New Year

Happy New Year...or at least I hope it will be. I hope for a full, blessed, wonderful year for you. But I know regardless of what comes, God is with you. He loves you.

I'm counting on it, too. So 2011, here I come. May even put my bells on.

peace.

Rethinking my Nativity

Last Sunday our pastor preached on Luke 2. He talked about the timeline things must have actually happened in and it got me to thinking, what should my Nativity contain?

And then my Andrea sent me this link. (you must watch the video)

I'm pretty sure this isn't in the picture, but who knows? I do have odd friends...

peace.

Pollyanna is back!

Maybe not in full force, but Christmas is this week, my whole family will be in my home and we are blessed.

This always help me to remember the reason for the season. Merry Christmas!



peace.

New Focus

OK, so after a couple of hours in my studio and an attitude adjustment, I threw away my snarky pants. It's really about what I'm focusing on, it always is.

My new focus: everything but me.

It works, I promise. Count your blessings, keep a gratitude journal, volunteer, do something for someone else.

Last night, I made Christmas gifts, sent cards to recovering soldiers, prayed and thanked God for every good thing in my life. Apologized to Him for being selfish and snarky.

Life is good, I am blessed. I will remember this.

peace.

P.S. If you want to include some recovering soldiers in your Christmas card list, send them here.

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue
NW Washington, DC 20307-500

Snarky

I'm not sure when this word was invented or if it is even a real word, but sometimes it definitely describes my thoughts and moods. It's those days that I burn out my sarcasm light with so much of it, mostly running through my head. I have to be careful on these snarky days, I could really hurt someone. I've done it before. It hurt me, too. More than I can ever express.

There was a young single mom at our church. We were rehearsing for a Christmas program and while taking a break, just goofing around everyone was kind of joking around and she poked a little fun at me. I poked back. She disappeared. Literally, I have never seen her again since that day. My comment was not intended to mortally wound, but even "joking" can cause great pain when it is mixed with sarcasm and truth. I didn't mean it, I wish I could take it back, I wrote her a long letter apologizing, I called and she made her mom talk to me. I groveled to the point that it didn't change anything and to this day, I regret it. I wish I had taken one moment, swished it around and decided to swallow it instead of poking at her.


Proverbs has a lot to say about the tongue. I've experienced some of these and am striving for some of these.


^12:18 There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.


^31:26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.


^21:23 Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.


^18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.


So even on my snarky days, I hope to be quiet more than anything. Kind of goes back to what I told my kids "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."


peace.

Inspiration

I'm looking for some. I know it's around, I've just got to find it. Hasn't been in my office recently, maybe I left in my studio. Probably near the paints. That's where I usually find it. Until then, maybe I'll just sing.

peace.

Tis the Season

I think of all the Christmas carols I know, I love this one the most. The lines in red remind me of the reasons I celebrate Christmas.

O Holy Night!

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining, 
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth. 
Long lay the world in sin and error pining. 
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth. 
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, 
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. 
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices! 
O night divine, the night when Christ was born; 
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine! 
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine! 

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming, 
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand. 
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming, 
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land. 
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger; 
In all our trials born to be our friends. 
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger, 
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend! 
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend! 

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name. 
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we, 
His power and glory ever more proclaim! 
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

peace.

Convenient Christmas

So this year will look a little different for us. We now have a son-in-law and an out-of-town daughter. We won't have the kind of time with our family that we have always enjoyed. It will be a little more compact.

We will still have time for our traditions, which after being snowed in last year, we all missed! I am looking forward to sharing those with our family again this  year.

In years past, I've had all my shopping done by now. But this year hasn't been as convenient. We just celebrated a wedding and the cash-flow at our casa is greatly diminished. We can't just shop, we have to plan. We refuse to create debt, so we have to be creative. This has forced me to really think about the gifts I want to give. And honestly, I've loved it.

Not at first, it was a challenge. But once I got used to the idea, I began to really assess who I was giving the gift to and what they would enjoy. What would touch them or be useful to them? It has not been convenient. But it has been a gift to me in a way.

God's gift of His son was not convenient either. He saw each one of us, lost and hopeless. We were on his mind when he spoke to Mary and Joseph. When the star shone, it glistened in the tear drops on his face. Tears of pain, tears of joy, tears of hope. He shed them for us. And then gave us the greatest gift of all.

So to my family and friends, I hope this year, though our gifts to you may be small, you'll understand they contain our hearts and treasure them.

peace.

Closed Doors

I deal with closed doors much differently these days. I see them as a re-direct for my benefit. Kind of like a detour sign. They don't stop me, they just change my path.

My life verse has always been Jeremiah 29:11-14. "For I know the plans I have for you" says the Lord...."

Sounds like a promise of direction to me. He has the plans. Proverbs 19:21 says "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." I move forward, doing my best, making my plans...but when the detour sign is put out, the door is closed, I now choose to heed the warning. I don't stand there bewildered or angry pounding on the door. I've learned to see the closed door as my protection, my direction and I treasure these almost as much (just being honest) as the open ones.

So today, I'm looking at a closed door. Time to turn and keep moving. There's an open door waiting for me.

peace.

It's all about context

I've figured out that the time has come. Some of my frames of reference are just outdated. I made a funny (cracked me up) yesterday and all I heard was crickets. It WAS funny...for those of us who lived through the 70's. Unfortunately, the recipient of my gift of humor wasn't born until 1984. ::sigh::

It's all about context. I had a college professor who always said "Text without Context is Pretext". He was referring to the appropriate application of scripture, but it is true in communication in general.

Context by definition is
1. the parts of a piece of writing, speech, etc., that precede and follow a word or passage and contribute to its full meaning it is unfair to quote out of context
2. the conditions and circumstances that are relevant to an event, fact, etc.

In other words, if you don't know where I'm coming from, you probably won't understand what I'm talking about. 

Think of how often in life this could apply. We tell toddlers to use their words instead of grunting, motioning, whining etc. But how often as adults do we forget to use our words? We assume others know our context and we communicate at them, not to them. I am guilty. Especially with my husband sometimes. :-)

So here is my goal. To be sure to adequately communicate not only my immediate concern, but the surrounding context so that the goal of truly communicating can be achieved. 

Besides, that way when I'm being funny, you'll laugh!!

peace.

One Year

This has been quite a year.

One year ago yesterday, my dad passed away.
One year ago in December, my older daughter graduated from college.
One year ago in January, same daughter moved to Texas.
One year ago in February, younger daughter moved home.

Within this last year, we've seen blizzards, ice storms, tornadoes, killer hail, heat waves, floods and the most beautiful fall weather.

I've watched my daughter get married. I've welcomed a son-in-law.

I said goodbye to my dog Suki.

You just never know what a day will bring, much less a year. What am I doing with today?

peace.

ThankFULL!

We're doing something different this year. We're spending Thanksgiving with friends. Dear friends. The kind of friends who make you laugh so hard your side aches and you better not have a mouth full of tea. The kind of friends who love you. Year round, every day, every hour kind of friends. Reminds me of this.

For all the Blessings of the Year

For all the blessings of the year,
For all the friends we hold so dear,
For peace on earth, both far and near,
We thank Thee, Lord.

For life and health, those common things,
Which every day and hour brings,
For home, where our affection clings,
We thank Thee, Lord.

For love of Thine, which never tires,
Which all our better thought inspires,
And warms our lives with heavenly fires,
We thank Thee, Lord.

I am also thankful for my family and the precious gift they are to me every day. I hope your Thanksgiving Day is full of joy and thankfulness. One day to celebrate God's year-round and eternal gifts to each of us. Happy Thanksgiving!!

peace.

Keepin' It Real

 

I've kept this guy in my office for many years now. Being in communications, marketing and PR, it's important to keep track of what you say and how you say it. This simple toy is a great reminder to me of that very fact. 

You see, I was walking in Target one day and saw him. Spider Man was out in the theaters and he was cute. But when I saw the "but wait, there's more" box on the lower left corner, I had to have him. Does it really include Peter Parker Parts? What parts would those be exactly? Really Playskool?

To be honest, I've never opened the box. The ideas in my head are so much funnier than the reality, I don't want to burst my own balloon. But it was a good reminder to be careful of what I say and how I represent things. Just because it makes sense to me, doesn't mean it will to someone else. I think the church falls into this trap. We speak Christianeze. To those of us who are churched, it makes perfect sense. Trying to talk to someone who is not, confuses them and makes them feel like they aren't in the club.

So my encouragement from this Spider Spud is to keep it real. Don't make promises you can't keep and don't use language to impress. If communication is the goal, make it universal. Don't include "parts" you can't deliver.

peace.

Almost spilled the beans but...

 

CARMEX MOISTURE PLUS™ TINT (SHEER PEACH)  and  CARMEX MOISTURE PLUS™ TINT (SHEER PINK)


Carmex has added these lovely, tinted lip goodies to their line and I really do love them! I'm not a lipstick wearer, at all. I hate it really. I have pinkish lips so I don't need goo. But they do get chapped and I do need moisture. This is the best of both for me. I get moisture and a little tint of color and shine. TahDah!!

I almost spilled the beans when I was telling you about the lotions, I just get so excited.  Carmex sent me these lovely products I've showed you in my goodie bag. They even let me give a whole goodie bag away. Well, guess what?

I now have the products above as well and I have some for you, too!! Carmex is awesome and gave them to me to pass on.

Just leave a comment on this post before November 24th, and if I pick your name out of the hat, you'll have fabu lips like me!

If you don't want to wait, don't want to comment and you've got money to burn, you can buy these for yourself at Walgreens or Walgreens.com.

Just in time for the winter! Enjoy!

peace.

I'm HOOKED!!

Beyond cool! Thanks to Animusic and here's their YouTube channel.

peace.

Transmedia Storyteller

So a Twitter friend, whom I've met in real life, threw this out the other day and I was intrigued. In my own uniquely astounding way I even responded.

His tweet -

and mine -  

I know. But it was intriguing. I thought I had an idea of what he was talking about, but I started researching. 

Here is the original link sent out in the first tweet. But after some research, I also found this one...and this one and thousands (ok, maybe hundreds) of others.

Basically, it's the ability to create content across multiple media platforms that tell a cohesive, continuing story about one thing. It is the out-of-the box thinking mixed with creativity but firmly rooted in a single purpose. Brilliant!! 

Here's the good news, I know what I want to be when I grow up. For those of you who know me, yes, I said grow up!! Ok, so maybe I won't grow up completely, but this career path excites me. The principles are applicable for any marketing position, pr position, communications position, and the possibilities are endless. 

Imagine your next obligatory Christmas Family Update letter using this train of thought. How much fun could that be?

Imagine political candidates employing these methods to get their messages across instead of bombarding us with direct mail, robo-calls and TV ads only?

The absolute beauty, many of these medias are free.

I could go on and on, but I won't...for now. Look into it, you may be as excited as I am!! If you need another reason, watch and see...

peace. 

Another Oklahoma Winter

We are on the brink of another winter season. The weather in this last year has been the oddest I've ever seen. Blizzard, flood, heatwave, earthquakes, mammoth hail, tornadoes...Welcome to Oklahoma!

I will say there are a few things that you can't survive winter without. Or at least I can't, so here's my list.

1. Ice scraper. Unless you park in a garage, you will have to have one. Trust me.
2. Humidifier. Unless you like bloody noses and talking like a frog.
3. Faucet covers. For your outside faucets. You don't want to skip this one.
4. Gloves. It might not be cold enough to freeze you, but with the wind, your hands will not survive.
5. Ear covering. See #4, it goes for ears, too.
6. Blankets. Because when the weather does what it does, you will most likely lose power. You'll want to cover up.
7. Food you don't have to cook. See #6. And don't wait until the weather starts to get it. Walmart will be out of everything. I don't know why.
8. Water. Walmart won't have any of that either. Frozen pipes don't give you water.
9. Boots. Because at some point you will be outside and you want to keep your toes.
10. Candles and hot chocolate. Cause when you locked in, they make you feel warm and cozy.

peace.

Last year's Icepocalypse was quite an adventure. Take a look.

Getting in a Cooking Kind of Mood

from Andrea & Bijay's wedding

I don't know what it is about colder weather, but it makes me want to cook. I really enjoy cooking, baking, eating...and I think this year during my holiday cooking, I'll share some of my favorite recipes with you complete with pictures.

For today, I have 100 cupcakes and a wedding cake to bake so I'll be busy!!

peace.

PS...I did not make the cake above, I did not take the picture. But if you need a photographer, Rex is your man!

On This Day

I'm feeling kind of reflective. 

Then...

Now...

27 years ago, I married my best friend. We have lived, laughed, cried, hurt, crashed, burned, celebrated, rejoiced, disagreed, agreed, and much more.

We've shared the joys, responsibilities and struggles of parenting two amazing daughters. We've prayed for them more than I ever knew was possible. We've hoped for them more than the world has to offer. God has been faithful. So have they.

But here's what I'm reflecting on, it's been 27 years.
27 YEARS!!

I cannot believe it has passed so quickly. The memories of our life together swim wildly in my head as if they just happened yesterday and I need to be sure and remember them. And yet, when I start truly looking at all the memories, the people, the events, I feel so very blessed to have lived such a full life. And we're not done yet, not by a long shot.

So Happy Anniversary Baby, I've got you on mind!! Here's to the next 27...or 30...or ?

peace.

My thoughts on the Elections

We live in America. If you are a citizen, you have been provided the right to be heard. Through free speech, the right to vote, whatever venue you choose, as long as it doesn't impede the rights of someone else.

I did not vote a party ticket yesterday. I am a conservative, Christian, Republican. I voted out of the research I had done as a citizen of this great state and country.

I will not quit, whine or run away because my choices didn't win. I will step up, speak up and work harder to be sure that the things I believe in are heard, that the changes for everyone's good I will see happen.

It's time for team work.

Republicans can't fix it. Democrats can't fix it.

Americans can fix it. Oklahomans can fix it.

Let's get to it!

peace.