Hurray For Recovery!!

He-man and I went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie.  Neither of us had seen the first one and I don't normally like to see a sequel without having viewed the first movie.  But I had heard that this was good and He-man and my schedules were free... so I threw caution to the wind, broke out of my rut and saw number two BEFORE number one. 

Living large, huh?

I have to tell you, it's been a while since I have enjoyed a movie for simple entertainment sake.  The writing was engaging and cleaver.  The cinematography was amazing.  The director had either gotten some old vintage reels or was able to reproduce the era so splendidly that I felt as if I had traveled back in time.  There were shots in slow motion that made me lean forward in my seat to take in the view.  The humor was high class, crafty and not the least bit smutty.  

I wasn't as fond of the gun-shooting scenes, but I was spared graphic, bloody, violent overkill which allowed me to hold it as art more than out of control darkness.

The way it was directed and staged was kind of like Wild Wild West meets James Bond during Murder on the Orient Express.

But the most impressive of all for me was watching Robert Downing Jr. do what he was born to do.  He was fantastic!  So funny, so cleaver, I couldn't help but sit in my chair and offer up thanks for his recovery.  

It wasn't that long ago that he was struggling to stay clean enough to make it through a filming session.  Addiction had him by the throat and it looked as if he was going down. 

He not only managed to escaped its grasp, he came alive! I could see it in his eyes - the no doubt, full throttle ahead, life!  

That makes me very happy, extremely grateful and considerably more hopeful for others who might find themselves in addiction's clutch.

Just wanted to share my joy.   

44. I am grateful for open schedules.

I hope your Friday is a lead in to a great weekend.  I hope you get an opportunity to sit beside someone you really like and enjoy the scenery.  I hope you see something today that makes you want to share the joy.

Yaya

Are You My Dad?

He-man's niece is a single mom, raising a biracial son in a small rural community.  She is the gal that keeps us connected through emails, texts, Christmas cards and pictures, marking each new phase of growth that her little guy enters.  

I admire He-man's niece for a number of reason, but most especially for single parenting.  I think that is one of the toughest jobs on the planet.  Of course she has a fantastic support system of family and friends.  A little quirky maybe, but very supportive.  (Hee, hee)

One day He-man's niece and her son were shopping for a field trip lunch in their small town grocery when they bumped into a man on the bread aisle.  

Noticing the man's dark colored skin, her son stood stone still while he executed a full body visual scan beginning at the top of the man's head and slowly moving down to his feet.  With wide-eyed wonder, the little guy uttered, "Are you my dad?"  

He-man's niece was at a total loss for words, but mustered an apologetic response.  The man looked down at her son and said, "Sorry Bubba.  It's not me."

Deflated, the little guy hung his head and walked away.  Niece apologized again, as the sympathetic man added, "Just so you know, there are seven more of us in this store."

He-man's niece quickly caught up with her son and ushered him out the door.

*************************************

This story tickled my funny bone and moved my heart.  Makes me think how important it is to feel like we belong.... not only that we are accepted.... but that we actually belong in this world.  Regardless of our skin tone or texture, nose length, athletic ability, agility, likability or skill set  - we belong.  We belong to something greater than only our small world.  We belong to each other.   

Although not his biological father, maybe in an unexplainable, mysterious, divine way the man in the store was not someone other than the little guy's father either.


43. I am grateful for wonder and mystery.


I hope this day is kind to you.  I hope you unexpectedly bump into someone who lets you know that you belong.  I hope mystery comes a callin'.

Wordy Wednesday

Ready to get busy??????  

Today we challenge you to be intentional about one of the three quotes below. Chose one that creates a reaction in you when you read it.  Apply it to a specific situation in your life today.  

Seriously.  Apply it.  There is a reason it came to me and is being passed on to you.  Apply it.

42. I am grateful for the warm fuzzy that stays with me after spending a day with my grand children.

I hope you genuinely enjoy this day.  I hope you believe in yourself and what you need to accomplish today.  I hope you fall into bed satisfied, content and ready to receive the renewal that the night offers.

This Post is For You

Thank you.  We are extremely grateful for your contributions to the Christmas Bike Fund.  The only thing better than seeing the delight on every smiling face who received a bike would've been having you see it too.  

But wait.  You can.  

Although our readers and those who responded to our call for help were not able to be present as an entire family rode to JD and Tara's house on Christmas morning to express their thanks, you can still share in the experience.  Thanks to George Eastman for spear heading the first snapshot camera and to Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs for making it possible for me to have a personal computer.

Last week while you were clicking the donate button, JD was out shopping.  He hooked up a twelve foot trailer to his tire service truck and did not return home until his mission to find nine bicycles in varying sizes and styles was accomplished.  By mid afternoon his garage held a colorful chorus line of shiny new bikes (which you helped him buy).

There they remained until Christmas morn when JD and Tara crept out of their garage and down the street guiding bicycle after bicycle to it's new home in a yard six houses away.

He-man and I were on our way to JD's to inspect Santa's midnight delivery when we rounded the corner to find two tiny people coming out their front door to discover a rainbow of bicycles stretched across the sidewalk.  I made He-man stop the car so I could jump out and snap off this picture.  I think I scared them. (sorry, little tikes).

I got back in the car immediately and we drove off, hoping I didn't dampen their surprise.  As we were in JD's kitchen drinking coffee and squeezing babies.....

JD and I went outside to see if the rest of the crew had found their bikes when a most grateful recipient rolled into the yard.  The stream of a tear still marked his cheek as he hugged JD and told him thanks for the cool, awesome, tweaked-out bike.  

Little by little more riders appeared until they filled the driveway where JD had set up a check station - filling tires with adequate air, tightening bolts, adjusting seats and moving handle bars.  

When the customer line backed up, He-man jumped in to help.  I felt like I was at one of those drive through detail shops, where you drive your car up and somebody appears to wash your windows, somebody else vacuums the carpet, someone else is checking your oil and another somebody is filling up the empty windshield cleaner jugs.

Soon everyone who was inside was outside, visiting with the family, learning every one's names and exchanging hugs.  I was catching as many amazing moments on film that I could manage.  Unfortunately, I can not post all the beautiful faces as some of the children are foster children and are not allowed to have their pictures published.  So I have decided to blur them all except for mom who gave me permission and who  hopped on a bike herself to ride down and tell JD and Tara how grateful she was for their gift.

Mom also told us that she was one of several recipients to have her lay-away items paid off. She said she had a balance of $200.00 plus dollars to pay when K-Mart called her and said that her balance had been paid down to 83 cents.  Seems that a few Christmas Angels helped Santa out this year and took it upon them selves to pay off tens of thousands of dollars in local stores' layaway departments.

Must have been the first time that her kids had heard about it because when mom heard their surprised reactions she said, "Now don't you all get used to this!  This was a once in a lifetime miracle." 

I liked that mom didn't expect more.  I liked that she was very grateful for what had been given.  I liked that she had spent  Christmas eve at her church handing out collected food and gifts to others in need.  I liked that I saw her smile and learned her name. And I really like that now you have met her too.

41.  We are grateful for you.

I hope your Tuesday will lead you to places you never thought you'd go.  I hope you meet someone new who moves something inside your heart.  I hope a miracle is coming your way.

Softly Sunday

 When people are truly following Jesus, they enjoy a great freedom from themselves—they can laugh at themselves, and let others do the same. They can accept humiliations and not being first or best—because their own reputation is not at stake. They know it is all about the One Eternal Christ Mystery and not about them.

The mature follower of Jesus will probably look more like a holy fool than a pious churchgoer, an uptight schoolmarm, or a too-obvious “saint.” At Jesus' very birth he is fully identified with poverty, homelessness, immigrants, shepherds who were unclean by Temple criteria, and pagan astrologers from some offbeat Oriental religion! This Cosmic Christ did not come to create or maintain any in-groups or superiority systems, but to live and offer to the world a universal truth. Such a Christmas is indeed worthy of being the central holiday and holy day of the entire year.

~ Richard Rohr, Christmas 2011

Starter Prayer:
And the word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).

Letter To Santa

Prompted to Sing

Deck the halls with lovely faces,

As they fill my heart with graces,

Note the way they keep on changing

As our lives are rearranging.

Fa, la, la, la ,la, la, la,la, laaaa!!!

40. I am grateful for the years.

I hope your Friday is filled with reasons to sing.  If you are traveling, I hope that you are safe and rested.  I hope family surrounds you.

Special Recipes for Christmas

Muffin has a easy recipe for cookies that she wants to share with you.  "Before you cook anything, always wash your hands," says Muffin.

In a small bowl mix:
one cup of peanut butter
one egg 
one cup of sugar.  

Stir with a spoon until all smooth.  Sometimes you can rest your chin on the bowl 'cause it's hard to stir peanut butter. 

If you spill some, it's okay.  Yaya can wipe it up with a clothwash.  

Dig out some dough with a spoon and put it on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes.  Don't eat them right away.  They will burn your mouth.

  Enjoy and have a merry Christmas!

Dreamer has a special recipe too.  Seems he is the bomb at making toast.  He has his own secret method but has given me permission to share it with you.  After all, tis the season of giving.

Please note that the toast should go in the miker wave for 16 seconds.  Not 15. Not 17, but an exact 16 seconds.  

Take the toast from the miker wave and sprinkle it with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.  It may just become one of your Christmas morning traditions.

39. I am grateful for the sweetness of innocence.


I hope your Thursday is toasty.  I hope someone shares a specialty of theirs with you.  I hope you receive it as the true gift that it is intended to be.

Yaya

Wordy Wednesday

First of all, thanks to all who responded to our invitation to donate bikes.  We will be sending out an official post with details soon.  We appreciate you!!!!

Now are you ready for today?  You have three choices.  But if you are feeling highly motivated you can, of course, attempt all three.  

From the phrases below, choose one to focus on today.  Make that phrase an active part of all your encounters.  I am encouraging you to be intentional; conscious about how you treat others and yourself and to honestly participate in Wordy Wednesday.  

This is a biggie!

Free will

 

The most difficult love to offer.

38.  I am grateful for the furnace that blows warm air through our house.

I hope your Wednesday, whether it is beginning or ending, be one of inner joy this day.  I hope amid the challenges and disappointments there is laughter.  I hope you can lay your head on your pillow tonight and sleep soundly and safely.

Yaya