Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Walking Miss Peanut
The last time I was at Daddy's I took this video so that daddy could go on a virtual walk with his dog, Miss Peanut.... he laughed and laughed at it.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Not Your Mama's Bible School (Part 2)
Now, some 45 years later, Vacation Bible School comes in a box, canister or backpack. It is a complete package that includes commercialized themes with slick props, commercially printed materials, videos projected onto a screen all utilizing the latest technology.
The one thing that hasn't changed one bit over the years is the enthusiasm. The children arrive on registration night and you can see that they are looking around for a familiar face. They squeal with delight and run to hug one another. The first night of VBS the younger ones are sometimes weepy, holding on to mom or dad, not wanting to stay. By the time the evening is over, they don't want to go home. There is laughter, deafening screams of joy, there are new friends made, both young and old.
There are snappy new songs complete with steps and hand motions and there are still some old songs such as "I'll Fly Away" and "Up From the Grave He Arose" with a new beat that the kids can dance to. There are catch phrases that the kid's learn quickly and scream as if they are trying to dislodge a lung. Snacks are healthy and are planned to enhance the theme. The registration form asks about food allergies and the snack committee makes sure the children don't get what they're allergic to. The crafts seem to be a little more sophisticated too, but seem to employ the use of a great many stickers rather than paints and in some instances they use craft kits. They still learn bible stories, catch phrases and verses. The games are totally different from what we learned but I attribute that to the person in charge of the games. He uses water balloons, tubs of water, home made props... the children just love the games.
The thing I like most about vacation bible school as an adult is the feeling that no matter how messed up and terrible the world seems at times, I can still have hope for a better world. These children are being taught foundational lessons of ethics and morality. They are learning just how much God loves us and how we should treat others with that same love and have concern for our fellow man.
These beautiful, smart, enthusiastic, and wonderful children, if nurtured have the potential to make the world a kinder and more loving place. The future is bright indeed.
The one thing that hasn't changed one bit over the years is the enthusiasm. The children arrive on registration night and you can see that they are looking around for a familiar face. They squeal with delight and run to hug one another. The first night of VBS the younger ones are sometimes weepy, holding on to mom or dad, not wanting to stay. By the time the evening is over, they don't want to go home. There is laughter, deafening screams of joy, there are new friends made, both young and old.
There are snappy new songs complete with steps and hand motions and there are still some old songs such as "I'll Fly Away" and "Up From the Grave He Arose" with a new beat that the kids can dance to. There are catch phrases that the kid's learn quickly and scream as if they are trying to dislodge a lung. Snacks are healthy and are planned to enhance the theme. The registration form asks about food allergies and the snack committee makes sure the children don't get what they're allergic to. The crafts seem to be a little more sophisticated too, but seem to employ the use of a great many stickers rather than paints and in some instances they use craft kits. They still learn bible stories, catch phrases and verses. The games are totally different from what we learned but I attribute that to the person in charge of the games. He uses water balloons, tubs of water, home made props... the children just love the games.
The thing I like most about vacation bible school as an adult is the feeling that no matter how messed up and terrible the world seems at times, I can still have hope for a better world. These children are being taught foundational lessons of ethics and morality. They are learning just how much God loves us and how we should treat others with that same love and have concern for our fellow man.
These beautiful, smart, enthusiastic, and wonderful children, if nurtured have the potential to make the world a kinder and more loving place. The future is bright indeed.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Not Your Mama's Bible School (part 1)
I grew up in the Baptist church and attended with several of my family members. My early life there was one of feeling that I was loved and that I belonged. One of my early memories is being held in my mother's arms on the back row of the church and if I got rowdy, she could easily slip out and take me into the nursery, just behind the back row. There was a speaker and glass windows so that the workers could still hear the service and see what was going on. I loved being held there and feeling the strength of my mother's alto voice as it passed through her and into me as I was held close against her chest. My early church years have bittersweet memories for me since my mother is gone.
I can also remember attending vacation bible school there in the Baptist church. The theme, costumes, decorations, and lessons were all planned, made and put together by the church members. We would march into assembly singing "Onward Christian Soldiers". After singing a handful of well-known children's Christian songs, we would break out into our various age groups where we would learn memory verses, play games (London Bridge, Red Rover) and have snacks (Kool-Aid and peanut butter & crackers, and wafer cookies). At VBS we also worked on crafts each night that were simple things, usually made from popsicle sticks glued together into the shape of a cross and then painted and decorated.
Sometimes there would be felt shapes that we would glue to fabric covered boards to make wall hangings with bible scenes or we would make jewelry from beads and strings. The grand finale of bible school was held during the Sunday night service following the week of VBS. We would sing the songs we had learned and various children were selected to recite the memory verses while our proud parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents sat in the audience, fanning themselves with cardboard fans with wooden handles from the local funeral home.
As I got older the crafts changed. I was just thinking about this last night. One year we made wall hangings. They were really cool - burlap was glued to a thin wooden board (about 9" x 12"). On the burlap was an outline of a rooster with several arched tail feathers. Each night we received a specific color of corn and would spend our craft time gluing that corn onto the rooster. If you missed a night of bible school, your rooster would have a bald spot, so it was an incentive to attend every night. Thinking back, I can't figure out what the rooster would have to do with bible school unless we were learning about Peter denying Christ "before the cock crows".
I remember coming across my rooster some years later. It had been stored away in one of daddy's out buildings and mice had eaten away all of the corn and the outline of the rooster had faded. Just the colored seed coating remained and retained its color, though not as vibrant as it was on those hot and humid summer nights when it was transformed into a crowing rooster.
This one is made of beans and legumes... in your mind, just substitute colored corn. Lovely, huh?
Around this same time (the mid to late 1960s), some of the younger children spent their craft time gluing macaroni to wooden frames. The leaders would then spray the completed product with metallic paint to make lovely decorated picture frames.
I wonder if mice would eat spray painted macaroni.
There is more to come, but in the mean time, if you have any childhood memories of VBS, please share them as a comment. I'd love to hear of some of the crafts you made and some of your special memories.
I can also remember attending vacation bible school there in the Baptist church. The theme, costumes, decorations, and lessons were all planned, made and put together by the church members. We would march into assembly singing "Onward Christian Soldiers". After singing a handful of well-known children's Christian songs, we would break out into our various age groups where we would learn memory verses, play games (London Bridge, Red Rover) and have snacks (Kool-Aid and peanut butter & crackers, and wafer cookies). At VBS we also worked on crafts each night that were simple things, usually made from popsicle sticks glued together into the shape of a cross and then painted and decorated.
As I got older the crafts changed. I was just thinking about this last night. One year we made wall hangings. They were really cool - burlap was glued to a thin wooden board (about 9" x 12"). On the burlap was an outline of a rooster with several arched tail feathers. Each night we received a specific color of corn and would spend our craft time gluing that corn onto the rooster. If you missed a night of bible school, your rooster would have a bald spot, so it was an incentive to attend every night. Thinking back, I can't figure out what the rooster would have to do with bible school unless we were learning about Peter denying Christ "before the cock crows".
I remember coming across my rooster some years later. It had been stored away in one of daddy's out buildings and mice had eaten away all of the corn and the outline of the rooster had faded. Just the colored seed coating remained and retained its color, though not as vibrant as it was on those hot and humid summer nights when it was transformed into a crowing rooster. This one is made of beans and legumes... in your mind, just substitute colored corn. Lovely, huh?
Around this same time (the mid to late 1960s), some of the younger children spent their craft time gluing macaroni to wooden frames. The leaders would then spray the completed product with metallic paint to make lovely decorated picture frames.
I wonder if mice would eat spray painted macaroni.
There is more to come, but in the mean time, if you have any childhood memories of VBS, please share them as a comment. I'd love to hear of some of the crafts you made and some of your special memories.
Monday, July 16, 2012
The Truth Is....
My initial goal was to have a light hearted look at being a minister's wife but in order to be honest, it isn't all fun. I can't help forming close bonds with the parishioners. It might be easier for a more seasoned or (I hesitate to use this term) jaded minister or his wife, who has moved around several times to remain aloof, but for me, these people have been so loving and accepting of me that I just can't help myself.
When the Preacher and I were planning to get married, I was feeling anxious about my role as minister's wife and I talked with other people about it. I talked with the minister who did our ceremony and I also talked with the local rabbi's wife. She came into the gallery where I worked and was very friendly and approachable on the subject of being the wife of a religious leader. I asked her what she found most challenging about being a rabbi's wife. She said that her greatest challenge was seeing her husband struggle with his member's problems and their emotional effect on him and knowing that there was nothing she could do to help him. I can see that and understand now exactly what she meant.
I can't begin to tell you how many funerals the Preacher has done since we came here 3 years ago but I know that since January of this year there have been 7 funerals. Seven. These have all been people that we have come to know and love since we arrived. How would you like to speak at 7 friend's funerals? It isn't easy and I watch him struggle with his own emotions and with offering comfort to the family. It just isn't easy, it can't be.
The rabbi's wife also said that so much was expected of her personally. The advice she offered was this... "You will be asked to do many things and expected to do many things but whatever you do, do it because it is what you want to do and do it from the heart and it will show. If you can't do it from the heart, don't do it." She said that others may not like it but ultimately you have to live with yourself. She was right on the mark with that as well. If you try to participate in everything that goes on, you will be consumed.
But at times it is consuming. We are brothers and sisters in Christ here in this church. It's how we are supposed to view ourselves and our community. When our brothers and sisters hurt, we hurt. When they worry, we worry. When they need help, we give it. When they are sick, having surgery, have problems with their children, their job, their parents, spiritual crises, we are right there in the thick of it, praying along with them and the thing is that we genuinely care, it isn't an act.
It isn't easy when you see people not treating one another as they would want to be treated or when you are treated unfairly. We must be better than this. We know better. We need to be Christians in the way we interact with everyone. We Christians, all of us, are supposed to love one another just as we would our own blood brother or sister. We should be able to always trust one another to do the right thing.... to treat each other as we want to be treated. If we aren't doing that, what kind of message are we sending out to the rest of the world?
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. - Colossians 3:12-14
When the Preacher and I were planning to get married, I was feeling anxious about my role as minister's wife and I talked with other people about it. I talked with the minister who did our ceremony and I also talked with the local rabbi's wife. She came into the gallery where I worked and was very friendly and approachable on the subject of being the wife of a religious leader. I asked her what she found most challenging about being a rabbi's wife. She said that her greatest challenge was seeing her husband struggle with his member's problems and their emotional effect on him and knowing that there was nothing she could do to help him. I can see that and understand now exactly what she meant.
I can't begin to tell you how many funerals the Preacher has done since we came here 3 years ago but I know that since January of this year there have been 7 funerals. Seven. These have all been people that we have come to know and love since we arrived. How would you like to speak at 7 friend's funerals? It isn't easy and I watch him struggle with his own emotions and with offering comfort to the family. It just isn't easy, it can't be.
The rabbi's wife also said that so much was expected of her personally. The advice she offered was this... "You will be asked to do many things and expected to do many things but whatever you do, do it because it is what you want to do and do it from the heart and it will show. If you can't do it from the heart, don't do it." She said that others may not like it but ultimately you have to live with yourself. She was right on the mark with that as well. If you try to participate in everything that goes on, you will be consumed.
But at times it is consuming. We are brothers and sisters in Christ here in this church. It's how we are supposed to view ourselves and our community. When our brothers and sisters hurt, we hurt. When they worry, we worry. When they need help, we give it. When they are sick, having surgery, have problems with their children, their job, their parents, spiritual crises, we are right there in the thick of it, praying along with them and the thing is that we genuinely care, it isn't an act.
It isn't easy when you see people not treating one another as they would want to be treated or when you are treated unfairly. We must be better than this. We know better. We need to be Christians in the way we interact with everyone. We Christians, all of us, are supposed to love one another just as we would our own blood brother or sister. We should be able to always trust one another to do the right thing.... to treat each other as we want to be treated. If we aren't doing that, what kind of message are we sending out to the rest of the world?
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. - Colossians 3:12-14
Thursday, July 12, 2012
A Hazardous Road
We got married 3 days before we moved here. As a new wife, I wanted to be sure to feed my new husband properly and being a Southern Woman, that means biscuits, gravy, mashed potatoes, roasts... all those things that should be taken in moderation. I soon found out that church people love to share what they have and they love to cook. Since they love their preacher, one of the ways they show their love is to share the produce from their garden with him. I LOVE this part of it! Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, beans, squash and best of all, collards! There are times when I almost feel that I've died and gone to heaven. Right now, as I sit here, I have a drawer full of cucumbers in the fridge just waiting to be peeled and sliced into a salad. Just a few days ago I finished off a drawer full squash.
Our church has Wednesday Evening Fellowship during the school months. Usually various people or groups in the church will come in and prepare the meal with the proceeds going either back into the church's fund or it might be designated to one of the church groups or missions. Usually those attending will bring the dessert. Or if no one volunteers to cook the meal we will have a potluck. Sometimes we'll have some theme such as Favorite Casserole, Favorite Fall Fare, Favorite Soup or even a Chili Cook Off. The food is always delicious and the desserts are to die for. The preacher and I do our best to eat in moderation at these things, but man is it hard. The desserts are especially hard to resist because these people are the BEST at cooking!
So... since we've been doing all of this fine eating and enjoying our blessings, we've gained a wee bit of weight. They say (whoever "they" is) that it isn't what you do occasionally that hurts you, it's what you do every day. Well, we don't eat desserts every day and when the summer months roll around we almost starve ourselves trying to get that weight off that built up over the fall, winter and spring months. Fortunately, we eat lots of vegetables with no gravies, no biscuits, no mashed potatoes, and no desserts. We have watermelon for dessert (unless we get snookered into making homemade ice cream and get stuck with the leftovers).
There was a time when I would eat anything I wanted, as much as I wanted and didn't gain an ounce. Those days are gone. Now I feel as if I'm constantly fighting to keep the weight off and when I do have something good, I can't decide if the guilt I feel for having it is worth it.
Maybe I could cut back to eating just one meal a week... on Wednesday Evening. Maybe then I could have the dessert.
Our church has Wednesday Evening Fellowship during the school months. Usually various people or groups in the church will come in and prepare the meal with the proceeds going either back into the church's fund or it might be designated to one of the church groups or missions. Usually those attending will bring the dessert. Or if no one volunteers to cook the meal we will have a potluck. Sometimes we'll have some theme such as Favorite Casserole, Favorite Fall Fare, Favorite Soup or even a Chili Cook Off. The food is always delicious and the desserts are to die for. The preacher and I do our best to eat in moderation at these things, but man is it hard. The desserts are especially hard to resist because these people are the BEST at cooking!
So... since we've been doing all of this fine eating and enjoying our blessings, we've gained a wee bit of weight. They say (whoever "they" is) that it isn't what you do occasionally that hurts you, it's what you do every day. Well, we don't eat desserts every day and when the summer months roll around we almost starve ourselves trying to get that weight off that built up over the fall, winter and spring months. Fortunately, we eat lots of vegetables with no gravies, no biscuits, no mashed potatoes, and no desserts. We have watermelon for dessert (unless we get snookered into making homemade ice cream and get stuck with the leftovers).
There was a time when I would eat anything I wanted, as much as I wanted and didn't gain an ounce. Those days are gone. Now I feel as if I'm constantly fighting to keep the weight off and when I do have something good, I can't decide if the guilt I feel for having it is worth it.
Maybe I could cut back to eating just one meal a week... on Wednesday Evening. Maybe then I could have the dessert.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
An Explanation (Part 2)
Once mama was gone daddy realized his loneliness. I would come every Saturday night and go out to the local cafeteria to dinner with him. I would come to his house on Thursdays and go to lunch with him and spend the afternoon visiting. We would sit on the glider on the front porch, just like he and mama used to do.
He got a phone call from an old friend... someone he knew even before he knew mama. They grew up in the same neighborhood. She was Rosie and she had been twice widowed. She was a good friend and would call daddy every day. She was as lonely as he was. Daddy developed a romantic interest in her but she didn't return his feelings.
A couple of women from daddy's church would call to check in on him and would drop by with food and desserts. Daddy thought they were flirting with him. Maybe they were. I thought they were just being very nice to a lonely man who had recently lost his wife.
Daddy soon reached a point where he wouldn't go anyplace because he was afraid he would miss one of the "girls" phone calls. Daddy was afraid each of the women he was talking with on the phone would find out about the other women he was talking to. He was afraid his food gifts would stop and the phone calls would stop as well so he was really getting himself worked up with stress about them visiting and calling.
Rosie seemed to be his favorite but she didn't really seem interested in doing anything more that calling and talking about how lonely she was and how frightened she was to live by herself. He asked her to marry him. He wanted someone to move in and take care of him and he, in turn, would take care of her. She wouldn't have any part of it and in addition, my sister was FURIOUS that he would be thinking of remarrying so soon after mama was gone.
Daddy played this game for several years and then around the fall of 2006 he got sick. We're still not really sure what happened but he really became sick. He went through extensive test and the outcome simply wasn't good. He did get some strength back and was able to get around on his own. The doctor wanted him to exercise and he refused. He only wanted to lie around in his recliner, watch TV, and talk on the phone. My brother and sister and I pushed and cajoled and did everything we could to encourage him to exercise, to build his strength back but he seemed to enjoy the attention he got by being sick. The doctor was as frustrated as we were. Daddy had always been a difficult man to reason with and now he became even worse. Our only option was to stop doing those things that we knew he was capable of doing. It was hard to do. The guilt was hard to live with but we knew that NOT doing it would be worse for him.
In the Spring of 2008 my brother died. His health wasn't great but it was unexpected and it left only my sister and myself to take care of daddy. Daddy has continued to get weaker and more frail as time has gone on. We do all of his cooking and I do the house keeping when I visit. His decline has continued to the point where hospice is helping out. (stilll more to come)
He got a phone call from an old friend... someone he knew even before he knew mama. They grew up in the same neighborhood. She was Rosie and she had been twice widowed. She was a good friend and would call daddy every day. She was as lonely as he was. Daddy developed a romantic interest in her but she didn't return his feelings.
A couple of women from daddy's church would call to check in on him and would drop by with food and desserts. Daddy thought they were flirting with him. Maybe they were. I thought they were just being very nice to a lonely man who had recently lost his wife.
Daddy soon reached a point where he wouldn't go anyplace because he was afraid he would miss one of the "girls" phone calls. Daddy was afraid each of the women he was talking with on the phone would find out about the other women he was talking to. He was afraid his food gifts would stop and the phone calls would stop as well so he was really getting himself worked up with stress about them visiting and calling.
Rosie seemed to be his favorite but she didn't really seem interested in doing anything more that calling and talking about how lonely she was and how frightened she was to live by herself. He asked her to marry him. He wanted someone to move in and take care of him and he, in turn, would take care of her. She wouldn't have any part of it and in addition, my sister was FURIOUS that he would be thinking of remarrying so soon after mama was gone.
Daddy played this game for several years and then around the fall of 2006 he got sick. We're still not really sure what happened but he really became sick. He went through extensive test and the outcome simply wasn't good. He did get some strength back and was able to get around on his own. The doctor wanted him to exercise and he refused. He only wanted to lie around in his recliner, watch TV, and talk on the phone. My brother and sister and I pushed and cajoled and did everything we could to encourage him to exercise, to build his strength back but he seemed to enjoy the attention he got by being sick. The doctor was as frustrated as we were. Daddy had always been a difficult man to reason with and now he became even worse. Our only option was to stop doing those things that we knew he was capable of doing. It was hard to do. The guilt was hard to live with but we knew that NOT doing it would be worse for him.
In the Spring of 2008 my brother died. His health wasn't great but it was unexpected and it left only my sister and myself to take care of daddy. Daddy has continued to get weaker and more frail as time has gone on. We do all of his cooking and I do the house keeping when I visit. His decline has continued to the point where hospice is helping out. (stilll more to come)
Saturday, July 7, 2012
And now this....
The holiday (July 4) was this week. The younger daughter and her husband have come to visit and because of having guests, the cat, Jhett the Rescue Kitty, has been sequestered in the laundry room/office. I do this for 2 reasons... 1) I don't have to worry about her sneaking out the door if there is someone not looking and 2) I don't have to worry about offending anyone with her cat hair. She doesn't seem to mind as long as I come around and visit with her and feed her on time.
It feels as if all we have done is eat, talk about eating or planned what to eat next. I feel stuffed just thinking about it. They're at the store now buying supplies to make homemade ice cream.
Back on the diet next week for sure.
Again.
For the 75th time.
It feels as if all we have done is eat, talk about eating or planned what to eat next. I feel stuffed just thinking about it. They're at the store now buying supplies to make homemade ice cream.
Back on the diet next week for sure.
Again.
For the 75th time.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
An Explanation (Part 1)
You may notice from time to time that my posts are sporadic. There are reasons for this. Sometimes I just don't know what to say or lack inspiration. At other times I'm away. My daddy lives about 5 hours away and I go to visit him each month. At almost 89, his health is very fragile. My sister has moved in with him and takes care of his daily needs. I come each month to give her a break and take care of cleaning, laundry, banking, and various other little chores.
My mother died 11 years ago and daddy has had a difficult time being alone since she has been gone. This post might wind up being pretty long but I'm doing it as much for therapy as anything else, so please bear with my long-windedness.
My daddy is not an educated man. He had to drop out of school in the 5th grade when his only brother got married and moved away and he was needed on the farm to help out. His mother had died when he was 5 and there were 5 sisters at home. His sisters doted on him and vied for his attention. Their devotion must be what gave him so much self confidence and pride.
Since he left school so young, he was not able to read beyond the 5th grade level, in fact, it seemed at times that his ability wasn't quite at that level. He seemed very uncomfortable and guarded in many public settings and I think this was because of his inability to read. He was very dependent on mama to be his "eyes". Once he had been to a new place with someone who seemed to know the ropes, he was okay but it took a lot of coaxing to get him to try new things. He preferred going to a cafeteria to eat because he had a hard time navigating the menu. His interactions with people were pretty much limited to work, family and church and even in those areas he didn't forge close ties with anyone who didn't know of his inability to read well. As a result of this, his world was and is world very small.
Daddy was mechanically inclined and worked on an assembly line at a local plant. He became a second shift lead man, a job that he was so proud of having and he should have been proud. It was quite an accomplishment for him. He enjoyed taking things apart, cleaning and refurbishing them and putting them back together so when a job opening in the "tool crib" came open, he was put in there where he took care of tools and assigned them to people. He retired from that job after about 32 years with the company.
He was able to enjoy his retirement, working in his woodworking shop and repairing lawn mowers. Then mama got sick and that exhausted everyone. We all suffered with mama's slow death. That in itself is another story but when God finally took her, daddy was left alone and while he could easily cook, clean house and take care of himself he was still alone and no longer had his "eyes" to look out for him.
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