Hammocks and Dreams
About 2-3 weeks ago, Kevin set a couple of posts for a hammock. It's been a while since we had a hammock - years actually - and, last summer, we discovered the perfect place for one where the breeze is always blowing, even in the heat of the season. So he bought a rope hammock, like we'd had before, and finally got around to setting the posts. However, once he put the hammock up, he realized that they just don't make those rope hammocks like they used to, and he returned it, frustrated at the alternatives. We ended up ordering one that is a very tightly woven polyester, impervious to the elements, and extra wide to comfortably hold two people (and a passel of grandkids when they...
When You Know
You might notice that I've made several TV and commercial references this week. While you might be tempted to think that I've been kicked back in front of the tube, doing some binge-watching, please don't give in to it. Instead, know that I've been working on numbers, tax stuff and budgeting. (Pardon me for a moment while I vomit. Numbers. They are not my love language.) What do numbers have to do with TV? Well, everything, if you're me, because I have to have something else going in order to stay awake during all the math. That's where the TV, and its Netflix streaming capabilities, comes in and saves the day. Typically, I binge on documentaries. If I'm going to watch TV during the...
Aha Moments
Have you seen them? The Mutual of Omaha commercials surrounding their "Aha Moment" tour? I've seen several of them, and let me just say that they are spectacular bits of marketing, and more, shining moments for humanity. Here are a couple of my favorites: Wonderful, aren't they? The reason I love these two, in particular, is because they boil down to the same point. People matter. They deserve respect regardless of circumstances, regardless of bad decisions or being down on their luck, their geographic location, or what they do or don't do for a living. They deserve the hand of their fellow man to get back on their own two feet (not support indefinitely, because that does absolutely...
On Doing
When we were flying home from Tampa, I made my usual stop in the airport restroom. Sitting there, I reached for the toilet paper when I saw it, right there above the dispenser, scratched deeply into the paint: What are you doing? Odd question, I thought, since I think it's fairly obvious what people are doing in the bathroom, but it took me aback, nonetheless, because I'd just seen this exact scenario in a movie we'd recently watched. One of the main characters, sitting in my same position, looked up and saw this exact phrase scrawled into the enameled stall wall. What are you doing? Coincidence? Rarely. At least in my experience. Something this similar, repeating itself within a...
The Quest
I've had a phrase tumbling around in my head for the last couple of weeks. I read it in passing, and yet it buried itself in my subconscience for further, and frequent, review. ...those years when my soul went questing. Questing. "A long and arduous search for something" according to an online dictionary. I think our souls are inherently made to quest, to look for the missing piece, which is, of course, our Maker...our Home. He's with us the entire time, showing Himself again and again, and just waiting for us to turn around and see Him there. But, I think we continue, in our humanness, even after we've found Him. Our enemy tries to make us believe we're still missing something,...