Is it Okay to be Old-Fashioned?

I'm old-fashioned. And that's fine with me. I enjoy many of the technological advances of recent years, but I don't enjoy the new standards in our society. Am I perfect? No. Absolutely not, but I can see and recognize my faults and sins and constantly work to eliminate them. Do I have all the answers? I don't. But I know Someone Who does. Most of those answers are in the Old Testament of the Bible. 

Yes, the New Testament is a new covenant. And it tells us that Jesus came to die for our sins and offer forgiveness for those sins. That doesn't give us license to sin. Throughout Christ's time on earth, He referred His followers back to the Old Testament for direction. Over and over again. In other words, though He was the "Way, the Truth and the Life", the Old Testament wasn't negated and abandoned by His birth, nor would it be by His death.

Children need fathers. They need them in their lives on a day-to-day basis. They need fathers in addition to daddies. Daddies are good-time guys who may or may not display responsibility. Women need husbands they know will be there for them and their children day in and day out. 

Somewhere along the way, we have abandoned marriage as old-fashioned and unnecessary. We have abandoned the ideal of sex within the sanctity of marriage and there only. 

When sex is between two people and only those people ever, it is incredibly special because it has never been shared with anyone else. When it is utilized as the definition of a "date" and shared with everyone a person knows, it becomes flat and meaningless.

Marriage is not based on sex. Sex needs to be based on marriage. You see, in a marriage, there are many other aspects to the relationship. There are jobs, finances, laundry, house-cleaning, never-ending meal preparation, yard work and perhaps, children. If all a couple have ever experienced together is sex, they will have no idea how to handle the day-to-day pressures of marriage. And there are pressures. As I've said before, I know my husband gets up every day and chooses to love me - whether I'm lovable or not. That doesn't give me an excuse not to attempt to be lovable every day, but at least I now that when I fall short, he won't race out the door. 

Marriage is a covenant between two people. Most of the traditions in a wedding ceremony mirror those elements in a covenant ceremony in the Old Testament. A covenant is binding for life. 

Where did we go wrong? I believe a lot of our downfall is centered in Hollywood. An extremely different set of values and attitudes have emerged and because of the fame of those involved, been accepted as not only "okay" but also "normal". They're not normal, and those in Hollywood who have adhered to the old-fashioned values are slighted and labeled as "odd". 

My challenge is to see the bigger picture. A 50% divorce rate is not normal. The highest number of unwed mothers in history is not normal. I fault my own generation with taking the first and largest plunge into this amoral canyon, but I challenge the younger generation to climb out of the abyss and seek the high road. You can do it! I believe in you.

Accident-Prone

I've been extremely accident-prone for the past 24 hours. I ran into my desk yesterday afternoon and the bruise is notable. Fortunately, my jeans hide it.

I was snacking on a soy nut trail mix and started to take it back to the kitchen to put it away, but I hadn't "zipped" it up yet. I dropped the package which landed upside down so that all but about 6 soy nuts spilled out.

I picked up most of it and went to get the vacuum to finish the task. On my way back, I fell off my super-tall flip-flops and fell on the hard tile floor off the kitchen. Landed on my knees and more notable bruises are appearing.

Think I'll just sit in a chair for the rest of the day. What do you think?

The Sun is Shining

It's amazing how much better I feel when the sun is shining. It is a beautiful day today, and I have three new redbud trees this afternoon. I am miffed because they showed up without an appointment, and this was not a good day for it, but it's done now, so I'll get over that. 

Adding trees will be a long, slow process, but I'm going to do it gradually over the next few years until I get the back yard like I want it to be. Eventually, I'd love to have some nice landscaping out there, too, but we'll have to see about that. It's tough to keep things watered here, so I have to take that into consideration.

But I can dream.

Got to have lunch with two dear friends today. I wish we could find the time to get together more often because it is such fun. We can talk for hours and used to do that when I was a scrapbooking consultant and they came and cropped for six hours at a time. I miss that, but not the rest of being a consultant. 

I gave my dog a big rawhide stick today and now he's decided it's time to bury it so he's out there looking for the perfect spot. His tail is wagging and he's so happy with his mission. It's gross when he digs them up and starts chewing on them all covered in black dirt, though. Still, he is a dog and that's his chosen way of doing things. 

And my week is looking up even though I am probably going to have to replace the catalytic converter in my car, but I figured out a way to get it to the shop without having to sit there all day. It will mean getting up and out very early in the morning, but I'm going to ask my husband to go in a little late tomorrow after he picks me up and brings me back to the house once I've dropped off my car. That should work, and it's much better than sitting there all day long.

Everything is better when the sun shines!

The Ramblings of a Depressed Crazy Lady

Why is it so much harder to deal with cold weather after a few spring-like days? My daughter and I are both cold and miserable this week with high temperatures in the upper 30s and lower 40s. To add insult to injury, it has been raining like crazy, too.

And in other news, the "Service Engine Soon" light came on in my car today. It indicates a problem with the exhaust system, and the auto repair shop didn't have time today to check it out.  The more I drive it, the more likely it is that I will kill the catalytic converter. So I'll be staying at home this weekend. That's okay. I don't mind staying at home, but I mind the wait to find out how much my car will cost me to get it fixed.

In reality, my plan has been to replace it next fall anyway, but I have to admit that I have no enthusiasm to do so. Maybe it's just because I haven't been thinking about it and the economy stinks and I want a car that gets better mileage, but I don't know how to go about choosing one. I like it when I see what I want, I know that's it, and the only trick is getting the best deal possible on it. I'm not excited about the process, and I still need to get mine fixed. 

I need to see the sun. I'm grateful that the sun shines nearly every day here. I tend to get down and depressed after a few straight days of clouds. Imagine how much fun I was when I worked in a downtown office without windows. In the winter,, I arrived at work before the sun rose and left after it set most days. Maybe tomorrow the sun will shine.

My husband is on the last major push for the church garage sale. They are moving the tables in tonight and tomorrow, they move all the donated items from the storage facility to the site of the sale. We won't see much of him for the next three weeks, that's for sure. He tried to get me to ride with him while he moved stuff. I declined. He's totally insulted that I didn't want to spend hours sitting in a 26' Penske truck. Even before it started raining, I knew I wasn't doing that.

Thanks for stopping by to check out the ramblings of a depressed crazy lady. I should be back to seeing the humor in most things as soon as the sun comes out!

New Glasses, New Contacts

I got new glasses and contacts yesterday, Actually, my daughter picked them up for me and brought them home.

The glasses are very different from my previous ones and one of the major differences is that the earpiece hinges are large and decorative. I startled myself repeatedly last night thinking someone had walked up beside me. Had the same problem this morning. I'm sure I will soon be used to them, but at the moment, it's a bit claustrophobic for me.

After cleaning and soaking them overnight, I tried my new contacts this morning. One of them was giving me some trouble initially, so I took it out and rinsed it off again, then noticed it is not completely round in shape. Though the other felt fine, I kept wondering if it was a defect, so nothing would do but that I take out the other one to check it, too. It isn't round either. No big deal, but I would have loved the heads up from my eye doctor. Guess it says something that I can see well enough out of them to see that they aren't round. And so far, I can read everything I've tried to read. Next test - can I see to drive? Everyone in the county will be relieved if I can, I know. 

Because He Lives...

We sang one of my all-time favorite songs in church this morning.

God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives I can face tomorrow;
Because He lives all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives!

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,

And feel the pride and joy He gives;

But greater still the calm assurance

This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

But the third verse spoke to me more than any other this morning.

And then one day I'll cross that river;

I'll fight life's final war with pain;

And then as death gives way to vict'ry,

I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives.

Because He lives I can face tomorrow;

Because He lives all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living just because He lives!

My mother's oldest living sister died this week. She had battled and defeated cancer once before, but it returned. All of her recent tests, though, showed it was gone again, but she got weaker and weaker. She developed pneumonia and though a week ago Saturday, everything looked better, by Tuesday, her doctor had to acknowledge that He didn't understand why, but she was in the process of dying. And so began the bittersweet vigil that lasted some 37 hours.

A fellow chorister at church recently lost his dad also, and as he put it, "You may see us mourn, but you won't see us despair." That's the assurance that our loved ones are indeed in heaven. This is a certainty we have only because they and we have accepted the gift of forgiveness offered by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We have each acknowledged that though by the world's standards, we may be "good" people, we are in truth, no different from any murderer or rapist or abuser or any other sinner. We have all sinned and that sin destines us to hell. Hell is a very real place and I don't care to go there. But God sent His Son, who lived a perfect life here on earth for 33 years and then went to His human death on the cross as a sacrifice for each and every one of us. The miracle is that He did this for me even though He knew I would come along and sin. And then He rose again from the dead. He lives! And because of that, I will also live in heaven with Him when I die my earthly death. We believe my aunt got a glimpse of heaven last Friday. And even though her body sought some improvement, she knew what lay ahead and she was ready to go. She said as much to her family.

So once again, we rejoice at the homegoing of a loved one. If you don't have that assurance about a future free of fear, there are many of us who would love to help you have it. God bless you this week, and be safe

Day Spa Official Grand Opening

My daughter's new day spa will "officially" open today with a ribbon cutting at 11:30 this morning with the local Chamber of Commerce. We have worked very hard this week getting everything ready and I think we're almost there. I have to go cut up some fruit and veggies and load and transport those and the punch base and ginger ale and the CAKE - which is beautiful. I'll go work on the fruit and veggies in a moment and I will have to run get some ice to keep the punch cold, but I'll be ready on time, I think.

My mother's oldest living sister went to be with the Lord last night. She'd battled cancer twice but most recently had pneumonia. Though prepared and as ready as it is possible to be for her death, I'm sure this is a tough day for her family. I remember waking up after my 2 or so hours of sleep the night after my dad died and thinking, "Today is the first day of my life without my dad in the world." I survived, but those were dark days.

Please tell someone today that you appreciate them for who they are in your life. Have a great day and remember Who gave it to you!