurse had told me if I had trouble breathing to call back or go directly to the ER. I noticed that my tongue had begun to swell as well by now and that I was having the burning sensation inside my mouth and throat as well now!

I called the nurse back relating the new info. Sure enough, I was allergic to the flexeril and didn't NEED to pay $50 for new meds! I took 50 mg of Benadryl (sp?) and started the steroids.

Some of the symptoms are subsiding now, but I still have an unbearable itch and my tongue still feels fat. I'll be glad when I get through this.

The good news? Doc says nothing is broken and I should be completely well in a week or two. In the meanwhile I'm at home lying around feeling groggy and itchy.

Lucille Ball

My mother once asked my husband what it felt like to be married to Lucille Ball. I was a bit offended at the time. My thoughts? Thanks, Mom, for your support! But as time has past, (20 years in fact) I have had to admit she may be right. I seem to have a knack for the er... unusual to occur when I'm around.

This past Wednesday afternoon, our school was having its biennial mock prom crash. The fire and rescue squad, the ambulance service, State police, local police and helicopter were all at our school to dramatize what could happen when kids drink and drive at prom.

The kids were released at 2 pm for the event. At that time of day I'm supervising study hall downstairs. I was expecting a call from the Dr.'s office and had forgotten my phone so when the kids left I took my book upstairs and retrieved my jacket and phone. Sure enough, there was a message from the Dr.'s office. As I was walking down the stairs to the second floor I listened to the message. I was given a direct line to call.

At the second floor stairwell I dialed the number and began the decent down the next flight of stairs. At the next landing the nurse answered. I took the 1st step down the final flight of 18 steps. I lost my footing and went bouncing down about 15 of them! The phone went flying as I lunged to grab the railing to catch myself. All the while the nurse continued to talk. I asked a co-worker who had already reached the ground level safely to please hand me the phone. I apologized to the nurse for not hearing anything she just said and asked her to please repeat. (Yes, I was writhing in pain but it wasn't polite to not listen to someone who had made such a special effort to speak with me.)

When I hung up the phone, Mr. Hughes asked if I was alright. I explained that I did hurt quite a bit so he offered his hand and helped me to solid ground and out the door. I hobbled to the bleachers where the teachers were sitting and asked if anyone had access to ice. One of the PE teachers went to fetch a bag and returned quickly. Upon returning she asked, "Does he (the principal, Mr. Callahan) know you're hurt!?" I shook my head. She quickly marched off dutifully to report the accident.

"Hey, Mr. Callahan, we've got someone REALLY hurt here!!!" (I love, Terry.) Mr. Callahan hurried to my side to check on me. As luck would have it, every kind of emergency personnel in Knox county was immediately available. The director of the county ambulance service immediately questioned me and recommended I be taken by ambulance, immobilized on a board, to the hospital! Pads were placed around my head, a neck brace about my neck, straps across my head, chest, torso and legs; the only thing I could move was my hands. I explained that "I freak out when I'm strapped down" (bet your wondering how I would know this; another time, another post) so the EMT might want to talk to me all the way to the hospital.

I was loaded into the ambulance, lights flashing, sirens going, most at the school none the wiser. Except for a few witnesses, everyone thought it was just part of the "show"!

I received immediate, personable (that is the word I meant) care at the hospital. Everyone was attentive and pleasant. The Doc sent me home citing no broken bones. Three days later, I'm still sore and moving kinda slow, but I thank God I wasn't injured seriously. I also thank God for everone's prayers and that He made arrangements for such timely medical care!

I'll return another time with more evidence as to how I embody Lucille Ball.

Out of Touch?!

My posting has slowed tremendously. I have not been able to read many blogs either. The reason? Over spring break, the powers that be at my school decided to change fire walls because "there have been so many complaints about how many sites were blocked. The new one is supposed to give more access." Well, I can no longer access any blog supported by Blogger. The tech guy has emailed the computer guys who have not responded as yet about getting rid of the block on blogger. (I love our tech guy. He is so real and down to earth. Not a "blogger", however. Guess I'll have to enlighten him.) Because of this my blogging may be slow for me for awhile. (I do get all of your comments emailed to me so I get to read them.)

However, I may get to tomorrow because I fell at school today and the Doc made me take tomorrow off! Take what I write with a grain of salt, though. Not too sure how the pain meds are going to affect me!

Ah well, such is life ;)

CELEBRATE!!!

HALLELUJAH!!! At least TWO people gave their hearts and lives to God yesterday during service! PRAISE GOD! It is wonderful anytime, but the significance of this occurence on Easter just really brings home the awesome sacrifice God made for us! I chose green print to represent the NEW LIFE God has given!

Thank you, Lord for the two that have made a choice for you. Help me personally and our church as a whole to disciple these two new babes.

He is a mighty and awesome God!

I Need New Glasses ....Still

A couple of nights ago, my family (minus the boy child) went to a little family diner in a neighboring town. We had been there before and remembered that the food was good and it was inexpensive so we decided to make the trek. Nearly an hour after we ordered and everyone else in the restaurant had come and gone, we got our food. All I can say is it is still fairly inexpensive.

We had to pick up some dog food (we were still unsatisfied from our meal and thought this might help) as well as a few other household items, rubbing alcohol, fabric softener, toothpaste. You know the kind of trip. You go to the store for $20 worth of stuff and come out missing an arm. Well this trip was no different, so off to the "store that has it all" to shop.

While we were at the store, we saw some pre-paid cell phones. Now my husband and I have phones, but our daughter is getting ready to make a trip to NY next month to sing at Carnegie Hall and we are probably NOT going to be able to go. I'm not too sure about sending one of our phones off with her, but neither do I want to be unable to reach her or her me if need be so we're checking out our options. Two of the young men there politely answered all of our questions, but told us that this route is really expensive. They were right, so we decided to continue weighing out all the options.

My husband was looking for one of our listed items while our daughter had spied something of interest. She had found the portable DVD players... and they're on SALE! "This can be my Easter, birthday AND Christmas present, Mom! Daniel won't go in on it with me and let it be one present for both our birthdays so I'll just put everything together and it will be just mine, PLEASE!"

To placate her, I went to look. As luck would have it, they really did have some good prices. Unfortunately, the $100 off would end Saturday, there were only two left, and no more were on order! We had been looking at buying one for trips for some time so this really wouldn't be a "spur of the moment buying decision", right? We convinced ourselves it was a good decision. Only one obstacle remained. I had no extra money to buy it at this time. I looked to Darrell as if to say, do you want to take it out of savings? Do you want to put it on a credit card and pay it later? Yes, it's a great buy, but "you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip" as my DH likes to say. Well, apparently you can because we told the young man to take it to the service desk. We had made the decision to buy!

We brought our new treasure home. Oh yes, and the dog food, too (Cinnamon was quite pleased with that purchase). And we put it aside. Ashley kept bringing it out wanting to “look" at it. "I just want to look at it!" Then it was, “Can’t I just cut the plastic off? I'll be really careful! I promise I won't open the box!" Then, "We really need to make sure it works, Mom, please!"

After two days of a little fox working on this vine, we're sitting on the couch last night and I'm trying to read the instructions on how to charge the battery. Now the instruction manual is in FOUR languages, 28 pages each all compacted into ONE 1/4 inch thick book that fits into the length of my hand! In addition to having microscopic print, for some reason the printers decided that the actual instructions had to be written in pale gray on a grayish white background!

As you all know, I have just had a birthday and I am old now, so seeing print like this is difficult even WITH my glasses on! I decided to make the effort anyway. I succeeded in finding the page which stated how to charge the battery, but was shocked to find that it had to be charged for 45 to 65 hours! Unbelievable! I turned the light up. Yes, that is what it said. I put my glasses on. Yes, I read it right. I had never heard of such a long time needed to charge a battery. My family and I reasoned it must just be for the initial charge. Surely it would not take that long every time! I proceeded to put all the pieces together and set it up.

Meanwhile, my daughter took the manual and started to read about the charging process. "Mom! It says '4.5 to 6.5 hours not 45 to 65! HAHAHAHA!"

The math teacher in me couldn't resist, "See the importance of a decimal point!" Yeah, it would have been really nice if the printers had made it BIGGER!

My lesson? I'll be making an appointment to see the eye doctor next week.

Kitchen Rules...

...and other Barbara Johnson wisdoms

1. If a messy kitchen is a happy kitchen, my kitchen is delirious.

2. A husband is someone who takes out the trash and gives the impression he just cleaned the whole kitchen. (I have to say. This is not true of my husband, but it is certainly true of my son!)

3. Countless people have eaten in this kitchen ... and gone on to lead normal lives.

The happiest marriages are surely those where love and laughter overcome any brokenness. Between these couples, laughter is a natural part of every day.

Friends help us just by their willingness to laugh at the goofiness that unexpectedly pops into our lives to brighten the dark places.

Inside some of us is a thin person struggling to get out...but she can usually be sedated with a few pieces of chocolate cake.

Encouraging Words

When God permits His children to go through the furnace experiences of our lives, He keeps His eye on the clock-and His hand on the thermostat!

Jesus' gift to us is eternal life, something we don't deserve, didn't work for, and can't buy for any price.

Barbara Johnson

Did you hear....

...about the doorbell and humingbird who fell in love?

They had a little humdinger!

Quotes for the Day

"You never can think what a good place Heaven is without knowing who [Jesus] was and what He did."

Charles Dickens

[Moms] are the world's greatest actresses. We have to act as if our heart isn't breaking when our child comes home from school crying because he doesn't have any friends. And yet we will never receive an Academy Award.... We are th emost overworked and underpaid occupation there is. And yet, we are the most important. (I would have to include Dads.)

Mary Jo Malone

THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO GET SOMETHING DONE:

• Do it yourself.
• Hire someone to do it.
• Forbid your kids to do it.

Barbara Johnson

Daddy's Girl?

My daughter has been a Daddy's girl almost since she was weaned. Before she started pre-school, Darrell would get up, get ready and either start studying or making phone calls for church, whatever was on the agenda for the day. When Ashley got up, she would search out her Daddy and drag him back to bed to snuggle. She had to have her morning time with Daddy. After she started pre-school, she didn't have classes on Mondays so they were celebrated as "Daddy and Ashley Days". They would do special little things together even if it was as small as making breakfast together, going to McDonalds for lunch or just singing a song together. They still sing "My Girl" and "You Are My Sunshine" as a duet on a regular basis.

As she has gotten older, the Daddy addiction hasn't stop. If we're sitting in the living room watching T.V, she's snuggled up to her daddy. If I am sitting next to Darrell, but happen to get up for some reason, she will jump in my spot. When we go out to eat if she can weasel her way into her brother's spot, she'll sit next to Daddy. If we go somewhere and Daddy can't go, she wants to call and tell him every little detail about our day. She even has this little competition with me that Daddy is her man instead of mine. She has told Darrell that if he wasn't already married to Momma that she would marry him when she grows up, but since we're already married that just wouldn't be right. No doubt about it. This girl adores her Daddy.

Having been "2nd chair" for all these years I've been amazed at a change that has been taking place of late. Ashley has started wanting to snuggle me on the couch. She wants to sit on my lap if I am at the computer at home. She begged me to take her to get a curling iron last week to fix her hair for spring picture day. She had never cared much about primping before. She wanted this curling iron so much she offered to pay for it! So I took her to Wally World to get the one she had spied out a few days before. I figured if she cared that much about fixing her hair, I was certainly going to encourage it. It had been a battle just to get her to blow it dry when it was cold outside!

Sunday, she was on the primping path again. She was completely underfoot when I was trying to get ready for church. I was actually starting to get frustrated. When I tried to fix my hair, she was between me and the mirror. When I went to the bedroom to put on my jewelry, she was between me and the jewelry box going through all my brooches. When she tired of the jewelry she started checking out all my colognes. She asked if she could wear some so I let her choose. She started sticking bottles in my face to smell. "Honey, I know what they smell like. They're mine!" I said trying to be patient. She came to my closet wanting shoes to wear, so I let her wear my black casuals. When I had a moment free from her, I remarked to my husband, "What is going on with Ashley? She is underfoot everywhere I go today! She is usually such a Daddy's girl!" My wise husband replied, "She's becoming a little lady and I can't give her that."

His response really touched me. I started thinking of all the kids growing up in homes with only one parent for whatever reason, all the boys who don't have fathers to model being a man, all the girls who don't have mothers to model being a lady. Parents are truly important during all stages of a child's life. I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude that God has preserved our family. I am also grateful that at the age when most girls begin to resent or rebel against mom, mine has decided to model after and spend time with mom. The reminder of my awesome responsibility humbled me. I am grateful for my husband's help. I yearn for my Heavenly Father's help. I can't help but pray that my Father in heaven helps me to be a Christ like example for my daughter to follow.

Abba, Father, thank You for entrusting me with this precious one. Help me to be mindful of my words. Help me to be cautious of my actions because my soon to be 13 year old is becoming a woman and she's watching me. Help me to mold her into the woman you would have her to be.

I Had an Odd Thought Today

I know that anyone who knows me personally would not be able to imagine such a thing, but I had a really odd thought today. As I was getting ready to back up in my drive and leave for work I noticed 2 squirrels "playing" in the nieghbor's bushes. It is a gorgeous day (thank God after the long dreary winter) and the squirrels were out taking advantage of that fact. This scene wasn't that unusual. We have lots of squirrels of every race and ethnic origin who scamper, run, jump, climb the trees and yes "play" on a regular basis in our back yard giving no apparent thought to their physical differences. I enjoy watching them jump from one tree to the next, stand on their hind legs while eating a nut, run across the fence. Their agility amazes me, so I was pleased to see the squirrels back enjoying the day. But as I watched the squirrels tumbling in a circle it dawned on me (my odd thought). With all the squirrels we have "playing" in our back yard and the neighbors' back yards why aren't there any baby squirrels? I never see any babies! There ought to be little ones running around as a result of all this "playing". I mean the squirrels have apparently figured out the truth Will Smith refers to in "Hitch" when he says, "In case you never went to high school, hitting is a good thing!" So where are the babies? Are the parents hiding them? Are they tucked away in the knot of a tree somewhere? Even so, they should come out at some point! So where are they?

If you have any wisdom to enlighten me, please share it. I don't remember learning this in high school biology.

Microsoft vs. General Motors

I received this in an email from the business/keyboarding teacher.

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on. At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating:

If GM had developed technology like! Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics (and I just love this part):

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a manoeuvre such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive -- but would run on only five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning light.

7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.