Monday, December 29, 2008

What happened to Christmas?

Have we lost Christmas somehow? Did you notice that this was an extremely QUIET Christmas even though the weather was nice? There was no noise outside. No squealing children, no dogs barkings, no sound of skate boards, bicycles, nothing. And we wonder why we are a nation of overweight children. Because they sit all day. I know I'm dating myself but when I was a little girl, the only reason you stayed inside on Christmas day was if it were raining or there was a blizzard going on. Even the girls went outside with their dolls though it was the boys making the noise. I did not see even 1 child outside this year and I left my daughter's house at 3pm in the afternoon! Come on parents. Make some changes in the lives of your children. I am not against computers and technology. My 10 and 13 year old grand daughters are proficient with computers because they have always been around them. But what happened to the bike as a gift or even a jumprope (remember double dutch)? What about skates, either blade or ice skates? The quiet was deafening and very sad. Something to think about.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Ponder this

My young 27 year old cousin, Kyle, died last week. The funeral was Sunday. A year ago my Mom took a turn for the worst during Thanksgiving week and died on Dec 1. Not to replay those heavy moments but I was speaking to Kyle's mom just now. She wanted to know "why?" She asked God to tell her something. As we talked, she got her answer. Someone had said to her, "you don't know what kind of pact Kyle made with God!" I never thought of that. Perhaps Kyle said he did not want to subject his friends and family to seeing him waste away in a bed for years. As hard as it was to know that he had crossed over, it would have been very difficult to see him lying in bed for months and years, not being the Kyle we knew. We don't have the final say. That's between the person and God. We may want them to stay but that is probably our own egos speaking. I know that Kyle touched a lot of people and his life, though short by our calculation, was not in vain. God is still in control. He said lean not on our own understanding. Be encouraged.