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I am moving this blog to my other blog.  Please check it out.  Everything will remain here for the time being.  Thank you.

Grateful Everyday @ mghollis.wordpress.com 

Hugs,
Melinda

FMF - Visit

This post is part of Five Minute Fridays hosted by the gracious Kate.  A party of bloggers across the internet that gathers to write for five minutes on a one word prompt, no editing, no backtracking.  Then you go back and link up and leave comments.  Comments are fun.


Today's word is Visit.


GO:


Visiting.  It's becoming harder and harder to visit.  The daddy that I grew up with is not the daddy I know now.  I often wonder how much he remembers of these visits. 


The traveling can sometimes be a pain.  I hate driving by myself, but we get along okay with a good audiobook or two.  And I can drive for a whole 12 hours now.  Not the 8 I used to do. 


But still I come.  Lynn asks, and I come.  I do have to be aware of commitments at home, but I'll come as much as I can. 


It's my duty.  My service.  My contribution if you will. 


Because it's so much MORE than a visit.  It's caring and providing for the one who raised me.  It's stories and hugs that I don't know how much longer they will last. 


The visit can be hard, because he seems a little bit further away each time.  One of these days, I will not be able to complete my visit, because he will be too far away for me to reach in this body. 


But God provides.  He comforts.  He gives the strength I need.  And one day soon, I won't visit Him. 


I'll go home.


STOP




A little bit of information, so that all of this makes sense.  I live in Kansas City.  My daddy lives in Nashville.  He has had approximately 11 strokes, and is now suffering from congestive heart failure and early onset dementia.  He also had a kidney transplant in 2000.  My stepmother is a CPA who works non-stop, but because Daddy is a high fall risk, she doesn't like to leave him alone.  I come when I can to stay with him. 


This visit, I brought my children. 


Hugs,
Melinda

Role reversal

I'm having a flashback tonight. I'm sitting in a kitchen chair. My daddy is teaching me how to tie my shoes. After watching him do it several times, I finally figure it out.

Today, I find myself in front of his wheelchair, helping him adjust his socks and making sure his shoes are securely on his feet.

This role reversal that I find myself in is uncomfortable, like too tight skin. It hurts to see my father literally breaking down before my very eyes.

I know that this is what God wants me to be doing. I know that my children are learning and watching. I am thankful for the opportunity to try to repay my daddy for taking care of me.

But it still hurts.

Dear Lord, please be with my daddy. Please be with us as we adjust to this reversal of roles.



Hugs,
Melinda

FMF - Open

This post is part of Five Minute Fridays, an internet party where bloggers get together to write for 5 minutes on the same word, with no editing and no backtracking.  Come join in the fun!  This week's word is Open.


GO:

The Cat who thinks she's starving.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.  Scratch, thump.  Scratch, thump.

The cat wants her food.  She knows where we keep it.  She wants me to open the door.

Scratch, thump.  Scratch, thump.  Thump, thump, thump.

I can hear her, you know.  It's a regularly accepted fact that I can talk for our animals, and right now she's saying, "Silly human, why is the door to my food closed?  Please open it right now.  You have nothing better to do."

I didn't want to write today.  I've been writing well for the past few days, and yet, no one seems to appreciate my writing.  I didn't want to open my heart to more criticism.  I want to leave that door closed.

And yet, I hear God saying, "Open the door today.  Open it just a little."

And I am reminded of what he says in Revelation 2:8.  Yes... Revelation.

I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

God has an open door policy.  He wants you to come before him and lay EVERYTHING down at his feet.  He wants you to come through that door.  Do you have the strength to walk through?

STOP

Hugs,
Melinda

[eta - as soon as I hit publish, the cat was at the door begging for her food.  I had to take a picture.]

Inadequate Teenager

No, the title of this post does not refer to my oldest, Boo, who will be 16 in a month from today.  The title of this post is what I have realized about myself. 

You see, I have stage fright. 

That's kind of funny when I tell you that I also graduated with a theater degree.  But I do.  I have paralyzing terrifying stage fright.

I have become interested in practical evangelism (for lack of better words), and how can I personally talk to others about God and Jesus.  I was starting to get concerned when I realized that my "sphere of influence" has become rather limited in size.  I mean, I talk to people at church, and I talk to people at the girls' track practices, but that's about it, and most of those people attend church somewhere already.  So what am I to do?

Then I read this post on Facebook by the preacher at a church in Iowa.  (Emphasis is mine)
_________________________

I read several years ago that within two years of becoming a Christian, the only close friends they have are other Christians. This is because they no longer retain relationships with non-believers, (some non-believers don’t want to hang out with Christians or the Christians no longer do what they used to with their non-believing friends), or they have converted all their friends. This makes evangelism difficult since we usually think of evangelism as ‘inviting people to church.’ Once we’ve invited all the friends and family we have, we run out of people to invite.

So how do we go into the world making disciples as we are commissioned to do? One way is to literally go into the world. 

For many of us life is pretty routine. We get up, go to work, then retreat to our home as a place of quiet shelter, rest and recuperation. We may interact with a few people outside of work at the store, bank or gas station but these conversations don’t usually evolve into an opportunity to share our faith. So what do we do?

In order to show and share our faith, others need to have relationships with us. We need to find ways to develop those relationships. Here are a couple of ideas off the top of my head:

Join a hobby related club. Card clubs, (preferably not poker), running clubs, cooking groups or book clubs, shooting or fishing clubs, knitting groups, or any other groups or clubs give you an opportunity to meet new people and begin new relationships. If you can’t find a club for your hobby, start one!

Volunteer. The possibilities here are endless. Volunteer for a meals on wheels program, read to kids at the library, volunteer at a hospital. Look in the paper for local activities or events that are looking for volunteers and offer your services. When people work together, they tend to develop relationships. Build on these relationships so you may have the opportunity to share your faith.

I could give more, but I’m out of room. I know our schedules are already full, but isn’t the kingdom important enough for us to give more of ourselves to spreading its news? And didn’t Jesus command us to do this? 

If you have other ideas of how to get out into the world and make disciples, please share them with me. I’d love to pass these on.

_________________________

The author went on in the rest of this seven part series to say that it also takes a lot of time to build these relationships.  But it got me thinking about what could I do, where could I go to build these types of relationships. 

One thought was to join the D&D night at the local card shop.  The biggest issue is that it is on a Wednesday night.  Dale wasn't too happy about that, and I think the girls would not be either.

Then this other idea, this opportunity practically fell into my lap. 

The Kansas City Renaissance Festival held their first recruiting party in my hometown.  Instead of an hour away, it was 5 minutes from my house. 

The Maestro (the director) was talking about all the different roles they have to fill and talking about this character and that character and what he is looking for.  I decided to talk to him about the role of the Fairy Godmother after his speech.  (They are including fairy tale characters this year.  We can talk about their relevance to history later.)

I was PETRIFIED to talk to this man.  You can ask Dale.  I kept wavering back and forth (and still am) about do I want to audition, or do I just want a stage manager position?  Do I audition?  Do I not audition?

And as I was thinking about this whole incident later, it occurred to me that I felt like an inadequate teenager.  It doesn't matter that I'm a year and a half from turning 40.  It doesn't matter that I am raising two children.  I still feel like an inadequate teenager.

I feel like a teenager when talking to my dad.
I feel inadequate because I don't have a "paying job."
I don't feel successful because I haven't had that paying job in several years.
I feel like a teenager who shouldn't have kids, let alone a child old enough to drive and to start thinking about college.

I don't feel adequate enough for Jesus to have died for me.

And that's why my stage fright prevents me from auditioning.  I have never ever felt like I was adequate to the task. 

So that's where I'm at right now.  I'm trying to figure out if I'm going to audition for a role, if I'm going to become what equates to one of their stage managers, or if the balance of work, time, and family is going to be doable at all.

Why am I telling you all of this?  Probably because I crave your prayers.  If I got a role, it would mean an incredible amount of work, plus I would miss Sunday morning services for the month of September and a good portion of October. 

Secondly, because of the memory verse that is written on my board at this very moment.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  I Peter 5:7 

God cares.  He cares enough to take my anxiety.  He cares enough to send Jesus, that even though I AM inadequate, he died to take away my sins, anyway.  And in doing so, made me adequate.  With him, I have success.  With him, I have victory.

Hugs,
Melinda

FMF - When

This post is part of Five Minute Fridays hosted at Kate's blog.  Write for five minutes, no editing, no back tracking.  Then go back and add your link and comment on the post before yours.  Comments are part of the fun.

It hit me tonight, I say "when" a lot. 

When I get back on the bike...
When the snow melts...
When I lose 50 pounds...
When we save the money...
When I get time to sew again...
When my children are older...
When I get this...
When I do that...

When, when, when.

But the simple truth is that I have one life, and God game me the same number of hours in a day that he gave you.  And I am supposed to live it fully for him.

One of my very favorite verses is "Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord."  So no matter what I do or when I do it, I do it for God.

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Hugs,
Melinda

Freedom of Information Act

What is the Freedom of Information Act?  The best description comes from straight from the government website:

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law that gives you the right to access information from the federal government. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government.

Initially enacted in 1966 by Lyndon B. Johnson, the Freedom of Information Act did not take effect until July 4, 1967 (and was actually replaced by a virtually identical bill before it was enacted).

It only applies to executive branch agencies and there are several exemptions in place, such as to protect privacy, trade secrets, financial and geological, and the one probably used the most, national security.

Gerald Ford wanted to strengthen the FOIA with amendments in 1974 after the Watergate scandal but was talked out of it by Donald Rumsfield, Dick Cheney, and Antonin Scalia, who argued that it was unconstitutional.  Congress overturned his veto.

It has been amended several times since it was first enacted, most notably to include digital and electronic files and to both protect former presidents but also to protect any information they may acquire.

So what does all that mean for us?  That means that if you want to get some information from an agency like the CIA, you fill out a form that says you think they have the information you want, and could you please see it?  If it doesn't fall into one of the exemptions, there's a chance they will send you a copy of it.  It's supposed to help the government remain "open and transparent" with the citizens. 

So how does this help me?  I don't know.  I may get to a point in my research that I have to file a FOIA request in order to get any more information or a sense of what happened.  It's good to know this option is there should I need it.  For now, I'm going to try to get as much as I can without this step.

Hugs,
Melinda

[A good portion of the historical information came from this Wikipedia article on the Freedom of Information Act.]

 

This post is part of my 31 Day Writing Challenge, that I am dreadfully behind on.

Dr. Zhivago

When I was in high school, I decided to read lots of classic literature.  Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, The Three Musketeers followed by the Man in the Iron Mask, the Count of Monte Christo. 

And Dr. Zhivago. 

I don't remember much about the book or the movie, only that it was some of the hardest reading I have ever had to drag myself through.  (I just explained it to Boo.  Les Miserables in Russian.)

Imagine my surprise then, when doing research for my 31 days series, to come across the following note on the CIA page:

Doctor Zhivago

CIA Publishes Doctor Zhivago in Russian and Exposes Life in USSR under Communism.  The CIA has declassified 99 documents describing the CIA’s role publishing Boris Leonidovich Pasternak’s epic novel, Doctor Zhivago, for the first time in Russian in 1958 after it had been banned from being published in the Soviet Union. The Zhivago project was one of many CIA-supported covert publishing programs that involved distributing banned books, periodicals, pamphlets, and other materials to intellectuals in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. This collection provides a glimpse into a thoughtful plan to accomplish fast turn-around results without doing harm to foreign partners or Pasternak. Following the publication of Doctor Zhivago in Russian in 1958, Pasternak won the Nobel Prize for Literature, the popularity of the book skyrocketed, and the plight of Pasternak in the Soviet Union received global media attention. Moscow had hoped to avoid these precipitous outcomes by initially refusing to publish the novel two years earlier. There is no indication in this collection that having Pasternak win the Nobel Prize was part of the Agency’s original plan; however, it contributed to appeals to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, and it was a blow to those who insisted that the Soviets in 1958 enjoyed internal freedom. Of note, the documents in this collection show how effective “soft power” can influence events and drive foreign policy.

Interesting, huh? 

Hugs,
Melinda

Eagle Watch

The girls and I have been watching some different Eagle Cams, cameras that are set up over a nest.  We've been watching two pretty intently, and I found a third one today.

They are keeping journals about the eagles.  They are supposed to record the temperature and any behaviors that they notice while we watch (just 5 or 10 minutes until hatching occurs).  At some point, they are also supposed to write a report on eagles for me as well. 

So, links...  This is the first one we found thanks to a Twitter friend.  It's in Minnesota, near Minneapolis, and according to what I learned, they layed their eggs really early.  They are expected to hatch near the end of February.

The second one is at Berry College in Rome, Georgia.  I have to say, I'm the most excited for this one, because it's supposed to start hatching any day now!  If you have any questions, the people on the chat at Livestream seem to be really knowledgeable and friendly and will answer just about any question.  (Including the square root of Pi.)

I found the third one at Livestream as well.  It's in Virginia, and they haven't laid their eggs yet, but they are expecting that to happen any day now, as well.

It is has been so very fascinating to sit and watch these beautiful birds.  If you get a chance, just sit for a few minutes.  You will really enjoy watching these majestic creatures of God.

Hugs,
Melinda

[eta - in case anyone doubts my sanity, here's a picture of the setup.  Nest approach, camera 2 and camera 1.]

Isn't this an interesting picture?  It's both nests at the same time.  The right nest is at 19 degrees today, and the left nest is at 27. 

Finishing my story

So I have this series that I started, called 31 Days of Random CIA Facts.  Maybe you've read some of it, maybe you haven't.  I was fooling around on Pinterest the other day, sort of trying to clean up some of boards, when I discovered something interesting.  This pin has been repinned 100 times. 

Which means that the post it links to has been read 100 times. 

Which means that people are interested in this story. 

Which means I need to finish it.

So, I'm going to start working on it again.  I'm going to do the research, and I'm going to find the words, and I'm going to finish the story.  It may not be within the "31 days" time frame, but that's okay.  I will do what I need to do.  This story has been rattling around in my head for 21 years, another month isn't going to hurt.

So watch this space.  There will be some more information coming.

Hugs,
Melinda

FMF - Keep

This post is part of the fun that happens over at Five Minute Fridays.  You write for 5 minutes, unedited, no backtracking, just write.  Then go back over and comment on the person before you.  Comments are half of the fun.  Today's prompt is Keep.

GO:

The Lord bless you and keep you...

To be honest, I've had that song in my head ever since I saw the word was keep.  So I've spent a bit more than 5 minutes in trying to find the verse that it's from and a copy of the song that I grew up singing. 

I love choir.  I loved every moment I spent under the teaching of my director, Mr. Craig Jones.  I still remember all the words, and most of the songs that I learned.  This song was so very beautiful.  It was graceful, and soaring, and ... beautiful.

So here's the verses from Numbers 6:24-26

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

And here's a video of the Harding Academy Chorus singing "The Lord Bless You and Keep You" under Mr. Jones. 

 

The song is a benediction, a prayer.  We usually sing it when we are saying goodbye.  It's a precious blessing, and I hope the Lord grants you peace.

 

Hugs,

Melinda

 

[eta: This is what I left on Facebook for Mr. Jones to find.  Mr. Craig Jones, this post is for you. It's not eloquent, but... Thank you. Thank you for teaching me to love music, to sight read, to appreciate the value of P.D.Q. Bach, and for Wednesday night Bible study where I learned to love the book of Romans. Thank you.]