I'm Back!!!!

Sorry I've been inactive for so long;  life got a little more "adventurous" than I expected for a little while!

On my way to work this morning a song popped into my head that I hadn't thought about in a long time and it helped to remind me that I don't have to rely on just MY strength to get through this daily adventure.  The song is based on Isaiah 40:31; They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles.  They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.  The end of the song says "teach me Lord, teach me Lord, to wait".   

Hopefully you'll be encouraged by this verse/ song as I was.

On another note:  I've started following several couponing and money saving blogs/pages here and on Facebook.  One of them is http://www.thegiveawaycorner.com/   They give away something free every day.  It's pretty cool, check it out!

Have a great day my friends!

Another Beautiful Day!

Although today is not as warm as the weekend, it's still another beautiful day!  It's such an encouragement to see the sunshine, feel the breeze, and watch all of God's little creatures like squirrels and chipmunks and birds enjoying the day He has created for them.  A day like today gives you a feeling joy, warmth, and hope.  As I've enjoyed the beautiful day, I've been reflecting on the fact that God's love is like the sunshine; it makes us feel warm, comforted, and hopeful.  Hopefully when other people see  and talk with us, they also feel God's love and are warmed, comforted, and have hope.  We can't always have sunshine, but we can always have God's love and we can always choose to share it with others.

Make it a "sunshine" kind of day wherever you are - even if the son in the sky isn't shining!

Today's Adventure Can Continue Indefinitely!!

What a glorious day!  Don't get me wrong - every day that God gives me is a day to be thankful for,  but today is exceptional.  The sun is shining, there's a soft breeze blowing, it's 81 degrees outside.  After months of winter and weeks of rain and gloomy skies, today is indeed glorious.   I am really enjoying the opportunity to have the windows open and hear the birds singing and children down the block outside playing for the first time in months.   It reminds that Spring does always come after winter, that there is sunshine after the gloomy days, and that, even in the dark times, we have something wonderful to look forward to.

So, for those of you enjoying beautiful weather today, whether that is outside or in your life,  ... appreciate every single minute of it and make memories to see you through the darker days.  For those of you who still have dark skies and gloominess, outside or in the situation you are in, take heart ... better days are coming!

My New Adventure

For those of you who know me well, you'd think I wouldn't need any more adventure in my life.  Apparently I just can't get enough so this week I have started a new project.  I have been accepted as the Detroit Christian Reading Examiner at http://www.examiner.com/ .  I will be writing reviews about Christian books, both fiction and non-fiction, along with articles about interesting things happening in the Christian reading world.  If you have any books or events that you'd like to see an article about, please feel free to let me know.  I'm looking forward to this new adventure - at least now I have an excuse to spend hours reading!!!  I'll let you know when the first article is published.

My first review on http://www.examiner.com/ will be a review of Karen Kingsbury's book Divine.  It's a great book - not that Karen Kingsbury could write a book that wasn't, but it's definitely worth a read.  It will touch your heart and make you think.  I won't say anymore just now, I'll wait and let you read the review.

Have a great day, Linda

Why Can't Children Just Be Children????

It is not my intention to use this blog as a place to rant;  I prefer to stick to talking about the everyday things in life that make it an adventure.  However, in the past week I have seen two things in the news that just have me asking myself, and everyone else, Why can't children just be children????  Why do we encourage them to grow up before they've even had a chance to enjoy childhool????  I'm talking about the recent announcement of a new doll (Breast Milk Baby) available for little girls as well as the "push up bikini" recently unveiled by Abercrombie & Fitch designed for 7 and 8 year olds.  Really??? The doll in question apparently comes with a "bib" type thing that the little girl wears over her chest.  Pressing the doll against the bib causes the doll's mouth to start moving, simulating breast feeding.  Do we want to encourage little girls to want to experience breast feeding before they are much more than babies themselves????  As for the "push up bikini", what in the world is there to push up at that age anyway???  Do we want our 7 and 8 year olds to strut around the beach trying to look like their teen age counterparts, inviting the stares of men and boys both?  Doesn't this just encourage children to want to be grown up before their time?  And won't "push up bikinis"  just make a statement to the male of the species that little girls are fair game???  Both of these new products just make me want to cry; our children are already subjected to way more "adult" behavior and products than is good for them, why do we need to give them anything more???

Let the children be children; let them enjoy what little innocence they are still allowed.  The world will come at them quickly enough when they are older.  I really believe they should have as carefree a childhood as possible.  There's plenty of time to be an adult later.

What do you think?    

Do You Worry About Having an Empty Nest?

I have three grown children.  Everyone said as they were growing up that one day they would all be on their own and I would suffer from "empty nest syndrome".    I also have a cat named Asti.   With a cat in the house, the nest is NEVER empty.  The only difference is that it's no longer YOUR nest!  The cat is the master of all he surveys be it the sofa, the love seat, or the bed!  And he expects to be attended to ... constantly and upon demand.   In the same way an infant trains his/her parents to understand what each cry means, so does a cat train its "staff" to know what each MEOW means!   There is the "meow" that means "I'm hungry and you haven't filled my dish in the last hour", the "meow" that means "I'm napping and I don't WANT to get down off the sofa", even the "meow" that means "I'm really lonely when you turn out the lights and go to bed, can I sleep with you??"   It's enough to drive you crazy!  Then again, when he looks at you with those big, beautiful eyes when you come home from work and meows "I'm so glad you're home!" it's worth every crazy minute!  I've included a picture of my cat Asti just so you can see why it's so hard to resist his welcome home meow.

Do you worry about having an empty nest?  No need to worry - just go get yourself a cat.  By the time you're done waiting on him hand and foot it will be just like the kids never left! LOL

Have a great day!!

Orange Barrels

I don't know about where you live, but in Michigan on sure sign of Spring is the appearance of the dreaded Orange Barrels!  This is the season for repairing all those potholes, resurfacing the roads that are more holes than road, fixing bridges, generally repairing all the damage casued by the harsh winter conditions.

As I drove to work this morning it occurred to me that sometimes I too need to do repair work.  As I go through the adventure that is life, I sometimes have to endure less than optimal conditions.  Sometimes even harsh conditions.  As a result, my spirit becomes broken, my self-confidence crumbles, my normally optimistic outlook becomes less than optimistic.  It's time to put out the barrels to help me keep track of where the work needs to be done and get busy.  I also need to remember that, unlike road repair areas, others can't see the orange barrels I've set out so I need to try to be patient with them if they seem to be interfering with the repair schedule. 

It also occurred to me that if I have orange barrels in my life, then it's possible others do too.  That being the case, I need to give them a little more understanding during their repair time too. 

If you have repairs to make after a long harsh winter, don't feel alone.  I suspect there are many of us who need to get out the orange barrels from time to time.  Good luck with your repairs, whatever they are!