A Breath of Fresh Air

I was blessed today at work by a customer. Which, I'm sad to say, hardly ever happens.

I saw this very elderly gentleman waiting patiently in line for his turn to cash out. My station today happened to be the cash-out register. When he approached, I saw many, many wrinkles from life's long, hard road. Glasses covering squinting eyes and a shabby beard.

His smile was genuine though... which made his entire outward appearance seem flawless. He had a peaceful presence about him. A huge part of me when he approached wanted to walk around the counter and hug him, for which at the time I couldn't understand.

I am usually the first to talk when a customer comes to the counter. He however immediately greeted me with "How is your day going, Hannah?"

I replied that it was going well and asked him the same in return.

To which he said, "Every day to me is a gift... I treat it as though it was my last, because by all rights, I shouldn't be here now."

I stared with a puzzled look. "After my life saving kidney transplant, in which one of my children was the donor, life has taken on a whole new perspective."

I cant even remember what I said as we ended the transaction. All I know is that after he turned away, I remember blinking and wiping away a tear.

God's Special Gift: Mother

When God set the world in place,

when He hung the stars up in space,

when He made the land and the sea,

then He made you and me. 

He sat back and saw all that was good,

He saw things to be as they should.

Just one more blessing He had in store;

He created a mother, but whatever for? 

He knew a mother would have a special place

to shine His reflection on her child's face.

A mother will walk the extra mile

just to see her children smile.

She'll work her fingers to the bone

to make a house into a home. 

A mother is there to teach and guide,

a mother will stay right by your side.

She'll be there through your pain and strife,

she'll stay constant in your life. 

A mother will lend a helping hand

until you have the strength to stand.

She'll pick you up when you are down,

when you need a friend she'll stick around.

A mother is one who listens well,

will keep her word; will never tell.

A mother never pokes or pries

but stands quietly by your side,

giving you the strength you need,

encouraging you to succeed.

A mother is one who can be strong

when you need someone to lean on. 

You're more than a mother to me;

a reflection of Him in your face I see,

a love that knows no boundaries.

I'm glad that you chose to be

all this and more to me.

You share a love that knows no end,

you're more than my mother,

you are my friend. 

-Kari Keshmiry

God Winks

Dont you just love those moments? You know, those ones that make your mouth drop open in blessed disbelief? Those small-world moments? Coincidences?

I love them. I'm tickled pink when things like that happen to me.

Well my lovely aunt found a website and a man completely devoted to those 'wow' moments. This man, SQuire Rushnell, likes to call the small-world times "God Winks."

How neat is that? 'God Winks'! It's like God saying "Hey Kid! I'm thinking of you right now!"

I would encourage you to click on over to his website and watch SQuire tell some stories right out of the three books he has published. They are about 3 minutes long.

Be prepared to be truly amazed.

Here are some of my favorites :)

What is a God Wink?

The Crystal Cathedral

Alice and Jack

A Dreary Day... More Than Weather

I was talking with someone yesterday and it sort of stirred something in me that normally isn't there. In fact, I've never felt this. It bothered me greatly.

After deep thought, I heard something in my gut whisper "discontentment".

I shuddered. 

I've never felt this way. Being content is something I thank God for because I believe it's something He has blessed me with as a person. It's a quality that is naturally woven into my personality. Being content constantly means I'm just always fine with whatever. Always fine with where God has placed me. Always fine in almost every situation. 

And not just 'always fine', but genuinely fine.

Being content means I try my hardest to fulfill the old saying "Bloom where you are planted."

But for the first, honest-to-goodness time I felt.... lower? Less valuable? Insignificant? Incapable?

I felt like I was nothing... Especially in the shadow of the person I was talking to. He had done so much in his still young life and it stunned me how different we truly were.

I was mentally comparing myself to the places he's gone and the seemingly boring travels I've made. Mentally comparing myself to the adventures he's had and what I thought was pretty significant in my life. Mentally comparing myself to his out-of-high school education and my cooking classes.

Mentally comparing myself to his usual schedule and the things he does and what I do. I know I am extremely busy, but when trying to tell a curious person about my daily life, I'm struck with it's apparent dullness.

This wasn't normal for me. It was definitely a new experience and I combated it with God's word and the promises I know it holds.

I heard God saying "I have something greater for you. You know Me and the higher purpose I have called you to compared to those around you. Hold onto Me."

This situation opened me eyes to how quickly the enemy can slip into an area I thought was secure and meddle. The enemy is there looking for every opportunity.

Thank the Lord we have Someone to go to with our cares and troubles who is bigger than everything we can imagine!

Connecting One Generation to Another

Recently, for kicks, my lovely aunt typed in my grandfather's name into Google. Actually she typed every single one of our names, but this one amazed me. I mean I was simply struck.

She typed in his name intending to find my brother somewhere but because my brother shares the exact name with my grandfather, my great-grandfather and my great-great-grandfather this came up: She clicked on one of Google's links and then realized it was a digitized article from the 'Pomeroy Tribune'. She looked at the date and realized it contained simple information about my great great grandfather in 1891. I was staring at the computer screen seeing a couple sentences about my great grandfather and a baseball game he pitched in as an adult.

The fact that someone digitized that telegraph from so long ago amazed me. Having something that linked me to my grandfather whom I never knew, and will never know, stunned me. I had an overwhelming feeling---- the kind that comes when cross paths with a certain person who suddenly makes the world feel small. The kind that comes and makes you just stand there and stare in unbelief.

I cant believe there is something actually out there that connects me to my great-great-grandfather over 118 years ago. It connects the 19th century to the 21st.

Food... For Thought?

The other day my mother and I were throwing together a quick lunch for the family and were going to serve canned green beans a quick and easy side dish. We dont make a diet on canned veggies or fruits, because well, they hold little to no nutritional value. But when we're in a hurry, they are a good "filler".

I went to the shelf and picked three random cans. I came up stairs, opened them, poured them in a pan and found this!

The color differences in all three can amazed me. The one that grosses me out the most is the one to the far right. The bright, pretty green one. The can read "Veggi-Green". In the ingredients list it said "Green beans, water, salt and zinc chloride for stabilization of color". Does that say "eeww" to anyone else? I found the 'No Salt Added' coloring interesting. That means that the salt preserves it, so sitting in a can for a while with no salt makes it fade. Then the other ones were just normal (beans, water, salt).

I found the variances in color interestesting.... maybe disturbing.

Johnny's Birthday Painted Blue

We saw The Blue Man Group for Johnny's birthday. It was, I can honestly say, one of the coolest, craziest and most fun performances I've EVER seen.

Thinking outside of the box could be the biggest understatement of all time. They think of things I never would. Their specialty is music and loud, loud, loud percussion. They wind so much humor in it (thankfully very clean) that it makes for an amazing time. You are either laughing hysterically, screaming (when told to), clapping, jumping, waving hands--- it was just a BLAST. I guess their shows have different "names" around the country and world because this one was titled "Tubes". A lot of their props were tubes and it was fascinating! And what's the coolest thing, I think, is that they are completely expressionless during the show. They show no emotion and dont talk nor smile nor laugh. They just look at each other and make motions and are able to communicate with each other perfectly. I was surprised at how much the audience knew exactly what they were "saying" with their motions.

Moral of the story: See a Blue Man Group if you have a chance--

You certainly wont regret it!!

Because they prohibit photos during the show, here are some pictures I stole from Google of last night's performance:

And here are photos we took after the show:

Us and two of the Blue Men!