The Hey You Lady

The Monday Blues. We all go through it. We feel it when we return to the routine of the routine of our routine jobs that sustain the routine of the routine of our routine lives. Is there any relief to the futility, dread and drudgery of the Monday Blues, other than enduring until Tuesday? In my opinion ... "Monday Blues" is not limited to any one day of the week. The phenomenon stems from allowing ourselves to become jaded with life, viewing activity as just that: activity. Get up. Take the kids to school. Go to the office. Prepare reports. Meet with the boss or clients. Grab a fast-food lunch. Move forward with what was decided in the meetings. Pick up the kids from the sitter's. Dinner. Homework. Kids to bed. Get yourself to bed. Repeat the process tomorrow. Until Friday night, when the cycle breaks for a couple of days. And then Monday comes, and you get the blues all over again. Is that all there is to life? Somebody shoot me, already! (No, don't. That would mak...

The Topical Bloggers have had some pretty deep subjects to post about in recent weeks. Since it is my turn to choose the subject, I felt like taking a change of pace and post on "Chocolate Chip Cookies." I could cop-out and simply cut and paste a blog post from my old Xanga site where I did a "how to" make chocolate cookies. But that would not be fair to the other writers in the group. But if you want proof that I am not always so serious, click here to read the "how not to" guide to baking. I also remembered once upon a time reading about individual ingredients of chocolate chip cookies in a teamwork analogy, which could easily be adapted to talk about spiritual gifts and the church. Then I remembered where I read it ... from another blogger in the group. Since I don't want to steal the other writer's post, I'm leaving that one alone ... so that's out. Thinking about something as simple as chocolate chip cookies brings to my mind a sense ...

Someone recently asked, "Does God control our direction in life, or do we have any control?" I don't claim to have answers. In fact, if you ask some people they'll tell you that I sometimes don't know much at all. But like everyone else I know, I do have my opinion. Let's shift our paradigm and look at a parent/child relationship, and rephrase the question. Did my parents control the direction in my life, or did I have any control? While my parents gave me boundaries in my life, I was still very much allowed to make my own decisions. Of course I would try to push the boundaries, and when I got into trouble there was discipline. In that respect, my parents had a certain responsibility to control the direction of my life. My mom always told me when I was young that I could be whatever I want to be when I grow up. Whether I decided to enter the military, go to college, become a doctor, open a business, sell chicken feathers, or whatever, was my decision. If my pa...

A study by the American Council of Life Insurance reported that the most lonely group in America are college students. That surprised me when I read that! Next on the list are divorced people, welfare recipients, single mothers, rural students, housewives, and the elderly. Loneliness is a growing problem in our society. To point out how lonely people can be, there was a man who placed an ad in a Kansas newspaper. That’s not to say that people in Kansas are lonelier than anywhere else; it just happens to be where the ad was placed. It read: “I will listen to you talk for 30 minutes without comment, for $5.00.” Sound like a hoax, right? But he was serious! In fact, it wasn’t long before he was receiving 10 to 20 calls a day, and I’m sure that some were probably repeat callers! The pain of loneliness was so sharp and so deep that some people were willing to try anything for a half hour of companionship! Loneliness is one of the most common of human feelings. It is also one that most of us...

It seems my boy-dog Topper has an infatuation for BlueRidge Boomer's Miss Mia. Well, I finally got Mister to get out his camera and take a picture or two of the boy-dog so Miss Mia can drool over Topper's handsome physique ... or not ... that's up to Miss Mia. Which has me wondering, BlueRidge ... Since when did our blogs become a "social networking" site for our fur-children???

When I forgive ... Is it for real? You hurt me... Is this the last time you will hurt me in this way? You have consequences to deal with. Once the price is paid... Can I open my fist to release the grudge I've been holding? Can I honestly give you a clean start, Or is there a secret score card that I keep, Someplace where I don't let anyone see it? When I forgive ... My trust in you is like a shattered ancient vase... Can it ever be restored? It doesn't make what you did OK. If you go to the place where you hurt me before... Can I let my guard down? Will the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, Like the needles on a tamarack tree? When I forgive... I feel a burden lifted, a weight taken from me. The distance between us becomes less and less. Will I see a change? Can our relationship move forward? When I forgive... It's a risk. A risk that I have to take. When I forgive... It's because I love you.

This week's Topical Blogger subject is "What would your life be like without Jesus?" Here's my entry: It seems as though some people will use personal drama in order to feel validated. They talk about how their kids are failing in school, how they can't find a job, how their marriage failed, what the ex did now, how the boss hates them. In their eyes, they are the only ones who can be right, but somehow no one else can see it that way. It's the drama that makes the individual feel ... individual. Unique. It's the drama that makes him ... feel ... anything ... anything at all. And if I can feel ... anything ... then I know I am alive. But there are days -- weeks sometimes -- where I don't feel ... where my heart is nothing more than mechanical ... boom -boom ... boom -boom ... boom -boom ... Tell me good news - you're getting married ... got a promotion ... baby took his first steps ... anything that should inspire joy ... ... By the way I reacted...