Traveling

Our family LOVES to travel....anything for a road trip! And, as parents we have always tried to encourage such an enjoyment.

When our oldest was 3 months old, we started to go on long weekend excursions. The first was Lago Mar in West Palm Beach. It was a wonderful facility and had a pool that was sooooo amazing---and I love the fact a young man comes along and 'prepares' your lounger. Kinda fun for a change. She appeared to enjoy the trip although at three months there is no way to tell----hahahaha  Each child had a similar 'young' vacation. Andrew and Josi actually went on vacation with chickenpox one year. Then Abi was 8 weeks when we drove to Lake of the Ozarks.... and the MANY birthdays we have had on the road! Since half of our family has a July birthday, we always seem to be traveling then...... we camp, visit family and friends or we enjoy hotels..... sometimes we fly, sometimes we drive.... we want to take a train together sometime soon....

Our family has always tried to enjoy at least one vacation a year together. Paul and I have felt that is as important as sitting at the evening meal together each night. It pulls us together and makes us stronger as a unit.

So, we have enjoyed places like: Yellowstone, Colorado, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Washington, DC, Christmas in Chicago, NYC, Toronto, Niagara Falls, the FLA panhandle, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and all the other states in between. We have made sure to do things that were age appropriate and showed the Glory of God the Creator. The God of order and beauty. We have encouraged exploration and information seeking. We marvel in the amazing gifts we have been given to enjoy and the wonderful provisions we have been blessed with to do so. We explored caves, hiked in the woods and watched as geese traveled in a V formation. Explaining all along each small journey the why's and what's of each child's wonder.

So then, why do I get in such a quandry when my children would want to travel across the ocean or through the country on their own? I have to stop and laugh. This is EXACTLY what we have prepared them to do. And, it is such a blessing.

Yesterday, before Josi took off for her excursion to Taiwan, she told me she would be traveling to Equator in January. I was not shocked, as she had prepared us ahead of time. I am just amazed at how God has done work with and through her. SO travel on my love.....see what God has in this big world..... I will sit and watch the airplane screen and make sure you are safe through prayers and petitions..... it is all good.

So, now, I sit and ponder where God will lead each of us. How will HE use us in our own little world. How many people have learned something small on OUR journeys to their area? What did we teach them? Did we teach love and kindness, or were we just mere tourists who were there to take take take and not give anything in return?

We are planning to travel today---road trip! And during this time, I am going to stop and think; what am I leaving behind for those who come after me........ and what legacy will I leave for my children about this world we have been so graciously given by our Creator.

Kindergarten

I found a really neat article in my notes today that I want to share......

I ask only this: that with every line, you stop and think how you can or should apply these SIMPLE rules to your life.... think hard and long---dig deep and relate--- we all already have been taught this stuff, sometimes we just forget to DO IT!

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN

(a guide for Global Leadership)

All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.
These are the things I learned:

* Share everything.
*Don't lie.
* Play fair.
* Don't hit people.
* Put things back where you found them.
* Clean up your own mess.
* Don't take things that aren't yours.
* Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
* Wash your hands before you eat.
* Flush.
* Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
* Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
* Take a nap every afternoon.
* When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
* Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
* Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
* And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

Rules

I have always been hung up on 'rules'...... no special reason, but hung up none the less.

Rules have many facets to them. Many people think that people just sit around to make rules so others can break them. I find that very concerning. Or, there are those 'white lies' where you just tell others half truths to protect yourself..... another form of rule breaking.

I guess I am stoic, stiff-necked and non-flexible. Now, I say, "Good for me!" I am especially that way when it comes to rules. I used to not be this way, I could break the rules with the best of them, sneak into clubs and bars underage, lie on demand...... not now.

Is it because I am older, it is because I am wiser, it because I have just grown up---I think it is because I just love Jesus.

He is very clear "let your 'yes' be 'yes' and your 'no' be 'no'"..... straight forward.

Rules are created, not only but the One who knows Absolute Truth, but also by mere people who run businesses and organizations. People would run those businesses and organizations to the ground if there weren't policies and rules.

Rules are not made to be broken---they are made to HONOR and follow for the benefit of the individual and also the organization. They are vital to success  and are thought out and written down with much thought and many people's input to the situation---hence, wisdom.

When people choose to break the rules, it truly infuriates me. I see this as putting others in harm's way. Please tell me WHO has the right to put another in harm's way? Who has the right to drive drunk? Who has the right to put a child in danger? Who has the right to run a red light and kill someone? The list goes on and on. Unfortunately, many people feel they have those rights......

I also find it irritating for the same people to try to justify their actions by trying to say it was not that big of a deal. Well, honestly, it is a big deal. The rule was broken. A lie is a lie.

When you break rules, in my eyes, you show what you are made of. Especially, if you know what that rule or policy states. It shows me and others who you are, it breaks down my perception of your integrity. It continually shows me (and others) what you are made of. It is truly harder to make decisions based on Truth than to go along with the crowd.

I VALUE those who have integrity. I ask for their wisdom. I learn from their leadership. I honor them as they should be honored--- with respect.

Although I am not judging, I have lost that honor for many recently. True colors have been shown. Lies have been spoken and people have been put into jeopardy...... so sad. And for me, the saddest part is that some claim Christ.

So I ask you today, if you lie, break the rules or just think it is fun to see 'if you can get away' with something---stop.  Take a break and learn from the Master--- follow Him and His rules--try your hardest not to break them....Let your yes be yes and your no be no...... and then KNOW why you believe what you do...... it will be hard as the world says something else, but in the long run you will be the victor with integrity and honor......

Summer

In

thoughts

These are just some random thoughts that go through my head on an almost daily basis.

God, you make some beautiful sunrises and sunsets!
I am amazed at how fast time has gone by
Birds are curious creatures
How can some people be so ignorant and have NO common sense? How can there be so many of them???
How can people be overwhelmed with just one or two kids and their schedules? I don't get it--
People who do not know how to drive according to the rules need to go back to driving school or move far away from here.
I miss some people often.
Wouldn't a day at the beach be fun? Well, only of we had a hotel to stay in with a pool. And, I could look presentable in a bathing suit......
Arghhhhhhh- more dirty dishes----thank you God for food to eat and healthy kids.
Look, more laundry to fold! Whoo Hoo
How does the tortoise stretch his neck out so far and why is there different skin on his legs and neck?
Babies are just so darn cute!
Coffee---I need to make more coffee!
My husband is a really neat guy and I have some great kids..... why have I been so blessed?

Adventures

Children. What a mixed up thing. We are blessed, confused, excited, dreadful, confident and worrisome all at the same time after children come into the family. To me this is the most amazing and scary thing that parents look forward to.

But, I have to say thank you to my kids for helping me become the person I am today. I have to tell them thank you for making my life more meaningful and fulfilling than I could ever have imagined. I want to thank them for taking me on some of the most exhilarating adventures that I would have never gone alone.

 I want to thank them for teaching me about: the legal process, current events and how they relate to their life, classical and modern music, how to tie a square knot and lash, jazz music, the tin whistle, classical novels and plays, ballet and the life that goes with it, camping in a tent and enjoying it, adventuring to other parts of the country and exploring with your whole heart, going to the top of a tall tower in a glass elevator, seeing God's Wonder in ALL things...... and then so much more.

I recall when I looked at my first child and saw the wonder in her eyes as we shared this big world. Then I remember when her brother came along and things were a bit different, but there was still so many adventures during this time... then as the family grew, and we experienced new and fun times, the adventures became larger than life! Now, as the little ones start to leave the nest, I sit and ponder in wonder about the many adventures we still have to enjoy. New people coming into our family, new little ones, new adventures. Although they will be new adventures in their own sense, they will still have the excitement, thrill and frolic that the old times had.

So, thank you---for making my life an adventure that I could never have had on my own. My kids: amazing, wonderful, strong, God-loving, caring, kind, funny, witty, beautiful, handsome, intelligent, but most of all a part of this family.....

Remember

Remember: your first time you were kissed, the first day of school, when your child was born, where you were September 11, 2001.

Remember. A God-given gift--memory. We can use it for the great times, but there are also those times which we would like to wipe off the slate. Remember. A gift given to us to recall who we once were, where we have been and what we are going to become.

But, I remember a day that I found so sad I can hardly find words. I remember that day 10 years ago when I rushed to the school and assisted parents to take their children home. Parents who only wanted to hug their kids and hold them as they saw fates of fellow Americans in NYC at the Towers and then in Pennsylvania. Remember the heroes who assisted hundreds from burning rubble and dust and from the heroes in the plane who saved hundreds of peole they never met. Other Americans.

Remember America. Not to be worshiped but to be honored. The God-given land for Christians to be able to worship in freedom. Remember HE was there. He was in the stairwell as the fireman went up as hundreds fled down to escape the fiery building. HE was there when a daddy chose to rush the evil barehanded and sacrifice his life for the lives of others. HE was there as families grieved and searched. HE is there as we continue to ask why, but in faith we KNOW HE has the future. HE IS there no, with all of those who loved HIM and HE called home. HE was there when the Constitution of this land was written, HE had a divine role. HE planned it. Remember?

Lest we forget. Did you forget that our land is the home of the free and the brave? Did you forget that In God We Trust is our motto? Did you forget that "We the people" means all of those devoted and willing to die for the cause of freedom? These words are not mere words. They are providential words that have been God-given. Remember?

It is hard, at times like these, to remember. Remember the pain in our hearts; remember the tears; remember the sounds, smells and noise; remember the lost.

Remember that the battle is in the spiritual realm...and if we did not see this 10 years ago then we are blind. So, remember.....