Today

"Today is the first day of the rest of your life."

I have seen attributions to Charles Dederich (1913-1997) and to Abbie Hoffman (1936-1989) for that phrase. It likely was Dederich, as reported by the Washington Post (December 10, 1978, p. C5).

Once more, I have great time on my hands on vacation, and that was the thought that popped into my head this morning. When I did a tiny bit of research on Hoffman and Dederich, I found out that both of them struggled with very intense things in life - Hoffman died as an apparent suicide; Dederich struggled with substance abuse through a large portion of his life.

The quote reminds me of Philippians 3:12-13 - ...I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (NLT)

Maybe it is a part of the New Year's resolution mindset which is still present two whole weeks into 2008, or maybe it is that birthday introspection stuff, but in the end, I keep coming back to basics - today, I have an opportunity to cultivate a relationship with the Creator God of the Universe, who loves me enough to sacrifice Himself on my behalf. What greater pursuit could there be?

When I was 40, I never would have guessed where my life would be now - but I got to this place through a series of one-day-at-a-time decisions, attempting just to follow what I knew to be truth that day. There is a lot of forgetting that I have done, and there will likely be many more things as the years pass that I will desire to forget. But, today is the first day of the rest of my life, and by grace alone, I have opportunity to forget and to press on. God help me to do that.

Food for thought

From Wikipedia:

"Red States and Blue States refer to those states of the United States of America whose residents predominantly vote for the Republican Party or Democratic Party presidential candidates, respectively. The term began to emerge in mainstream political discussion following the 2000 presidential election. However, the term gained ubiquitous status after the 2004 presidential elections.(See Origins of current color scheme) Since then, usage of the term has been expanded to differentiate between states being perceived as liberal and those perceived as conservative. A blue state may therefore be any state leaning towards the Democratic ticket while a red state may be any state leaning towards the Republican ticket."

My question is, who determined that Chunky peanut butter should have a blue cap and that Creamy peanut butter should have a red cap? Or at least that seems to be the "usual" for generic or store brand jars, in addition to Jif.

Just for the record, Skippy uses dark blue and light blue lids, while Peter Pan uses yellow and red. Does this mean that most generic peanut butter is Jif in disguise? (Can you tell I am on vacation?!)

5-0

I am finally ready to admit that I turned fifty years old this week. And, I lived to tell about it. :-) It was a little like when we all waited for Y2K to roll around and we wondered if life would ever be the same afterwards. And, it was.

Well, I do know that the next day came and went just like all others before. That's the good part. What will the year bring? That is yet to be seen. But, I am thankful for family and friends near and far who helped me celebrate "gently."

I liked the advice of a friend who told me I should make a big deal of my own birthday. Her comment was, "The older we get, the more likely we can get away with this behavior all the time." I think she is very right. Then, there was the other friend who encouraged me this week to cultivate a childlike spirit - one that is unfettered by the worries of life as we grown-ups know it to be. I think both of them are correct. :-)

So, I am vacationing a little to stretch out the celebration. After all, I will only turn 50 once!

Merry Christmas!

Somehow at the Christmas season, it is easier to cut to the chase, to be reminded of what is truly important. So, I want to express my thanks and praise to God for my family and the friends by whom my life has been so blessed. You see, I am "wired" to see God best as He is reflected in the lives of others.

You are as varied as creation itself and by God's grace, you each play a unique role in my life... blessing me, challenging me, encouraging me, humbling me, spurring me on. The roles do change as time goes by, but you are each so much a part of who God is still making me to be. Thank you - I am so thankful for you.

I am thankful for Jesus Christ and His unending love for me and patience with me, as He, above all, is still pursuing me. May you experience His love and grace in a deep and personal way as you celebrate this Christmas.

December

Does anyone else have trouble fitting it all in with the right attitude in December?

My first struggle is that the passing of time in life now is so different than when I was still teaching. I'm sure it has to do with the fact that I was on a "school calendar" from age 6 to age 43, with only one year off anywhere along the way, and even that was sort of around a school year. There were always events and benchmarks so I knew what came next. Now, time just passes, so Christmas sneaks up on me each year.

Next, there are way too many fun and neat things all pressed into the same small time span - the kinds of things that only come around at Christmas and are wonderful eye and ear "candy." How can I possibly take them all in? And, I never want to miss anything!

My goal this year is to slow down enough to totally engage in the season and all its fullness - I know when I do that I will see God's miracle on our behalf in a new light, with new hope. That's not likely to be easy, but I think it is critical. Otherwise, I will miss too many wonderful and meaningful moments that I will wish later that I could remember clearly.

So, here goes - the commitment to sleep enough, exercise enough (esPECially when things get the busiest), eat sensibly, and remember that only the Word of God and people last forever... It's my goal to be focused on those things. Then, the right things will fit in, and the attitude will come along, too.