Category Archives: Introspection

I HAVE A SUPERPOWER!!!!

I have a Superpower! Pow!

You do, too.  But all too often, we don’t utilize it to its fullest extent … or at all. You see, this magical, supernatural, miraculous, mysterious force is … prayer.

In the quiet moments of a newborn dawn, before the birds rouse from sleep, before the sun bursts forth in all its glory, when no one else is about, and before the world in all its busyness gears up, I like to sit and open my mind to GOD. No words are needed. It’s enough for me to “feel” HIS presence and bask in HIS love. And I believe it is enough for HIM that I open myself and welcome HIM in. You see, words can’t adequately convey what lies within our hearts, but HE “knows” our inner thoughts.Breath

Psalm 94:11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are a mere breath.

 

 

 

Then there’s the beauty of GOD’s creation. I’ve seen circular rainbows, seas of deepest blue and clear, turquoise-green, raging oceans that calm to sheets of silk, exotic creatures, indescribable Smooth Waterflowers, colors that defy description, storms that touch here but not there. These times require an immediate response, an awed reverence with praise for an Almighty Creator who is an artist extraordinaire.

Psalm 103:22 Bless the LORD, all you works of His, in all places of His dominion; bless the LORD, O my soul!

Sometimes, though, a more structured communication is needed. A time where I can approach the throne of GOD on behalf of others, to ask for solace, strength, comfort, healing, restoration, and peace. It’s where I can confess my own shortcomings and ask for forgiveness, and present my own concerns, worries, hopes, and dreams. Vocalizing such requests cements them in my mind, and puts them into perspective. The process gives me comfort.

HE does this for me. He makes sense out of the craziness of this life.

CloudsJames 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

There are also moments of great need when I can reach out to HIM because my efforts have failed, and the problem remains hopeless and impossible. That’s when I recognize my true Prayerhelplessness and vulnerability. That’s when I cry out with gut-wrenching sorrow, anger, helplessness, grief, despair, resentment, and desperation; with tears and sweat and passion that leave me empty … and ready to be filled with his grace and mercy.

Psalm 6:9 The LORD has heard my supplication. The LORD receives my prayer.

Let’s not forget about those dark moments when you’re wrongfully wronged, and  it feels like the whole world is against you.Dark Times 2

Luke 6:28 … bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

And wisdom for the right words when opportunities arise to share my testimony.Friends

 

1 Kings 3:9 Give your servant, therefore, an understanding mind to govern your people that I may discern between good and evil …

 

The bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17  Pray without ceasing. This means tuning into GOD … when you’re running late … when you avoid a fender-bender … when someone hurts your feelings … when you lose a loved one … when the doctor gives bad news … when someone seeks your counsel … whenever.

 

Love your neighbor as yourself. Really?

Have you seen some of my neighbors?

Worse, the word “neighbor” used in scripture includes anyone and everyone that touches your sphere of existence—neighborhood, workplace, community, grocery store—anybody you come in contact with, and maybe even some you don’t.

Impossible.

What if I’m standing in a check-out line behind a serial killer? Or a pedophile? I mean, we all know what these people look like. Right?

What if I go to enter a building and I’m jostled aside by a young thug in Saggin pantsbutt crack-revealing pants? Someone who roams the streets looking for an opportunity to intimidate? Looking to prove himself to his fellow butt-crackers? I mean, what if he has a gun? Or a knife?

Tattooed thugWhat about the burly dude with ink covering every visible scrap of skin? Or the depraved-looking punk who’s mutilated his face and body with terrible piercings? Or the young woman dressed in skimpy clothes with a cigarette dangling from her lips and a toddler dangling from her hip?

What about the unshaven, overgrown hick in the jacked up truck, with theRedneck truck sleeves torn out of his tee shirt, ball cap on backward, and sucking on a beer can? The customer service rep on the phone who speaks with an accent so thick I can’t understand a word he says? The man on the street corner in a North Face jacket who holds a sign up claiming homeless and hungry?

What about the group of young people who had a few too many–drinks/tokes/pills/sniffs? You know them, they’re noisy, obnoxious, beyond rude, and use profanity like it’s on sale. Or the obese woman in the motorized scooter who will run over you if you don’t get out of her way? Or the overly loud man who always has something to say, inane as it may be? Or the jerk who cuts you off in traffic?

Am I really supposed to love all these losers?

Wow, God. I don’t see how even You could love them. Or for that matter, why you care about me.

A character I created for one of my early (unpublished) books came to mind, one I haven’t thought of in a long time. Raymond Bessemer (totally fictional name) is a bad guy, the antagonist, the one everybody loves to hate, including Raymond himself. And I made him that way.

I knew the things Raymond suffered as a child, the terrible consequences Bad guyforced on him by the actions of others, and the impossible circumstances that led to impossible choices. I knew his innermost thoughts, felt his despair in the darkness, and understood his regrets and remorse. I also knew of the hope he protected from the world, that eternal spark of light that cries from the soul. You see, hope, like a weed, is impossible to completely extinguish.

I wrote Raymond into existence full of hurt, anger, and feelings of helplessness. I let him make his own choices, even when they were bad. And I still cherished him, despite all the reprehensible things he thought and said and did. I still love him. You see, he’s mine.

Writers call the characters we create “our darlings” and “our children.” Even though they represent evil, we hate when others hate them. That’s because we see past their flaws and terrible deeds, we know their innermost thoughts and dreams. In fact, I loved Raymond so much that I created another character who saw past his darkness and showed him a better way. I wrote a better future for him. All he had to do was choose it.

All he had to do was choose it. Wow.

Aren’t we all Raymonds? Just in a bigger theater? Look at me. Look at you. Look at the next person you see. There’s a soul inside each of us, a spirit that hopes and hungers for light, and waits for someone to reach out.

You don’t have to like someone to care about them. You just have to care.LoveIf Jesus could forgive his betrayers, love a thief on the cross, and give His life to save people who despised Him … why is it so difficult for us to follow his example? To at least try?

Turning point, or abyss?

Does history repeat itself?

I don’t care for political posturing. Unfortunately, we’re facing another presidential election where all the in-your-face bluster of the candidates filters down to us everyday people. You see it in our social media posts  — snide comments intended to rile, and passive-aggressive flooding of Pep rally“gentle” opposing views that provoke. I swear, sometimes it’s like a pep rally back in high school. Yells of “Slay the Gladiators!” and “Rip the Raptors!” versus sweet, lying tones of “Tigers Rule!” and “We’re the best!”

A few years back, I conducted a social survey among the members of a local Toastmasters chapter. We were facing a presidential election with an incumbent as one of the candidates. I asked this group of 35 potential voters a series of questions about how they felt on the hot button issues of the time. These twenty-five questions had a numerical value that matched the views and voting records of each candidate. I very carefully laid out the logic behind the methodology in simple terms. There was no confusion. Everyone agreed it was fair.

After we completed the survey, I conducted a straw poll to see who my Votefellow citizens planned to vote for. Imagine the surprise when results showed a 95% leaning toward one candidate, while the straw poll gave a slight vote advantage toward the candidate few had agreed with!

I allowed a few minutes of grumbling and watched as people began to shift uneasily in their chairs. When presented with the results of their individual questionnaires that showed the candidate their values were best aligned with, those 45% out-of-sync voters WERE NOT SWAYED.

“No way, I’m not voting for him!”

“I don’t care what the survey says, I’m voting for—”

“This doesn’t change anything.”

“You’re trying to trick me.”

“It doesn’t matter. I like this guy better.”

“I’ve already made up my mind.”

No trick questions. No magic. Hard, blunt, yes-or-no questions. My one intent with this exercise was to encourage people to register to vote and then get out and cast their ballot. In that regard, I succeeded. But the “You can’t make me change my mind” attitude has troubled me ever since. It smacks of fanaticism based on other than values.

I fear a great divide has split the people of this nation, a chasm that grows wider every year. Which tells me the winds of change are on the rise. Again.

This isn’t a jab at any one political party. The current attitude is rampant on both sides of the political fence. What one sees as morally (or constitutionally or ethically) right, the other sees as wrong, and vice versa. Both sides continue to put forth strong, valid arguments citing why their stance is the correct one – but neither side is willing to budge. (Can we say, The View?)

Back in the 1920s and 1930s, our nation experienced an epic stock market crash followed soon after by what has been termed The Great Depression. In the early 1930s,  ONE-QUARTER of all wage earners were unemployed. Poverty was  huge. The Plains states suffered the worst drought in history which led to 2.5 million people abandoning farms in Dust Bowl 1935the Dust Bowl. These were the years of prohibition and the devastating auto workers strikes. The resulting political war  inflamed the citizens, all looking to blame someone for their ills.

We were a divided, angry, defeated country … and then Pearl Harbor happened—”a day that will live in infamy.” But it pointed the country back to God. Gave us a common purpose. And solidarity. We united around a single cause, one more important to our future than any since the birth of the nation—survival.

Consider these words from George Santayana, esteemed essayist, philosopher, author, and poet:

Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.

Fanaticism consists in redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim.

When men and women agree, it is only in their conclusions; their reasons are always different.

Matters of religion should never be matters of controversy. We neither argue with a lover about his taste nor condemn him, if we are just, for knowing so human a passion.

The line between what is known scientifically and what has to be assumed in order to support knowledge is impossible to draw. Memory itself is an internal rumor.

The picture we frame of the past changes continually and grows every day less similar to the original experience which it purports to describe.

My point? The best intentions in the world, the highest empirical evidence, and most persuasive arguments can’t make someone believe if they don’t want to. Heck, most of the time they don’t even listen to us! Of course, we don’t listen to them either.

Funny how all the issues, all the stories, all the problems point back to salvation. As Christians, all our eloquence won’t save a single soul. Only the Holy Spirit can change a person’s heart. What we can do, though, is tell them and tell them. Some turn violent. Some laugh. Some consider, but walk away. But if there is one in a thousand who will heed, we dare not stop.

I pray we as a nation find our way to unity against an increasingly 911dangerous threat to our beliefs and our way of life. I pray it won’t take another, more devastating 911 event to bring us together again. I pray idealists and cynics alike learn to listen. I pray the violent tantrums of the minorities and the passive-aggressiveness of the majorities come to terms with each other. I pray for respect, ethics, and personal responsibility to rise like a phoenix from the ashes of this torn and broken country. I pray for the future of my children and grandchildren.

FINDING PEACE

 

Is there a “peace that passes all understanding?“

I don’t know if I’m normal … or even what normal is. I just know that every morning, from the moment I wake, my head buzzes with thousands of thoughts, ideas, regrets, wishes, hopes, plans, uh-ohs, reworked conversations, edits of everything I read, lists, and prayers. Lots of prayers. You see, I’m a writer. And writers write. All the time. Especially in our mind.

Some days I find this buzz overwhelming. Some days I need an escape, to shut down, and reboot. I need a refuge. My journey has taken years, decades even, but I’ve found that by seeking my refuge first thing upon awakening, that my days go much smoother.

Like many others, I start my mornings with quiet time. Some people fill their quiet time with prayers and Bible study, communing with Jesus, ordering their day and balance. I do all of the above … and then some. But the journey hasn’t been smooth.

PeaceAt first I visualized an idyllic mountain meadow. Picture if you can a narrow path through dark woods. Just when you think you’re lost forever, a light ahead beckons. The trail opens onto a clearing where golden sunlight spills down. You lift your face and feel the warmth as you make your way to the center of the glen. Green grass and knee-high wildflowers abound. You drop to the ground and watch a caravan of puffy clouds sail across the sky. A gentle breeze stirs an earthy mix of verdant soil, sweet blossoms, and clean, rarified air. You’ve found it. Tranquility. Peace. Contentment … and an itch. Something digs into your back. You scratch. Brush away dirt. And remember the overflowing laundry hamper. The dermatology appointment you still need to make. The meal you promised to a sick friend. Your mind is off to the races.

I tried for a long time to make the remote glen idea work but finally gave up. Thinking a more familiar place might work better, I traveled in my mind to the beach—a remote, Caribbean island. Barefoot under the blazing sun, but the sugar-white sand doesn’t burn. (Imagination always trumps reality!) Turquoise water that sparkles with cool promises. Peace - 2Frothy waves lapping at the shore. A sea breeze stirs the air, redolent with the scents of coconut, lush vegetation and the briny smell that only comes from the ocean. A small slice of heaven. And then a crab crawls by. Clumps of dead seaweed wash up on the beach. An alert lifeguard stands from his ten-foot-tall white watchtower to peer out at the expanse. He raises binoculars to his eyes. Blue paste coats his nose. He wears a whistle around his neck. Alert. Diligent. Protective. Because there are riptides. Undertows. Dangerous sea creatures. And predators hiding in the deep. No calm here.

I tried another place. Somewhere remote. Somewhere pure and free from Peace - 3the world. A winter wonderland decked out in a blanket of pristine snow. Cold no germ could survive. But I could—in a warm parka with a hood trimmed in fur. Gloved and booted, I revel in the beauty of an untouched paradise. Until I fell through the snow. Buried. With no sense of direction. And no one to save me.

I’ve stored a whole library of such reveries, all lessons learned over the years until I finally found the real refuge. The only refuge. You see, our world is beautiful—just look around you. But sin afflicted all of mankind, all of the earth, including the animals and vegetation. Just as Esau forfeited his birthright, so too did Adam trade away our heritage in a moment of rebellion. Satan now holds dominion over an earth God bequeathed to man. There is no refuge for us here. Especially not in our minds.

I looked in all the wrong places for the peace that passes understanding only to realize at long last that it doesn’t exist here on earth. Now, I go to Jesus—to His throne room in heaven where His glory spreads a Peace - 4warmth and light so much greater than anything the sun can produce. Where multitudes crowd around Him singing praises. I creep into my niche at the rear of the throng, grateful to just be allowed in. It’s where I feel Him. And then He seeks me out in my little corner, takes my hand, and raises me up. I’m filled with His indescribable and unexplainable peace. Restored. Refreshed. Strengthened. For a little while, all is calm and perfect. When I leave His perfect presence, all I have to do to get through the rest of the day is remember my time with Him, remember His words, and call upon His name.

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you  …” ~John 14:27

Has the world reached its Rubicon? That unseen point of no return?

                        “… for their sin has not yet reached its full measure.”     Genesis 15:16

(Prologue from early manuscript, Edge of Eternity, by Elizabeth Noyes)

Each day we hear of atrocities committed against innocents. Journalists present these graphic, horrifying images under the guise of journalism in their search for even more heinous crimes to sensationalize. But the horrors pass. The people become inured, which prompts the newshounds to greater heights. Or depths.

As if man’s capacity for cruelty wasn’t enough, the weather seems to have turned on us as well. Natural Wildfiredisasters wreak havoc across the world. Massive earthquakes. Volcanos. Floods. Hurricanes. Tsunamis. Tornados. Freak storms. Mudslides. Wildfires.

In many places, temperatures soar past century levels. Lake levels plummet. Water supplies dry up. Records highs are recorded only to be surpassed again and again. Droughts give birth to famines that decimate the population. Disease follows. Epidemics rampage. Millions succumb to heat, koalastarvation; illness; and escalating hostilities. In many places, survival has become a raw, basic need.

And in the background, never before seen cosmic events fill the sky.

Tensions between countries are stretched to the breaking point. Strife reigns. Smaller nations withdraw into self-imposed isolation and brace for an unknown future. Armies double and triple in size as the world powers grow uneasy about the military posturing of their foes. The world appears ripe for a global pandemic … or another world war.

Back here in the most favored nation on earth, we go about our abundant lives without a care, but we aren’t immune from the misfortunes of the world. Some of us begin to worry.

Illegal immigrants flood our nation. Terrorists infiltrate our land. Insanity seems to be the order Illegal immigrationof the day as senseless killings become commonplace events. Heinous crimes multiply in our copycat culture. Nothing seems too outrageous or evil. We acclaim monsters while reviling the innocent; applaud narcissism while disparaging true heroes. All the while, the economy falters and the national debt spirals out of control.

Americans have grown soft, complacent, and yes, wicked. We abandoned the Christian foundation established by our forefathers and now, instead of truth and justice, we pursue wealth, fame, and depravity. Respect for life is a luxury only the powerful can afford.

The government grows larger and more inefficient every year, requiring its citizens to feed an insatiable hunger. Its branches pierce deep into personal lives with controls over housing, food, payroll, healthcare, purchasing, taxes, and education. They have supplantedBig Government parental rights over children enrolled in public schools. They prescribe medications to keep the kids controllable, promote sexual promiscuity, require acquiescence to foreign religions, ban all things Christian, and require teaching of a rewritten history that is the antithesis of truth.

Legislative mandates renounce Christianity, labeling much of its doctrine as “hate” speech and punishing anyone who dares express an opposing view.

The American populace has been cowed, coaxed into personal cocoons of isolation for fear of retribution. Exceptions are the rule. Minorities have usurped the power of the people in a classic case of the “tail wagging the dog.”

The United States of America is a country in circular transformation. When oppression and bondage once motivated our ancestors to search for a new home, the taste of freedom gave them the faith and courage to demand freedom. Liberty under a free market always leads to
abundance. Unfortunately, history tells us abundance will inevitably lead to complacency, and complacency to apathy. Apathetic Indifference will succumb to dependency, and we all know what happens when we rely on another for everything. We find ourselves back in bondage.

Lazy or unknowing, the good people of these great United States have embraced the promise of the government to take care of them. We’ve taught a whole generation of our children to look for a handout. The redistribution of money from wealthier citizens – money hard earned What one generation toleratesunder a free market capitalist society – is no longer theirs to spend as they want. Our politicians make blatant, outrageous promises they never intend to keep, but big money carries a lot of weight and special interest groups use their financial clout to elect and keep in office those “career” senators, representatives, and governors they can manipulate.

Track records mean nothing. Promises are everything. The American citizen wants so badly to believe in a higher road again … so they believe. What other choice is there?  And after awhile we stop being disappointed.

Apathy is already here. Dependence is underway. Slavery lurks around the corner. Lessons of the past had not been heeded again. The United States is coming full circle, as all great democracies throughout history have done when they abandon the sovereign God.

And all the while, our enemies sit and wait, slavering like jackals.

No one is worthy, and yet the gift is free to all

Took the “grands” to deliver food to the Southeast Gwinnett Food Co-op earlier this week. Wanted them to see how blessed we are and how they can help others. 7yo Reid took a long SE Gwinnett Coop - 4time studying everything before whispering to Grampy, “This store doesn’t have much to buy.” The kind volunteer working that day squatted down next to my little guy and explained how it wasn’t a store; rather it was a place where people who don’t have enough money to feed their family can get food for them. You should have seen the frown on Reid’s face as he thought about this.

Later in the car, 9yo Cam asked, “How do you know they’re really poor and not just trying to get SE Gwinnett Coop - 3something for free?” We explained how we can’t know, but that it’s not our purpose to know. We are called to fill a need, not determine who is worthy to receive the gift. It struck me then that the good Lord had used a teachable moment to make a point with me — no one is worthy, and yet the gift of Jesus is offered freely to everyone.

The shelves of the Co-op are indeed shamefully bare. I say shamefully because we in the community who have been given so much have ignored the plight of those around us. Does the Bible not teach us to care for others? To give out of our abundance? Not by government mandate, but out of the goodness of our hearts.

I encourage you to consider donating to a Food Co-op in your community. I mean, how easy is it
to pick up an extra package of spaghetti noodles and a jar of pasta when you shop? That alone will feed a family somewhere tonight. What will you and your family eat?

SE Gwinnett Coop - 2For those of you in my area, the Southeast Gwinnett Food Co-op is supported by many local churches where you can donate pantry items, or you can visit the Co-op at 55 Grayson Parkway. It’s not difficult to locate. I found it! For those in my neighborhood, you’re welcome to drop your purchases off with me and I’ll deliver them.

 

The SE Gwinnet Co-op website is http://www.segwinnettcoop.org/. You can find hours of operation, a list of current needs, how to volunteer your time, information about other things they’re doing to help families in need, and even donate online if you prefer.

Check out their Facebook page, too, at https://www.facebook.com/groups/segwinnettcoop.

SE Gwinnett Coop

Heartbreak — The Way of the World Today

Disclaimer: It is not my intention to offend anyone, but my heart is heavy with the need to say this.

The horror stories are coming fast and furious now, tales of Christians being killed, about the Yazidi’s extermination because of their beliefs, of defenseless women and children tortured and beheaded for a cause.  Tragedy, atrocity, heinous acts, reprehensible acts, abject evil — this is the state of the world today.

And yet, here in the United States of America, arguably the greatest nation on earth,  we grieve for a man who took his own life.

Robin Williams WAS a talented comedian, some might even say genius or brilliant. I have no argument with that. He WAS a great entertainer. I enjoyed his movies and laughed at his jokes. That he had a darker side is not in dispute; most of us do. I don’t question his medical instability; I have friends who suffer–SUFFER–with depression. That’s not my point.

It’s the Facebook messages and news stories that get to me. They speak of “rest in peace, Robin” and “you’re free now” — all gratuitous lip service.  Robin Williams committed suicide. There is no way he’s resting in peace or free of anything. He’s dead. He gave his life away…while the Yazidi’s lives are being taken forcibly. Is it just me, or is there something wrong with this picture?

If you are not a Christian,  then you know the living, breathing body that WAS Robin Williams is dead. It will decay and putrefy, and eventually return to dust. The essential essence that made him so special — his living, breathing spirit — is gone. Dead people don’t feel, not peace and not freedom.

If you are a Christian, well, you know how the story ends. Peace? Freedom? For believers, yes.

 

Snow Freak Atlanta – Tuesday, January 28, 2014 – A Confluence of Events

WHAT HAPPENED?

The governor called it an “unexpected storm,” but thousands of state residents thought different Interstateas weather forecasts rolled in for days beforehand, indicating the possibility that Tuesday’s arctic conditions existed. Public school systems in Atlanta, Fulton County, and DeKalb County began sending their kids home early on Tuesday afternoon, notifying parents by phone to arrange for someone to meet them. Around this same time businesses began closing.

THE RESULT?

A quarter of a million people all hit the strained highway system of Atlanta at the same time.  Kids on school buses were stranded, many overnight in schools, many more on the buses that headed into the thick of things. People abandoned their cars in parking lots and subdivisions, even alongside the road, choosing to walk for miles in sub-freezing weather to get home. Some slept in the aisles of a Publix grocery store, at a community center, a neighborhood clubhouse, and restaurants. Others chose wisely and stayed the night in their workplace, while some braved the nightmare to get to children only to wind up sleeping in their cars.

AirportEmergency workers spent long hours, often hampered by the same snarls that stranded thousands of motorists. With limited resources to de-ice the airplanes, even the airport was affected, stranding thousands of people in the busiest airport in the world.

 

SO, WHO’S TO BLAME?

Mayor Reed blames the disastrous day on timing. Parents blame the school systems for School kidssending their kids out into the mess. Employees blame their employers for not taking the weather reports to heart and closing their doors earlier.

I saw many foolish drivers clogging intersections as they tried to force their way through to a street that — you got it — wasn’t moving.  Are they to blame? Individually, no. Collectively, they sure didn’t help. 

In the end, we have to face the ugly truth — for a city the size of Atlanta to be so very vulnerable to two piddly inches of snow is unacceptable. Our population has grown, but our infrastructure hasn’t. Face it people, we’ve fussed about Atlanta’s traffic for decades, but it’s only gotten worse. Atlanta’s road system, highways, surface streets, all of it, cannot support the sheer volume of traffic. And shame on us for allowing it to continue and grow worse.

GOOD NEWS

I said many times after the Katrina disaster that regular folks will always step up and help out. Why should we wait for an incompetent government to take charge? They’re like a monster ship that can’t respond quick enough. But we can. And do.

Side streetI heard stories of a China Wok feeding hungry school kids stranded when their bus could no longer traverse the hills.  Men–regular Joe’s– who used their trucks and even four-wheelers to ferry stranded motorists to safety. Stores, restaurants, and businesses that opened their doors for overnight guests, offering shelter and whatever food they had. Heroes everyone; not expecting anything in return.

Sure, we have some rotten apples in the barrel, but I still believe in the innate goodness of mankind. There are way more who care and are willing to help than those who kill and maim innocents. Kudos to Atlanta’s heroes who stepped up when they didn’t have to.

Tweet if you love social media!

Drag me kicking and screaming into the 21st century! Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Hoot Suite, Google Circles, and on and on …

ink well and feather quill

I first learned to type in high school on a manual typewriter. Yep, the one you had to pull the handle on the right side to return to the left margin. When IBM came out with an electric typewriter, it was a miracle! I thought my fingers would fall off from the speed alone. And then came the MEMORY typewriter. No more correction fluid, correction paper, or typing erasers for me. Now you could correct (back space over) your mistakes before the ink hit the paper.

I first used a Panasonic that (in all honesty) looked like a microwave oven! About that size, too. The memory strip was a ribbon-like window, approximately one-inch high and maybe six-inches long. You could actually “see” your typing–or at least the last 25 characters. The memory cache would hold approximately 500 characters before the print mechanism triggered, and wow, it sounded a lot like a  burst of machine gun fire.

I remember the first time I sat in front of a computer. We had step-by-step instructions: 1. Push this button. 2. Press F3 to access the reports from the night’s run. I became a whiz at working all the “F” keys in Word. And then they gave me a mouse?

We’ve certainly come a long way since then and, while I have no complaints about the incredible advances in technology, I do sometimes wish the world would slow down a little. I don’t move or think as fast as I used, too.  I blame it on having stuffed my head so full of knowledge over the years that anything new has to fight to squeeze in. And the room may or may not be available.  Have to run. Got to go tweet!

Cold Weather, a New Year, and Resolutions

After a December filled with flu bugs, runny noses, congestion, and a cough that won’t leave, I am thankful  for the bright hope of another New Year. Even wearing three layers of clothes as I type while my trusty/toasty space heater cooks my left side, I remember my blessings: I have electricity and a space heater. A house and clothes. Winter Storm Hercules bypassed Atlanta (sorry my Yankee friends). For kleenex, Nyquil, cough drops, and the Doc-in-the-Box down the street. And quiet, the kind that comes when your grown children don’t want their kids to catch what you have. (At least until they need a babysitter.)

2014 is shaping up to be one of those life-altering periods for me. Such moments don’t usually come with advance warning, but this time I’m the one initiating the change. I like to tell people that I’ve finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up — RETIRED! At the end of this year, I’ll make it official. And savor each month leading up to it. I’d be a liar if I said it doesn’t make me a little nervous, especially given the state of America’s healthcare system. I’ve always worked, except for a short period of time after my first child was born. Without an employer to set expectations and provide insurance coverage, I’ll have to take care of myself. A scary thought, but freeing.

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. Never have. It’s impossible to project what your life will be like in…. say April or September. For sure your circumstances won’t match what you have in January. Resolutions are broken because life has twists and turns; because resolution goals are not practical, but mostly because the goal setter relies on hope and chance. (Fail to plan = plan to fail.)  Set smaller goals instead..Achievable goals. Daily goals. Be clear about why you want this goal. Understand what you want. Determine what it will it take to meet those daily goals. Take a “glass half full” approach and celebrate your successes. Look ahead to the next one. Don’t dwell on any you don’t quite reach.

My daughter once asked, “If you could go back and relive any one year of your life, Mom, what age would you want to do again?” I challenge you with this question. If there is a favored year, what happened that would induce you to want to repeat it?

After thinking about my answer for a bit I said, “None of them. I have great memories and some not-so-great memories, but each one made me into the person I am today. Each year gets better and better.”

I’ll leave you now to ponder on that thought. What do you have to be thankful for from 2013 and years past? What do you look forward to in 2014?