Closet Wisdom

This is my closet door.

I've written quotes and good ideas on it that I want to remember.  I thought that seeing them every day when I pick out my clothes would help me.  Not help me pick out my clothes, but help me get good thoughts into my head.  I started it many years ago and to be honest, since it's been there so long, it goes unnoticed most days. But this morning was one of those days when I noticed it and took time to read it and fill my brain with some good stuff.

You can't really see them in the photo, so I thought I would share a few of these with whoever takes time to read this blog.

What people think about me is none of my business.

A friend told me this and it's an easy one to say, but hard to do.  It's not telling me to go though the day repeating "I don't care what you think" with a head bob and a snap up.  That's not it at all.  This is about looking honestly at my motives.  Am I performing so that others will think good of me?  I'm still surprised to notice how often I do things in order to get other people to think a certain way about me.  In reality, I have no such power and I don't want to be that manipulative. People are going to think what they want about me, I don't have any control over it, and it's none of my business. 

The ground is level at the foot of the cross.

Now I first heard this from one my favorite Bible teachers, J. Vernon McGee.  But since then I've learned it's just an old saying from the days of yore written into hymns.  Wherever it came from, I love the thought.  I'm inclined to put myself above or below others on the ladder rungs of life.  This saying reminds me that all those who come to the cross of Christ are equally sinful and equally in need of a Savior.

As long as you live keep learning how to live.

I love this saying so much that I used it as the title of my blog.  It's a quote from Seneca, a Roman philosopher, and it reminds me that there will never come a time when I'm all knowed up.  Every day offers an opportunity to live life a little bit better than the day before.

Be the star in your own life.

I heard this from Dr. Phil which is funny because I have never, never watched his show.  I just heard him say it one day as I was surfing channels and it stuck with me.  I got this picture in my head of my life as a stage show.  A musical, of course.  The name of the musical is "STEPHANIE" and I'm standing off stage or at the back.  What?  That's not right.  I thought of all the times I have accepted a minor role in my musical - listed way down at the bottom of the cast of characters, right after 2nd townsperson.

Yesterday's failures don't guarantee failure today and yesterday's successes don't guarantee success today.

&

Press On

The first one is another one from J. Vern and the second is from Paul in Philippians.  They remind me that every day is fresh and to avoid leaning on past triumphs or beating myself up over past failures.  It's simply the "One Day at a Time" thinking.

Well...that's not all the wisdom from my closet door, but I'm tired of writing now.

Sometimes I laugh when I look at my closet messages.  I think of one of my favorite SNL characters, Stuart Smally. and his daily affirmations. 



One of these lawns is not like the other

I'm walking down my block this morning and I start singing "One of these lawns is not like the other.  One of the lawns just doesn't belong."  Can you guess why?

That is what hardly any rain in the last year and over 30 days of 100+ temperatures will do to your burmuda lawn in Oklahoma.  Unless you're crazy dedicated to watering like that last fella. 

So that green lawn doesn't belong to me, but I'm glad to say that none of the others do, either.

Here's my lawn:

 Not a pretty sight at all.  I wasn't dedicated to watering early enough.  Oh well.  I do know that it's not dead.  Nothing - and I mean nothing - can kill a burmuda lawn.  It's just going into a kind of heat/drought dormancy. It will green up again when it rains or cools down, whichever comes first.  Now when either one of those happens...

only God knows. 

The leftover dessert

It's there.  In the refrigerator.  Calling out to me.

The one remaining piece of peach crisp with maple cream sauce left from my Monday night dinner group.

Sometimes I'm able to give away all the dessert and take home an empty dish.  I'm really thankful for those times because then I know I won't hear the voices later.

The voices of the leftover dessert.

"I'm still here.  On the shelf in the fridge.  Waiting."

I pretend I don't hear.  I tell myself that I should save that last piece of dessert for tomorrow.  That's what a mature, reasonable adult would do.

"Hello?  Can you hear me?  Remember a few hours ago when everyone agreed how delicious I was - warm and tart and tasting of summer?  You're going to eat me eventually anyway.  Why not just go ahead and get it over with?"

OK.  You win....again.

Reading recommended and recommended reading

I recommend reading.  It will enrich your life.

"There is no mistaking a real book when one meets it. It is like falling in love." —Christopher Morley

A couple of weeks ago I was waiting at Hibdon for a flat tire repair.  I noticed the lady next to me was reading Redeeming Love, one of my favorites.

I just couldn't resist interrupting her reading to tell her how much I loved that book and that it's the only book I've ever reread immediately after a first read.  She asked me if it ended OK because....
see....
she doesn't ever read the last page of a book. 
What?  I don't get it. 
Then her car was ready and I never got to ask her why in the world she doesn't read the last page.


I guess I don't have any room to talk considering the way I read books.  I start at the beginning of a book, read a few chapters, then skip to the end to check it out.   Then I go back to where I was and finish the book that way.  


.....and I don't want to hear any more guff about it.

"The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." —Mark Twain

For a long time I didn't read many books.  I don't know why.  I guess it simply wasn't important to me.  Other than a few John Grisham books in the 90's I can't recall any books I read. 
But then about five years ago, before a trip to California to visit my sister, she recommended I read a book called Twilight because my niece was reading those books and it would give us something common to share. 
Well...I read the first three Twilight books in a week...
and it was so much fun.

"How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book." —Henry David Thoreau

I had forgotten how enjoyable reading books is.
And it wasn't just reading the books that was fun.  It was even more enjoyable to share the experience with my friends.  It seemed like every chick I knew was reading Twilight and wanted to talk about it.
Call the Twilight series silly if you want, but I'll always be grateful to those books because they reawakened my enthusiasm for reading.

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers." —Charles W. Eliot

Since then I've read through a long string of books and shared the experience with many book club friends and other reading friends.  A few books haven't been so great.  Some have been just OK.  But most of them have been wonderful and have introduced me to characters who will forever be my friends.  Here are my favorites from the last few years.  Obviously all of them come highly recommended by me.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Help

Same Kind of Different as Me

Hunger Games trilogy

Outlander Series 

(Seven long books.  Seven very long books and I'm going to have to dedicate a whole post to this book series.  It's beautiful.)








Redeeming Love


The Red Tent

So far this summer I've read four books:
Something Borrowed (just OK)

Something Blue (much better that the first book)

The Language of Secrets (very, very good)

Room

(The best read of the summer by a mile.  I loved it!)












"I cannot live without books." —Thomas Jefferson

Celebrating the 4th

It's the 4th of July and, as is my custom for the past few years, I read the Declaration of Independence.  I recommend it to every American.  Here's a link to the transcript.

How to read

The Declaration of Independence correctly

1.  It needs to be read aloud and loudly....because
     it's a declaration.
2.  Find a place where there's a really good echo.
     That makes is sound better.
3.  If you're able, use a British accent.
4.  From time to time shake your fists in the air or
     pound on your podium for emphasis.
5.  Feel very patriotic when you finish.


Another thing I typically do on the 4th is participate in a slice of Americana called the Edmond 4th of July Parade.  When I say participate, I mean watch it from the sidewalk, clap for the bands and military floats, and allow sweat to trickle into every crevice of my body.  If there's ever a time I feel like I'm a part of a Norman Rockwell painting it's when I'm watching this parade.  It's everything one would imagine a small town parade would be.  Marching bands...

lots of red, white, and blue

and clowns, beauty queens, fire trucks, shriners in little cars, boy scouts, square dancers, and politicians.  None of which I got good pictures because I only had my i-phone and I just can't seem to get good shots with that thing.

I always watch the parade with my friend, Julie, and her family.

Then after almost 2 hours and over 100 parade entries....

we eat hot dogs and watermelon. 

I don't know if I've always been this way or if it has to do with getting older, but I have this bent toward cynicism, especially when I see the state of my country.  I shake my head a lot, doubting that any of our problems are able to be solved at this point.  They all just seem too far gone to fix and I wonder if anyone wants to find an island and start over from scratch with me.

So I try to focus on what's in my control.  I have control of the economy at 809 Elmwood Drive.  And I'm learning to govern Stephanieville better every day.

Happy 4th of July and God Bless America.





Every neighborhood needs a Chad

My across the street neighbor is Chad.  I met him the day I closed on my house.  He was hanging out in his garage, of course.  I would soon learn that he's one of those guys who's always tinkering with something in the garage. 

Chad is super friendly and calls me ma'am even though he's roughly my age.  The day I moved into my house I made the fifth single lady that lived around him - one next door and four across the street.  And he's taken care of us all.  Two of the ladies have since moved away, so now there's only three of us left.  More Chad to spread around.  I should mention here that Chad's wife, Rebekah, is very sweet and lucky to have a husband like Chad. 

Logan is Chad's boy.  He's a lot like his dad.  He's super friendly and often tinkering with something in the garage or looking for interesting critters.

In the five or six years I've lived across the street from Chad he has repaired my garage door more than once, programmed my garage door key pad, repaired the back gate latch, repaired the back gate hinges, repaired the latch on my shed, hauled rocks to the backyard, hauled mulch to the backyard, hauled bricks to the backyard, charged my car battery, changed the licence plate that was rusted to my car, changed flats, aired up tires, edged my lawn, and dozens of more things that I can't remember.

Chad has every tool you'll ever need. 
Except... last week I asked him if he had an acetylene torch and he didn't. 

I think he's just always eager for a chance to use his tools.

My favorite Chad story is from a couple of Christmases ago.  He and his family were getting ready to leave town for a few days.  Before they left, Chad came to my front door carrying a few cans of cat food.  He said the food was for Edward - that it was his favorite.  I was kind of confused, since Edward is my cat and I figured providing his food was my responsibility.  Chad explained that every morning around 10:00, while I'm at work, Edward goes into their garage and eats with their cat.  Chad just didn't want Edward to go without his favorite canned food while they were out of town. 

Do you have a Chad?



Kids are funny

I was having lunch yesterday with some friends at a Mexican place.  As the hostess was seating us, I noticed that a student of mine from last year was having lunch with his family at the next table.  After a couple of hugs and a "well look who's here" and "how's your summer going" and "oh you look like you've grown", I joined my friends at our table.  After a while the boy got up from his table and walked past us.  As he passed by me, he showed me our "going to the bathroom" signal we used in our class.
You see, a common first grade phenomenon is this:  one kid asks to go the bathroom and all of the sudden all the other kids need to go the bathroom. So we have a discreet and silent signal that says to the teacher "I need to go to the bathroom.  Is that OK?"  That way it's not announced to everybody that Billy Bob is going to the bathroom and putting bathroom ideas in the other kids' heads.
So I just thought it was precious that this almost 2nd grader I saw at the restaurant thought he should let me know where he was going.