And so goes August

The last day of August is tomorrow. Have you ever noticed that August is the most uneventful month of the year? It has no holiday in it, or any significant recognition. Yet all other months have attachments: September- Labor Day; October- Halloween; November- Thanksgiving; December- Christmas; January- New Year's Day; February- Valentine's Day. Even March and April usually host Easter. May comes with Mother's Day and Memorial Day Weekend, June with Father's Day, and July - 4th of July.
People keep trying to stick August with holidays - like Friendship Day. But clearly, nobody wants another holiday having to complicate life. August is just August- a month to stretch, or do nothing, if desired. Also, it's a month to brace ourselves for the beginning of fall, which very much resembles a new year, seeing that school starts over again and so does a much more crowded schedulue.
Thank goodness for months like August. We definitely need a break from so much to do.

On Family Reunions...

This weekend we spent a day with my husband's extended family. Several generations were represented by the 200+ crowd at the Rialto Teamster's Park. One thread that ran constant with those gathered was their loyalty and passion they had for their family. Seeing the memory tree holding pictures of all that have passed away was one such example. Even though this family has become part of my life through my husband, I really feel that they are my family, too. Seeing family staying together these days is a rarity, and it's refreshing to see that people still stick together through rough and unpredictable times. I'm looking forward to another reunion in September. This time, it's my father's side of the family. It will be smaller in number, but never the less a great time to be had by all who come. Some of my cousins that I haven't seen in five years will be there. There will be lots of reminiscing and catching up to do-- really looking forward to it!

Remembering Debbie

I received sad news yesterday that my dear friend Debbie passed away. I hadn't spoken to Debbie for a while, and when I heard the news, it was this knowledge that made me feel even sadder.

Debbie was a tremendous person. She had a great heart and compassion for others, especially kids. Debbie, a middle school principal, was incredible. I witnessed countless times that she took the rough and misdirected kids under her wing, gently counseled them, and they respected her because they knew she genuinely cared about each one of them.

Debbie was funny. She saw humor in life, and didn't take herself seriously. We, who worked alongside of her always knew we could count on her striking smile, and warm laughter that made some of the most stressful days pleasant. As her secretary, I admired Debbie's fair tactics with her staff. She didn't bend easy for the loudest 'squeaking wheel', but rather ruffled a few feathers of the prima donas to offer equal time/resources to the rest of the staff, who perhaps weren't so vocal or demanding, but also had need of support for their classrooms and departments. Debbie stuck to her guns, and that may have cost her.

Never the less, Debbie lived out her life with integrity, grace, and unconditional love for others. There won't be another Debbie, I'm sure of that. I'm thankful for knowing this great lady, and know that her values rubbed off on me.

Scrappy

"Scrappy" the racoon was the mascot for the Shake-it- Up-Cafe VBS recently. The four-year-olds in the classroom I was in looked forward to Scrappy's visit each day. While they may have suspected that the voice of Scrappy's was that of the puppeteer, Ms. Linda, they never showed it, because they were fascinated with his words and responded to him when he asked them questions on what they were learning.

While the week is now over, I know that the kids that attended have been touched by this week of learning their scriptures of the day; 'the secret ingredients (Be ready for God, Believe in Jesus Fully, etc); and are more open to being 'shakers for God.'

I am thankful too for the opportunity to have spent a week with 17 precious 4-year-olds who are special and unique. I think too, that this experience has also given my heart a 'shake-up' to continue living each day out with expectancy of great things the Lord wants to accomplish.

Shake It Up

"Shake it Up Cafe" is the theme for this year's Vacation Bible School. It's been fun building bulletin boards with kitchen utensils, mixing bowls and measuring spoons~ all as a visual of how we can 'shake up' our world with our love for God and for others.
It reminds me that throughout history, people and cultures have changed quite a bit through the process of being 'shaken',
Shaking up means waking up. Who hasn't experienced that shaking up experience when someone who cares about you is telling you 'Wake up~ as they gently (or not so gently) shake you into consciousness? Yes, it can feel abrupt, and not so welcoming, but consider the alternative. You sleep through an important interview, an appointment, or other event that you will regret being late too, or even worse, missing all together.
I'm looking forward to being with a classroom of four year olds. One of them will be my little granddaughter, Camryn, who already has a talent for shaking things up; resulting in the creation of fun and interesting memories.

Independence Day

Yesterday was independence day and it was interesting to see how it is celebrated. Of course there were flags. Lots of red, white and blue, too. Stores were all opened with 4th of July sales, and people seemed to move a lot slower with four days of leisure to enjoy.
This year, I also gave it more consideration. I pondered the meaning, and how it relates to me. First off, I am thankful for the privlege to know that I do indeed experience freedom everyday of the year. It begins with my citizenship of the United States of America. Here, I can speak my mind and not be punished because I differ from our current government officials. I can worship freely, without fear that the assembly would be suddenly halted by the powers that be.
However, the most important freedom I must say I experience is that of a spiritual nature. The United States of America has only imitated the real free will offering that God gave us. God has never forced us to love or obey Him.
The ten commandments that were given to us through Moses in the Bible only reveal that we are incapable of obeying and keeping all of them all the time. If this were the case for the condition to approach God and be granted eternal life in Heaven, we'd all lose out.
Therefore, God only gave the ten commandments as a template of why we need instead the blood of the lamb-- Jesus for the redemption of sins. So instead of freedom from the commandments, we embrace dependence on Jesus Christ and the cross. I guess you could call our freedom in spirit to be a 'He'dependence rather than 'independence.' You see, when we are dependent on the 'in' ward of ourselves, we are instead slaves to sin. Yet when we let go, to become dependent on 'He' (God), we are "free indeed" (John 8:36).
Let's celebrate our freedom everyday of the year!

Grandkids Galore

These past few days have been kid-filled. Our grandkids are visiting for a few days, and it's been a blast. It's interesting to see that the world suddenly changes to be one that the children can adapt to when our grandchildren come to visit. We went to Fairmont Park Sunday, and experienced it's new playground, complete with water feature. Also, going to the newly opened Marcy Library, complete with imaginary forest in the children's book section was a fun sight to experience.

I think God gives us grandchildren as a second chance so we can have kid experiences once again. This is such an awesome opportunity. I am thankful for my grandchildren, and appreciative to my son and daughter-in-law who generously share them with us. In addition, my grandchildren have impeccable manners and behavior that it's always a joy to be with them, and know they're a blessing to others, as well. Grandchildren are grand!