Popcorn's Poison

Do you ever poison people with your moods? I do. I sometimes even realize that I'm doing it and can't stop myself! Like a fly on the wall I can hear my sharp words and feel my terse body language, all the while unable to arrest the behavior. It is an out of body vantage point that sickens me. The venomous tone of my voice and razor sharp glances I'm sure cause those around me to wonder where Pollyanna Popcorn clutching her Bible has gone. Geez mom. What's wrong with you?, I'm sure they wonder. My son can hear my tone on the phone and say "Mom, you sound tired". That means he hears an edge that isn't normally there. This is a phenomenon we're all familiar with. I have to remember that I am accountable to God for my words, my attitudes, and my disposition all the time. Not just at Sunday School, or while I'm teaching a Bible Study. I can't just treat people flippantly according to my mood and then when the mood passes, hit the relationship resume button. That's not fair to people. Anger, sarcasm, the silent treatment, and hostility are not fruit of the Spirit! If I am behaving like this, I am out of sync with what I profess to be. I'm living a lie, counter to what I say I am. Christianity is not a sometimes thing. Not just when we're feeling good about life and ourselves and our ego is pumped. It is all the time. Even when we feel sour and selfishly search for external reasons as to why...and mistreat those we hold most dear in the process. In a bad mood? Exhausted? Frustrated? Things haven't gone your way? Someone hurt your wittle feelings? Having a pity party? Looking for someone to blame? If so, the best strategy is just to hush, be quiet, lay low...and pray. Push that lip back in! It's those moments we are eaten up with self and can poison precious relationships. It's never worth it and it cannot be justified. Walkin' the talkin' is harder than we think.

Olympic Withdrawals

We sure did enjoy watching the Olympics. It's so sad when they are over. Mr. Popcorn is fighting off olympic withdrawal depression over here.

I Would

Look at them. Just take a good close look at these precious three. Wouldn't you load all of her earthly treasures into the back of your car, drive 10 hours alone on your 28th wedding anniversary in same car, make four trips to Walmart, two to Target, one to TJMAXX, and a couple of back and forths to BB and Beyond, and tuck her in for a nap while you unpacked it all and trucked boxes to the dumpster? Wouldn't you drive 12 hours back two days later (missed a couple of turn offs and had to double back...lost much time) in a heart thumping panic to get back to he who hurled 15 times after church Sunday afternoon to refresh his fav blue gatorade? Wouldn't you talk to one of them on the phone umpteen times on the way home because she keeps you such good company? Wouldn't your tired backside crawl back in the car not two hours after you peeled yourself out of it just to go have a cup of joe with her? I would and loved every minute.

Popdaughter's Place

I drove a brutal distance yesterday to help popdaughter decorate her first college apartment. We met some of her friends, had dinner...then off to the first of many back and forths to Walmart, Target, Bed, Bath, and BEYOND......Her place is darling and her roommates are precious. She's getting set up to have a great second year here at Far From Home U. At the mome we are about to walk out the door to go to her church that she loves. Then let the decorating games begin......da, da, da da da da da (da to olympic melody.....) See you back at home.

Just One Little Day

Just one little day(J. R. Miller, "The Building of Character" 1894)"Give us today our daily bread." Matthew 6:11One secret of sweet and happy Christian life--is in learning to LIVE BY THE DAY. It is the long stretches which tire us. We say that "we cannot carry this load until we are eighty--or that we cannot fight this battle continually for half a century." But really, there are no long stretches. Life does not come to us in lifetimes; it comes only a day at a time. Even tomorrow is never ours--until it becomes today; and we have nothing whatever to do with it--but to pass down to it a fair and good inheritance in today's work well done and today's life well lived.It is a blessed secret--this of living by the day.Anyone can carry his burden, however heavy--until nightfall. Anyone can do his work, however hard--for one day. Anyone can live sweetly, quietly, patiently, lovingly, and purely--until the sun goes down. This is all the life which we really ever have--just one little day. God gives us nights to shut down the curtain of darkness on our little days. We cannot see beyond--and we ought not to try to see beyond. Short horizons make life easier, and give us one of the blessed secrets of noble, happy, holy living.We ought not to be content to live otherwise--than beautifully. We can live our life only once. We cannot go over life again--to correct its mistakes or amend its faults. We ought therefore to live it well. And to do this, we must make every day beautiful, as it passes. Lost days must always remain blanks in the records; and stained days must carry their stains. Beautiful days make beautiful years, and beautiful years make a beautiful life!"As your days--so shall your strength be." Deuteronomy 33:25

Goodbye Summer

We met my mom(Grammie) and my bro's family for dessert last week to celebrate summer birthdays and to kiss summer goodbye. Here are some pics from the occasion....
Katie and Sarah
Eliabeth, Katie, Sarah
Katie

The Whole Gang
Grammie and Her Seven Treasures (her caption)
Tall Nathan in the back, Charlie, Katie, Gram, Matthew, Elizabeth, Sarah, John Michael

Happy Birthday Mr. Popcorn

Today is Mr. Popcorn's birthday. He's turns a very young 48 years old. The man works out every day, sometimes twice if one of the kids wants to go and he's already been. For the last ten years he has come home almost every day for lunch, run his mileage, eaten several yogurts and some bananas, and gone back to work. Wherever we go friends and neighbors say "Hey, I saw you running yesterday!" He's nothing if not disciplined about his daily routine. So today I'll bake him a big cake with lots of candles that relight when you try to blow them out. He'll cook burgers on the grill and we'll probably play some ping pong. Later we might all drive to starbizzle and get coffee and read our books. Happy birthday honey! The day you were born was my lucky day.

Patient Popdaughter

Our middle daughter exemplified the patience of Job this summer. We kept promising that she would have a car have a car have a car to take back to school this year. The whole second semester when we would talk to her she would gently mention perhaps she "might get a car for next year?" And we kept telling her yes yes yes. A car is in your future. We know you need a car, everything in us wants you to have a car, we will so focus on getting you a car. So when she came home for the summer she may have mentioned it one time....then she proceeded to get a job, make us proud with her work ethic each and every day at a job that while fun, was still taxing and exhausting. She made plans with her friends, saw movies, had dinner, went to the beach, went to E-Life every single Thursday night at her her Sunday School teacher's home... (who happens to be Super Churchlady), had her new roommates up for a weekend, visited her Grammie... she just went about her business and left the car-getting to us. She had several cars around here to drive and unless one was "out of rotation" and in the shop, she had wheels. But not her own, and certainly not wheels she would choose if given the choice. But the sweet girl did not whine, she did not hound, she did not pout. She simply enjoyed her life as it was and didn't worry about too much else, even the acquisition of a car. She knew we knew and she trusted us and waited patiently. She had faith in our word. She knew we wanted the absolute best for her. She went on a retreat this past weekend with her Sunday School class(Super Church Lady) and before she left I said something along the lines of "we'll shop for a car Sunday when you get back" even though I knew we had already bought her a car....we wanted to surprise her when she returned but gees I just wanted to throw the child a bone. My heart was aching for her because the calendar was ticking and still no car. Behind the scenes the car quest was made easy, divinely easy, plopped in our lap easy...we did not have to look far at all! No sweltering slogs through car lots, no tiresome haggling with salesmen, just smooth as silk, the car was available. So...long story short, we surprised her with keys to a darling, perfect car, RED no less, to match her school....A car we knew she would love and would not expect. More than she hoped for. More than she dared dream of. And she didn't even have to manipulate, finagle, cook up, orchestrate, or toss and turn a single night over it. Mr. Popcorn and I never ever for one minute forgot that our precious child wanted a car.Her patience never went unnoticed, we were acutely aware of it. It might have seemed to her that we had, but lo we had not!. Our minds were on getting her a car. The car that fit her every desire and need. Oh my gosh the analogy!!! This is the kind of trust we are supposed to have in God in all situations in our lives!!! Exactly the same. Pray, hand it over, know He knows, and move forward with a happy, expectant attitude doing what we are supposed to do while we wait on Him to unfold the perfect, better than we dreamed of plan. A plan that we couldn't have concocted if all the planets were aligned and we cocked our heads just right. What a lesson for ME! God's timing and will for us beats anything we can come up with even as we pat an impatient foot. What a clear and obvious metaphor!! Do you see it too? This isn't the first time God has taught me through parenting and I know it won't be the last. Our daughter's ability to graciously roll with the punches of life and wait on us to come through is the essence of faith played out in our daily existence. Amazing.

I Can Only Imagine: Post Dedicated To My Dear Friend and Her Family On This Occasion

I can only imagine what it will be like, when I walk by your side

I can only imagine what my eyes will see

when your face is before me

I can only imagine, yeah...

Surrrounded by your glory what will my heart feel?

Will I dance for you Jesus? Or in awe of you be still.

Will I stand in your presence? Or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing hallelulah? Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine, I can only imagine.

I can only imagine when that day comes

and I find myself standing in the sun.

I can only imagine

when all I will do

is forever, forever worship You.

I can only imagine

I can only imagine

Surrounded by your glory what will my heart feel

will I dance for you Jesus? Or in awe of you be still?

Will I stand in your presence?

Or to my knees will I fall

Will I sing hallelulah will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine I can only imagine

I can only imagine I can only imagine......

I can only imagine when all I will ever do is forever, forever worship You

Yea, I can only imagine.

August 9, 2008

Popcorn Phacts

Thanks for tagging me SCL and Katy at MY NUT VILLAGE. I am supposed to post the rules of tagation, so here they are:

1) Link to the person who tagged you. (already am)
2) Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6). (check)
3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below). (check)
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them. (I don't know six : (
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog. : (
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up. : (

I have never been good at games!

Six random Popcorn facts:

1. I love my name(s). My real name, (Melanie)(thanks mom) and my alter-name, Popcorn.

2. If I were to choose a new career it would be interior design or library science (deep down I am very nerdy)

3. Popcorn is my favorite, top # 1 food.

4. I am a slob, though I like things neat : 0

5. I am afraid of squirrels.

6. Vacations longer than 4 days start to bore me. After that I miss my routine, my animals, and my house and I want to come home.

Sunday Snippets: Spiritual Oneness

Sunday's marriage devotion was on spiritual oneness. I think the desire to have this with another person is why we all get married in the first place, isn't it?. But what is it anyway? According to my research, it is a state in which a married couple is tuned in to the most minute details and rhythms of each other's day. What hurdles area they facing? What are the immediate needs looming large on their mind? Characteristics include encouraging your spouse each day, praying for him, telling him you are praying for him, and of course, praying together. Nothing gives me just the lift I need more than Mr. Popcorn telling me he is praying for me about something I've mentioned to him. It communicates to me that despite his schedule, he has time for me and thinks what I think is important, is. It's validating and comforting and I know God hears his prayers! Keeping this area of the marriage humming along will provide automatic maintenance in all other areas. It's the WD40 for marital nuts, bolts, and hinges. This is not as easy as I have made it sound and many times nurturing this aspect of married life gets shoved to the back burner. I don't know about your lives, but in our lives the fast forward button seems to be hung. Each day is cram packed full to overflowing with commitments, jobs, classes, church youth group (fun!) events, cooking, working out, running, making a CD, cars in the shop, shopping for clothes for new jobs, attending church, drivers' ed, Veggie Tales camp, birthdays, graduations, Christmas picture taking, purse parties, phone calls that need making and returning, friends to check in with.....grocery shopping, lunch making. Our tongues are hanging out at the end of every day and sometimes before the end! We "take it upstairs" earlier and earlier and fall into bed with Frasier and Seinfeld before dozing off into a dead comatose slumber. But finding the time and making the effort(even if it is over the phone during a check in phone call) to keep tabs on our mate's needs and concerns, a thread of closeness will bond you together. And then when you pucker up for that goodnight kiss and your heads hit the pillows, all will be well with your soul despite the tornado called life.