Gravel Road Musings

I love organization!!!  That is not to say I am organized, but I like the idea of organization.  For instance, at work, the little plastic blood tubes need to be lined up neatly in the little box where they belong.  Please do not just randomly toss them in there.  Yes, the one box is currently a conglomeration of tossed plastic tubes, but I didn't do it and I didn't take the time to correct the problem today.  But it bothered me pretty much. every. time. I. opened. the. drawer. to get out another tube. Nothing makes me happier than to have a daily planner.  I had been without one for months on end; I just decided it wasn't necessary nor could I really find one I liked.  Finally, this week, I sat down and printed off a few different kinds and decided to try them out to see what I liked best.  And yes, I think I have found a winner.  Does this make me organized?  No, it most certainly does NOT, but I get a thrill of being able to take th...

The big question here is: can I write?  I like to write, but that means nothing to nobody.  Anybody that can string two words together can write, but not everybody will write something that is thought-provoking, stirring, inspiration, laugh-out-loud funny, or motivational or any combination of the above. I just read a good book called "Sparkly Green Earrings" by Melanie Shankle.  It was a free ebook, which is all the rage in my life right now.  (Yes, me, who said that Kindle was so lame and I just want to hold a book in my hands, thank you very much.  But hey, I still like books because their batteries never run low; but Kindle books can always be read in the dark, so there are pros and cons to both side)  Now, where were we?  Anyway, this Melanie Shankle, she can write.  She writes about the first 8 years being a mom and while I can't relate to the stories, I find them very humorous. That brings me to the next topic: reading to earn books. ...

The Perennials are peeping through The Lilacs are budding There's some green grass coming through the dead stuff. The sky is an awesome color of blue.  Just awesome!!!!!!!!! It's been way too long since we had blue sky, so it's a double awesomeness. It's the season for iced coffee!!!!!!!  Yes, I just got a new camera and am determined to learn how to operate it more than just auto mode.  And Yes, I  know I have a LONG ways to go before any professionalism emerges. It's been spring in the house for awhile already as my geranium bloomed most of the winter.  It's the season for flip flops.   \\ Just more awesome blue sky Meet Gomez--the only male and the only sold puppy

How can life be so full of joy and so bound by sorrow?  The sorrow presses down and threatens to overwhelm and the joy lifts up and causes the step to be a little lighter.  Why can't all the steps be light, fluffy, joyful steps?  I know, I know; then we wouldn't grow, but the pain, the pain, it can be so painful, so tough, so depressing. The couple who looks forward to their baby only to find out halfway through that life has fled.  Yes, they know that the little one is in a better place, but still they grieve.  Tears threaten as I touch the little cold body, but joy can fill the heart when you think about the little girl in heaven with Jesus maybe playing with her uncle who went to heaven many years ago. There it is: that oxymoron of grief and joy.  Somedays, you plow through life, living in joy and then something happens and you are reminded of your loss.  And yet, while you are thinking of your loss, you are thinking of heaven's gain.  When...

I have changed jobs apparently.  I don't know how it happened or what caused it.  I'm not even sure if it is exciting even.  It was definitely unintentional. Last week, we had a couple there to have a baby---uneducated would be a nice description for them.  No classes, no clue.  The grandma was along and she wasn't much better for knowledge.  It could have been a frustrating or a humorous day.  I chose to make it humorous. Questions like: is the cord around the neck--is that what is keeping the baby from being born?  Can't you just pull the baby out? Google-eyed staring with a rather shell shocked look for a lot of the time by the new dad.  I really felt somewhat sorry for them because I think they were completely unprepared for the dramatic arrival of their little boy.  I have a feeling their plan was to show up at midnight like they did and have the baby about an hour or two later with minimal pain and discomfort.   The gran...

When I think of Christmas, I think of family times, togetherness, gifts, Jesus, and just good happy things.  But think about it:  the first Christmas was anything but that. I read an email today from someone who is serving the Lord in a less than receptive country across the ocean somewhere.  And he was talking about a cozy Christmas.  This year was looking good, then the school shooting in Connecticut stopped us in our tracks and we wondered where the coziness was going to be.  But he brought out that the first Christmas and the first few years of Jesus' life were anything but cozy.  A manger?  Really, not likely a clean manger like all the nativity scenes have.  Instead of a crazed youth killing people, it was a crazed king killing babies.  And yet why do we think it was cozy?  Because God was in control. Think of that popular picture of the bird in the nest safe and secure while the wind and storm and lightning rage all around. ...

Now is that long (or maybe it won't be long) depressing post that was scheduled for a few days ago and never happened.  If you don't feel like listening to something of a small rant, I suggest you click the little x box up in the upper right corner of your screen and ignore me. I am not depressed--let me say that straight out.  I may tend to frustration and discouragement, but not depression.  This all started 7 days ago exactly when I talked to 4 different people with 4 different kinds of problems.  It all came down to 2 categories--two very, very familiar categories. The first category is this: family problems and depression.  I lump the two together because I think that family issues tend to lead to depression at some point whether people admit it or not.  Think about it:  if you don't have a good family relationship to fall back on, life is going to be so much tougher to face.  It's sad how many good "plain" homes are corrupted with family...