- Gary Ryan Blair
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
A Thought for the Upcoming New Year . . .
When one begins to purposefully perform acts of kindness, the spirit changes and
soon doing good deeds becomes a focal point for our life; doing good begins to
be the same as feeling good. The periods of emptiness when we search for the
"meaning of it all" begin to fill with acts of kindness.
Back to the needle and thread . . .
I actually found time to pick up my needle and thread and go back to working on my quilt project begun over a month ago. Gifts that I needed to knit, crochet, or quilt have been completed and distributed. I'm now back to my own creative wanderings and to quilting. I have the one quilt that just requires the final hand sewing. I have quilt tops done for four more quilts. I have several ideas in mind but need solid colors for them and will have to wait a few months until the budget and my conscience will allow me to indulge in some fabric purchases.
Reviewing the waning year . . .
Every December, after the bustle of Christmas has calmed down, I pull out both my old calendar and new calendar in order to transfer important dates, birthdays, etc. It is always a poignant time as I fill in the squares with memories. Adding birthdays to my calendar reminds me of the blessings of friendship that God sends into my life. Add an RIP to a birthday date reminds me of how fragile and temporary our human life is here on earth. As the years go by, it sometimes seems as if there are more days reminding me of people who no longer need a birthday gift but a prayer sent to them in honor of their eternal reward.
I also notice how many doctor appointments were noted on the calendar, last year. Last year, was a good year in that few visits to the doctor were required. I see the deadlines noted as my son and I prepared for our trip in May. I recall how anxious I was about the trip and how soon it became an event of the past.
I already have a milestone noted for January 2012 . . . my 18 year old's first day of college! I still remember him opening his first reader and discovering the magic of the printed word.
Well, as I completed my work on the calendar for 2012, I realized that I didn't have any more birthdays to remember for the 'rest of this year'! The day after December 31st, however, the days of 2012, noted for something special or not, will start marching by and probably go even faster than this last year.
I also notice how many doctor appointments were noted on the calendar, last year. Last year, was a good year in that few visits to the doctor were required. I see the deadlines noted as my son and I prepared for our trip in May. I recall how anxious I was about the trip and how soon it became an event of the past.
I already have a milestone noted for January 2012 . . . my 18 year old's first day of college! I still remember him opening his first reader and discovering the magic of the printed word.
Well, as I completed my work on the calendar for 2012, I realized that I didn't have any more birthdays to remember for the 'rest of this year'! The day after December 31st, however, the days of 2012, noted for something special or not, will start marching by and probably go even faster than this last year.
How My Dog Spends her Busy Day . . .
She gets very excited about going on walks. She, however, has her own opinion about where and how long the walk should be. Unfortunately, she tends to get tired several blocks from home and then just stands there looking off into the distance. Tugging on her leash gets no reaction. My son has become known as the kid that 'carries' his dog rather than 'walking' the dog as he has often had to do just that to get home. One time, he was long an extraordinarily long time so I got into the car and went looking for the two of them. Three blocks away, I saw Chick standing in a puddle and Marc on the curb looking frustrated. Chick didn't want to go home right now and that was that. We hauled the dog into the back of the van and she was most perturbed that she arrived home and not somewhere more interesting.
Finding Peace in Your Own Heart . . .
The Real Meaning Of Peace
Author Unknown
There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures.
But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them. One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.
But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest - in perfect peace.
The king chose the second picture.
Author Unknown
There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures.
But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them. One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.
But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest - in perfect peace.
The king chose the second picture.
Wish I'd said that . . .
"In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then
he made school boards."
-- Mark Twain
-- Mark Twain
"If it weren't for Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of television,
we'd still be eating frozen radio dinners."
-- Johnny Carson
-- Johnny Carson
"The case has, in some respects, been not entirely devoid of
interest."
-- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
-- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Market Place Manners . . .
I have to wonder how people would feel if they knew they were viewed as 'animals', ill-manners slobs, uncivilized morons . . . and worse! Would they change their ways if they knew . . . or would their reason for this behavior supercede good manners and Christian behavior?
I was out running errands, yesterday. I avoided the after-Christmas sales because I saw much evidence of the above-mentioned attitude when I made the mistake of trying to shop the day after Christmas last year. I had thought that by going in the afternoon, the worst of the frenzy would have died down. I was shocked when I walked into Walmart. It looked like a bomb had gone off. The floor was knee deep in discarded stock. I actually saw people ripping into packaged items, opening bottles of cologne, dumping items they changed their minds about, and, basically, looking like very low-class beings. I saw over 40 shopping carts loaded with items the clerks were trying to reshelve and it was a losing battle as the shopper slobs continued the distruction in their search for a bargain. We had gone in for some 'normal' shopping for the week and had forgotten about the annual frenzy of crazed shoppers.
This year, we went out two days after Christmas . . . to make sure! The stores were in a normal state, we still found a lot of unexpected bargains, and we didn't have to deal with hoardes of disrespectful shoppers. The clerks were smiling and the stores were clean. I chatted wtih a few employees and as soon as you mentioned December 26th, the smile left their faces and they just shook their heads. What has gotten into the world where saving a few dollars turns people into grasping animals? Last year, an employee got killed as shoppers beat down the door, mowed the man down, and then trampled over him. When the police tried to clear the 'crime' area, people did not want to cooperate lest they lose the bargain they had literally 'killed' for. I wonder how many people realized they were smashing their feet over a human being in their surge for savings?
There is a video of a shoe store in detroit where they actually had a riot because of a shoe sale. Again, the people, with little respect for themselves or others, broke down the door before it opened. And we can probably remember the woman who brought along pepper spray in order to thin the crowd around the bargain she wanted to have on Black Friday.
I imagine there aren't too many actual, practicing Christians in these mobs. From Black Friday until the day after Christmas, they are on the prowl for bargains. They have no thought beyond getting something for as close to nothing as possible. They want to fill their 'hearts' with materialistic stuff and forget about the 'reason for the season'. I'm thinking they must need this constant spending to fill in a empty place in their souls . . . and without much luck as the majority of them will repeat their performances year after year. Kind of reminds me of the Scripture that tells of the man who has finally filled all his storage with enough grain or whatever to last him 'forever' and then God asks him WHY as he is being called from this life that very night.
I was out running errands, yesterday. I avoided the after-Christmas sales because I saw much evidence of the above-mentioned attitude when I made the mistake of trying to shop the day after Christmas last year. I had thought that by going in the afternoon, the worst of the frenzy would have died down. I was shocked when I walked into Walmart. It looked like a bomb had gone off. The floor was knee deep in discarded stock. I actually saw people ripping into packaged items, opening bottles of cologne, dumping items they changed their minds about, and, basically, looking like very low-class beings. I saw over 40 shopping carts loaded with items the clerks were trying to reshelve and it was a losing battle as the shopper slobs continued the distruction in their search for a bargain. We had gone in for some 'normal' shopping for the week and had forgotten about the annual frenzy of crazed shoppers.
This year, we went out two days after Christmas . . . to make sure! The stores were in a normal state, we still found a lot of unexpected bargains, and we didn't have to deal with hoardes of disrespectful shoppers. The clerks were smiling and the stores were clean. I chatted wtih a few employees and as soon as you mentioned December 26th, the smile left their faces and they just shook their heads. What has gotten into the world where saving a few dollars turns people into grasping animals? Last year, an employee got killed as shoppers beat down the door, mowed the man down, and then trampled over him. When the police tried to clear the 'crime' area, people did not want to cooperate lest they lose the bargain they had literally 'killed' for. I wonder how many people realized they were smashing their feet over a human being in their surge for savings?
There is a video of a shoe store in detroit where they actually had a riot because of a shoe sale. Again, the people, with little respect for themselves or others, broke down the door before it opened. And we can probably remember the woman who brought along pepper spray in order to thin the crowd around the bargain she wanted to have on Black Friday.
I imagine there aren't too many actual, practicing Christians in these mobs. From Black Friday until the day after Christmas, they are on the prowl for bargains. They have no thought beyond getting something for as close to nothing as possible. They want to fill their 'hearts' with materialistic stuff and forget about the 'reason for the season'. I'm thinking they must need this constant spending to fill in a empty place in their souls . . . and without much luck as the majority of them will repeat their performances year after year. Kind of reminds me of the Scripture that tells of the man who has finally filled all his storage with enough grain or whatever to last him 'forever' and then God asks him WHY as he is being called from this life that very night.
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