Change of Scenery

This week has been difficult to say the least. I have made several attempts at writing a new post, and each time I get side tracked or the post doesn't make sense to me-the writer. So here we go at my attempt for the week.

Today I am working at a different hospital. I have to say this has been the most enjoyable day of my work week. The work flow has been manageable, there has been no discord among the work team and I had the chance to sit outside and eat lunch. The area was outside the cafeteria, it had comfortable chairs and a view of the most beautiful rose garden. I love to look at a rose garden. The variety of colors, smells and textures intoxicate me.

As I walked around the rose garden I realized that roses are much like friends. There are abundant varities of both. Best friends for example, stay with you forever- like the hardy knockout rose-you can over water, under water and prune without regard of timing or technique and it remains beautiful. There are friends that serve a specific purpose for a certain period to time- like the climbing rose that is wonderful outside, but if cut the petals drop leaving an unimpressive stem. There are friends that are disease and drought tolerant. They will be with you during good times and bad. They are deeply rooted in the friendship. These friends remain strong and beautiful even when you cause them pain or disappoint them.

I don't know what kind of rose I am, but I hope that people who look at the outside, get to know and like what they see on the inside.

Dishes for Jesus.

I was struggling with a pile of dishes on my kitchen counter. It was not my mess and I was bound and determined not to clean it up. The only person it was bothering was me.

The bible study class I attend is very diverse, we have ladies of all ages and at different stages of their journey with God. As I was sitting in class, one of my classmates made a very convicting statement. She was speaking of a previous experience when a friend asked,"would you do it for Jesus?" Ouch. I immediately recalled the pile of dishes on my counter and thought "of course I would!"..... but I hadn't. I had, instead, allowed this pile of dishes - a couple of cups and a plate or two - to really irritate me. I was so quick to answer "yes" to a hypothetical question about serving Jesus, when in reality I was doing just the opposite. When we choose to hold a grudge, refuse to help a friend or family member in need we are in fact saying "No" to God.

I want to thank LaGaye for sharing a simple yet profound statement. She had a huge impact on me and my actions...for at least...the rest of the day.

Building Fences

I am taking a class at church called Foundations. The goal of this class is to discuss 11 "Core Truths" of my faith. I was so excited when I initially read about it in the church bulletin. The class description stated questions such as "Were there dinosaurs on the Ark?" would be answered. Well it was a no brainier... I would have to go and find out!
Over the course of months we have answered many of my questions. There are some things that we have not. For those questions that remain unanswered our teacher Dave has given us the concept of "building a fence around it." In my mind, the fence is a orange safety fence...like the one my husband uses to keep the dogs off certain areas when he plants grass. The significance of this concept has kinda been baffling me lately. There are certain things we just cannot explain or answer. Like the dinosaurs on the Ark or why my children can remember the words (verbatim) from a movie but not to get their dirty clothes out of the bathroom after showering. Some things just cannot be explained. I mean they can if you really try but is it always necessary to know the answer?
Anyway building fences.... usually we do it to protect something. Our family, pets or property. To keep intruders at a safe distance. Sometimes we build fences around out heart, to keep from being disappointed. But with all this literal and figurative building sometimes we miss the experience. That is what I don't want myself or my children to do, is miss the experience. So I am challenging each of you. To for the day live in the moment. I am not saying live willy nilly. But to try to enjoy or learn from the experiences that each of you face today. Many of our actions and reactions are like a rock skipped across a pond. There is the initial splash , but there is also the ripples that affect so much more than the surface.

Is this for me?

Is this for me? Okay, I am contemplating if this is the right forum for me. I don't get the whole face book, twitter and texting thing. So why do I want a blog? A friend at work has two blogs and she inspires me with her writing. I on the other hand am a horrible speller and my grammar is even worse. What can I offer readers? I am a mother of two, an 11 year old girl and 8 year old boy. They are amazing children and I could write about the trials and tribulations of parenting. I could share funny stories of how they perplex and amaze me at the same time. But how would that really make me different than any other site?Maybe I should share a short story to let you know how I came up with the blog name and that will serve as a springboard for comments and we will go from there.

While walking along a beach a man saw someone in the distance leaning down and picking something up, tossing it back into the ocean. As he got closer her noticed the figure was a young boy picking up starfish one by one and throwing them back into the ocean. The man approached the boy, smiled and asked why was he throwing the starfish back into the ocean. To this the boy replied. "The sun is up and the tide going out. If I don't they will die" Upon hearing this the man replied, "But young man, do you realize their are miles and miles of beach and that there are miles and miles of starfish. How can you possibly make a difference?" The young boy listened politely and then bent down... picking up a starfish and throwing it past the breaking waves...He then said "It made a difference for that one."

So you ask "what is the realivence of this story?" My son has behavioral issues. He has since he was about 2 years old, about the time of my divorce from his father. We have gone to counseling and found amazing doctors to obtain appropriate care. He is doing so much better. Now my Jay stories involve laughing and not crying. Along the way, to this realitivly happy place, there have been people that have seen the diamond in the rough. They have appreicated Jay for his beautiful spirit. To me Jay is one of those starfish.....he was an under-dog. He is someone who dosen't fit into the box society so despirately tries to force people into. So I hope to inspire people to find the good in mankind. To find the silver lining in the storm cloud.