What's Wrong?

What's wrong with a person who has plenty of beautiful places and things to capture and ops to take a picture of her own reflection in her laptop?  Is there a name  for it?

I'm praying she recovers before tomorrow night.

Zoey the Dog

I could easily spoil this dog, Zoey.  She is a real sweetheart and she can really communicate her wishes.

I found out she likes ice water. Of course when she sniffed at my cup, I gave her a little...but she didn't want it in her bowl...OH NO. She wanted it from my cup, so naturally I let her drink from my cup.  She was a happy little one. She drank and drank and drank. I'm hoping she doesn't pull this on her master now that she has had that cool taste. I wonder what will happen when it gets closer to summer down there in Florida.  I think Robin will not understand why Zoey starts  asking for me.

YOLO

While in Florida we were dealing with one car that had to be used by Robin's family as well as us girls. The evening we had decided to visit The Green Flash Restaurant on Captiva Island the car had to go to the airport as well.  So we opted to be dropped off fairly early.  When we arrived, we quickly realized it was much cooler there because of a very cool breeze. Naturally I, being the most sensitive to cold, did not bring my jacket.  While Robin got our names in, for we knew there would be a long line, three of us walked up the street in search of a jacket . We were very lucky to go into the first shop we found. Although it did not really carry clothing  (They sold  parasailing trips,etc.) they had one style of sweatshirt...very big ones.  It read YOLO.  I was pretty desperate and it was nice and warm, so I bought it and put it on before I left the shop. When several people complimented me on my shirt right away, I started wondering why...was it because YOLO meant something I wouldn't want to be wearing??? I didn't find out until I got back to Ohio and googled it.  Thank goodness, it only means "You only live once."
Perhaps they thought I had been wind surfing or something else daring.


One does just live once and that is why many now have their bucket lists of things they want to do before they die. 


We in the states are relatively safe from losing our lives too early unless we run with the wrong crowd and participate in criminal activity, so some have long lists. 


In some parts of the world, however, there is constant danger.   Take Afghanistan, for example. But would you believe that a much, much worse place to be is right across our southern border in  Juarez, Mexico? It's true!


Per capita, a person was 30 times more likely to be murdered in Juarez than in Afghanistan in 2010.


Knowing this makes one wonder why our government can continue refusing to secure our borders. Does it not trouble you?

Lighthouse

We love Sanibel Island, especially this area that is so familiar to us all. The lighthouse is near Robin's condo that is for sale and her home where she now lives.  It is near the Lighthouse Cafe where we like to have breakfast.  It makes it easy to walk both the sheltered side of the island and the other side where the waves roll in over the sand.  We can both dig our feet into the white sand on one side and gather a multitude of shells on the other.

This piece of driftwood is the most lovely I've seen. It makes a perfect prop for a group picture.  Wish we had all our girlfriends here  for this very special photo shoot.

Watched part of the Dr Phil show for the first time ever tonight. His 'guests' were Kelly Williams-Bolar, the lady in our state who put her children in the wrong school district to "keep them safe",  Al Sharpton, who came to Ohio to take advantage of the woman's problem, a single mom who lived in the Copley-Fairlawn district who made much less money than does Ms. Bolar and managed to buy a house in the area so her kids could go to school there, and Bob Dyer, a newspaper reporter who took the side of the people against those who try to buck the system.


Ms. Bolar was one of numerous people who were caught 'stealing' money from other students   by sending her two daughters to a school district in which they did not live and pay  taxes.


She refused to pay the price and was sent to prison for falsifing records.  Ohio law reads that is a crime punishable as a felony.  She was not treated differently than anyone else would have been.  However, she just served 9 days of her term and was then freed. I would think that 9 days would be an easy penalty to pay for lying and refusing to pay the thousands of dollars she owed the school.


As a people, we must learn to love one another and that includes not taking what belongs to another. That is one of the 10 commandments.

Moving the Furniture

Caleb is in training.  He is moving the furniture.  What a guy.  He could be very helpful some day, but right now, he is not always choosing the best location for his stool.  One day his dad ran upstairs and when he came back a few minutes later, Caleb had piled lots of things  against the front door.  

Wish we had taken him for a haircut while we were there...just because I found these pictures of his dad,John, when he was 12 months old and one of them is of his first haircut.

Encouragement for the Day

This is my 4th birthday picture.  The studio picture was in sepia tone.  Years later, when my mother started 'coloring' photos, she made a copy and painted it.  She was quite good and worked for what we considered the best studio in town.  I have lots of her work and appreciate each one.  

 At 37, I started art lessons.  Her talent had been my inspiration and she was my encouragement. 

A friend of ours writes a letter of encouragement each day to his daughter. He first started sending it to my husband.  After I read it a few times, I asked if he would send it to me as well and if I could forward it on to others.   I did that and now he has given me permission to put it on this blog today.  He is working on his own web-site and should have it online soon.

I really want to share this one with you.  It is well done and timely.

Nehemiah 2:17 (2^nd March 2011)

“Then I said to them, ‘ You see the trouble we are in:  Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” 

        On my way home from Florida, I read an article about thirty-two year-old Philip Cooley, an unusual businessman.  Ten years ago he moved away from his hometown of Marysville, Michigan, a small town near Port Huron, Michigan, to pursue a modeling career.  He lived in glamorous cities like Milan, Paris, Tokyo, and Barcelona.  He worked for such labels as Louis Vuitton.  The lifestyle had its perks, but there was a longing to do something bigger with his life.

        Away from Michigan, he read all the stories about the condition of the state.  He believes the state and even the city of Detroit will someday make a comeback.  He wants to be a part of that comeback.  So, he moved back to Michigan – not back to his sleepy hometown, but to the city with the biggest challenge – Detroit. 

        He opened Slows Bar BQ in the Corktown district of downtown Detroit.  All around his business is evidence of decay, even the site where Tiger Stadium was demolished.  In spite of the challenge there, he says, “Entrepreneurs who go into areas where other people aren’t don’t see what’s there.  They see what it could be.”  He built a business and got involved in rebuilding his part of the city.  It’s working.  New businesses are following his wildly successful restaurant.  Abandoned buildings are being occupied.  Trees are being planted.  His dream is being shared and embraced.  He is now working with the city officials on developing a master plan to rebuild the entire city.  Corktown is seeing signs of life again.  

        Nehemiah was a broken man about the conditions of his city in ruins, Jerusalem.  Like Detroit, Jerusalem had seen much better days, but sin and neglect brought it down.  Nehemiah asked Yahweh for a chance to go back and rebuild, and the Lord favored him with that opportunity.  There was fierce opposition, but the leadership of one man led to the revival of a great city.

        The Roman Empire fell in love with Christians by the fourth century because believers were rebuilders.  The empire was in collapse and believers everywhere saw it as an opportunity to bring honor to Jesus.  They did so one life, one block, one city at a time.  When babies were left in fields to die, Christians raised them.  When prostitutes turned old and were rejected at the pagan temples, Christians made room for them in their homes.  When the empire turned its back on the disadvantaged, it was Christians who stepped-up.  When believers honor Christ with rebuilding what is broken, the culture will respond with respect.  That respect will allow hearts to be receptive to the saving message of Jesus!

        America is definitely in a power-down cycle for now.  We can use our energies blaming one another for the decline or we can ask God to use us to rebuild our culture one life, one block, one city at a time.  Politicians are not the answer; we are answer!  What can you ask God to help you do to be a part of the rebuilding project?  Somebody's honor is at stake!

Jim Chilton

Creepy Creatures

One of the very special things about visiting Robin is that her love of nature is contagious. She whets my appetite for learning about plant life as well as animals.  This gorgeous tree stands in front of her house to the left of the driveway. I'm sure we were told the species name and all about it.  I am interested, but I was learning so much  that I just couldn't retain it all.

While we were there, we learned about the  wolf spider that builds large long tunnels, one of which ran under Robin's house. We learned that these spiders are loved by some because they kill many unpleasant pests,  both insects and very small vertebrates like amphibians and reptiles.   When they vacate those tunnels, other animals move into them. What struck me the most is the many varieties of snakes that might now live in that space beneath the house.

I am much less than comfortable talking about these creatures, but Robin assures us they are part of the natural system God designed and they should be respected.  Well, I am not one to go out hunting them and I would be sure to exit quickly any area that one occupied.  I can't say  that I love or respect them, but since I will be as far away from them as possible, I won't do them any harm.

I wish I could remember what we were told about the animals that take up residence in the spider tunnels once they have been vacated by the eight legged creatures.  I googled to see if I could find the info, but was not able to come up with it quickly. All I remember for sure was that a very large number of snakes are among the icky things that use those old tunnels for hiding places. I'm not sure which creep me out the most, spiders or snakes.  No wait, I do. If I had to walk toward either a snake or a spider, it would definitely be the spider.  Yikes what kind of a blog is this anyway.  The subject matter is in the pits.