Jim and Helen Watch the Stanley Cup

A Dialogue:
Announcer: Detroit is the best with the “face-off”
H: What’s the face-off again?
J:   It’s how they start the game
H: Oh, the puck-off
J:  No, it’s called the “face-off”
H: Tamaato-Tomahto
J:  No! Wrong! Tomato-Eggplant!
H: Well, at least there is some evidence of wardrobe planning. I like the coordination of Home/Away uniforms and the player named Nordstroms
J: (eye roll)
Announcer: they’ve [...]

The Joy of Being Attacked by Satan

Over the last few weeks my beautuful wife and I have had a continuing conversation about something that we cant seem to fully understand.
Why does life seem like a neverending series of crises for some people, and a walk in a rose filled park for others?
It can be said that the people walking through the [...]

Jim and Helen Go To NASCAR

NOTE: Posting this entry in a timely manner, necessitated an abbreviated shorthand of sorts in the form of this acronym: IANMTU which means, “I am not making this up.”
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Jimmy first proposed to me at a car racing event so I was eager to return to the glory days when he asked me to go with [...]

Daily Vitamin, 3-4-09: Risk…The Fertilizer For Our Fruit

I have heard it said that faith is going to the edge of everything you know, and taking one more step. Why do most of us shutter at taking that one risky step? We can easily travel to the edge and look out at the unknown, but taking that one risky step of faith seems impossible.
God has provided [...]

Nascar’s GopherCam: A Woman’s Perspective

Nascar’s GopherCam: A Woman’s Perspective
Yesterday afternoon I attempted to re-enter the world and get caught up on the important news events of the week. This produced the following results:
**We now have the sophisticated technology to build, launch, locate, and shoot down an incoming space satellite.
**Albanian announced its independence from Kosovo.
**The shuttle Atlantis undocked successfully from [...]

Pink Vitamin February 4, 2008: The No-Complaint Zone

The No-Complaint Zone
Last year, the Rev. Will Bowen of Kansas City, Mo. gave a sermon challenging listeners not to complain for 21 consecutive days. He says 21 days is the length of time it takes to form — or break — a habit. He handed out purple bracelets as a reminder for them.Bowen encouraged people [...]

1-27 Daily Vitamin: I just took down our Christmas tree.

 I just took down our Christmas tree. Really. A few minutes ago the last of the ornaments descended from their perch overlooking our living room. Previous Christmases visitors should know that the tree was quite a bit bigger this year since Jim and I liberated a tall, proud spruce from my mom’s “attic of holiday [...]

Scriptural Resolutions For 2008

The best way to start the year is to reaffirm our love for God, and our desire to live in His light. Here’s a list of “Reaffirming” scriptures that have already started off our year. Take a minute and add a couple of your own.
May God bless us all as we begin a new year. 
1 Corinthians 16:13
Isaiah 43:18
1 Peter 1:13
1 [...]

Housecalls

Housecalls
I am sharing my home with another man today. And this is not the first time. I did it two weeks ago too.
I am letting him dictate the day and time. I have structured my whole day around his appearance. I am accepting less than forthcoming details on when he will arrive or when he [...]

1-2 Pink Vitamin: Weight Loss

 Weight Loss
Were the holidays good to you? Are you wearing more than the sweater from Uncle Fred? Here is a sure-fire weight loss strategy guaranteed to take pounds off immediately, if not sooner.
Forgive Yourself! Then forget it.
God has forgiven you, but better even than that, God has forgotten about what He forgave!
Jim gently reminded me [...]

12-31 Last Words/First Words

So what will your last words be for 2007? Hooray!? Yippee!?
What will your first words be for 2008?
It matters, you know…consider it.
Consider also beginning a new tradition tonight…
As you are thinking about your resolutions, consider writing four: one resolution for your family, one for your vocation, one for your avocation, and one just for yourself.
Tonight, [...]

Best Quotes We Found in 2007 Part 2

Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions. Today’s jealousy is tomorrow’s temper tantrum. Today’s bigotry is tomorrow’s hate crime. Today’s anger is tomorrow’s abuse. Today’s lust is tomorrow’s adultery. Today’s greed is tomorrow’s embezzlement. Today’s guilt is tomorrow’s fear. Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions. Can that be why Paul writes, “love…keeps no record of wrongs” 1 Cor. [...]

Pink Vitamin December 13, 2007:Selfishness

 Selfishness
I don’t usually write while in the bathroom. Multitasking has its place but there are limits. Today, however was an exception. The faculty bathroom in this New Mexico school was probably decorated by the design team of Southern Living magazine. In the bathroom was one of those Sentiment-of-the-Day calendars. Probably everyone wondered why I left the bathroom, [...]

Pink Vitamin December 9, 2007:Celebrate the “Merry” with “Christmas”

Celebrate the “Merry” with “Christmas”
Here is what I am hearing as I work in teacher workrooms, office hallways and hotel lobbies: “My husband won’t go with me to the Christmas party because he doesn’t like crowds.”
“My kids said they aren’t spending one more boring holiday with Aunt Mildred.”
“My daughter’s father-in-law won’t come to our house [...]

Pink Vitamin December 6, 2007: A Deal Is A Deal

 It’s 4:00 am.
It’s 4:00 am and I have just watched my husband walk away.
The door to the hotel room closes gently with a little help from my 4:00am hands.
This is what we do. Ours is a marriage  of “see you soon.” Not “goodbye” but “see you soon.”
What is the old joke?
How do you stay married [...]

“Give Thanks for the Pain” November 21 Pink Vitamin

I am thankful you are here, right now, reading this. Today, on the day before Thanksgiving, please take a minute or two and give thanks…for the bad.
Give thanks for surviving the bad events and people in your life. The tendency, the “Hallmark” thing to do, is to focus on the good, the blissful, the harp-rendering [...]

Pink Vitamin October 25, 2007

We are still energized by the beauty of fall leaves…for a couple of California kid transplants, this is seriously great! 
Because of Grace…Transformed lives, like changing fall leaves, do not escape God’s nurturing attention.
2 Corinthians 5:17: If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
 

Daily Pink Vitamin October 12, 2007

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Romans 7:14
Those of you who read this blog occasionally (or when we send you an email prompting) know that my husband Jim writes a Daily Vitamin referencing a Bible verse and its [...]

Daily Vitamin – 10/9/07

As the previous post indicates my wonderful wife and I have just celebrated our first anniversary. Over the last few days there have been more than a few occasions when I remembered a funny story, or an especially happy moment. The silly grin I had on my face last week was a small indication of [...]

Because of Grace, 1 Year of Marriage Down, 49 to go!

10/6/06-10/6/07: Top 10 Things We Learned After One Year of Marriage
 
10. Never question a man about football or a woman about the difference between pumps and mules.
 9. The key to a successful marriage is 2 bathroom sinks, 1 person to cook and 1 to do the dishes, and it doesn’t matter who takes out the trash
8. [...]

Homecomings

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Working in Detroit…Rain, Rain, and more Rain…

I dashed to the rental car drop off, to the shuttle, and to the airport only to find out from an airline ticket representative that my return flight was one hour late. As I cleared security, the progress of my flight went [...]

Because of Grace…There are Homecomings!

Working in
Detroit…Rain, Rain, and more Rain…
I dashed to the rental car drop off, to the shuttle, and to the airport only to find out from an airline ticket representative that my return flight was 1 hour late.
As I cleared security, the progress of my flight went from 1 hour, then 2 hours, then 3 [...]