Two lives end as one begins

In the prettiest of places

But it is the in-between spaces

Where loves are shared with kin.

There is a third party

Coming to the occasion

And He doesn’t have

That handsome invitation.

But the hosts do not mind

If this party attends

For when it does

Love truly descends.

Can you guess of whom I speak?

Will the guessing make legs weak?

It depends on who you are

And what you know about life so far.

But even if you cannot guess

The event will still continue

And if the two are wise

They will want his watching eyes.

For he blesses what will follow

In the whole and in the hollow

And I will sing his praises

For giving joy to both their faces.

Monday’s Post: What was your guess for vernissage?

It never ceases to amaze me what “intelligent” software (web-ware?) seems to think would be of interest to me in my email inbox and on FB. Supposedly, because of “cookies” (These apparently aren’t my beloved chocolate chip cookies–they’re some kind of cyber chip instead, which I have never found to be as tasty as the homemade wonders.) created from everywhere I visit in the internet universe, the “powers that be” should have a pretty good idea of what I tend to peruse, use and abuse. I tend to disagree. Here’s why I think the cookies are “out to lunch,” since this is a smattering of what I regularly delete out of my inbox and ignore on FB:

1. Enlarging various body parts I have never had and never intend to have. I’m into “shrink wrap” when it comes to my body parts these days. Enlarging things doesn’t usually interest me all that much.

2. Inviting me to become a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Women’s Society…I’m Methodist. I don’t oppose the Lutheran women, but ummmm…since I’m rather delinquent about helping the United Methodist Women right now, I probably won’t be helping the Lutherans much, either. I’ll probably get an ad asking me to come to the Methodist’s Men’s breakfast next Tuesday.

3. Emails in which I apparently have hit the jackpot for scholarships to grad school, should I ever decide to go back to school. Where were these people when I was applying to grad school in 2008? These folks apparently have never read my status statements on FB.

4. Photography software ads – Have they seen the pics I take? Oh. Maybe that’s the point.

5. Forklift ads. Yes, you read that right. Forklift ads. Is this an insinuation that I still need to lose more weight? If so, guess what….I won’t be buying any forklifts from them. Maybe it’s an indication that they’ve seen the messes at my home?

6. Cat Litter Ads. Considering that even entering a home where a cat resides generally sends me to the nearest ER, I think we can safely assume that I have no interest in litter of any kind, particularly the feline kind. I hate to break this to them, but I really don’t care whether it clumps or crumbles.

7. The vendor newsletter from the guy who very rudely insulted me for merely relaying a message to him from my former boss. (I might add that I apologized profusely and relayed the information as tactfully as possible.) He suggested that I didn’t have my act together (Trust me–this is the nicest way to put this.). I would like to suggest that he doesn’t have his act together if he thinks I will patronize his business after the insult. Even Freud (another person who probably didn’t have his act together) would conclude that this man is probably the “poster boy” for projection.

8. The emails from a photographer I’ve never heard of who claims that I have placed an order through their establishment. They’re “concerned” because my “free shipping window” is about to expire if I don’t complete my order with them soon. Note to photographer: If I haven’t responded, you can cancel my imaginary order. When a free shipping window closes, a free shipping door usually opens anyway. And I have always preferred walking through doors and not climbing through windows when shipping.

9. The ads for a laptop I already own. In fact, I’m deleting their emails on the very laptop they want to sell me. How many laptops does one person need? I know I write a lot, but since they makes good laptops (That’s why I bought one!), I don’t think more. Now watch my keyboard die tomorrow…..Maybe I’ll leave that one in the deleted file for a while.

10. The Planet Fitness ads. I’ve spent a particularly large sum of money to have my own indoor gym. And I don’t really like leaving Earth to get fit.

11. Wedding ads. In case they hadn’t noticed, I’ve been married for 30 + years and the DD got married last year. I don’t have any real plans to get married again unless Brad Pitt decides not to stay with Angelina. I think even the PH might forgive me for that one since Angelina would be back on the “market.”

12. Expensive purse ads. My purse collection includes the $ 5 number from Wally World and the $ 7 one from Sam Moon. Don’t think I will be buying Dooney & Bourke in the foreseeable future. Unless Obamacare goes through. If so, I want mine in navy blue.

13. The FB ads for online stores where I must give my email address in order to see if I want to be on their email list. I have to confess that I’ve succumbed to a few of these and here is the kicker: After I discover I really do hate what they have to offer (which usually takes all of about 5 seconds), there is no easy way to extract myself from their incessant emails. This would explain why I have about 1000 unopened emails in my inbox. And it doesn’t matter if I delete them today…tomorrow they will send me 1000 more.

14. The ads telling me I haven’t ordered from them in 2 years. They are greatly concerned that I will be dropped from their email list. I am greatly concerned that I will put a fist through my computer screen. See # 9. Maybe my laptop company is smarter than I think.

Have to go now…my laptop wants to know if I really want to delete the email from its very own company. And one shouldn’t miss out on the 40% off Forklift Sale. Those I do tend to buy online because of the free shipping window. One can never have enough forklifts. What colors do they have? I prefer navy blue. See # 12.

Point to Ponder Challenge: How much money have you needlessly spent this year on items that were clogging your inbox or cluttering your home pages? What better things could you do with this money? Fund a retirement account? Save for college? Save for a wedding? Give to a charitable cause? Buy a new home? What actions could be taken to limit their advertising effect on you? What actions could be taken to minimize the deluge of advertising you encounter each day? Take five minutes today and work on those actions. Your Dooney & Bourke purse and Fossil wallet thanks you.

Tomorrow’s Post: Forgot the invitation?

Miss Maizie is making it difficult to write today. (She doesn’t seem to understand blogging deadlines.) Why? Because it has been raining incessantly here in Texas for almost 3 days straight and Miss Maizie, like most ladies, really dislikes getting her “feet” wet. Being fond of the outdoors, Maizie gets her exercise and playfulness out of her system by literally barking orders at our yard’s unruly birds and squirrels and informing us loudly and energetically when joggers are going past the house. Thus, when she refuses to get her dainty paws damp, she gets the canine version of “cabin fever” and insists that we become her play toys. She will do just about anything to engage us in play. She will fetch, catch, sit, stay, jump to get kisses from the youngest DS, lay down, and bark all in the hopes of getting us to hang out with her for just a few seconds longer.

This incessant, persistent demand of my attention indicates one thing: Maizie loves her family a lot. Recent brain scans of dogs have shown that when a dog is petted  or sees their owner for the first time after an extended absence, their brain wave patterns are similar to those of a human being when seeing someone they love.

not a fan. by Kyle Idleman (And yes, the lack of capitalization and the period are deliberate. My spell-check is so confused.) asks us to consider whether we persist in spending time with God the way Maizie persists in spending time with me when it’s raining outside. In other words, when we say we’re Christians, are we fans (or admirers) of Jesus or are we followers? Fans know a lot about the object of their affection, but they don’t actually have a relationship with that person or thing. Followers actually know their favorite person and persist in being with that person. In fact they give up everything to be with that person. And they don’t really care what they lose in the process as long as they are with the person they love. How many of us would describe our relationship with Jesus in that way? Probably very few of us.

Jesus wasn’t really interested in having fans. He was interested in having followers. Thus, this is not a book for the fainthearted or the casual Christian.

But, it is a “game-changer” and well-written. It even made me laugh aloud several times. And yes, it’s changing my “game.”

At the end of this week I am off to my first writer’s conference. I expect it will be a “game-changer” for me as well. I think it’s safe to say that there will be changes coming to MIP very soon as a result of reading not a fan. and attending the conference.

You may like these changes or you may hate them. But that’s really none of my concern. My concern is to be one of Jesus’ followers. And in doing that, I may well lose everything I once hoped to achieve, including your respect and friendship. Will that make me sad? Yes, most definitely. I treasure each and every one of my readers. You all make me better, but in totally unique ways, because all of you are unique. Yes, I hope you will stick around, but I understand if you don’t. That is most certainly your choice to make.

I hope you’ll decide to read this book, too. I hope it is the “game-changer” it has been for me. I hope you are a follower and not a fan.

But, I have to go now. Maizie wants to play.

Tomorrow’s Post: I don’t think these cookies are Nestle Toll House…

Warning: Get a beverage first. 

1. CBS Sports does a fine job of scheduling coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament until they interrupt my Easter dinner with my family. Harumph.
2. One can create a nifty Easter breakfast, instead, for celebrating purposes. But, it may mean that everyone at the breakfast table is not quite awake. Except for the 3 family dogs. They’re a little too awake, if you know what I mean.
3. Add tooth picks to the Easter Breakfast table….for eye propping purposes.
4. Amend sugary offerings at Breakfast for those on a low carb diet, unless we’re talking homemade beignets. Fried dough should never be “low-carbed.”
5. Do not mess with the Alpha Dog’s bone. One dog learned that lesson the hard way and then proceeded to cower between my legs afterward. Her mistake? Thinking she was the alpha dog. Rumor has it that she later tried to retaliate, but was severely scolded by her owner. I now understand why Congress can’t get anything done. Too many alpha dogs.
6. An Easter service is even more celebratory when your son is jamming out on the drums.
7. Peter had ADD.
8. Peter describing Jesus’ behavior in a rainstorm is, well, funny.
9. CBS Sports is responsible for me not donning the new Easter attire the PH so thoughtfully bought me for my birthday. He may be contacting our lawyer as we speak.
10. CBS Sports is responsible for us “eating” two tickets to the game. Apparently, people have more important things to do on Easter Sunday. Like hunt Easter eggs that aren’t orange with black striping.
11. Jack Nicholson doesn’t go to college games, but I kept looking for him anyway.
12. I don’t know how to act like a VIP…like everyone around me. At least they thought they were VIPs.
13. It’s hard to know how to cheer when the people behind you are wearing bright blue and the people in front of you are wearing navy blue. I resorted to, “Go Big Blue!”
14. The best t-shirt slogan of the day is on the shirt of a Notre Dame fan. What?!  It read, “Play like your girlfriend died last night.” Crass yes, but funny.
15. The best dig at CBS Sports’ rescheduling—a sign reading: “We skipped Easter to be here.” (Please note that we did not skip Easter. There are priorities in life and one of those is celebrating that Resurrection. Now, if we could only resurrect all those highly-seeded teams I picked in my bracket.)
16. The guy with the basketball on his head was sitting very close to me. How do I know this? Because EVERYONE wanted pics with him, usually when something critical was happening in the game right behind him. Ahem.
17. One of the sportscasters had a purple velvet blazer on for, I guess, Easter Sunday. Where do you get a bright purple velvet sports jacket? “Pimps R Us”??? Cuz I’m thinking 4 men in my family all need one, right? (They are all vigorously shaking their heads right now.) Okay, so maybe I’ll get them for my brothers instead. I don’t really care if they’re vigorously shaking their heads. 😀
18. Ding! Dong! The bracket is dead. (A Wizard of Oz reference seemed pertinent, since that is what I used to watch on Easter Sunday afternoons.)
19. I’m glad I was listening to the game on the radio during that huge injury in the Louisville/Duke game. I’ve seen enough sports injuries to last me a lifetime, thanks to the offspring. Let’s just say that our orthopedic surgeon has us on the “Volume Surgery” plan.
20. When you put two huge jumbo-trons in front of my face, I watch them instead of watching live players in front of me. What can I say? I’m used to watching March Madness with stat updates every 5 seconds.
21. Nik Stauskas is a freshman??? If so, I don’t even want to know how much his mother’s grocery bill is each week. And Momma? I think you can retire now.
22. You can always tell which team is winning by the number of time-outs left for each side, unless it’s the tip-off.
23. You can watch basketball in a football stadium. But, you still can’t get to your seats without going up one flight of stairs and down one flight of stairs. Oh, and forget being able to find the souvenir stand.
24. Best comment in the ladies room? “A MAN must have designed this stadium.” Yep, and I bet his initials are J. J.
25. Would I gladly do this nonsense all over again to watch the Final Four next year? Yes, indeedy. I just won’t buy a new Easter dress. I’ll wear a Notre Dame t-shirt instead.

Point to Ponder Challenge: How did you spend Easter or Passover? What traditions do you and your family enjoy? What makes them so special? Are these traditions celebrated by others outside of your family? Why were these traditions started? Investigate, if you don’t know. The answers may surprise you!

Tomorrow’s Post: not a fan…which is not all that surprising after this post, hunh?

Last week’s 26 Tuesdays honoree was Catherine Hubbard. Catherine loved animals so much that a local Connecticut animal center is now building an animal sanctuary in her memory, thanks to the donations of her family and friends. As I pondered how I could honor Catherine with an act of kindness, my mind turned to the book I’ve just completed reading, The Hole in our Gospel, which describes how people all over the world are starving.

One of the encouraging parts of the world’s hunger issue is that when those affected are able to raise an animal, they often can use that animal to feed their own family and sell some of the by-products to others in their village. Since the PH works in the dairy industry, we decided to donate 2 shares to World Vision International to help donate a cow to a family in need. A dairy cow can supply calves that can be raised and sold to other families in need and can provide milk for the family who owns it. Sometimes there is enough excess milk for other families and it, too, is sold to other villagers. In some cases this may be the only nutrition these children will have for a while. Perhaps more importantly, it gives that family hope. And hope is often the first “casualty” in these families. I think Catherine would like the thought of an animal bringing hope and joy to a family.

That brings the MIP Acts of Kindness count to 22. What did you do for Catherine? Please submit a comment below or send an email to me via the Contact page. It’s fine to just say that you participated, if you prefer that.

Today’s honoree is Chase Kowalski:

Chase Kowalski, 7

What Chase really wanted for Christmas was two front teeth. “I saw him two days ago, and I asked him if he wanted to see Santa, and he told me that he wanted his teeth back, and it was really sweet,” Chase’s neighbor Keeley Baumann, 13, told News Times. At 6, Chase completed his first triathlon, but that was just one of his pursuits. He loved baseball. He was in the Cub Scouts. He looked forward to the kids’ workshop at the local Home Depot. “We are thankful to the Lord for giving us seven years with our beautiful loving son. It is with heavy hearts that we return him,” the family said in an obituary.

So, what about Chase inspires you to do an act of kindness for someone? I am anxious to hear your thoughts.

Tomorrow’s Post: And the prize goes to…

The Word of the Week for last week was tutelary. Tutelary means having the guardianship of a person or a thing. So, Liesa’s guess last week was pretty close, stating that she thought it had to do with tutelage. Surely a good guardian or parent does tutelage on a regular basis. My guesses, as usual, warrant asking whether anyone ever parented or guarded me.

This week’s word is vernissage. No fair cheating, even if it is April Fool’s Day. Please submit your guesses below or send an email to me via the Contact Page.

vernissage: (ver-ni-ˈsäzh) 1. a horse named Vern doing dressage. 2. a French word for sage 3. springtime sausage 4. French vernacular (I might even be semi-serious about this one.)

Tomorrow’s Post: How now brown cow…