We will know in a few years!
Oh ya! Jen said--For the past few years, I’ve wanted to lose a few extra
pounds. I’ve said that I would eliminate sweets. I’ve said that I would create
a habit of exercise; I’ve even made myself a schedule and blocked out time on
my calendar. I’ve said that I would drink more water and get enough sleep. I’ve
said all the right things. But I haven’t actually done them. So, I haven’t lost
any weight! Recently I heard a couple of old codgers talking—how is it
going—ok, but not like it use to be—I think our better days are gone! AverageJoe says--All of us will say that at
some point—Our better days are gone!
Sooooo do your ideas now!
Which is better? You folks do the arithmetic and tell me
what your answer is. I want to
know. Carl Sandburg, who won three
Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham
Lincoln, said, “Arithmetic is where the answer is right and everything is nice,
and you can look out of the window and see the blue sky - - or the answer is
wrong, and you have to start over, and try again and see how it come out this time.
A friend told me that they had a decision that had to be
made. She was good with results of the
decision either way. She analyzed it and
could never come up with one side being better than the other. Sooooo she flipped a quarter to make the
decision (i.e. she said—just like the disciples did to pick a new disciple to
replace Judas). She is happy with her
decision; it relieved her of her anxiety.
It’s done. Of course she can always
reflip the quarter at any time! ha
ha ItchieBitchie says—NO WAY could I do
that.
The technology companies say they are on the cuspis of being
able to read your mind. Wow! I would guess that might be scary tooooo many
folks. Yes, read your mind! Some of you say, No Way! Well, technology can't read a person’s mind
if they are not thinking about anything! ha ha
Recently when I called some folks I got this message—The party you have
called is temporarily unavailable.
What! Soooo I called U.S. Cellar
and the gal told me that I have a newer phone and they have switched me to a
new tower that can use the phone and also the Internet at the same time. To correct this, you need to put 1 in front
of all your numbers in your contact; it’s federal law. What! I will just wait; I will let the real
“wizards” complain; they will get it fixed; I just need to be patient (i.e.
there will be major push back about this I bet). Remember folks, it’s all about the money.
They don’t want to make it unfriendly for folks or they will go somewhere else.
They will read my mind when it comes to $$$$$! No Way will they miss this
opportunity.
I do
a series of exercises every morning (i.e. have done it for maybe 2 years
without missing). They take me, at most,
10 to 15 minutes; not very long. I do 40 leg lifts, lay flat on my back a few
minutes and mediate, 40 push ups, 30 knee bends, and some stretching. You might say—what does only 10 to 15 minutes of
exercise do for a person every day; anybody can do that, that’s a waste of time. Then you can easily do them; it’s only 10 to
15 minutes. Very few folks do. I read in the paper (i.e. soooo it must be
right) that if a person does/cando 40 push ups every day, their health will be
much better. You believe that. That is what I thought. Some of you say—NO WAY am I going to do that!
And others of you say—NO WAY can I do 40 push ups! And still others of you
say—NO WAY in amazement. Huh,
interesting.
I
read this while eating my oatmeal with half a banana on it--Psalm 139:14 says,
“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous”
(NLT). Have you made an inventory and praised God for how He created your
hands, feet, lungs, heart, brain, ears, kidneys, ribs, and eyes? What about
your circulatory system, digestive system, nervous system, and immune system?
Perhaps if we were more thankful for our bodies, we’d be better stewards of
them, taking care of them for His purposes and using them for His glory.
I learned and relearned something
valuable. Folks all don’t think like me
(i.e. they have different tastes in food and the ways they live their lives, religious
believes, political parties etc.). We
don’t always see things the same. They might be right, and I might be wrong; I
really understand this and appreciate this.
A friend gave us some food. She said it was her father’s favorite. We really liked it. Others might not like it as much. That is the way it is with soooooo much stuff
(e.g. books, philosophies, political parties, TV shows, religions or no
religion, money management, investments, parenting, etc.; you get it. I have really learned to accept things much
better than I use tooooo and also accept folks better even if I don’t agree
with them. It makes life a lot easier
and better. I have become more of a
“listener and watcher.” Actually it is sorta kinda fun and entertaining. Does that make any sense to you? You can watch
CNN or Fox News and get all excited. For
what? NO WAY! Guess who gets to make
those decisions. And decisions have consequences. Such is life.
Saturday question—At this point in your life, what are some of your
highlights of your life? I’m not talking
about the highlight pics a.k.a. Facebook pics! I’m interested in your real-life
highlights. I was thinking what mine are
today and some of you would be surprised (i.e. you would say NO WAY!); you
probably might not have any idea but some of you got an idea. I have had an opportunity to be an almsgiver
(i.e. giving to the poor and underprivileged; one of the three marks of Lent);
it just fell in my lap. Soooo what was I
going to do with it? Talk about it and say that is something I should do a.k.a.
a good idea or actually do something about it?
Talk is cheap folks and easy but few folks, churches, civic
organizations actually do much! This
type of thing can actually make the highlight reel of a person’s life (i.e. my
opinion). GoodHeadFrank says—“stuff”
does not make the highlight reels; if it dos the person might have a
problem. BobPossessions says—No Way,
stuff is the most important stuff in my life; I love stuff; that is why I have
a lot of stuff! What do I get out of being an almsgiver anyway?
I like to read the Des Moines paper when I
eat breakfast sometimes. The price just
went up to $2.50 at Kwik Star. It’s not
worth $2.50 (i.e. but at the box at The Waffle Stop it’s 75 cents); there isn’t
much in the paper. But I buy it anyway
as I enjoy this simple ritual of my life.
I have friends who tell me that they buy the paper to read the
obituaries; they read every one of them if they know the folks or not; they do
this in several papers; that is the reason they subscribe or buy the papers.
Crazy! I might read them if I know the folks or otherwise not; I must be the
crazy one. Now that could be. I will admit that obituaries are interesting
and can be funny (i.e. probably many are embellished—my mentor would say—erv,
people seem to get a lot better once they die.
I read this the other morning in one of my devotions; I don’t know if it
is true (i.e. not according to many obituaries)--The greatest things in life
aren’t things; life is not about achievements. It’s not about accomplishments;
life is about relationships. Soooooo why are most obituaries about achievements
and accomplishments then? One of those
thoughts must be wrong. No Way can they
both be right!
Talk about saying one thing but doing
another! I make lists of things I need
to do. I prioritize them by
importance. But I always don’t do them
that way. Sometimes I do the list in the
order that I like to do them and other times I do them depending on the mood
I’m in. Sometimes the things that I
think are the most important ones, I shy
away from as the #1 to tackle. I talk
big but don’t act big. I’m a wimp. No Way do I always do the ones I hate to do
but aren’t a necessity right away; I just bump them down a few spaces. JoeEasy
says—Yabut erv, what I think is important might not be the same as what you
think is important. Now that surely is true JoeEasy! Such is life.
Last Sunday morning I called a friend who I haven’t heard
from for some time. He said—It’s good
you called erv as I dropped my phone in a bucket of water and lost all my
contacts. He was out feeding his horses.
He said he stopped at the grocery store to get a roll and a cup of coffee for
the trip to the farm. There was an old
guy, who he knows a little, drinking coffee by himself (i.e. 90 years
old). He sat down and visited with him.
He talked and talked and talked; I heard everything he did in the last 50
years. I finally said I had to go. He
thanked me and thanked me for visiting with him. I told my friend that he did his good deed
for the day! He said—erv, you know what,
I really didn’t have any place to go anyway!
NO
WAY! MissPerfect says--Not me; it must
be the other folks! I have relearned by
observation that most folks slide after the original start. Folks start with their best foot forward but
after the honeymoon is over, most folks fall off and their production isn’t as
great. They become accustomed to the
situation and learn short cuts soooo they don’t have to work as hard (i.e.
become lackadaisical). The real good
ones get better but I think they are the small percentage. I think that is evident in the work place,
marriages, parenting, church, friendships, etc.
CadalicJack says--Sooooo maybe we really don’t know truly what a person
is like until you are around them for some time of interaction. PeteFake says—I have really got my socks
blown off several times by folks who have ended up different when I really got to
know them (i.e. some were much better and some were not as good—some over
produced and some under produced).
I ran into an old friend/business client the other day. She is a unique person. She is a musically
talented person but for years was a “milker.”
A milker is a person who milks cows.
She has done it for years. Most
would never expect it. She says she has
really enjoyed being a “milker.” She is
maybe in her early 60s and she told me that she has retired from milking. She has returned to a high school interest;
her viola. Yes, she plays in 3
orchestras. Wow! She is unique. Are you unique or a generic person; vanilla!
NO WAY! Many of you are unique and some of you are probably generic. I guess both kinds of folks are ok. What do you think? That is what I thought.
I read the book The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather
Morris, a novel. I read it because it was recommended by an AZ- PBfriend. It’s a good read (i.e. my opinion). Many attitudes and philosophies aroused me
and made me think. Lale was a Jew and he
said to his girl-friend Giti—I have lost my faith, but you have kept
yours. I don’t know if he meant he lost
it temporarily or forever; the book didn’t ever say. Have you ever questioned your faith? Questioned yourself?
Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:
erv
MyFriendJean says—Talk is cheap—mostly because the supply is
greater than the demand.
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