Saturday This and That

I woke up at about 4:00 this morning to the sound of rain.  It was in the forecast, but I didn't believe it would actually rain.  Water is still dripping off our patio covers.  I am not complaining!  Last year on Labor Day weekend it was very hot.  We made s'mores and the chocolate was melted before we could finish toasting our marshmallows.

Of course this type of weather has me dreaming of cooler temps.  I know we'll see more of summer, but I wanted to share a coupon from my favorite coffee company - Hawaii Coffee Company.  We have been buying coffee from them for years and there is nothing that Starbucks makes that can even come close!  We don't have to leave the house when we make our own and the cost savings is huge.  You can get 15% off any orders this weekend (click HERE).  I highly recommend Vanilla Mac Nut, White Chocolate Strawberry Truffle, Toasted Coconut and Kaka'ako Caramel.  They also sell single serve pods if that's how you brew.

And now it's time to fasten your seat belts - the final four months of the year are upon us.  Holidays, gatherings and good times.  Blink and it will be 2024!

The Gift of Time

It's Father's Day week and of course the Father's Day gift ideas are flowing into my email box.  My Dad was a hard worker but he always found the time for his family.  I wrote about it on his 71st birthday in the early days of this blog...

I can think of so many "Dadisms" - his little sayings and the way he said them - but the thing that comes to mind is his great love for his family. An example is when Rod broke his femur when he was about 11. Because of Rod's hemophilia, the doctors could not operate to put a pin in the bone (they may have not even done that back then), so he spent about 6 weeks in the hospital with his leg in traction until the bone could begin mending (then another 6-8 weeks in a body cast). Dad would come home from work every night, hurriedly shower and eat dinner, then we'd be off to the hospital. EVERY.NIGHT. No matter how hard he worked that day, how tired he was, he wasn't going to let his little boy spend the evening in the hospital by himself.

Dad has rescued each of his kids and granddaughters when we've had car trouble, ran out of gas, or locked our keys in the car. He was a truck driver for many years, so if you need directions to anywhere in California, ask Dad! You will not get lost IF you follow his directions. The day of Kim's wedding, we were all there except the twins. They called Kim, not sure where they were. The phone went to Dad. After a few moments of listening (another thing he does well - he listens), he told them exactly how to get to us.

For my entire childhood, we always had donuts on Saturday morning. It was one of our traditions. Dad would go to Eddy's Pastries in Fresno. Being kids (and picky!) all four of us had our favorites and Dad would make sure we each got our desired donut(s). As kids we were always up before he went to get them, but as teenagers he'd come wake us up to get our order. Our teenage response to "Do you want a donut this morning?" was usually, "No, I want more sleep!" But when we would finally drag ourselves out of bed, our usual orders would be there!

My Dad would have done anything he could for us, but he somehow understood that the gift of time was the greatest gift he could give.

Monday Math Class ~ The Speed of Life

Besides "I love you," one of the last things I said to Les last Monday night was "Christmas is five months from today."  He just kinda chuckled as he drifted off to dreamland.   Did you read that and start to feel the stress of the holidays?  Welcome to August!

The calendar is relentless.  I always feel like the second half of the year goes even faster than the first - I think it's because of all the holidays.  From Memorial Day to New Years there seems to be something every few weeks. Way back in 2009, when this blog was less than a year old, I wrote about how time flies.  I shared Les' theory, which still makes sense to me...

When you are 2 years old, one year seems like a long time because it is one half of your life, one half of your experiences.

When you are 4 years old, one year still seems long because it is one fourth of your life.

When you are 16 years old, a year can move a little faster seeing how it is only one sixteenth of your life.

By the time you're 50, well time really does fly! A year is a small portion of your life - so in light of your life experiences, it really is shorter! (I'm speaking from experience here!) 

James 4:14 puts it this way "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."  I want to make every slice of life count, no matter how quickly it comes.

I think I'll have a piece of pie, too. Remember: We all get heavier as we get older, because there's a lot more information in our heads. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Sunday Houses

In rural Texas, during the mid to late 1800s, farmers would build a small home in town called a Sunday House.  They would live on their farms during the week, then come to town on Saturday to do their shopping.  They would spend the night in their Sunday House so they could attend church the following day before returning to their farms for another week.  Often the towns provided farmers with a small plot of land so they could build their Sunday House.

We often talk about making room for Jesus at Christmas time.  There was no room for him in the inn.  But these people made room - they made houses!  The focus of the house was Sunday.  They made sure their farms were taken care of during the week, their shopping was done on Saturday, so Sunday could truly be a day for Him.

It's not uncommon to see multiple soccer games being played on Sunday morning in fields around Los Angeles.  Many marathons are scheduled for Sundays.  Grocery stores are packed on Sundays.  Our modern society has filled Sundays with everything but making room for Jesus. 

"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."  Hebrews 10:25

 We may not have actual buildings, but we can have a Sunday House in our heart!

"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord."  Psalm 122:1

Finding Time

My Runner's World thought for the day was simply this: 

We find time for the things that are important to us. Period.
~Scott Douglas

And today's verse of the day is:

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
~ Psalm 90:12 

As we start another year, I'm sure most of us have goals or resolutions or plans.  Many of those plans, by the end of February, will be put into the "I don't have time" pile and discarded.  Before you get to that point, look closely at your time.  It's amazing how much time we can find if we really look!  Don't have time to read your Bible, but you're reading this blog? (Ha! That wasn't really planned when I started thinking about this post...)

Earlier this year, Les and I started a home Bible study with Jose and Maylee.  We would go to her mother's house on Thursday evenings and it was working out great.  Les had a job change that turned his commute into 75 miles each way and bam! Thursday evenings were no longer available.  We missed several weeks and it really bothered all four of us.  Finally, the only time we could get together was Sunday afternoons just before church.  Yes, it cut into my Sunday afternoon nap.  Sometimes it seems like we just get home and eat and it's time to turn back around.  But it has been worth it.  We finished the formal Bible study and are continuing on, digging deeper into the Word.  It's important to us.

Les had an exercise he did when he was coaching Bible Quizzers.  They frequently "didn't have time" to study.  It didn't take long to figure out that they had time for basketball, the mall, phone calls and goofing off.  Once they looked at their time, the excuses were gone.

I can't tell you what's important to YOU, only you can figure that out. Take a little time to find time.

What a folly it is to dread the thought of throwing away life at once, and yet have no regard to throwing it away by parcels and piecemeal.
~ John Howe

Whoa, Nelly!!

Can you believe it is August 1st? There are now only 5 months left in 2011. Kids will be going back to school soon, which means Christmas decorations will be in stores before we know it!

18 days until Les' birthday...

38 days until Youth Alive...

93 days until West Coast Conference...

115 days until Thanksgiving...

146 days until Christmas!!

No need to start stressing yet...

Where?

Did the first half of this year go? July 1st, already?? Time to start my Christmas shopping at the speed this year is moving!

Let's review, shall we?

• January ~ booked our anniversary cruise
• February ~ paid for our anniversary cruise
• March ~ dreamed about our anniversary cruise
• April ~ counted down to our anniversary cruise
• May ~ took our anniversary cruise
• June ~ blogged for almost the entire month about our anniversary cruise!!

Ha! Okay, so there's been a whole lot more than that going on. Revival ~ Bible Studies ~ Missions Conference ~ Camp ~ Birthdays ~ Rain ~ AARP card ~ Running ~ Biking ~ Bike accidents ~ Laughter ~ Friendships. Life is good!

When you look back over the first half of this year, are you happy or frustrated with your progress? Make the second half even better!

Marching On!

I cannot believe it is March 1st! I feel like I need to start my Christmas shopping with the way this year is flying by. March came in like a lamb this year - it's cool and calm here. My preference would be for March to come in like a lamb and go out like a lamb, but we shall see!


Did you know the word 'March' comes from the Roman 'Martius'? This was originally the first month of the Roman calendar and was named after Mars, the god of war. We changed to the 'New Style' or 'Gregorian' calendar in 1752, and it is only since then that the year began on the 1st of January. So if you avoided making resolutions in January, or you've already broken the ones you did make, March is a good time to start over.


And since St. Patrick's day is coming up, I will share my favorite Irish blessing:

May those who love us, love us.
And for those who don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if he can not turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we may know them by their limping.