What Do You Do?

What do you do-
When you have one shoe
Or one glove
Or one sock
What do you do?

What do you say-
When someone is sad
Or someone is glad
Or someone is mad
What do you say?

What do you think when the day is done
When the night is dark
And there is no sun.
What do you do when you’re all alone.
What do you think?

Do the thoughts I think matter?
What happens when my mind is all a’chatter-
Clamoring and churning, gnawing on something
Someone said or didn’t say.
Something they did or didn’t do
That hurt my feelings-
That just wasn’t right.
What do I do?

Do I hold on tight
To that thing that offends-
That pricks me
And sticks whenever I bend.
Hold it close,
Nurse it,
Pet it,
Feed it.

Do I rehearse in my mind
Again and again
What was said or done
Or wasn’t said.
What do I do?



How do I make amends
Or do I get revenge
Make them pay!
Punish them!

How dare they say
What they say or
Do what they do.
Don’t they know
It hurts
It stabs.
This thing,
This word,
This deed?
How dare they say?

How do I find peace
I am worn out-
My insides are fragile,
Exhausted,
Tired.
So what do I do?

Where do I go to find
shelter from the storm,
To find peace from my thoughts,
To find rest for my soul.
Where do I go?

Who can I trust-
With my life,
My dreams,
My heart?
I once thought I knew-
What was important
What really mattered
Which ladder to climb
Which course to run
Who to befriend and
Who to shun.

But now-
I don’t know
What do I do?
How will I know?
When I have arrived,
When I have found what it is inside
I have been chasing-
How will I know?

What will it look like?
Do I have it now or
Is it something vague,
Mysterious, shadowy
Like something some else has.
Is the grass really greener on the other side?

I thought it was at one time something I wanted-
Something that looked good on someone else,
Something they had,
They wore,
They drove,
They lived in,
Graduated from-
Something I just couldn’t quite chase down.

Oh I tried- really I did.
I ran as hard as I could,
Studied as hard as I could,
Worked as hard as I could
But
For some reason I just never quite found that thing,
That something that I thought or was told I
Should have
Or should be
Or should do.

And now what?
What do I do?

I have spent a long time-24/7
Seeking, knocking, searching and
If I am really honest-
Not doing anything-
Wasting time-
Fretting away time.
Now what do I do?

When am I happy?
When do I find peace?
When is enough well - enough?

I’m glad you asked
Because now I see
It’s not, it has never been
All about me-
About what I want
Or think or do.
It’s not about a sock,
A glove,
Or even a shoe.

How can I say this?
Express what it means-
What touches my heart
And makes it sing?
What eases my mind
And brings rest to my soul.
How can I show just who I am,
Why I am here?

If I opened my heart-what would come out?
Light,
Dark,
Sweet,
Sour,
Loud,
Soft,
Tender,
Hard
Maybe all of that-
the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

If I opened my mouth,
Would you think I’m witty?
Would you think I’m smart?
Do you think I’m pretty?
After all that’s what’s important, wouldn’t you agree?
That’s what counts or so I have been told.

And so I sit here pondering and wondering.
What would you do if you knew just who I am and why I’m here?
What would you do?

The Mod Squad

Aw yes, it's time for a walk down memory lane.

Hey! which one of you can guess who these cuties are?

TisTheSeason...

Tis the season to be jolly.... well at least that's what the song suggests. Jiggle bells, my nerves are frayed, I gotta have that dish! I'm being sarcastic of course but the mood at the stores has been pretty intense. Especially since all the news reports that everyone is broke and destitute. We all know that isn't entirely true. Yes for some it is, but alot of us are really being blessed.

Actually I'm sort of glad things have come apart at the seams. I don't wish hard times on anyone, but we all go through them. The good news is that Jesus said He would never leave or forsake us and that yes, we would surely have tribulation but to rejoice because He has overcome the darkness. So my suggestion is get closer to the Lord and stay close. Now is the time to really pay attention to the Lord and what He has to say and obey!

Another point I need to make is... be kind one to another. Love thy neighbor. I have alot of neighbors especially when I go out to WalMart or HEB. I have noticed some people would rather look away from me and avoid eye contact while there are others who respond with a smile. I like to watch people, what they do, how they walk and act when they think no one is looking.

I was in WalMart waiting for my husband and I was observing the people. I would look at their faces and wonder-"Lord does he/she know You?" Some I knew for sure did but others it was obvious something wasn't right.

And we are just a dot in this world sort of like the story of Horton Hears A Who. How in the world are we going to reach the whole world, every person with the Good News?

Christmas 2008

I love Christmas. I sometimes struggle with it, but I love it. My struggle this year was not having the where-with-all to buy Christmas gifts for the family, which bugged me a great deal. After all that is what Christmas is all about, right? How else will our kids know just how much they are loved by their parents? I mean surely a Barbie has to exude love for sure.

Well this year the best gift of all of having all of our kiddos home with us. A few gifts were handed out. Handmade, home made gifts. Things that didn't move or have sound, weren't digital but were a hundred times better.

How bout a giant pinata in shape of a star? Filled with candy. That was Tiera's gift from her cousins. No batteries needed just a length of rope, a step ladder, something long to whack it with, a blindfold and uncle Aaron standing on the stepladder providing the swing action. Poppy and Lorren on hand recording it all on video while the girls and Nanny provided the whacking, even Mona displayed her ninja/nacho libre skillz. It was a sight to behold. In the cheering section was Tobie and Carlos and "LilLos" providing the cheering action. We laughed.... alot. Which is really good for the soul.

Or how bout the beautiful gifts Tiera picked out for each and every one of her family members. She really has great taste.

Or the amazing handmade journal Lorren made for me. Each page hand painted and included old cards from the past. Can't forget the awesome gift cards. They are always a blessing. Thank you Tobie and Carlos. We loved using our Cracker Barrel gift card.

Food played a huge part in our celebrating starting with a Christmas Eve get together at Tobie and Carlos' house. We started this tradition several years ago and it has become very special to all of us. We made three kinds of chicken wings, potato salad, tomato/corn salad, fruit salad, spinach dip and chips.

For Christmas day we had ham, green beans casserole, sweet potatoes/ marshmallow topping and Galore salad. Lorren later made chili. Yum Yum Yum. Mandy stopped by that evening, Mona and the girls made S'mores, which was a event. Later Mona pulled out a board game and the rest of the evening was spent comparing Apples to Apples. Well most of us, Ron, Tobie and I watched TV in Ben's room.

I even recieved phone calls from my brothers whom I haven't heard from in years and one of them stop by the house with his wife and visited for awhile.

On Sunday Ron and I drove down to where my mom lives and spent some time with her.
This was a really nice Christmas. Thank you Jesus.

In the wise words of Timy Tim... "God bless us all" or something like that.

This Darn Thing & The Bumpis Dogs

Remember the movies "Back To The Future" and "The Christmas Story" ? We do. Those two movies along with the aforementioned "Clue" and "Bells Are Ringing" helped mold us into what we are today.

My sweet hubby could play the character Doc perfectly. My oldest daughters favorite phrases in that movie is " Doc, Doc" and "Do you know what this means? This darn thing doesn't work!" She even sent her dad a birthday card with that written on it. There is a picture of a little girl trying to fix her bicycle and the phrase " Do You know what this means? This darn thing doesn't work" at the top. We like that movie a bunch. The sequels aren't so cool but that first movie is a hit.

"The Christmas Story" is another hit in our family. We discovered it while stationed in Germany the second time. To me Ralphie's family was how I pictured my hubby's family to be. One of our favorite phrases is "Those *&%$" Bumpis dogs. Of course we refrain saying "&%$" , that isn't cool.

Bah Humbug!

That's what my sweet hubby says each time the holidays come around. For some reason he doesn't appreciate the joy and wonders of putting up the Christmas decorations, tree and house lights the day after Thanksgiving. And heaven help us when the stores start putting out Christmas merchandise in October.

His favorite phrase is "years ago". "Years ago, when I was growing up we didn't decorate until two weeks before Christmas. " "Years ago" can even mean last week or yesterday. Just kidding sweetie. But let me tell you, once he finally gets into the mood, the outside of our house glows, flashes and shines. I just know that Jesus and all the angels in heaven can see our house. Uhm, by the way, this isn't our house.

In Between

In between the two overseas tours we were stationed in El Paso, Texas at Ft. Bliss. We stayed with my parents for awhile, then found a house to rent on the "economy" and then moved into quarters on post.

While we lived in the rental house Tobie and Lorren attended a private Christian school at Jesus Chapel for a year and then we moved to quarters and they moved to a public school.That was not a positive experience. In 1982 Ron went to Korea for 13 months during which time, Ben was born. Shortly after Ron returned from Korea we returned to Germany.

That year Ron was in Korea was a challenge for us. My parents lived in El Paso so that was a huge help.