peace...

If you haven't experienced PS22, here is your chance. Don't know who their chorus teacher is but he needs to teach a class or two.

Journey, Queen, Tori Amos - these kids are being exposed to the elements through music and there is no better way. I found Jesus through music, I know of what I speak but before I found Jesus, I found a lot of other things.

Having gone to seances with my stepmother and experiencing a few non christian churches, it was more about curiosity than anything else. One church we went to in downtown Boise, can't even remember the denomination's name but it looked normal from the outside and even the inside but when the woman pastor started to preach, it felt all wrong to me. The only reason I kept going back was that they ended each service with this song, Let There Be Peace On Earth.

I don't believe in peace on earth. After reading the bible, it pretty much paints a picture that peace is not going to happen here, not in this life time but the song still brings back memories and tears. I have often said, I never felt the tug of God but after today, I may have to change my position. While still not recognizing who He was, I think there was a tug in my heart that was buried deep and unknown to me, to be used at a later date.

I do however believe in personal peace. A peace that defies logic or understanding so this song makes sense to me on that level. No matter was is going on around me, I am sure there is a place of peace that is available to each of us, for the taking.

With that. I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. Whatever you do, wherever you go, give thanks for all you have. Taking some time off and I will see you Sunday...xo me.

faith...

Faith is, in the same moment, both a belief and the response to that belief. Tony York.

Over this last few weeks and for a long time before that, I wonder. When push comes to shove, will I hold up. Will my faith crumble under the weight of disappointment or grief, or will I hold it up high and continue, one step in front of the other.

I think about it alot. Can one really practice faith everyday? Can you stockpile faith? If you build your faith on a pile of solid concrete, are you assured a good outcome? When I am surrounded by darkness and perceive there is Nowhere to go, do I lose everything I think is faith?

I won't the answer to these questions until the hard times come. God doesn't give us what we need until we need it. Maybe that is my answer, don't worry - when you need it, it will be given. At that point, it is up to you whether to accept and that is where the faith of your heart will decide which path to take. Realizing that life is mostly two steps forward and one back - less than perfect faith is ok too.

When I go to bed tonight, I will imagine the same scenario that I imagine a couple times a week. Having always had a fear of being homeless and watching my father like it, I imagine it is nighttime at a shelter. Imaging the noises, kids crying, snoring and coughing - I look over my choices of how I got here and if there is a way out. I feel the cold as it sweeps under my bed and the fear of the unknown person sleeping next to me... and I pray like I have never prayed before. I remember the home of my youth and the warm quilt that covered my bed. I remember my belly being full and my socks having to holes for my toes to sneak out of. The remembrances go on as I drift to sleep. I don't know what all this means but I keep doing it.

I don't want to build a moat around my faith. Nothing to protect it from the elements. I want it to stand on its own. Wind, fire, give me everything you've got. That is what I say now, let's see what happens when Real Life kicks in. Let's just wait and see...

nesting...

It is snowing outside, and I am inside - warm and cozy. Frank is still singing and I am still listening.

My favorite week starts tomorrow and it is a short one. Three more days to steep in the thankfulness that surrounds me. It has been a good month but as all good things go, it is time to move on. It is time to live some of all the thoughts that have been running through my head the last few weeks.

The craziness of Christmas has already begun,. Maybe even earlier this year, there are fewer dollars and retailers are ruthless. the commercials are what is getting to me right now. Beautiful wrapped gifts, puppies with red ribbons tied around their necks and the food. Visions of peppermint bark are dancing in my head. Did I mention the snow?

But before we all race ahead into the 25 days of Christmas, I am going to enjoy these last few unhurried days. I am going to keep my eyes, ears and especially my heart open and take it all in. Everything I can get my hands on, hold on to it and pull it out in the next month when I need it... and make no mistake, I will need it.

I will forget about these nesting times and be in a sea of wrapping paper and wonder how it will all ever get done? Miss M asked me if I was going to come to her Christmas Preschool concert? I assured her, nothing could keep me away. The church no longer has a child's Christmas program - no one want to head it up. Quite sad, not sure I want to be affiliated with any church that doesn't have a kids Christmas program. I think they are missing the Big Picture.

I will make nesting time in the next month because just like Miss M's program, nothing could be more essential. The older I get, the more I see that essential is more than important. At the end of the day, what could I not live without? What will have to go by the wayside?

The snow has stopped for now. It is suppose to come back and I will be waiting. Nowhere to go or anything important to do but if something essential comes my way, I will be all over it...

lovin spoonful...

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
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I have had a envious relationship with the Kennedys forever, I have wanted to be one. Not for their money or influence but for their family life and deep-rooted philosophy of community. Special Olympics would not be the force that they are today if not for Eunice Kennedy and now, Maria Shriver.

Choosing to care about your fellow man, outside your bio gene pool doesn't come naturally. It must first be instilled and then encouraged. Like most things in life, we have to keep bringing things to the head of the line because basically, we are shallow and have a short attention span. The sooner you accept this about yourself and the rest of the human race, the sooner you can make some changes.

Ice cream for Special Olympics is a fabulous idea. Ice cream for anything, I'm in. Maria has had a tough year. California has to be weighing heavy on her mind as she is Arnold's sounding board and despite those wonderful commercials, we all know the score there and it ain't pretty. With the loss of her mom and uncle in a short time this year and raising 4 children, she is a great example of what we can do if it is important to us.

Found a web site today, http://boomboomcards.com/store. Revolutionary acts for everyday life - an uprising of gorilla goodness.

Become a cards carrying member of the Boom Boom Revolution! Do these 26 acts of guerilla goodness and change the world. Each time you complete a card, give it away to someone else so the revolution doesn't end.

The website allows you to follow your Boom Boom Card as it travels around the world. You never know where your one act of kindness will end up!

There is a Big People and a teen version - pretty cool. may not work for everyone but could be something fun for a family to do together. We don't all have the means to make ice cream but we all have the ability to care, What does that look like for me? for you?...

unfriend...

The technique is "unfriending", which was the New Oxford American Dictionary's Word of the Year for 2009 (actually it was "unfriend").

A year ago, this wasn't even word to us, now it is Something we are scared to do and mad when it is done to us.

I will admit, I have unfriended people on Facebook and Twitter. For many different reasons and it has been good thing. We can only take in some much information. There is no extra 40GB SDHC memory chip that we can pop in our brains to add more room. Our new social networking site have forced us to make choices because our brains are on overload. I still have two requests from those wanted to befriend me on Facebook that I am not going to friend in. I have no idea who they are, that one seems to be a no-brainer. When I stop following someone on Twitter, not sure they care like those you unfriend on Facebook. The Facebook people seem to get mighty angry when you choice to drop them.

We have been unfriending for years but it has been in person and much tougher. We have also, all been on the other end of being defriended. It is all a part of life. Sometimes we are banished for good, sometimes we are just moved to a lesser role, like one of an acquaintance. Either way, it happens and we deal with it. when you think about it being unfriended may be easier to deal with. then you have the being added as a friend which comes with its own baggage.

Of all the words that made the rounds in 2009, unfriend was the best/most used/popular. Really?. That should tell you Something about where we have been and more importantly, where we are headed.

What I do know is that we are a limited people with limited skills, brain power and motivation. The older one gets, the more you understand that life is precious and you have to put your time in the Cherish bucket. No room for all the drama that is brought on by ourselves or others. Time to move on, life is too short. A little bit of everything won't hurt you but when you reach an oversaturation point in your life and you are aware of it, time to do Something about it. I would have voted for oversaturation, whether it was a new word or not. Seems that unfriending and oversaturationg might have quite a bit in common and it may not be such a bad thing to be unfriended. You might have a whole bunch of time to do something you love with all your newfound time. In fact, go ahead and unfriend me, I won't mind a bit...

giving...

Fall is quickly turning into winter and Something about that and all the holiday abundance, we human turn into giving machines. As soon as the red kettles come out, we are ready to grab our wallets and let the giving begin.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that we become aware of our fellow man and the need to make sure that everyone can have a retail-inspired Christmas. There is nothing quite like the generosity that we display between the middle of November and about December 23. Last weekend, the Boy Scouts kicked off their holiday food drive at Walmart and there was no storage of volunteers. It was strange to see so many people with no Two for One sales going on.

I really don't think we give out of guilt - we give because it is a magical time of year. We are feeling festive and the wrongs done by our fellow man, seems to have faded away. We take on the official motto of a Barbie and GI Joe under every tree. I know because I have already gone down that road.

We have a family in our neighborhood who have had as many yard sales as weeks they have lived on my street. She saw me outside on day and asked what day the trash was picked up. Not particular friendly, they keep to themselves and are quite busy with those yard sales. Last weekend, it was freezing and they had the same stuff out as the weekend before. DD and I have done the secret santa thing and it dawned on me, this family should be ours this year and it looks like a go. But not for Christmas coming on, it wouldn't have dawned on me to give, to help out. We have lots of downtime issues ourselves and unemployment doesn't go that far - my natural inclination would be self preservation but since we are in the magically time zone, my mind is racing trying to figure out what secret santa will do.

By the time December 26 comes around, we are all given out. The kettles are gone and so are our thoughts of helping out for another 11 months. Too bad, we don't see the Bigger Picture. Myabe this year, we should ask Santa for a big dose of seeing the Bigger Picture and making our own magic in the next 10 months...

hip hop violin...

Mr Demi Moore (Ashton Kutcher) pointed the way to Ms Lindsey on Twitter today. That lead me on a larger search of the idea of a hip hop violinist and that led me to Miri Ben-Ari and Paul Dateh.

Admittedly, I love hip hop. The sounds, not usually the words and when you add the violin which could not be more opposite than hip hop, you have Something that can really make you swoon.

You know what they say about opposites, they attract. Look at couples that have absolutely nothing in common, maybe it is because they share a side that their spouse never considered. Maybe the attraction is the new worlds that couples drag each other into. Same with food. Foods that you would never consider merging, become a whole new delight when combined.

DD and I have had a running dialog this weekend about raising children and we wildly differ. My idea is to let the kids know the consequences up front and then let them decide if the punishment is worth the crime. In her Love and Logic class they teach, never let the kids know the consequences ahead of time. Two opposing ideas and I think the answer is somewhere in between but she will have to choose for her children which is best. There has been great conversation and I have loved every minute of it.

I am thankful this weekend that I have people in my life that are yin to my yang and we still love each other completely. The best kind of friend you can have is one that doesn't agree with you but could not love you more. It is a total delight - like the hip hop violinist. Imagine that!