Saturday Shout Outs

Puns For Educated Minds

Perspective 

How Old is Old Enough to Make a Bed? 

Restless Patriot Rant 

Seven Better Questions

This is For All the Grammar Nazis (but especially for Laura-LOL)

Foreign Words and Phrases 

Finding the Esther in You 

Follow Friday 40 and Over!!

Welcome to the 42nd edition of the  
Follow Friday 40 and Over!! 

Are you a blogger over 40? Yeah, welcome to the club!
Please join in the fun and get to know your fellow bloggers!

It's Your Lucky Day-Wednesday Hodgepodge-Vol 18

Here are the questions for this week's Hodgepodge...thanks for playing along!

1. What would you do if you found a pot of gold? Let's pretend this pot of gold is worth exactly $1500 (which would actually be more like a cup of gold at current values). Anyway, let's also pretend you have to spend it as opposed to making a donation someplace. Now tell me what you would do with that cup pot of gold?   Wow, the things going through my mind....I'd probably check out craigslist for the many items I want around the house--like a rug for my bedroom and an armoir for the den.  Or I might call BathFitters and have them do something with my lovely harvest gold tub in the main bathroom.  Then again, maybe I'll just have some laser hair removal and permanent makeup done!

2. Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day in any way, shape, or form?  Not like I did when the kids were little or when the grandchildren lived nearby.  Now it's just another day. :-(

3. Have you been bitten by the Spring Cleaning bug? What spring cleaning job most needs doing at your house? What spring cleaning job are you most dreading?  With each passing year, that bug's bite gets easier to ignore.  This year, he hasn't even reared his ugly head yet.  We still have those awful storm windows and they desperately need cleaning.  We've lived here almost 5 years and some of them have never been cleaned--and it's been at least 3 years for the rest.  I just close the curtains.

4. lime-shamrock-sage-forest...your favorite shade of green?   I've only lately become a fan of green.  My mother loved it and almost every room of our house was green when I was growing up.  Still not a fan of what my friend calls "slime green".  I do like hunter and sage (sounds like a singing duo).

5. Thomas Jefferson once said, "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it." So...do you believe in luck or do you believe we make our own luck?   Since I am probably the unluckiest person in the world, I'll pass on this question. 

6. Monday (3/14) was Pi Day. Get it? Pi =3.14. Those math types are so clever aren't they? Since I'm not one of them tell me what's your favorite piE (the edible kind).   Apple pie--with chess being a close second.

7. That same date (3/14) happens to be the birthdate of the late physicist Albert Einstein. I bet he knew the value of Pi. So...what do you think is more important and or valuable in life... intelligence or common sense?  Common sense.  Then you can usually figure things out.  There are too many people walking around who have been educated beyond their intelligence.

8. Insert your own random thought here.  My 9-year-old granddaughter won first place in the county for a writing contest!  Now on to state!  Congratulations, Melody!

Time Out For Women

Usually on this blog, I keep things light and don't share my heart often.  Today I would like to share with you a truly sacred experience I had this weekend.  While such experiences are quite personal and not to be taken lightly, I want to tell you about what happened to me in the hopes that it might help someone else.  My heart is so very full this morning and has been for several days now.  It's almost like I can't keep this inside.

Many of you know that my oldest daughter died unexpectedly almost five years ago.  I chose--unconsciously or not--to grieve privately.  Those around me thought I was coping well and by no fault of their own didn't support me as I needed to be supported.  Mainly because I didn't let them--I didn't let people know I was hurting, didn't let them in, I pretended all was well.  But it wasn't.

This past weekend, I attended a conference called Time Out For Women for the first time. Friday night, one of the presenters said something that made me sit up and take notice.  I can't tell you who it was or what exactly they said.  All I know is the Spirit whispered to me that this message is why I was there.  I went home very thoughtful.  I went back Saturday with a determination to hear what the Lord wanted to say to me.  All day I listened.  I waited.  I took notes.  My heart was touched.  But I hadn't yet heard what the Lord wanted me to know.  Then with the last speaker, it came.

Emily Freeman was addressing us.  She referenced Deuteronomy 2:3.  "Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward."  And my heart was pricked.  My mind was opened that this was why I was supposed to attend.  I have been feeling lately that I need to move on.  I need to let my heart heal.  I can still grieve for Shana, but it needs to be in a different way.  This message has come to me several times over the past few weeks.  But never so clearly as when Sister Freeman spoke on Saturday.

"Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward."  To me, north means upward.  Look up and out, not in and down.  Move forward.

I know that my Heavenly Father lives.  He loves me and knows me intimately.  He can and will help me, I only need to open my heart to that healing.  I will see Shana again--there's no doubt in my mind about that.  What I need to do now is honor her memory, remember the good times, and do all I can to be with her again.

Meet Me On Monday

Welcome to the 38th edition of "Meet Me On Monday!" 1.  Do you have a fireplace in your home?We do--it is gas and sooo much easier to use (not to mention cleaner) than wood.  All we have to do is click the remote and we have fire!  So easy a caveman could do it! 

 
2.  Can you drive a stick shift?Nope.  Though I have tried to learn several times.  I've even burned rubber in first gear!  Apparently, that thing about women being able to multitask isn't always true--at least, for this woman!

 
3.  How many computers are in your home?Two desktops and a netbook.  I couldn't love that netbook more if it was red.  Ooohh, but if it was red, that would be awesome! 

4.  Are your taxes done yet?  Do you do them yourself?Did my husband tell you to ask this question?  We used to do our own taxes, even with our home-based business.  It was not pretty or fun.  Numbers are not my friends, but it was my job to get everything together and help Darrell plug them into the right boxes.  Our marriage survived--scarred, but intact.  A few years ago, we decided it was too much for us and our mental health was more important (not to mention said marriage).  Now we visit an accountant.  Cue the angels singing....ahhhhh.  

 
5.  What is your favorite meal of the day? The one someone else cooks and cleans up! 

 

Saturday Shout Outs

Inspiration For Your Success

We Don't Have To Do This Alone 

A Colorful Melting