Freedom?

It's Memorial Day. It's not just a day off of work. It's not the first camping weekend. It's not a vacation day where you get time and a half. It's a time to remember.

What do we remember? For some, it is a time to reflect on the past wars. Some wars are seen as mistakes and others seen as necessary. Although there are a lot of things that differ from war to war, some things are similar. In every war there are those who do not agree with the war.

In each war, there are those who go to foreign lands, never to return again. In each war, there are those who protest the war for the killing that is involved. The protests hurt the soldiers who come home or hurt families who have lost their loved ones in that foreign land.

Each war threatens our freedom and each time that happens, men and women will volunteer to fight so that we can experience freedom.

Today, we had our annual Memorial Day Festivities at Moles Greenacres Memorial Park. The 1422 flags lined the roads and once again took my breath away when we drove into the park. We had the fly over from the vintage airplanes. We enjoyed the speakers and the musicians. We had hot dogs and brownies. All in all, it was a typical day. But, somehow it was different.

Today, as the widows (ers), wives, sons, fathers, mothers, children, and siblings paraded up to get their flower because their loved one had died this past year...over 100 vets died this year. Today my "job" was to be available for the family to get down the steps after they placed a carnation at the Veteran's Memorial .

What I saw in the faces of most of the people was grief. I saw young widows with small children weeping because, their husband and father didn't come home. I saw the tears and open grieving in the faces of teens who had lost their dad. And I realized that many places place the emphasis on the soldier. Please do not think that I am downplaying the soldier's bravery. I am not. I am wondering about those left behind. Young mothers who are now single moms. Young families who need to have the guidance that is necessary.

Thank you. Each of you. For you the soldier and your bravery and courage to take a stand for our nation. Thank you to the families, the mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, wives and children who remain and who are struggling because your loved one stood up for our freedom.

There is a cost for freedom. It comes at the price of loss and death. It comes at a great price. Thank you for serving. Thank you for putting your life on the line so that I might have the freedoms I enjoy.

Look at this picture taken in Arlington Cemetery. If you look carefully, you can see the heart made out of the tree branches to show people the love it takes for a man or a woman to dedicate their lives to being a solders.

Happy Memorial Day. Take some time to remember and to pray for the families who need the strength and the love of God. Pray for our country, its leaders, and for those who make crucial decisions. Pray that God will be the center of our lives. It is He that can give the orphans and widows peace. It is His peace that we desire. Pray that He will bless our land. Pray that we will be faithful to Him.

Just WHEN does it happen?

One day when you grow up, do you lose all of the insecurities that you have and you go out into the world and you don't worry about what other people think. Or if your hair is too short? Too long? Too fat? Too skinny (okay I have never worried about this.) When is it that you look around your world and say...I am who I want to be. I am loved and am satisfied with my life as it is.

I think I have addressed this topic before. I am taking an on-line class at ACTS Seminary. We are studying the book of Isaiah. So...part of the assignment is to post your answers on the class site...and then your classmates get to respond...and you have to respond to others also.

Today I finished lesson 2...I only have about 8 weeks left to agonize over what I said. Am I understanding the question? Am I putting too much information in the answer...too little? Am I even CLOSE to answering it?

Our teacher asked us to keep track of the time spent on the assignments...I did and sent it in for week one...he commented that if I had spent all that amount of time on the assignment...he figured I wouldn't have time to finish the rest of the assignments in the class. And my junior high insecurities kicked into high gear!!!

You know, I am the first one to tell someone that it is important to know whose you are...I am the child of the King, adopted daughter to royalty, and loved beyond measure...so WHY????? WHY?????Why am I so insecure in myself.

I guess that as we age, some faster than others, we just learn more and more to trust in God and His love for us.

Father, I can't be the only one who feels insecure today in their new job, the new place, maybe even the old place that still doesn't feel comfortable. Help us to realize that it isn't what we do, it isn't who we are, it is who we are in You. Keep our focus on You and open our eyes to our capabilities and the gifts that you have given to each one of us. Thank you for your secure arms. Help us overcome the insecurities that the enemy wants to place in our path. Thank you for your love and the strength that you give us each day...In your precious name, Amen...

weekend weeds and bark

This weekend Steve & I worked like crazy. We have decided that it is time to get our house on the market. For some, this decision means calling a realtor, setting up an appointtment, deciding on a price, and digging a sign hole to place the FOR SALE sign in the front yard.

This is NOT what we have to do. First, there is the outside of the house. We have a small yard, BUT we have LOTS of flower beds. One thing we have learned is plants grow to goliath proportions! Along with the irises that are 4 ft. tall and tulips the size of soup mugs; we have dandelions bigger than pom-pom mums. So, we began with the outside.

We have a stone path by our house that few people have seen...why, you ask? Because the weeds have taken over. Round-up appears to be plant food for our weeds on that side of the house. (One time, I sprayed round-up and then a couple of days later checked, only to see thriving weeds. However, Steve asked me why I killed the neighbor's grass!?! I denied that I had done that ... vehimately denied it and then I looked. Sure enough...Grass -> DEAD; Weeds -> triving!) My conclusion???? Round-up = Plant food.

On Friday I pulled all of the stones up & on Saturday, Steve and I pulled and poisoned the weeds, reset the stones, and began to cover with bark. By the end of Sunday, we had used 20 bags of bark AND 60 feet of edging and 2 gardens were weeded! The sale for the bark, of course, was over this week so off we went to Home Depot to pick up as many bags as the CRV would hold...15.

We got to Home Depot and stood looking at the bark...And then, Steve's eyes lit up, he saw the palate of bark and asked...do you deliver? REALLY???????? How much...oh, there's the catch. Too much. But the nice HD person said, YOU could use our truck and then YOU could take a palate home. WOW...for only 19.95...a deal at half the price. But, as with all things, there was another catch...we had to do it in 75 minutes or pay extra.

Palate loaded. We took off...okay, that sounds like the truck was fast...nope. We got home and unloaded...now remember...a palate of bark. We had already worked very hard all weekend and let me tell you...my body felt old. We unloaded 60 bags of bark. By the last 2 rows, I was doing a count down...8.....7.....ugh....6666666666666666.....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....ffffffffffffff5...you get the picture. With that, we have about 1/4 of the gardens done, we have a mountain of bagged bark in the driveway and a plethora of weed remaining.

We were dirty, tired, and could not straighten up, but we have a start on calling a realtor. After the gardens, we only have ROOMS full of knick-knacks, collections, memorabilia, treasures...call it what you like or just call it junk. We also have 10 sets of dishes, antiques, a couple of boxes labeled: Toys to save for girls, clothes to save for girls, or books to save for girls. Then there are the 17 boxes of Christmas decorations...whose idea was it to have a tree in every room of the house...isn't that a bit extreme?

So, we are pointed in the right direction for selling our house. Only the yard and several rummage sales or trips to local good will and we should be ready. My goal...September. If we get it done earlier...that's great. So if you have a burning desire to do yard work, or LOVE sorting other people's stuff OR it is your life's desire to have multiple rummage sales....give me a call...our realtor will thank you.

weekend weeds and bark