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.