And a Little Child Shall Lead Them

The title to this post could be one of those six word memoirs in itself - because in my experience we can learn so much from children. I was so sad when I read the memoir at the beginning of the video by Hemingway when asked to sum up his life story in six words - For Sale: Baby Shoes, Hardly Worn.
Man, don't I get that!
But a short while ago, while taking my girls to ballroom dancing, I was passing a table full of elementary school aged children putting together a puzzle, and a little boy said this:

You gotta just let go sometimes!

I think I found a new one. I am hearing six word snippets everywhere - but this one was especially profound!

Six Word Memoir

I saw this at Sarah's blog - I loved it. Be sure to share yours here in the comments section - I can't wait to read them.


Be sure to share yours. I have a couple that I like - tell me which you like best:

Living lavishly beyond my broken heart.

I’ll live better than anyone thought.

Shrunken Faith

I am experiencing a brokenness. There are a lot of metaphors for the feelings. I feel like I am beneath the water that is covered with a surface of ice I cannot penetrate. Sugar melting in the rain. Riding a merry-go round that is spinning 100 miles per hour and comes to a sudden stop. The movie "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" has new meaning, as I know what it is like to feel so very small, and God so big that I cannot discern His voice from all of the noise.
I am struggling with being told to honor that which is dishonorable. I am aching from the Bible, the source of comfort and healing having been wielded as a weapon against me as a person, instead of the real enemy at work ripping and tearing flesh and blood apart. Are children who were not brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord exempt or is God also a participant in this cruel torture?
I feel cryptic, like the poem I wrote last night is the only way I can communicate right now, to protect the innocent; to protect myself from feeling it all too deeply.

A Kingdom Most Pathetic

No more words

No more

They hurt

And wound

And cut

And twist

I cannot think

My mind goes blank

How can it be

That I who stood

And watched you drive away for good

Be the culprit

The perpetrator

Of this great drama

That plays out between us

I want to slam on the brakes

Make it stop

Spin the world back to the day I was his princess

Wearing the paper crown

And fuzzy bathrobe

Smiling through fever

Because he thought I was beautiful

And now the king of my heart

Is dethroned

I can’t love anymore

Someone who loves with words

Yet in deed most unloving

An empty kingdom does not a princess make

And it is I who sit on a throne most pathetic

Wishing for butterflies

And bubble gum

Long rides gazing up at stars through the windows in the back of a Pinto

With the one

Who doesn’t remember that once, I held his heart.

And the Winner Is.....

I feel that this year's Quirky Quote Contest was a bit anti-climatic. I am not sure why - there were great quotes -but not a whole lot of votes. At any rate, y'all let that stinker, Karen steal the prize again with this terrific quote:

“Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.” - Martin Luther

Congratulations Karen! I know it is late and I hope you didn't think I'd forgotten! Your Amazon certificate is on its way!

Happy Birthday To Me

I am thinking I don't have the flu - but a really bad cold. I actually feel better this morning than last night - but still icky. Before going to bed last night, I was on my Google homepage, and saw a picture pop up of myself as a wee one! It was a preview to the most excellent birthday blog tribute that I have ever received by my soulmate, Idgyernielouiseethel. It would be the delight of my life to one day stand in front of the Eiffel Tower and make those faces with her! Geesh - we are a mess together.
The birthday morning started when I came out my bedroom door to a world full of curled ribbon streamers. birthday cards, lit candles, a ready coffee pot and all kinds of other things my offspring know make me exceedingly delighted. They really are the most awesome kids.
Then rounds of phone calls started, and emails. It is truly great to be loved.
I have some birthday thoughts - things that are on my mind, and things that are important to articulate if for no one else but myself today, but I am not sure my congested head can make sense of any of it, so I will try back later. For the record, I am 38. I don't mind - I'm healthier and happier now with my life than ever before, and although I may trade that for just a moment to revisit my youthful body and the energy of my younger years, I would not for a second trade away what I know deep within myself to be true and real and the grounding I have found in the love of the Lord, that has only come with these passing years.
Happy Birthday to me!

The "F" Word

Flu -
I might have it.
My head is swimmy. My eyes are watering. My body aches. My throat is gravelly. My ears are burning.

I think one of my cyber friends sent it to me .....you know who you are.

Last Day to Vote

Today is the last day to vote for the Quirky Quote Contest - see the poll on the left sidebar. I am sorry that I haven't publicized this very well - it seems even all of our contestants haven't voted yet! I have been sick for a couple of days now and hoping I can keep snot from running down my face long enough to get this note up here!
PLEASE vote - and tell others.
Happy quote voting!

The BEST Gooey-ist Whole Wheat Brownies on Earth

I know - the title sounds like an oxy-moron but I had these brownies at a friend's house on Sunday, and they are sooooo good. She was kind enough to share the recipe. Since they're made with whole wheat you don't feel bad about feeding them to your family. I also learned a lot about flour - this particular one is made with "white whole wheat" which my friend grinds from hard white winter wheat, but I found in a high-end grocery store. I am getting quite an education.
Here's the recipe:

2 sticks butter
3/4 cup cocoa
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder

This is all the recipe that I got. I melted the butter in a saucepan while I mixed all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then I added the eggs and butter to the dry ingredients and mixed. Then you spread the batter in a 9 x 13 inch pan and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Since there were no directions I checked it about every 10.
Enjoy - they are terrific with a cold glass of milk! YUM.

No News is Good News, Literally

I don't read the news very much. I will watch it about once a week or so with my husband when he is home on the weekends over a cup of coffee. All of us know that it would be more appropriately entitled "the Bad News" said with a smile by plastic Ken and Barbie wannabes. I think if you had someone like Mama from Mama's Family (a/k/a Vicki Lawrence - not to steal any of Keet's Carol Burnett thunder) delivering the news it would be as you expected, but we have the beautiful people telling us that the world is going to hell in a handbasket and smiling at us through perfect teeth, just to make you wonder if your feelings of doom and gloom are accurate.

I read this horrific story on my Google homepage this morning about a woman who died on a flight from Haiti because the two oxygen tanks that they brought to her were empty. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you instructed that in the event of an emergency the little face masks will drop from above your seat and administer oxygen to every passenger on the plane??? Why could they not get oxygen to this woman? The worst part to me is that the flight attendant denied her oxygen twice before even attempting to help this obviously very ill woman. All of this comes from living in a world where everything anyone says is suspect, and the human element is removed. We don't have compassion for one another. My compassion is affected when I watch horror story after horror story on the evening news, which is why this post will end as it started with…I don't read the news very much.