Say WHAT?

My dad told me something when I was a teenaged girl. “Don’t ever loan, or give money to ANY boy.”

And I can still hear the words that echoed through my brain. “Whatever, Dad!”

I gave a boy money. Furthermore, I paid to support a boy for several years while he drank and hurled insults at me… in fact, he almost killed me with his tantrums and rage.

I wish I never would have given him money.

There have been things that my parents said to me that I have always vowed to never, ever, ever (!) say to my kids. Ever. But I find myself thinking them. And some things come flying out of my mouth before I can stop them.

Get my point?

It’s more than frustrating!

My oldest son is 18 years old now, soon to be 19. He’s thinking about moving out with a guy he’s known for less than 2 months… a guy who can’t keep a job and has had over 4 jobs in this time period. A guy who has accepted money offered from my sweet 18 year-old young man because he felt sorry for what the guy was going through. A guy who is planning on moving into an apartment with his girlfriend and wants my son to be the third person… moving my son over 20 miles from his work, and he doesn’t have a car.

Please don’t get me wrong. I am a very compassionate person, but I have also been through a lot in my life because I am a compassionate person. I have been homeless for a short period and had to rely on the kindness of a friend. All because I thought it most important to stay with a man who beat me up whenever he felt like it. All because I didn’t want to be wrong.

I truly do believe God has great plans for my kids, and Jim and I have been very honest about the mistakes we have made. We hoped that they would see value in learning from our lapses in judgment and wouldn’t do the same thing. We hope to impart wisdom to them and want them to know that God promises to give wisdom to anyone who asks without finding fault (James 1:5-8).

Being a parent is so hard! Letting go is excruciating when you believe that your child isn’t ready for the world that awaits them.

And it’s heartbreaking when they aren’t hearing you.

I keep praying that God will guide his steps.

And I’m praying for myself that I won’t say anything that will damage our relationship as I’m learning to let him grow up and find his way. I want him to be able to make wise decisions, and I guess if he isn’t able to ever make those decisions, how will he learn?

I sure do love him and don’t want him to get hurt.

That is just unrealistic, but I wish it wasn’t.

Books, Books, and More Books!

Hi. My name is Christy, and I love books.

The problem is they get dusty.

We had a schedule typed for chores for the summer for the family. Even though this was on the list for weekends, I don't think it ever was dusted at all this summer.



And I am ashamed to admit that I'm not quite sure how long it's been since this bookcase was dusted at all, so I did it today. I enlisted help from Caleb, and he had to step ten feet away with every pile of books we took out. He took them out, and I dusted. Or moved the dust around. I'm not sure exactly what happened.

When we were finished, I stood back and looked at this project I had completed. And do you know what?

From a distance, like from across the room, you can't even tell I did anything at all.

Kudos to me (and Caleb) anyway!



And to think... this isn't our only bookcase. :-)

Jesse and Isaac helped with the CDs and DVDs in the narrow tower bookcases, all the while sneezing, complaining, moaning, and making gross sounds from their throats. I finally said, "Hey, I have allergies, too, and that's why I'm trying to get rid of this dust!" Jesse, the one with the broken arm, said, "Oh..."

Mom trump card used. Score!

Except from Book (Revision)

A few years ago, I started a big project in writing a book about domestic violence and how it affects a family. Sure, it's fiction, but the message is reality.

I had the first installment complete and published on Amazon Kindle. But after the second installment was written, and after going to a writer's conference and speaking directly with Chip McGregor (of McGregor Literary Agency), I started working on a revision. And instead of having two installments completed, I now have one... which is over 75,000 words. I have been working on it 15-20 minutes at a time on my lunch hour (lunch 30-minute break), but I worked all day yesterday on it. I can really tell the first part is almost perfected (because I have edited so many times). The second part still needs some polishing, but I plan on submitting to a publisher again.

In light of that, I'm going to add a little excerpt from the book right here.

-------------------------------

“Hello?”

          “Um, hello… Is this Annie Phillips?” The male voice on the other end asked.

          “May I ask who’s calling please?” 

“Well, this is Ben Marshall. I’m looking for Annie Phillips, the sister of one of my employees.”

          “Who is your employee?”

          “My employee’s name is Piper Phillips, and she left this number to call in case of an emergency, Ma’am. If you aren’t Annie Phillips, I’m sorry for bothering you.”

          “No, Mr. Marshall. I am Annie Phillips.”

          “Ms. Phillips, I’m calling about your sister.”

          “What happened? And, call me Annie, please, but is Piper okay?”

          “Ms. Phillips, um, Annie, that’s why I’m calling. Piper has had some, let’s say, struggles, lately, and she gave me explicit instructions to call only you if I hadn’t heard from her for a period of time… and that time has passed. I’m sorry that I really don’t know what else to say. All I can tell you is that she hasn’t been at work all week, and I haven’t heard from her, either, and that is what’s concerning to me.”

          “Well, why didn’t you call me before today, Mr. Marshall?”    

“Annie, please call me Ben. I am only following Piper’s instructions, and I’m sorry, but she had specific requests.”

          “Okay… Mr., Ben… Okay… Alright, Ben, are you telling me that my sister is…missing?”

          “Well, yes, Annie, I am telling you that I believe that Piper is missing. I don’t know that for sure, but I haven’t heard from her for a week, and it appears her cell has been disconnected.”         

          “Ben, I’m going to have to call you back. Please give me your number… Is this your cell phone number, or is it a work number?”

          “This is my work number I’m calling from, but I will give you both numbers.”

          Annie thanked him for his call, told him she would call him back in a few minutes, and they hung up.

          Think! Think!

 She didn’t even know where to begin.

          Just then, the doorbell pierced the silence, Chuckles barked excitedly, and Annie walked slowly to the door. Trying to compose herself, she unlocked the door and opened it to see Spiderman and couple of ballerinas.

          “Trick or treat!” They screeched.

Annie attempted to smile and mindlessly threw some candy in their bags. After the kids ran back to their parents, she closed and locked both doors. She went back into the kitchen and leaned on the cabinet.

What happened to Piper? What should I do? My cell phone! Where is it?

 Chuckles had followed her and now lay by her feet.

          She grabbed her purse, found her cell phone, and dialed Patty’s number as fast as she could. When her sister said “hello,” Annie couldn’t utter any words before the sobs started coming from deep inside.

          “Pip? What is it? Pip, you’re scaring me.”

          “Okay… Okay…”

          She explained the story Ben Marshall conveyed to her when he called, and then she asked what they were going to do. Of course, Patty, too, was at a loss. Obviously, someone was going to have to make the trip to Boston and search for Piper. 

-----------------------

And that's all for now...

Collision on Paper

Okay... don't laugh. I tried my hand at poetry today. It seemed to come fairly easy, but whether it's good, or even understandable to anyone else, is the question.

I want to be a published writer, and writers are supposed to write every day. So today, it's poetry. 

Collision on Paper

The vacant page

It bids me come

To express myself

With abandon and

Without regret.

The words summoned

Are drenched in significance

If only to me.

Tales are created from

This charming prose as it

Runs throughout the night

Awakening secret places

Where fiction and truth collide.

Distinct words chosen

Together create expressive phrases

Daring the creator to

Spin and transform

Lyrical puzzle bits

Into something convincing.

The reader

Takes the engraved page and

Desires to discover

Something noteworthy

To believe.

Lyrics dare to tell

With noble precision

The structured expression.

Where void once lived

Richness now exists.

Is Money More Important Than Horses... and People?

 

(Picture from JKS Quarter Horses, Sally Ahlerich Bannon,  https://www.facebook.com/jksquarterhorses) 

I just heard a news story which was very upsetting. I usually don’t make it a point to write about news stories on my blog, but in this case, I’ll make an exception.

It was a story about Merriwood Ranch, which is located in the DFW area. Opened in 1956, the camp has made a difference in the lives of many, many young people over the years by teaching horsemanship. You can check them out at http://merriwoodranch.com/index.htm. They give lessons and birthday parties and Scout badge work. While I have never visited this ranch, I appreciate what they’ve done in helping children.

And they are closing.

This property is located between two housing areas. I heard the City of Garland has opted to build 42 homes instead of allowing the ranch to continue operating in its present location. Does this mean that the tax income is more important than horses and children? Say they receive $3,000 (average) for 42 homes… that equals only $126,000/year. Is that worth what the DFW area will be losing?

Apparently, many people, including young people, attended the meeting. According to CBS11 news, there were persuasive speeches given to the council to keep the ranch open, but to no avail.

In my own research, looking at the website www.realtor.com, there are more than 600 houses for sale as of today in Garland. My question is: why is there such a need to build more houses when there so many available?

We all know what we’ve heard about having and taking care of pets having such a benefit to our lives. Well, maybe you haven’t heard! Pets can actually help decrease your blood pressure and reduce anxiety (http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/features/health-benefits-of-pets). They can also cause you to think of someone other than you. Loving pets is good for the soul!

And according to http://www.equestrianendeavors.com/benefits.html, riding horses is very beneficial to children, also. It helps them spiritually, emotionally, physically, and intellectually. It helps develop balance and coordination. And according to this website, horsemanship helps “riders learn to take responsibility for their own actions.” And the state of the world is such that we all could use some help for our young people, and even our young adults. Maybe even ourselves.

Merriwood Ranch has been working for over 50 years. Maybe they will find another location. Maybe they won’t.

I think it’s just sad when money becomes more important than people.

(If that isn’t the message that government would like to send its citizens, maybe they should let them know.)

Websites:

http://www.equestrianendeavors.com/index.html

http://merriwoodranch.com/index.htm

www.realtor.com

http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/features/health-benefits-of-pets