With our church’s two hundredth anniversary being celebrated tomorrow, many of us are busy with all the preparation. There is so much to do and so many to do it that it becomes a beautiful busyness enveloped in camaraderie, fellowship, laughter, love, and anticipation.
I hope your busyness is beautiful today. Happy Saturday.
I needed (or so I thought) a handy dandy repairman to fix a few things gone awry in my humble little abode. A gate was falling apart, a tap was dripping and a doorbell had a hole in it which prevented it from ringing.
Help was elusive so as a last resort I reverted to “the me I used to be”. The old me in my young years could do it all; plastering, plumbing, electrical…you name it, I did it, because it had to be done and there was only me to do it. But I was young and strong back then and unafraid to try anything to save money.
So now, first came the gate…a few hammer whacks on new nails settled that problem. I described my faucet episode on Saturday’s blog.
Yesterday, I tackled the doorbell. Once I got the old one off it was evident that some miniature creature had been building a wee nest with the wire coating, leaving the wires bare. Once that was cleaned up it was a matter of patience working with tiny screws and needle-nose pliers to get the new bell rewired and working again.
And then there was the matter of a door that wouldn’t lock from without or within. I called a locksmith for that.
What next?
Long ago in my 1949 grade eight class, the lesson was about working together for the good of all. I can still hear the teacher’s voice intoning the above message and I’ve never forgotten it.
For all that’s going on in the world today, in some families, relationships, churches and businesses, and definitely in today’s governments, this message seems to be a timely one.
The popular motto “united we stand, divided we fall,” often shortened to “united we stand,” is commonly used to express unity and collaboration. The phrase is used to encourage and inspire, and sends the message that working together is easier, as there is strength in numbers, whereas doing things alone is harder and invites failure. This phrase has been used time and again throughout history to rally groups together and you will still hear it used today where the message remains the same.
This was gleaned from the Internet. And the following scripture says the same thing in different words. Happy Sunday.
Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2: 3-4 (ESV)
After suffering the consequences of a dripping water faucet (higher water bills) I decided a DIY (do it yourself) was in order. A conversation with one of my granddaughters led me to a You Tube tutorial which detailed the procedure.
The faucet is a Moen which carries a lifetime warranty but of course, after twenty-five years the receipt was long gone. A trip to Home Depot to get the needed cartridge proved Moen’s policy…the cartridge was free!
Replacing the cartridge was no easy task for this eighty-one-year-old great-grandmother but perseverance paid off. An hour later the faucet was fixed. (Hate to admit a guy could have done it in ten minutes.)
Thanks to my granddaughter’s advice, Home Depot’s ready compliance, Moen’s steadfast promise and my own tenacity, the faucet is now dripless and still has a lifetime guarantee.
Wouldn’t it be nice if life came with the same warranty? Happy Saturday.
Recently a fellow blogger posted a beautiful poem asking the question “What is Love?”.
Today I am attending the wedding of two people who have found love once again in their lives; the bride is eighty years young and the groom ninety-one. In 2014 I wrote this poem, “What is Love?” Happy weekend.
WHAT IS LOVE
What is love
if not the closeness
of every experience
…sharing.
What is love
if not the oneness
of two people
…caring.
What is love
if not the expression
of honest emotion
…feelings.
What is love
if not understanding
the wholeness
…of all of these.
©2014
Yesterday I wrote about a pleasant surprise that came my way on Sunday. Well, Saturday also held a pleasant surprise. I was expecting two of my daughters to come and have lunch with me and one of them suggested taking in a movie as well. It was a nice surprise. The day was damp and dreary so an afternoon movie sounded perfect…and it was. The movie, The Book Club, was hilarious and the actors were well on in years…Jane Fonda, 80, Diane Keaton and Candace Bergan, 72, and Mary Steenburgen (the youngest) at 65. These ladies not only look good at their age but their acting is still drawing in the patrons.
When we left the theater, a lady in a wheelchair, wearing a neck collar, and crying copious tears, stopped us in our tracks with the lamest sob story I have ever heard. Believe me, you would not want me to repeat it. Of course she was looking for a handout which we acknowledged, but not without telling her that she did not have to tell this long, drawn-out tale of woe…she only needed to say, “Please, I need help.” Some might help, as we did, and some might not, and knowing she was telling a tall tale made it hard to give to her.
One of the Bible’s many life lessons is, “Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” Matthew 5:42 ESV
The girls went on to the the car and I exchanged names with the lady and wished her well. Christine was her name and as she wheeled away she half-smiled and said, “God bless you, Pat.” Another pleasant surprise. I hope she meant it.
Each day I pray for a pleasant surprise to come my way and for the ability to recognize it when it comes. This weekend I had two but will only write about one of them today. It was a phone call from my sister, Mary, asking if I was alright because she hadn’t seen my blog for a week. Mary and I don’t talk all that often so I thought it very sweet of her to check up on me. Not only that, it brought to mind a poem she shared with me a few months ago which I really liked and she gave me permission to share it with you. Enjoy.
Beautiful and Feisty
A mouse that stands up to full height
Bares its teeth ready to fight
The cat stalking its prey
But mouse is not the entrée today.
A snake ready to fight to the finish
An eighty-pound dog that can’t diminish
It’s tenacity as it returns bite for bite
Not knowing when to give up the fight.
It refuses to slither away
From a dog amusing itself for the day
But coiled and tattered the snake now I find
Is grateful to be dropped over the fence to unwind.
The spider that drops on a thread stronger than steel
Quickly mummifying its next meal
And just as quickly hauling it home
To the top of its web to eat all alone.
The baby squirrel that falls from its nest
And does what a baby squirrel does best
Cries for help from anyone near
Its cries do not fall on deaf ears.
Its parents come to determine the damage
And figuring a way to manage,
The dad pins it down and holds it in check
While the mother grabs its babe by the neck.
Up the tree she runs with great speed
To attend to this little ones need
A scratch on the head seems to be all
The little one suffered from such a great fall.
The mourning dove that hits the pane
And rises up to fly again
A headache may be all it received
From the patio door that so deceived.
The racoons with their bandit eyes
Ignore my frantic shooing cries
They think it is their right
To raid my garbage can each night.
The dog that boldly saves its cat
From a coyote looking for a fast snack
The coyote was the one to take flight
From an eighty-pound dog ready to fight.
The ants that moved their nursery inside
A stupid place for ants to hide
They covered most of the kitchen floor
Too many just to drop out the door.
I don’t know what they were hiding from
But I am sorry to reveal their eventual outcome
A long dark tunnel with no light in sight
The vacuum canister ended their flight.
There are many more stories I could add
Some happy, some sad
For nature truly rings
With the beauty and feistiness of all living things.
©Mary Frances Martin
There are some mothers whose Mother’s Day is going to be heart-wrenching, and to those I wish the peace and comfort only God can give. There are also families who no longer have their mother with them, may their memories bring them peace.
To all the mothers in my family and around the world may your Mother’s Day be filled with love and togetherness. Happy Sunday and happy Mother’s Day.
Here is a song by a young man who passed away in 1981 at the age of thirty-six, Bob Marley. Bob left behind a legacy of music that will never be forgotten. This is one of my favorites. Happy weekend.
While visiting a happily married young couple, I was struck by a comment the husband made about his wife…”She was my last first date.”
A well known Canadian journalist commented on TV that the result of a recent Provincial leadership race was a “disaster wrapped in a calamity”.
There’s a crack in everything…that’s how the light gets in. Leonard Cohen
Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds, you can grow flowers or you can grow weeds. ©Wisdom Quotes and Stories
Don’t play the victim to circumstances you created. Pinterest
Never compromise the truth lest you find yourself living a lie. pab
My Precious Life 