Signs of Spring

It’s a beautiful spring here in Kentucky.  Mares are dropping foals quicker than toddlers can spread dandelion seeds!

There’s nothing like Kentucky in the spring.  I’ve visited some beautiful places, but none is greener than Kentucky.   It’s always good to come back home.

Shanna came in, looked around and went right to work.  She helped move furniture around for a better working area, organized my desktop, sorted through things to give to charity, and made me feel in control of my world once more.  If it weren’t for her, I’d still be sitting in a pile of “stuff” wondering where to start.

I’m eternally thankful.  I will recommend Shanna to all my clients…whether they think they  need her or not.  It’s amazing how much work I’ve been able to accomplish since she performed her miracle here.  It never hurts to find a professional, and Shanna is at the top of her game.

She also works in Los Angeles!

You can find her at:  www.asenseoforder.com

GOOGLE;  Shanna Perino, Lexington, KY

Half Way Down He Had Second Thoughts

It seems a man decided to end it all and jump off a high bridge. He picked one he thought would do the trick, the highest place he knew of in Kentucky, the I-75 bridge over the Kentucky River.   About half way down he changed his mind. Luckily there were fishermen near where he fell and as they pulled his sorry butt out of the river, he voiced his gratitude and vowed never to do that again. But, he told the story until he finally died of natural causes.

The moral of the story is…What if you change your mind halfway down and nobody went fishing that day?

Evelyn's Dump Truck

I have a friend who has passed her mid 80′s.  You might think of her as old … until you meet her.  Evelyn has had an amazing life, and continues to look forward to amazing things!   A few months ago she decided she wanted a dump truck.  Imagine that!  Even she had no idea why or what she would do with it.  But, she followed that urge and bought one at an amazing low price.   Soon after, she decided she wanted a backhoe, and sure enough, a fantastic deal came up and she bought one.  Now we’re all wondering what in the world is going on with Evelyn!  Not only is she buying heavy equipment, she’s getting it at unheard of prices!

She explained it this way; These promptings have been coming from God and she’s just going with them.  I have to agree…He must be wanting Evelyn to start a new business.

She’s already got me working.  She and I work together and produce little children’s books.  So far we have them on ebooks for the Nook and Kindle, but we’re growing and they’ll be available soon in print.  So, I was having fun just trying to keep up with her ideas on the little books we are producing.   I have no artistic talent, so I do the artwork … Evelyn claims to have no writing talent, so she does the poetry.  Yes, you read it right.

Anyway, she’s been tossing poems at me faster than I can illustrate them.  Now she’s got another partner who’s starting a mulch business with her and … you got it … they’ll need a dump truck and a backhoe.  Call it intuition if you like … but I think the fact that she listened to the promptings that brought her to own heavy equipment … says a lot for her ability to pay attention when that “still small voice” speaks to us.  Opportunities must be welcomed and nurtured, else they’ll pass by us, never to return.

I’m learning a lot from Evelyn, and enjoying the experience tremendously!

Could You Be Thankful For This?

The first principle of misery is envy…therefore the first principle of happiness is gratitude.  This season of Thanksgiving is the perfect time to thank God for all of your blessings, whether they are the pleasant blessings or not.

In the book “The Hiding Place”,  Corrie ten-Boom gives an important lesson on being thankful.  She and her sister were arrested for helping to hide Jews from the Nazis.   Eventually, they ended up in a concentration camp in Germany.   They had smuggled a small Bible in with them and read it when they could for comfort and encouragement.    Their barracks were infested with fleas and Betsy prayed to God to show them how they could live in such a place.

They had been studying  1^st Thessalonians.   “Comfort the frightened, help the weak, be patient with everyone, see that none of you repays evil with evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.” Betsy then told Corrie that that was how they could stand to live in such a place; by giving thanks for every single thing about their new barracks. Betsy began counting her blessings.  Can you imagine?  

She’s in a flea infested building…inside a concentration camp and she’s counting her blessings!

She went on to be thankful for many things…and then Betsy thanked God for the fleas.

Corrie decided that was too much, but Betsy reminded her that the verse says to “give thanks in ALL circumstances” and insisted that this included the fleas that were tormenting them constantly.

Then they found out why it was important to be thankful for the fleas.  Their barracks were safer than the other barracks for women.  The guards did not come in to molest them, and they were allowed unusual freedom to read their Bible and talk about their religious beliefs inside their barracks because the guards didn’t want fleas.

This year I will remember the fleas, and be thankful for all my blessings.

This week we’ve had a spider at our front porch.  She’s a beautiful pumpkin color and I couldn’t bear to take down her web.  She’s put it out of our way and unless someone’s deathly afraid of spiders, having her there is not a problem.  I’ve named her “Pumpkin” and I’m fascinated by the bugs she manages to snag in her huge, intricate web.

This is our first Halloween Spider, so I just thought I’d share!

I’ve had a blog for quite a while now and I’ve always had to censor myself in one way or another, for fear of antagonizing one OR another.  That’s changing.

The freedom we have is so important.  If we didn’t have choices…and those choices granted by the Constitution…we’d be no better off than those poor folks in other countries where rights are not so guaranteed.

Freedom isn’t simple.  It’s bought and paid for with blood.  Even you pacifists have had your freedom bought by the blood of patriots.

Think about it for a while.    You owe them big-time.

Things don’t happen like that as often as they used to.  I looked back and started naming jobs.   Lets see if I can find one I would have wanted to stay with for 30 years.

Grocery Cashier, Milinery Department Salesperson, Print Shop Stripper (no clothing removal involved, thank you), Ice Cream Dipper, Babysitter, Avon Representative, Farmer, Gas Station Clerk, Print Editor, X-Ray Tech, Police Officer, Vet Tech, Demo Sales, Uniform Seamstress, Dog Coat Manufacturer, Catalogue Customer Service Operator, Secretary, Short Order Cook, Car Hop, Waitress, Department Manager,  Screen Print Hat Salesperson, Feng Shui Consultant, Realtor, Wallpaper Hanger, Author, Illustrator, Dowser and Exorcist.  Each one has been a true learning experience!    But to tell the truth, I think the only ones I’ll be doing in 30 years are the last 4 …  Author, Illustrator, Dowser and Exorcist.  It took a while, but I finally found jobs that will keep me interested for a long, long time.

Spin the Head on the Owl

Do you remember when you were little and having fun was as simple as spinning the head on a plastic owl? 

Maybe that’s the biggest job of grandchildren…to remind us how easy it is to have a little fun.

Life is tough.  But there is joy to be found in little things.  

If you don’t have a grandchild to enjoy, I hope you have an owl head to spin.