Country Music

I love my country music

Any country music

From the heart

From the soul

From the stories it tells

The memories it stirs

The oldies and newbies

It tells our histories

Our past and present times

Our future

It keeps us living

The dances

The radios

The rides down the road

Country music

Takes me on the

The ride of my life

It can

Break my heart

It can mend my heart

It can open my heart

It can bring me peace

It reminds me of

What I want to be

Ballads

Classic

Traditional

Christian

Bluegrass

All come together

On the radio

Phone

Cd

To Reminds me of

The life I want to live

It keeps me on track

It touches my heart

My soul

My memories

what my past is

And what my future

Can hold for me.

I love my country music

The singers

The musicians

The writers

Who seem to know

What matters to me

Who seem to know

How to reach inside me.

Intrusive

Yesterday I deleted my Facebook page.  I wonder if I'll be missed.  I did it because:

I got an email regarding their ----- We're writing to let you know that we are proposing updates to ourData Use Policy and our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. These two documents tell you about how we collect and use data, and the rules that apply when you choose to use Facebook. Our goal with these updates is to make our practices more clear.

I decided not to choose to use Facebook.  It started as a friendlier site and has become intrusive.

Another intrusion is gays and lesbians.  I know and have known both.  Some are friends.  I don't want to see the trails of their life style everytime I turn on the TV.  I don't want to hear of their problems every time I turn on the TV.  I don't want "special laws" written for them.  Laws should apply to everyone.  But what I really don't want to do is go to public restrooms with a born he.  I don't want to have to explain anything to any of my grandkids.  In a womens room if you look like a lady, go to your stall, do your business, wash your hands, and leave.  Don't try to force me to support you.  Just get on with business and move on like the rest of us.  

Reading

I read mysteries, usually murder mysteries, no not usually, always, no not always, but to often sometimes.  Somewhere after I retired I got into searching for foreign mysteries and have been so surprised to find so far two authors who write great books, and are packed with new thoughts on life, on cultures, on right and wrong, on living life.  I have to say we all are tied to our locations, city, state, country, hemisphere, world.  What influences us is our surrounding, not only people, but past, country, history, family, and probably most important family history.  I say most important, because to know your past will help you understand your future.

Louise Penny is a Canadian writer who has written a series of books that not only introduces you to life in Canada, but problems that are similar to ours and how they are the same and different.  I started at the beginning of her series and am now waiting for the next one.

Hanning Mankell is a Swedish writer who I found not to long ago, but his detective is so realistic you have to agonize and sympathize with him.  Again start with the beginning and go through the series.  Kurt Wallender is the character and I appreciate a realistic person who is scared to death sometimes, unable to live with killing a criminal-taking a life any life.  He is slowing realizing how the world is intruding  on Sweden and how crime, horrific crimes, are starting to occur in their country.

I guess I've learned much from both of these writers.  From Penny, that the Gregorian Monks were the first to write down music--go figure.  Before them is was played by memory.  From Mankell, how life is changing all over the world.  I've been to South Africa with him, to Russia, and now back to Sweden.  If I visited Sweden it would have to be in the winter and in Ystad.  

Both writer touch on religion, Penny more than Mankell, but both bring new thoughts and ideas.  Sometimes funny, sometimes not.  Well I've got to get back to my book.

How did I learn of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?  I know he has always been with me.  I look back at my life and only wish I had started this journey earlier.  As children we are at our parents, in my case, I think, grandparents mercy.  I never remember my mother or my grandparents stepping foot in church.  We never had a conversation about religion or their beliefs, I got my early learning from my friends who were for the most part Catholic.  I loved the mantias, the confirmation, the beauty of the Catholics, even if I didn't understand what it was all about.

I went to friends church sometimes, not Catholic unless it was a wedding or jamica.  My first memory of being in Church was the First Christian Church in Laredo.  I went with my friend Nancy Gardner.  Her father was a Sunday school teacher.  I remember I had fun.  Didn't really know what to do during church, but did like everyone else even when I took communion.

I went to the Episcopal Church a few times.  I realized right away it was a lot like the Catholic church.  Loved the ceremony of the service.  Still do.  I feel like I am closer to God on my knees.

Prodigal

What I learned this Sunday at St. John's Episcopal Church in New Braunfels TX.  Prodigal doesn't mean what I thought it means.  The prodigal son wasn't the lost son who came home but the lavish living son who came home.  My oh my does that not change things.  I never really new what prodigal meant.

Definition of prodigal

adjective

• 1spending money or using resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant:
  

• 2having or giving something on a lavish scale:
  

noun

• a person who spends money in a recklessly extravagant way:
  
  
  
  
  • (also prodigal son or daughter) a person who leaves home to lead a prodigal life but later makes a repentant return.

    [with biblical allusion to the parable in Luke 15:11–32]

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

Did You Fear It?

Did you see it?

Did you fear it?

Surely not the lady

She was 80!

It must have been

In her eyes

The fear replaced by 

forgiveness or peace.

It was

Our Lord's Arms holding 

The Lady in his arms

The comfort she found

Did you see it?

Did you fear?

It could be yours

If you had only known

She could have led you to it.

I pray you find it.

The Voices

This isn't an I hear voices post, but a voices post.  I can't explain what it is, but some peoples voices have the ability to bring me up or slam me down.  Anyone know what I mean?  Weird, I know.  Paisley, at three has a feel good voice.  She can brighten my day by talking even if she isn't talking to me.  Her voice makes me smile.  Jasmine's voice is a voice that hesitates, is thoughtful, and is keeping something back, more often than not a laugh.  Know what I mean.  They are genuine. They haven't learned to beguile or exploit, or manipulate.

This and That

This is a busy month, getting ready for Larkin's birthday; by that I mean, what to get her, she is turning into a beautiful young lady.  Fifth grade, but so grown up.  Getting ready for Thanksgiving, looking and waiting to see if we will get the apartment in NB, making our list and checking it twice for Christmas.  One other thing I did was start my Thankful posts on facebook.  What I realized doing that was that I am a think and physically write kind of person.  Not that I can't type and think, like now, but I think better if I write it down.

I am not going to have a computer or a TV in the apartment.  I am going to have paper and pens and lots and lots of books, and hold in your hands newspapers.  But only local newspapers.  The national news in print or on air have lost their honestness and creditability this year.  Maybe it has been happening for awhile and they just this year slipped past my level, but trust is no longer there.  News shouldn't be worried about ratings, but about the truth.

What does inspire?

What inspires me this morning is gospel music, it wakes me up and makes me feel good.  Music in is a picker upper for me.  I just finished The Beautiful Mystery and learned from reading this that the Gregorian Monks were the first to start writing music down.  God is everywhere and if you don't believe that then get a copy of John Ortberg's Who Is This Man and read this short history of exactly where he is.  Lest we forget it started as a speck in the middle east.  Never doubt he is the most important man ALIVE today.  He lives in each of us.  He has touched and is touching each of us.  We just need to seek.  Take the time; you won't regret it.

By the way it was Matt Redman and 10,000 Reasons I am listening to.

?

Do you ever Wonder?

What Inspires?

What Drives Desire?

Do you ever Wonder?

It's been awhile, forgot my password and reset and forgot it again.  Grandkids started school and now I have more time during the day.  Not that I watched them everyday--but they kept me busy anyway.

I am so proud of all of them.  Jasmine is looking more grown up everyday, and beautiful, Paisley is coming into her own, and told me today that Michael was Jasmine's Daddy and Amanda was her Mommy.  When I told her Michael was her Daddy too and Amanda was Jasmine's Mommy also, she was OH! Who knows what kids think.

Larking, Bo's  daughter, is in 5th Grade--has Mr. Summers, loves to read.  Daegan his son has already made an impress on Mrs. Summer's.  Let's see if his winning smile works on her.  Echo, born July 10, has grown by leaps and bounds.  She can sleep through anything.  I love watching her and Bo is head over heels for her.  Bo is a wonderful father to all the kids and I think a great husband.  He has a good sense of humor and is learning patience.  He and Grady usually meet at the barn/workshop and talk and it makes me feel good to look out the window and see them and the kids out there.

I love life, love my family, love my friends.  

e Readers

Those of you who know me well, know I got a kindle ASAP when they first came out, I've had 3 so far, but one of those I gave away.  My latest is the Kindle Fire.  I like the reader, it does all as advertised, but and this is a big BUT, I don't like the way Amazon has changed because of the marketing of the Kindles.

I shop for books, give books for every occasion and love to read reviews about books.  I even read books about books.  I read mysteries mostly, but will and do read many genres.  I still like to read books, real hold in your hand and turn a page books, real go to the back cover or inside cover and re read the jackets, use the cover to mark your place books, you get the idea.

What I am getting at is when you go to Amazon now what you get under books, mystery (or any other subject) are kindle books.  I don't know why they have kindle books under regular books when they have a section for both.  I wish they would keep them separate.   Their book section is a mess.  I want to take real books with me on vacation.  I want to read a real book in the winter.  I want to be able to turn a page forward and backward without having to figure out how to get back to where I was.

I like to pack up my already read books and give them away or take them to the library.  I like books, ebooks are okay, but books can't be replaced.

Babies Everywhere

Emily had her baby
Stephanie is expecting also
Janet is due in August
Wendy had hers some time ago

Babies come and Babies grow
They are the future for us all
Raising the future is a daunting task
That's full of daring stands

To have a future of Gods Children
Is the best vision I could have
To have a future sure of themselves
Is to have a love of and for Jesus.

InDecision

?

Now?

Why Not?

Why Not Later?

Why?

Why Not?

Life is Good!

I am swearing off the news until the election is over, the LGBT have been accepted in every state and church, there is a solution to the drug and immigration problem, and gas prices go down.  I think I know what I liked most about teaching, it was the order.  I knew what I was doing each hour I was there.  Now that I am retired, life is full of plans that are delayed, exchanged, modified, or gratified.  I am getting used to living a life revolving around sometimes so fast Grady and I don't know which way we are going, but our feet never leave the ground.  I love life, my life, my life with Grady and the kids and grandkids.  Life is good.

A Month in the life of

On October 13th, my brother, Stan, died.  I miss him; I miss just knowing he is there.  Three weeks later, November 5th,  Bo got married.  I love that he is so happy.   The next week Grady was in the hospital for a few days with internal bleeding. I was scared of what they would find.  They found nothing.   My month reads like these sentences, all up and down.

Today, November 13th,  in church was the first time I took a moment to sit and think about life and what had been happening in our lives.  I feel blessed that I have such a good family.  I feel blessed that I am married to such a good man.  I feel blessed that the people in our lives are good people.

I will miss Stan, but know he is near. I will celebrate Bo's and Amanda's families. I will love my husband everyday.  I will thank God for my blessings. I will thank God for helping me get over the rough spots.  God has been my rock my entire life, but it is a month like this that reminds me what that really means.

Family

My brother, Stan, passed away today.  It is a sad day.  There seems to be some confusion over family, it is alright, there is confusion over family all the time.  Stan lived his life his way, brought up his children his way, and died his way.  But there is one thing that Stan couldn't do and that was change his family roots, even if he wanted to.  We are all from family, does not matter if it is small or great, it is family.  Our family tree has branches all over the place, if it were growing in my front yard it would probably look fairly bushy in most parts and Grady's family tree would overlap and share 2 roots.  There is a lot to think about when family is concerned, but it is clear, that family can't be changed or altered once it IS.

Spaghetti for Supper

It was sat down for supper
She didn't know it at all
the fork let it slip
the spoon let it fall
the next thing she knew
she was tied in a bow
who knew red food
could wrap you right up
Spaghetti for supper
what fun, what fun!

The Wedding

We just returned from a trip to Schulenburg.  Our niece was getting married and we wouldn't have missed it for the world.  I, of course, over planned without thinking about distances and time and family time.  The wedding was at a Catholic Church that took our breath away.  It was old and beautiful, the kind of church you pass on an almost deserted FM and wonder what it looks like inside and who attends it.  The ceremony was beautiful, couple were striking, the church  full, the priest young and kept the ceremony relaxed and yet formal.  After the ceremony the party began, I mean reception of course.  But it was a great party as only the John Sample family can do with a  boat load of Czech friends and new family!  Open bar, lots of food, kids playing, band tuning up, grooms cake, brides cake, young people everywhere.  We had a wonderful visit with John and Gail.  It had been so long since we had seen them.  The cake cutting took place, toasts to Janessa and Andy, plates of food, plates of cake, and then the dancing.  I loved sitting outside listening to the band, watching the dancing, and remembering good times of the past.  I remembered when Grady and I first got married, I remembered listening to the band, having the best feeling in the world, knowing I had found my life's partner and realizing how much our love has grown over our 30+ years getting better and better.  I hope Janessa and Andy live their life to the fullest, growing closer each year.

Denbigh, sorry we missed your album debut party.  I know it was wonderful.  Next time we head out in that direction, we will stop by.

Paisley, Where Are Your Shoes

Paisley, where are your shoes?
I dunno
Paisley, where did you leave them?
I dunno
Grammy saw them,
going for a walk
walking down the street
they were looking for your feet
they went down the road,
out by the swing
on past the turtle sittin in the spring
then they went back home and hid in the shade
hoping those feet would come this away
Paisley, are those your shoes?
I dunno
Paisley, do they fit your toes?
I dunno