Beautiful Inside and Out

I just got around to reading CEAI’s Online Devotional from yesterday. The scripture verse for the day was Luke 11:39-40.

Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?’

Many times, Kathy Branzell ends her devotionals with a question or two. The questions for this devotional are, “What do we need to do to make sure we are beautiful on the inside?” and “How can each of us carry out the attribute of living from the inside-out in our daily environment (classroom, hallways, meetings, cafeteria, office, etc.)?

I am struck by my quickness to point a finger when reading this verse. My human desire is to label others ‘Pharisee’ and jump on a pedestal above them; however, I realize that as soon as I do I have become a ‘pharisee’ myself. I think an important step we need to take toward being beautiful on the inside is this realization that our insides can be just as ugly as anyone’s. We need to eliminate our own finger pointing and pedestal jumping.

Herkimer, The Fish We Left Behind

The summer after kindergarten and before first grade my family moved from Naples, Florida to Dickson, Tennessee. It wasn’t long after the move that I remember hearing stories about Herkimer, the fish we left behind. I don’t really remember much about Herkimer. I’m not even sure that I ever actually saw him myself, but I do remember his funny name and the laughter that always filled the room when Mom and Dad talked about him.

A few years ago I asked Mom to tell me more about Herkimer, our “pet” fish that had “lived” in the deep freeze. I wanted to know what happened to him when we moved to Dickson. In my mind, I had always figured Herkimer to be a large fish waiting to be taken to the taxidermist for mounting– waiting to fulfill every fishes dream of becoming wall art. I always knew that Herkimer would have been breathtaking on any living room wall. 1 1/2 feet of snook perfection arched in a graceful curve. Little did I know Herkimer was never destined to hang above anyone’s couch or mantle. His residency in our deep freeze was the result of something else entirely. Herkimer was just a fish who never made it to the frying pan. Dad didn’t have time to clean him when he got home from his fishing trip so he put him in the freezer so that he could get him out later. Later turned into years and Herkimer just became part of the family. Mom got used to moving him out of the way when she needed something out of the deep freeze, and Dad gave him a name. When we moved to Tennessee, there was actually a conversation about what to do with Herkimer and my parents may have even considered bringing him to Tennessee. He was left in Florida, but he is still part of my life. To me Herkimer is a symbol of the love my mom must have had for my dad. I think about how easy it would have been for her to get mad at him for leaving that nasty fish in her deep freeze. I wonder how many times she thought about cursing him for leaving it in her deep freeze. Instead, she chose to laugh. Because she chose to laugh, my brother and I have this funny story to tell about Herkimer, the fish we left behind.

My Favorite Things About Humphreys County

This post has been saved as a draft since November of 2007.  I almost deleted it, but decided I’d just finish it up and post it instead. 

 

The Two Writing Teachers Stacey and Ruth were inspired by Reflections from the Rockies, and I am inspired by them. Here are my favorite things about the county I live in.

1. Driving down Main Street. I keep thinking I am going to see Wally and the Beav walking home from school.

2. Eating at Michael’s Pizzeria where they let you eat and trust you to run to the ATM and back when you have forgetten your checkbook.

3. Going to the ‘walk-in’ to see movies. The Mi-De-Ga theatre is just as nice as those fancy ones in the city for half the price.

4. Going to the ‘drive-in’ to see movies. They have yummy food at the concession stand. The joy of wrapping up in a blanket under the stars on a cool fall evening to watch a good movie can’t be beat.

5. The walking trails and sidewalks. There are two great walking trails in town. One of them is at the park so the kids can play while I run. The other is on a very peaceful road with three lakes. The trail circles around one lake and has benches along the way that are great for resting and throwing rocks into the water. When Will has Boy Scout meetings downtown, I can have a great run along Main Street where the sidewalks are wide and the scenery is quaint.

6. Being close enough to the river that I can go whenever I want and sit next to the water.

7.  Waverly Cafe.  I love the food and the atmosphere is perfect.  It is a great place to meet a friend or group of friends for lunch or to take a book and read while you eat. 

8.  My neighbors.  Being able to call and know that someone will lend a helping hand when my car battery is dead or when I don’t want to drag the baby out of the house to pick the older kids up from school is wonderful.

9.  Safety.  I feel safe in Waverly. 

10.  Happy kids.  Last year was the first year that my kids went to school in the town they live in.  They are much happier having friends who live close enough to visit.  Having happy kids makes me a happy mom.

It’s bed time, but I have one thing to say.

I love my job!!!

I love my family!!!!

I love my life!!!

Motivation Monday!

It’s Monday morning which means it is time to get back into the groove. My motivation this morning comes from a book my parents gave me for Christmas. The Time is Now, The Person is You by Nido Qubein. This book is just full of quotes on different topics like work, success, change, etc. This one stood out to me this morning.

Success rarely comes to those who expect failure.

I say let’s go into this week expecting success.

Have a great Monday!

Merry Christmas!

I know, I’m a little late in wishing you all a Merry Christmas. It has been too long since I sat down and added words to my blog. I’ve been busy enjoying time with my family. Tobi spent a week with a pretty intense case of chickenpox causing us to miss the last few days of school before Christmas break. Our shopping was easy this year, one day in Nashville took care of everything. The kids were excited, but I think we were as excited as them because we knew that they were going to love everything we got them. Every year on Christmas Eve Will and Tobi spend the night together. They take turns. This year they slept on Will’s bunk beds. When their footsteps came down the hall and into our room to wake us up, it was only 6:15. We rolled out of bed and follwed them into the living room to see what Santa had left under the Christmas tree. Will was surprised to find a Nintendo DS waiting for him. Daddy had him convinced that Santa wouldn’t bring one because he already had a Gameboy. Tobi was equally happy to find a fully accessorized iDog. They opened the presents we had wrapped for them and were excited with most of them. There was the disappointment of a box full of underwear and socks. Why I wrap those every year I’m not sure, but it has become a tradition. It wouldn’t be Christmas if they didn’t get underclothes. I put the turkey in the oven and began preparing everything to go with it. It was wonderful to know that we didn’t have to worry about being anywhere at anytime. Nobody was coming with plans of eating with us, so I didn’t have to worry about when the food was ready. It was great. When Bill’s parents and grandmother and my parents arrived, we were ready to visit with them and enjoyed every minute of it. It was a peace filled day spent with family. I hope you and yours enjoyed an equally wonderful peace filled day. Let’s all have a peace filled year.

Poetry Friday

This beautiful book of blessings by Cynthia Rylant has a blessing for each month of the year. Here is the blessing for November.

November
Bless the beans,
bless the bread,

Bless the puppies
being fed,

Bless all those
so dear to us,

Keep them safe
and near to us.

Which inspired me to write my own.

PEACE

Bless the coffee,
bless the tea,

Bless the people
surrounding me.

Bless those who love
and those who hate,

Bring them safely
to peace’s gate.

Writer’s Notebook Wednesday!

I visited a 5th grade classroom earlier this year. The teacher was talking to her students about peace. I had the students write their thoughts about peace as I guided them with a few questions. Like any good Writing Project teacher, I pulled out my journal and wrote along with them. Peace is a topic that has been heavy on my mind lately, so as I flipped through my journal to find something to share for WNW this entry jumped out at me.

When I hear the word peace I think of Christmas. I think of quiet. I think of beauty pageant contestants.

I think it is always peaceful when the weather is nice and you are near water. Water is peaceful.

I don’t know if world peace is possible, but I sure would like to see it. I think heaven is a place of peace. Maybe we should be trying to make the world heavenly. To create world peace we must have peace in all the people. To have peace in all the people, we must start with peace within ourselves. It is easy to say that we believe in peace, but we don’t really live it.

Marvelous Motivation Monday!!

I’m just a little late getting today’s motivation posted. I see that some of you have already posted yours. Click on Mr. Linky to submit your motivational post. If you don’t have a blog, please leave your motivational thoughts as a comment.

Have a marvelous Monday!!!

My Motivation Cabinet

A few weeks ago I ended up at an auction with my in-laws. I saw this china cabinet lined up with several others very similar to it. I thought, “That would make a great bookcase.” I pulled out my cell phone and called Bill to see if he minded me bidding on it. He didn’t mind, and a few hours later I was the proud owner of not only the china cabinet, but also a writing desk, and oak sidetable and a kitchen hutch. The china cabinet made its way into the room we call “the front room” and became the perfect home for many of my favorite books. I love having those books conveniently in the same place. When I need some motivation, I know exactly where to go and don’t have to dig too far. Today I went to that cabinet and pulled out a Jack Gantos book. It has been almost two years since I met Jack Gantos at the NCTE conference in Pittsburgh. His book, Hole In My Life had meant so much to me that as soon as I tried to speak to him, tears poured out of my eyes. I’ll never forget how kind he was and the gentle softness of his hands as he grasped mine and told me it was okay for me to cry. So, for today’s motivation, I turned to the worn out post-it notes in my autographed copy of this book. He signed “For Angela–’Books filled the Hole’ Jack Gantos. I would encourage anyone who has a hole in their life to find the books that will fill that hole for them.

On page 8 he writes,

Someone once said anyone can be great under rosy circumstances, but the true test of character is measured by how well a person makes decisions during difficult times. I certainly believe this to be true. I made a lot of mistakes, and went to jail, but I wasn’t on the road to ruin like everybody said. While I was locked up, I pulled myself together and made some good decisions.

I figure if Jack Gantos could pull himself together and become the award winning author that he is, I should be able to pull myself together and accomplish something. You can too. Later in the book he talks about finding graffiti on the cinder block cell wall.

I found the best line scratched above the mirror: WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE. That line from Cool Hand Luke said it all for me, whether I was talking to myself or someone else. Some wit had carved it into the cinder block so that each time he looked in the mirror he reminded himself that the biggest failure in life is self-communication.

So to sum up my thoughts for today:

1. find books that motivate you and fill your holes.

2. make good decisions even in the tough times.

3. remember to communicate with yourself.