GPS

I work in an insurance office and we STILL have paper Atlases that we give to our policyholders. Believe it or not, we do still have customers who request them!

• GPS= Global Positioning System or Global Positioning Satellite 

I do not have one! I’m not even the least bit excited about getting one either. Whether it’s age related non-acceptance of new technology or just being stubborn… I don’t want one and it is not on my Christmas list. I have always found maps fascinating and love to check out where places are and how to get there. I like to see the broad perspective of where I’m going and not from a little 3-6 inch square box that my bifocals’ do not want to focus on!

And the talking ones… why would I want to be sitting in my car behind the wheel and let this unknown voice tell me where to go! How do I know where they’re sending me? Why should I put my TRUST in that little box on my dash? I’ve heard the horror stories of those not on “real time” and/or not “updated” regularly.

I heard of one where they were directed down a road and ended up in the lake…it was night, I guess and they couldn’t see where they were going? And another where the road had been closed and the bridge was out, and because the GPS sent them that way…they drove around the blockade and off the cliff into the river! Go Figure… (Get the Point Stupid and NO I’m NOT calling “YOU” Stupid). But you do get the point right?

Of course, I do realize these horror stories have been embellished and sensationalized for our enjoyment… but could they be true?

I really think my problem with this DeVICE is that it is telling me what streets to drive on, where to turn, and I’m just not ready to sit passively behind the wheel and let something else into my life that’s “telling me where to go and what to do”.  I know, I know… I’m putting in the information of where I want to end up… but I just have this sneaking feeling that this “talking box” has a mind of its own embedded somewhere deep in its technical bowels.

Now, I will refrain from taking this further and making a spiritual application at this time. However, I’m sure you do see where I could go with it and I’m sure it has been done before. Let me roll those thoughts around some more in my “gray matter” before the words become complete sentences and “profound” thought!  :-D

If you have a GPS relax…I don’t care. Enjoy your toy, just don’t let it take control! Be aware of your surroundings and where you’re really going!

I do recommend keeping a MAP handy!  Your GPS could go down!

Happy traveling!

Change is in the air… and Random thoughts…

Yes, change is in the air.  I can feel it every where, change is on its way! 

Driving home from work last night I realized I was cold for the first time this fall. 

I am sitting here early this morning (I had to turn the heat on) listening to the rain outside my window.  Oh, we need the rain!!

We really do need the rain here in Southeastern Tennessee, but we need the REAL RAIN to fall… pour it on us LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.  Yes, change is truly on the way! …and not just the physical seasonal change.

There are so many changes that are taking place in each of our lives.  Some will be affected by the political changes that are transforming our lives for better or worse.  Some of our freedoms are no longer our choice to make, some can be taken back and others are permanently changed forever.  We may lose our jobs and homes.  I’ve even read of some churches going bankrupt… this is something unheard of in the past.  But if people don’t give sacrificially…  And it is hard to give when you’ve lost a job, etc.

The above is a subtle warning that there is a GREAT CHANGE coming our way…but it is merely a feeble stepping stone to the GREAT CHANGE.   I know that I have a HOPE that some do not share…  this WORLD is not my final resting place… I’m on a journey that will end someday and only then will my journey be completed.  I have the best guide and map available. 

How I travel this journey, the way I walk, talk, my attitude, how I treat others and how I treat my fellow traveler (other Believers) will determine my reward. Isn’t it strange how we sometimes treat our own family and fellow travelers?  We give more respect and love to complete strangers than to our family and fellow believers.  I guess that’s the FLESH speaking and acting out! 

I’m not exactly sure what I’m feeling! Even the unease of the unknown is not pre-empted by the fact that I have the HOPE of ETERNAL LIFE that no one on this earth can take from me.  God didn’t promise us a Rose Garden on this earth and a blissful life with no problems.  But He did promise us salvation!

The Bible tells us we are to be joyous in persecution for His sake (Oh my… I thought we were to blast everyone and everything that we didn’t believe in or was not to our liking!??? I’m not being facetious about standing up for the Word of God, but this world is not our home… remember?).  I’m not saying speaking up is wrong… but I am saying how we speak up, and what we say is very important to the salvation of this world.  Yes, there are times when we must be blunt and to the point… but it must be spoken with true love and compassion.  We must reflect the LOVE of JESUS to others.  If they cannot see that reflection…then our words and life have been lived in vain!

Oh CHANGE…what are you going to surprise us with?

Wow... long time

Whew...I see it has been months since I've written on this blog. I guess FB (facebook) and my other blog (http://heartwhispers.wordpress.com/) has had my attention the last few months. I plan to redo this blog some and use it for a different purpose than just general posting.

Please be patient with me while I revamp and reorganize.

Some more…

We have had some beautiful weather the last few days. NO RAIN…NO HUMIDITY… and temps in the upper 60’s and lower 70’s during the day and low 50’s at night. My kind of weather. While I hate to see Winter coming… I do love the Autumn season. I love fall colors…the earthy hues with brilliant oranges and yellows thrown in occasionally. I find autumn to be energizing and find myself getting ready for “nesting”… aren’t we supposed to nest and stay inside in the winter… you know, hibernate!? I wish that were true! LOL

I do enjoy all the seasons… but the summer humidity is not kind to my disposition…or body! I can get pretty cranky when I can’t breathe the “thick” air that surrounds me with its clinging, sweaty choke hold! I don’t mind the warm, even HOT weather… I grew up in Southern Cal, so I know HOT. But the humidity drains me down to a whimpering puppy. I think it came with age… while not LIKING it when I was younger… I don’t remember HATING it like I do now!

Well, enough about “H”! Here’s some “random” photos I think you might enjoy.

The first three photos are of my Sunday School Class.

Pastor Childers - Church Study

My newest bookshelf.

Part of my "bird" collection.

Yes, I still collect OWLS.

I love to photograph flowers and nature. I will get all my nature photos together and post a few at a time… I promise not to overwhelm you. This was taken at Sister Margaret’s home. The last Hurrah of Summer.

This rose is from Mr. James Jurney's Memorial Service.

I must run… off to work. Today is FRIDAY! Hip Hip Hooray!!!! I’m at the office by myself today. Hope it’s not busy! I can get some filing done and other organizing!

I really didn’t forget…

It’s been a crazy few weeks.  Actually, this summer was a flurry of activity and seemed to whiz by quickly.  I simply cannot believe it’s really September 1st today.  It seems like just a few days ago that I was looking forward to the Summer months.   

We moved the insurance office to a new location the last weekend in May and we opened the new office June 1st.  It gives us so much more room and the parking is wonderful.  Hopefully we will increase our book of business since we have good exposure to the main road now with easy access! 

Other than traveling to Wisconsin in April for (our oldest grandson) Brian and Tina’s wedding and an overnighter in Nashville at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, we haven’t traveled or been camping this year!  I hope to go camping sometime this month… but I’m not sure when or how we’ll work that out since there’s several upcoming meetings in September.

Our Great-granddaughter Chloe, turned 3 years old this August 25th and Micah our grandson turned 11 in August too!  Brock our 2nd oldest grandson  turned 16 in April and Kailee our only granddaughter turned 15 in February.  They are growing up too fast for me.  Especially so, since they don’t live close to me now. 

So far, Bud is enjoying his forced retirement.  He’s found plenty to do and not to do  **grin**.  I’ve offered to provide a list but he doesn’t think he needs one.

Just keeping you posted and to let you know I have some thoughts and notes I’m working on and will be writing soon.  Don’t give up on me yet…  My heart is full, I’ve just got to find the time to write!

 

Have a blessed week with Jesus… He’s there ALL the time!

Life...Living...Loving

I know, it's been awhile since I've blogged. It's been a busy time for our household the last few weeks.
First, Bud was laid-off from his job along with about 35 other men in his department. Downsizing finally hit the hospital. Fortunately, he has been there long enough (10-years) that he was offered severance. This of course helps for the next couple months. Trusting God for our future.
Second, we left for Wisconsin Wednesday morning of the 15th. Stopped in Southern Illinois to pick up our middle son, Jason and got into New Berlin, WI around 12 midnight or so. It was a long trip and we ended up going through Chicago anyway as we somehow missed our direction in Decatur, IL. But since we were going through there around 10:45 pm... it was breeze! I grew up driving around Las Angeles... so traffic, etc. doesn't bother me... I'm just kind of lazy about driving now and didn't want to go through Chicago. Oh well, it made me appreciate my "little city" of Chattanooga. If I want the BIG city, I'm less than 2-hours from Atlanta,GA.
We were heading to Wisconsin for our oldest grandson's wedding. Tim(Brian as we call him) and Christina(Tina) became husband and wife on Friday the 17th. He was handsome and she was a beautiful bride. Our granddaughter, Kailee was a bridesmaid, and she was gorgeous. Chloe, our great-granddaughter, and Brian and Tina's daughter was the flower girl. She was adorable. I enjoyed my time with her.

They had a beautiful warm sunny day for their wedding.
They took photos at a park not too far from the church, Apostolic Life Tabernacle in Waukesha, WI. Papa Bud performed the ceremony. It's neat, because he performed the marriage ceremony for all three of his sons and now his first-born grandson! Time sure whizzes by!

Mother and daughter before the wedding. Tina's youngest brother is standing to the left admiring his sister. She was beautiful!

Right: Brian surprised Tina with "something blue" after the rehearsal.

Chloe getting ready to practice her "flower girl"... although, she called it being a "princess".



.



Awwwww....how sweet!

Our beautiful granddaughter, Kailee







Chloe loved her Uncle Jay. He played with her. She asked him "where you come from?" She didn't remember  seeing him before. She climbed up and patted his cheeks with both hands and then rubbed noses.


One tired little girl. She finally gave up.

                          She definitely is her granny's girl... she loves her coffee!!!!!

Chloe enjoying herself at the reception!

I've more photos and have the cd that my daughter, Terri gave me. I'll get those posted soon.

Bud had the 7-day flu and was sick the whole time of our visit. We "doctored" him up for the rehearsal and the wedding ceremony and then he made a brief appearance at the reception and Tim took him back to the apartment so he could go back to bed. He was in bed the whole time we were there and on the drive up and back home. He ran a 102.3 fever and was almost delirious. At one point, I thought I might have to take him to the hospital. He was miserable and I didn't get much sleep either. I drove up and back. I drove home in one day... thank God for books on tape! Kept me awake. We got home around 1:30-2:00 am Monday morning. I was exhausted. His fever and illness finally broke early Wednesday morning. He said he felt like he'd been in a thick fog. I asked him if he even remembered the ceremony :) and he said he did!!!

Well, enough for now... will try to post again soon.

Technorati Tags: wedding,marriage,grandkids,family

You never know what you'll find...

Spring is in the air... it’s 72 degrees here today and a beautiful day.

Closet Shopping...

We are still “de-cluttering” and I have been going shopping in my closet. This has been great for my pocketbook. In digging through all the green plastic bins and the back of my closet, I have found clothes I’d forgotten I had and still are quite fashionable with adding a few accessories. Some of course are WAY too small and I really don’t have a hope of ever getting back into them. But some I’m very close to wearing again and should be able to in a few months. Since I’ve been sticking pretty closely to my ADA diet, I’ve lost a few pounds. I just need to get serious about the walking and the exercise!

Bud carried off 6-HUGE bags of clothes to the thrift store Friday and we still have a lot to sort through. I promised myself if I dropped it in the bag, I couldn’t take it back out! So far so good! Now we need to start on his!

Bud’s next project after he’s through setting up the canoe as a bog garden/fish pond is to clean and reorganize the garage. Although, our garage does not even begin to look like some in our neighborhood. We are in a subdivision that was built in the late 70’s & early 80’s, so most of the kids are off to college or married and the garages are so packed you cannot even walk through them. I know, I’ve seen them with my own eyes. Ours isn’t quite that bad, yet! I hope never. We do have some of our kids stuff in the garage and under the stairwell in the basement. But you can (carefully) walk through our garage.

To give you an idea of how we classify as genuine “packrats”... I have a bonnet hair-dryer in A-1 condition from when I was in high school. I kid you not! I still have my Brother Word processor with the black screen and bright yellow font! Again, in A-1 condition. Know anyone who would like to acquire these items? Please let me know! I just might get up enough gumption to part with them (and more). Bud just purchased a book and when he got home realized he had the original 1936 version. I can’t say too much to him as I’ve done the same thing and bought a book twice. We are so bad! They change the book covers on you now and republish the same book with a different cover and supposedly an “updated” version.

I have (kind of) promised our kids that we would sort through all the clutter and OLD PAPERS so they wouldn’t have too when that time comes. I’m afraid they wouldn’t go through all the bins and boxes and would just set a dumpster in the drive and start chucking. Although, I do believe they realize some of the “stuff” has value, monetarily and as family heirlooms/keepsakes.

Well, we will keep plodding along on the de-cluttering process. But it will have to wait until I get through my CE study and exams for my State License renewal. Then I have to take my companies BANK course and exam. All this before our Tennessee District Ladies Conference March 19-21! I’ll be ready for a break and a time of REFRESHING!

I want to be outside digging in the flowerbeds getting my hands dirty and feeling the soil sift through my fingers.

Have a blessed weekend and enjoy...while I go back to my studies!

Technorati Tags: Clutter,Decluttering,family,springtime,stuff,closet shopping,garage,reorganize