Read Any Good Books Lately?

 It begins so early, when a boy and girl meet.  Their eyes connect, hormones rise to the top, and tuh-duh!  It all goes from there.

Grandson Benjamin and unknown floozy

But, must it start so early?  When both are still in diapers/nappies?  When running without falling is an accomplishment?  When words are understood by the parents, but few other people?

I guess it does.

Re-post from 2015. Little boy is our grandson, all of 3 years old. 

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Uh huh. Yes. Oh really?

Perhaps one of the annoying habits and the hardest to break that people possess is not listening to what other people are saying.  Not just nodding politely, but is one actively listening with understanding in their eyes?

Guilty. I am so guilty of this. 

Over my lifetime, my mind has always been wandering, thinking about what I want to say in answer to their words. I want to tell my story! Let me interrupt you and tell my story. Their last sentence comes to a logical end, then I grab the reins before they reach the full stop.

Their eyes glaze over briefly before I hit my stride and then they relax. Oh, well, they think, politely smiling. Are they also mind-plumbing for their next reply?

It doesn't end with conversations. When our progeny were small, I would sit in church and the pastor would be preaching, sincerely presenting the Word of God. I fed my youngest progeny Cheerios and let the middle progeny play with his cars. The oldest one was quietly drawing.  

What was I doing? Hearing Pastor talk and nodding my head in agreement. What was I really doing?  

I was wondering if the crock pot chicken would be done. Would Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce) be on after I washed dishes? Did I move the wet clothes to the dryer?

Yes, inane random thoughts would invade my brain, while I nodded in response to God's message.

Perhaps the worst not-listening is when God is talking to me.

We have an on-going conversation throughout the day with me querying Him and then hearing His first three words, before I jump in. Yes, You are right.  Then my mind wonders off to laundry or dinner.

Let God Talk.  Then, wait. Don't cut Him off. He knows what you are going to say, but He wants you to hear Him. 

Let God Talk. He knows the answers to questions you are asking. He understands your fears, your worries. God is in charge.

Let God Talk. He has a plan for your life. Even though you groan and shout at Him, He is big enough to absorb your pain and your anger.

Don't interrupt God. Don't ignore God. Don't guess what He is going to say.


Be still and know that I am God. Psalms 46:10

Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. Matt. 7:7

Let. God. Talk.

AND then LISTEN.

First Date

It begins so early, when a boy and girl meet.  Their eyes connect, hormones rise to the top, and tuh-duh!  It all goes from there.

Grandson Benjamin and unknown floozy

But, must it start so early?  When both are still in diapers/nappies?  When running without falling is an accomplishment?  When words are understood by the parents, and few other people?

I guess it does.

Another Day at the Doctor Office

Another day at the Doctor’s office, another slice of humanity.  Another day for observing the great lives that pass through the door.

Awkwardness melted away as the chairs filled up.  Patients were forced to sit next to a stranger.  And then, one person leaned over to the next and said something.  It didn’t matter what, because the forbidden veil had been torn.  People started interacting, sharing, making eye contact.

Different races, ages, experiences, and life choices poured out in a flood.  Vietnam vet was next to long distance trucker.  An elderly woman sat next to twenty-something woman.  A bicyclist with torn ACL (or ALC) talked to the sixty-something man who sported a graying ponytail and a Padres baseball cap. 

Everyone was there to see the doctor for some reason involving pain or illness.  Some were clearly in wrenching pain, but relating the events of the accidents helped them endure the waiting.

What was I doing, you may ask.  I was the one who leaned over to the person next to me, and started it all.  After that, my journal was open as I wrote, interspersed with conversation.

Just needed to get the ball rolling.