A Sad Truth

I saw this cartoon on Facebook the other day.  We all giggled, but there is a sad truth to this, especially for women.

Funny thing is, well not so funny, but the very day this first appeared I had a co-worker say a horribly mean thing to me.

It was about 9:30 in the morning, and my stomach was growling.  I reached into my lunch bag and pulled out a handful of walnuts and ate them to hold me off until lunch time.

A few minutes later, a man who also works there said to me, "I saw you stuffing your face over there.  You're going to get fat, then nobody will want you." 

Seriously?  You're going to say that to someone?   This wasn't even a high school bully.  This was a grown man, well into his 40s.  Sir, if you were trying to win my heart with that remark, it's not going to work.  Statements like that tell me to run, don't walk to the nearest exit. 

Women struggle with body image enough as it is.  We all believe we're fat and ugly.  Those of us who are truly honest with ourselves do, deep down inside.  Yes.   We do. 

Then we hold up these supermodels who are 23% underweight as the ideal of beauty, is it any wonder we feel so badly about ourselves?

I know somebody is going to tell me not to let it get to me, he's the jerk, don't let it bother you, etc. etc.  But that's easier said than done.  His words did  hurt.  Even at my age, and even though he is someone I don't really like anyway, his words still hurt. 

We live in a world where physical beauty is celebrated.  We live in a world where physical beauty is all that matters. 

We need to be celebrating things like honor, integrity, character, generosity, love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self- control.   Not how clear your skin is, or how tiny your waist is, or how big your boobs are. 

If we could get back to emphasizing the things that are really important, maybe this world wouldn't be in the shape it's in. 

Chats On The Farmhouse Porch

I see lots of new people are joining us for chats, now. Welcome! Pull up a chair, grab a glass of lemonade and join me on the porch.  I am one of the ones who has to post later in the day, as I don't have computer access at work. 



1.  Are you looking forward to fall? 

Oh my lord, YES!!!  I can't wait for Fall!  I love everything about it, from the colors to the smells to the chilly nights and frosty mornings to the leaves crackling underfoot.  My favorite fall thing to do is to scuffle through piles of leaves.  It's like nature's bubblewrap.   No matter how bad of a day I am having, or how down I am, scuffling through leaves always makes me feel better.

2.  What are the three best colors for you to wear, and the three worst? 

 Honestly, I have no idea.  I've never really paid attention before.  I do know that blues and greens bring out my eyes.  Other than that, I just buy whatever is on clearance. 

3.  What is your favorite kind of juice? If you are not into juice, you can tell us your favorite flavor of soda, tea, coffee, Tang, mud, etc.

Orange juice.  Except that I'm allergic to oranges.   That's really the only kind of juice I like, though I do sometimes drink pineapple juice mixed with Sprite.  My drink of choice is the store brand version of Sprite and Diet Dr. Pepper. 

 4.  Have you ever been in the hospital (at least an overnight)? You don't need to share the ailment, but tell us what the longest time is. 

Let's see...I had my tonsils out when I was 5 and back then it required an overnight stay.  I had pneumonia when I was 11, and was in the hospital for a week.  And when I was 28 and my son was born, well, there were some minor complications and we stayed for a week.  I was in the Navy then, so I didn't get slapped with that huge hospital bill, thank goodness.  

5.  Do jingles, songs from ads, and TV or movie themes stick in your head? Do you find yourself singing them? (This question means that I'm trying to find out if I'm the only crazy person who sings quirky stuff!) 

Why, yes, they do.  My current favorite jingle is the new Lowe's tune.  I can sing it all day long. 



Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be along over to your place directly. 

Does God Protect The Holy Man?

Today at work, I walked up on a couple of my co-workers having an intense conversation.  As I approached, one of them turned to me and asked

Does God protect the holy man?

Well, of course, the short answer to that is no.  God allowed his own son to die, and you just don't get any holier than that.

My friend replied that God allowed that to happen to benefit mankind.  I had to agree with him.  God didn't protect his own son, because his death served a higher purpose, that being our redemption.   Sometimes, God doesn't protect us, so that our suffering can serve a higher purpose, and we may never know what that purpose is.  We just have to trust in God's plan. 

My friend said, "But isn't there some verse in the Bible about God protecting his people?"  I couldn't think of one right at the time, but after I got home, I decided to try to find a verse like he was talking about.

After tearing up my house looking for my trusty concordance (yes I really do have my own concordance; it was a Christmas gift from a suitor trying to score points, and it almost worked), and finding it on the end table by my couch-- right where I'd left it, funny that-- I opened my Bible app on my iPhone and did a little searching.  I'm not sure which verse he was thinking of, but I did find John 17: 15, which says

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.

And another in 2 Thessalonians 3:3

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one

I think the most relevant one, at least in my mind is John 10:29

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

What these verses mean is that we have eternal protection in our salvation.  What they do not mean is that we will never face troubles in this life.  See, a lot of people have this false idea that if they get saved, if they trust Jesus, if they become a Christian, nothing bad will ever happen to them.  Their lives will be all hunky dory peachy keen, they'll have plenty of money, and will sail smoothly through life until they die peacefully in their sleep at age 101.

This couldn't be further from the truth.

Jesus even said it in the Sermon On The Mount:  Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  (Matthew 5; 11) 

Not if people persecute you.  When people persecute you. 

He said it even more plainly in Luke 21: 12

But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you.

This certainly doesn't imply a life of ease and comfort.  When you look at history, and even at our present times, you will see that God offers no such promise.

Think about it...

Ten of the 12 original disciples were executed (Judas having hanged himself, and John being exiled to the aisle of Patmos so he could write the book of Revelation).

Stephen was stoned to death.  Paul was executed and --as I pointed out to my friend -- there was a reason the early Christians had church services in the graveyard.  They were regularly rounded up and fed to the lions, or used as bait in bloodsports in the great arenas.  One of the emperors ( I don't remember which one-- I'm thinking maybe Nero or Claudius) used to hang Christians on poles, douse them in oil, and set them on fire to make streetlights for Rome.

Streetlights, people.

Out of people, people!

There were times when the roads outside of Rome were lined with hundreds of crucified Christians for miles upon miles. For hundreds of years, people were tortured and executed for the crime of being a Christian.  Doesn't sound like God was protecting them, does it?

Oh, but that was a long time ago, you say.  That couldn't happen today, you say.  You might want to think again on that one.  According to The Hoover Institution,

Few people realize that we are today living through the largest persecution of Christians in history, worse even than the famous attacks under ancient Roman emperors like Diocletian and Nero. Estimates of the numbers of Christians under assault range from 100-200 million. According to one estimate, a Christian is martyred every five minutes.

Every five minutes.

A Christian dies every five minutes.  The numbers are simply staggering.  All over the world, Indonesia, The Sudan, Egypt and elsewhere -- every day I read a new report of Christians under attack.  Christians murdered just for being Christians.

Christian persecution is at an all time high these days, even here in America.  What?  You're crazy.  We aren't being persecuted for our religion here!

Think about it.  We can't pray at school any more -- at least 49 states can't.  We can't say Merry Christmas any more.  Atheists are suing to have every last hint of God removed from our public lives (while at the same time screeching about us shoving our religion down their throats). They're even trying to get our national motto off of our money, and the phrase Under God removed from the Pledge of Allegiance.   Not sure why, because they don't allow us to say the pledge any more anyway.

Chaplains in the military can't express their Christian faith.  People are being fined for holding Bible studies in their homes.  Christian groups and clubs are being banned from colleges and high schools, even though they are totally voluntary and no one is being forced to join.  Voluntary prayer walks are banned from all public properties. 

Oh, but we're not being murdered for being Christians in America.  Really?  Just this year, two men were murdered in New Jersey for the simple reason that they were Christians.   In Dearborn, Michigan, Christians gathering to pray were stoned by local Muslims, while local police stood by watching and doing nothing, because they said that no laws were being broken. 

But these are kind of extreme examples, aren't they?  Doesn't God protect ordinary people?

I have a couple of friends, one of the Godliest couples I know.  The husband is suffering from a horrible debilitating illness.  It has robbed him of his most of his sight, and his ability to walk.  Soon, it will take his life.  The wife owns her own business, and works herself to exhaustion providing for them, and taking care of him-- often to the neglect of her own health.  As if that isn't enough, last week, their house got struck by lightening.

Another very Godly man I knew, died of cancer at age 33, leaving behind a wife and three small children.

And still another friend of mine died earlier this month of cancer.  She was my age.

I could go on and on listing examples of bad things happening to good people that I know. 

These are common, ordinary people, yet God didn't protect them.  Or did he?

Look back up at that third verse I quoted above....

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.  John 10:29

God never promised we wouldn't have troubles in this world.  He never promised that bad things would never happen, that we would never get sick, or die, or get robbed, or murdered, or raped, or have our houses burn down, or whatever.

What he did promise is that if we put our faith in him, he would be there with us through everything.  Everything.  That he would never fail or forsake us.

And that when the end comes, he would take us home.

No one, nothing, can change that.

So, the long answer to my friend's question is ultimately yes.  God does protect his children-- maybe not in the way my friend intended, but he does protect us, often in ways we can't even imagine.


On Christ the solid rock I stand...that's all the protection I need.

Eye Candy Saturday

Which was originally going to be Eye Candy Friday, but I decided to post something else instead.  So you get it today. 

This is my first Four O'Clock.  I'm finally getting a few blooms here and there.  I guess the cool, damp spring we had slowed them down some. 

I've been in a Christmas mood lately.  Been listening to my Christmas music playlists.  I guess that means it's time to start my shopping.

I have to start this early, or I can't afford to buy everyone something. 

Goodbye Old Fellow

Beverly called me today and told me they'd lost their old dog Artex. 


He was almost 16, and was in so much pain, they couldn't stand to see him suffer any more.

Sometimes, you just know when it's time, and it was time. 

I'll miss him, too. 

All the dogs have always just gone back and forth between our two houses, so he was a little bit mine, too. 

This is him at Christmas 2005. 

Goodbye, old fellow.  You were a good friend. 

Random Thoughts On A Thursday Evening

So, Group Leader Fernando told me to come to work with a better attitude, but he gave me the strangest look when I went singing and dancing down the aisle.  What?  I was just doing what I was told.

In an effort to eat healthier, I made a salad for supper. 

It was delicious.  Maybe that's why I was in such a good mood.  Bacon and Beethoven make everything better.  You've seen the bacon, now here is the Beethoven.



I can't get enough of this.  Never, enough, ever. 

Good news!  Training camp has started.  Which means July is almost over.  How did that happen?  Today is the 25th, or as my old dad would have said, "Only 5 more months until Christmas."  ACK!  It'll be here before you know it.  I'd better get started with my shopping. 

I have this big, orange thing in my flower bed.

I think it's some sort of zinnia, but it's huge!  I like the color, too.  I hope I get more of these.

I was at Wal-mart, because I'm out of milk, and they have the school supplies out.  Look what I found!

School supplies for introverts!  I love it!

And finally, your quote of the day: 

Say the word, and I've got a lab full of cocaine addicted monkeys with nothing to lose. -- Amy Farah Fowler

The Best Laid Plans

Well, you know what they say about them.

The plan today was to get up and go get my blood drawn, then head on down to Jackson to the art museum.  Old Masters To Monet and all that...

But yesterday Group Leader Fernando came running up to me and asked me if I really needed that day off.  Seems that they had approved too many brazers to have vacation today, so they needed some of us to cancel them.

That's one problem with having so many supervisors.  Sometimes you get a failure to communicate.

So, there he stood, Group Leader Fernando, giving me the puppy dog eyes.  I couldn't help but laugh.

Dude, I've got three dogs that give me that look all day.  It doesn't work for them.  It won't work for you.

(Those puppy dog eyes are balanced out by the looks of total disdain that I get from the cat.)  (And yes, I know that's only two.  Rylea was not cooperating.)

I wasn't about to let him know what I sucker I am for big brown eyes.

Buuut, dude got lucky.  I had just checked the weather report, and saw that it was going to be stormy again, and I didn't really want to drive to Jackson in that weather.  So, in the end, I capitulated.  He said he'd make it up to me.  In retrospect, I think I should have gotten that in writing.

So, instead of hanging out with Van Gogh, Renoir, Tolouse-Loutrec, and Monet, I had to go hang out with Group Leader Fernando.  I was not happy about that. 

Turns out, it didn't even rain.  I was not happy about that, either. 

To add insult to injury, I'm out of ice cream.  And I'm not happy about that, either, either. 

To make up for it, I went fishing after work.   The little pond I like to fish at was closed, so I went to the spillway.

I caught three little bitty fish, and threw them all back.  

But that's three more than anyone else caught.  The fish just weren't biting.

Now, I'd better head for bed, because G.L.F said he hoped I would have a better attitude tomorrow, but if I don't get some sleep, that ain't gonna happen.  

G.L.F = Group Leader Fernando, not to be confused with D.L.F = Dear Little Friend from the C.S. Lewis book Prince Caspian. 

OK, I'll stop now.  But it has been that kind of day. 

It has.  Really.

Sheesh...

Goodnight.

Chats On The Farmhouse Porch

Several of you mentioned that you couldn't comment on my blog.  I was wondering why no one had commented in nearly two weeks!  Turns out that if you turn on Google + Comments, apparently you can only comment on your Google + page.  I didn't realize that.  I turned it off, so now you should be able to comment here again.  If not, someone please let me know and I'll try to figure out something else.

Since it's been so very hot lately, I think we're going to take Patrice's advice and have our chat around the kitchen table today. 




1.  Do you use any type of water filter (pitcher or sink mount)?

Nope.  I drink it straight from the tap.  There are filters on the water fountains at work, but I don't know what kind they are.  

2.  Do you have any tips for staying hydrated in the warmer weather?

Yep, drink twice as much as you think you need to, especially if you are going to be working outside.  Then drink some more.  And some more.  And still some more. 

3.  Is your hair naturally curly or straight? 

It's naturally curly.  It's long now, and I keep it up at work (safety regulations) but when it was shorter, it was really curly.  I was in the bathroom at work one day and this real snotty, obnoxious ...um, person...yeah, we'll say person, have to keep it family friendly, you know, said looking sideways at me, "Some people just shouldn't get perms in their hair.  It makes them look like they stuck their finger in a light socket."

I was good.  I kept my mouth shut.  Hey, she's the one with the problem.  I like my hair.  

4.  Are you on top of all the chores/work you do, or are you always running behind? 

I guess you could say I'm on top of them, but that doesn't mean they're done.  It just means that there are more important things than housework.   I do them when the need arises, but I don't worry about them.  Since it's just me in the house, I can do that. 

 5.  If you could sing a song to Wendell, what would it be?

In keeping with last week's answer:  "Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh!  O'er the fields we go, laughing all the way!"



Can you tell I'm ready for cold weather?  I am so tired of being hot.  I haven't even been fishing in a month.  It's just too hot. 

Well, that's it for this week's chat.  My plans for tomorrow got changed, but I'll save that for tomorrow's blog post.  Sigh...

Flowers And Stuff

First, the stuff.

I finally got my computer troubles sorted.

OK, now I know I've been watching too much BBC when I've started picking up British idioms.

Be that as it may, I finally got my computer troubles sorted.  No, I didn't get my computer fixed.  I gave up on it when I couldn't even get the OS to reinstall, so I went and got Cody's old HP from his room.  He wasn't using it any more, so there's no sense in me spending money on a new one when I could get that one.

So, that's that.

I decided not to use that old Money Map banking program any more, for two reasons.  One, I hated it from the beginning.  And two, when I went to the website to see if there was an upgrade, they don't even offer it any more.  Since it was a download, I didn't have a disc.  I went this afternoon, because I had to go to the post office anyway, and picked up Quicken.  All of my friends who use it say it's a really good program, so we'll give it a go.  

Now, a few photos of my flowers:

Zinnias and marigolds:

I have a very orange bed this year.  Except for my Lantanas.  They are yellow and pink.

More marigolds.  I probably should have deadheaded before taking the picture, huh?

This is the one I bought at Lowe's last month.  It's very unique.  At least I haven't seen one like this before.

This is a zinnia that seeded from last year.  It's actually outside my bed, but I like it.

Everything is doing well, except my poor Four O'Clocks.

They are being eaten alive.  I spray them down nearly every day, but they are still being munched to death.  I think next year, I'm not even going to fool with them.  I'll just put a whole row of lantanas there where they are.  I may scatter a few Four o'Clock seeds in my wildflower side, but I'm not going to make them a major focus of my beds again.  As hot as it is here, they don't open until nearly 9:00 PM anyway.

I'm usually in bed by then.

On Being An Introvert

I'm an introvert.

I've always been an introvert.  It isn't something you choose.  It's something you are born with.   Nor is it something that can be fixed.  It's the way your brain is wired. 

For years, the common thought was introvert = shy, and extrovert = outgoing, but that isn't what those terms mean. True, some introverts are shy, it's much more complex than that.  

Unfortunately, as a child I was shy.  Very shy. Painfully shy.  

Now that I'm grown, I often wonder if my shyness was really shyness, or if I was just reacting to the pressure society places on people-- especially girls-- to be bubbly and outgoing.  It didn't help that my sister was bubbly and outgoing, and I seemed sullen and morose by comparison.

Even as an adult, I often thought of myself as shy.  It took me a long time to figure out that I am not shy.  I am an introvert.

I've known for a while, even before I knew the name.  I've known that being around people and in social situations exhausts me.  I've known that I need time to myself or I get unbelievably stressed.  I know that too much noise and activity gets me flustered.

Now I know that those are all common characteristics of being an introvert.

Still, for a long time, I considered introversion to be some sort of personality defect.  So does most of society, by the way.  The bubbly, outgoing types still get all the attention.  They still feel the need to help us "break out of our shell".

But thanks to a couple of Facebook pages, Social Introverts and Introverts Are Awesome, I'm learning to embrace my introversion.  Just finding a place where we can be us,  where we are considered normal, where we can say, "hey, I do that, too!" has been so refreshing to me. 

Now, I don't have to walk around with my head down mumbling, "I'm sorry, I'm an introvert." 

I can hold my head up and say with pride, "Hey!  I'm an introvert!"

You know what? 

Audrey Hepburn, she was in introvert, too.

Like me. 

I Must Be Psycic Or Something

Anyone who knows me well knows I have a bit of a temper.  It's something I've really been working on.  So, a couple of months ago, I came up with a new strategy. When any man started getting on my nerves, I'd just imagine him wearing a kilt.  My theory was that he'd either look so sexy or so ridiculous, I couldn't stay mad. 

So far, it seems to be working.  I haven't really lost my temper since.  I've misplaced it from time to time, but haven't completely lost it.

Anyway, needless to say, Group Leader Fernando spends a lot of time in kilts.  In my mind, at least.  A lot of time...

I'd never imagined him in a red tartan, though.  It was always one of the blue/green ones.  This one:

This morning, just out of curiosity, I decided to research that pattern, and see which clan Group Leader Fernando belongs to.

Now, keep in mind that I had never really seen this tartan before, and didn't know anything about its history or meaning.  I just googled tartan, and looked at the images that came up.  I saw several that were close, but not quite. 

But there, one of the very last images, there is was.  The tartan.  Group Leader Fernando's tartan.

I looked at the name of it:  Black Watch. 

It is the tartan used by The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.  A part of the British Army. 


A military tartan. 

An Army tartan.

How in the world would I have known that? 


(For those of you who may not remember, Group Leader Fernando spent 20 years in the Army.  The US Army, though.  Not the British Army.  Still, it's quite the coincidence, isn't it?)

My Personals Ad

Most of the time, I'm very content with my life.  I'm happy being on my own.  I don't feel like I need a man in my life to make it complete.

Oh, I'm not opposed to the idea of getting married, and maybe some day someone will come along and make me change my mind about not being the marrying kind, but for now, I like my life the way it is.

Every so often, though, I get in these moods...

Well, today I decided I might try one of those online dating sites, so I started working on my profile.  I came up with something like this:

Sherlocked Browncoated Whovian Trekkie seeks mad man in a blue box for adventures in time and space.

Hobbies include reading, knitting, randomly quoting poetry at inappropriate times, attempting to bring archaic words back into the current vernacular, and running in slow motion while singing the theme to Chariots of Fire.

Must be self sufficient, have bigger on the inside technology, and a gun named Vera.

No Potterheads, please.  

Um, yeah...

I guess I'll just stay single for a bit longer.

Chats On The Farmhouse Porch

Well, I spoke too soon.  I thought I'd gotten my old computer fixed when I removed Norton antivirus.  It had worked fine for a week, but now it's doing the same old thing again.

I guess I'm to the point of having to reinstall the OS, the reloading everything from my backup.   Not today, though.  I just don't feel like fooling with it, even though people at work are starting to fuss at me for not bringing in any cartoons lately.  I tell them that they can come fix my computer, then.  Funny how none of them have taken me up on that.   

Now, without further ado, let's get to this week's chat:


Questions
1.  Have you cooked any interesting dishes lately? 

No, not really.  Just the same old standard fare.  I was going to make some pulled pork in the crock pot, but then I looked at all the food I already have in my freezer/pantry, and decided to eat some of that up before I spent money on something else. 

2.  What question would you like to ask Wendell? 

Can you pull a sleigh?  If so, do you wear jingle bells when you do? Can we go dashing through the snow someday?  That's something I've always wanted to do.

3.  Have you had any thoughts of Christmas yet? 

Oh, yes.  I cast on a Christmas present a couple of months ago.  I need to get back to work on it, but I'm in sore need of new socks.  

4.  Do you make jams and jellies? 

No, but my sister does.  I did one time, years ago.  We had a bumper crop of muscadines that year, and I made a bunch of little 8 oz jars of jelly.  I took them back to college to give out as Christmas gifts to my friends.   I'll never forget the look on my friend's face when I said, "Are you going to be here for a few more minutes?  I have a gift for you, and you have to like it because I made it myself, except my uncle drove the tractor." 

The rest of the story is, these vines were so old and so huge that my uncle would load us all up into the front end loader of his tractor and lift us up so we could reach the muscadines. 

5.  Do you have any board games that you enjoy? 

I've always liked Clue, Life, and Sorry.  I do NOT like Monopoly.  It's too slow and takes too long.  I always got bored with it long before the game was over.  Non board games that I enjoy are Othello, Mancala, and Chicken Foot.  Hmmm, I might need to go make me a friend or two.  I haven't played any games in so long. 



I hope you've enjoyed this week's chat.  Now, if you will excuse me, I've got to get busy on them socks.  

Monday Music and Stuff

Sorry, guys, but this is just one of those days when absolutely nothing blogworthy has happened. So you get a photo of sock progress:

And a photo of my latest bow shooting:

And my current favorite song:



And a Quote Of The Day:

I don't believe in violence.  That's why I spent 20 years in the Army. -- Group Leader Fernando. 

And that's about it...

Lesson For The Ladies

When a man says he'd love to find a woman who will go hunting and fishing with him, don't listen to him.  He doesn't really mean that. 

What he means is that he wants a woman who won't complain when he goes. 

And if you do find one who actually takes you, whatever you do, do not under any circumstances out-hunt your man.  He will drop you like a hot rock.

Ask me how I know.

Twice.

If you do find a man who will actually take you hunting and fishing, and will be proud of you if you do out-hunt or out fish him, marry him.

NOW.

Do not pass go.  Do not collect $200.

And that's all I have to say about that.