Thursday's Thought for the Day....

SERMONS WE SEE

I'd rather see a sermon than hear one 

any day, 

I'd rather one should walk with me

 than merely show the way.

The eye's a better pupil and more willing

than the ear;

Fine counsel is confusing, but example's

always clear;

And the best of all the preachers are

the men who live their creeds,

For to see the good in action is what

everybody needs.

I can soon learn how to do it if you'll 

let me see it done.

I can watch your hands in action, but

your tongue may too fast run.

And the lectures you deliver may be

very wise and true;

But Id' rather get my lesson by observing

what you do.

For I may misunderstand you and the 

high advice you give,

But there's no misunderstanding how

you act and how you live.

                                          ~ Edgar A, Guest

This one rings particularly true for me. 

Don't tell me.  Show me.

Wednesday's wisdom....

If you can find something positive ....  

Perhaps it was the wisdom of Pollyanna or maybe Mary Poppins that I absorbed as a young girl. Those almost heroic characters always searching for "something to be glad about" or finding "an element of fun in every job that must be done..."

I don't know about you, but from the time I reached those years of teenage angst until, well, pretty much now, my life has presented me with some rather difficult trials to navigate.  Times when I've felt as though I'm standing on the ocean's shoreline, the tide is rolling in and I'm getting knocked down by wave after wave.  Each time I pop up and catch my breath - wham - another one comes along and takes my feet out from under me.

In those periods when I would surface and a stretch of calm would follow, I began to hope that there might at least be some sort of pay off for surviving the various trials I was being challenged with. So I started to look for something good or positive that I could take from each experience.

And by consciously looking, I found it.

Lo and behold, there was always at least one lesson I could tuck away, or there would be a sense of gratitude for something I was either given or spared.  For instance, maybe I learned it's best to always drive myself in my own car, so I'm not stuck in an uncomfortable situation.  Or, my newborn needs surgery but thankfully her condition is not life threatening.

I used this tool all the time with my three girls when they were growing up. Sometimes it worked and sometimes, being kids, they responded with "yeah, yeah, yeah - we know!" (I believe they have all  stopped rolling their eyes at me about it.) But the practice always worked for me.

Little Miss M had her first encounter with my tool this past Sunday.  We were in my office and she was turning a table lamp on and off.  I cautioned her that the light bulb becomes very hot, that I was turning it off and that she mustn't touch it.

I'm sure you've all guessed where this is heading...

Yes, she touched it.  And it hurt!  I hurried her into the kitchen and we put the now painful finger under cold running water.  As we stood there, I asked M if she thought she might want to listen to Grandmom the next time she told her to do something.  She nodded, agreeing with me fully and stating, "Yeah, I think you're right, Grandmom."  A lesson learned! She then went on to apologize to me.  But I said she didn't need to, that she hadn't hurt me, just herself.  I also said that I was very glad she thought it would be a good idea to do what I tell her from now on.

We'll see how long that lasts.....

Tip for a Tuesday....

Invite Mother Nature in....

A dear friend gave me a beautiful bouquet of tulips and daffodils last week. Fresh flowers can lift my spirits and tease me into believing that Spring is just around the corner.

The daffys faded quickly, but the tulips have opened and are standing strong.

At my request, the Englishman picked up a couple of hyacinths plants for me while at the supermarket this morning. Their heavenly scent will soon fill the air.

So my suggestion is that you stop off and pick up a small bunch of cut flowers or a potted bulb plant. Bring them into your home.  Let their fragrance soothe your soul and give you hope that despite the dreary weather, Spring will be arriving soon.   

A Monday memory....

 

Birthday parties when I was growing up were always the same - who the celebrant was seemed to be the only thing that distinguished one party from another.  Yet, there was always an air of excitement every time I attended one.

We inevitably played the same games.   Small prizes were awarded to the winner. Musical chairs....

Pin the tail on the donkey....

Drop a clothespin in a milk bottle....          

Girls wore their best dresses and the boys had their slicked back.  The table would be set with a paper tablecloth, napkins, plates and cups.  There were hats to be worn, each with that painful elastic which always seemed to cut into one's skin.  Tiny paper baskets, usually yellow in color and with striped handles, would sit at each place, filled with candies.  That was our version of a "goody bag." And there would be balloons.  Lots of balloons, which had been blown up by someones parents or older brothers,  not the elaborate helium ones of today.

Over the years, birthday parties have grown and evolved into rather large productions.  I hosted an assortment of parties when my girls were growing up - ranging from roller skating to gymnastics to a storyteller, who encouraged all the attendees to dress up and act out a fairy tale.  

There started to be almost a competitive atmosphere among the parents concerning where parties were held, how many were invited and the size of the goody bags to be provided.  I started to look back fondly at the parties of my youth.  Perhaps our parents had the right idea with keeping things simpler.

The other day, my oldest granddaughter M was thrilled to be going to her best friend's birthday party at a Chuck E. Cheese entertainment center.   Just before she left, her mother posted a photo of her.  M looked adorable!  And like the young girls way back when, she was all dressed up, sporting a bow in her hair and wearing a new "tutu" skirt.  

The best part?  The look of pure joy on her face.   

How wonderful to see that the excitement of going to a birthday party is one thing that hasn't changed, even if the type of celebration has.

Thursday's Thought for the Day....

How very true - worrying about a situation does nothing to make it better.  Worry steals from me. Takes away my ability to be in and enjoy the moment.  Even the moment of waiting to see how things turn out.

But that has taken years and years to learn.

Wednesday's wisdom....

"I'm bored....."

A friend posted on Facebook earlier in the week that her kids were home on break from school, and  had already run out of toys to play with and television to watch.  

And it was only Monday morning.

I commented that my mother used to have a cure for that.

The  moment my siblings and I suggested there was nothing to do - depending on the time of year and weather - she would thrust either a dust rag or rake into our hands.

Suddenly there were beds to be weeded or large pieces of furniture to be polished.

You could instantly find yourself outside in the hot, sweltering sun wondering how on earth you had gotten there.

We learned very quickly to never utter the word "bored" again.

This morning I found myself with about an hour's worth of time before I was heading out for lunch with a friend.  Being nicely dressed, I didn't want to engage in any sort of messy project.  Still, there was a feeling of restlessness and wasting time.

So I took my mother's "advice".

I went into my bedroom and cleared out a cabinet.  Not a major undertaking, by any means.  However it did give me a feeling of having accomplished a little something for the morning.

Which made the effort worthwhile.

Old habits die hard I suppose.

  One of these days, I'll learn to just sit down and read a book.

Tip for a Tuesday....

I was both surprised and delighted when the Englishman informed me that a new book written by beloved writer, Maeve Binchy, had just been published.  Surprised, because sadly the author passed away the 30th of July, 2012.

I immediately purchased the novel for my "Nook" and have had trouble putting it down ever since.  If you are not familiar with her work, I urge you to read as many of her books as possible.  There are 16 novels and four short -stories collections, as well as a play and a novella to choose from.  

From Wikipedia:

"While some of Binchy's novels are complete stories (Circle of Friends, Light a Penny Candle), many others revolve around a cast of interrelated characters (The Copper Beech, Silver Wedding, The Lilac Bus, Evening Class, and Heart and Soul). Her later novels, Evening Class, Scarlet Feather, Quentins, and Tara Road, feature a cast of recurring characters."

(Bearing this information in mind, you might want to read some of her books in a particular order.)

Being of Irish/English descent I find much to identify with and learn from these wonderful stories.  Perhaps you'll discover there just might be a wee bit of Irish/English in you too!