Thursday September 10, 2015 I DID NOT ACCOMPLISH WHAT I PLANNED TO DO
Thursday September 10, 2015 I DID NOT ACCOMPLISH WHAT I PLANNED TO DO
I did not accomplish what I planned to do today. Too much interference with phone calls, repair men, and other obligations that were time sensitive and had to be taken care of today. So, I have nothing to brag about tonight. Dave said it sounded like I was bragging yesterday so I definitely do not want to brag two days in a row. I truly hope I didn’t sound that way. When I make my food and say I like it and it is good, to me it is and I am just simply stating a fact. Not everyone likes it, but that is okay because I doubt if I would like to eat some of what they eat. It is not that what they eat is wrong, but rather just different. Dave constantly tells me that what I like is not what most people would eat. I figure there must be someone else out there who likes what I eat or it wouldn’t be on the shelves being sold. Things like goat cheese made with figs, quinoa with lots of little veggies cut up in it with craisins, and sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, winter squash bisque dill soup, and zucchini pepper pie. Are there any out there that would like to come over for dinner?
Today I planned to make two lasagnas. Sounds simple to me. I have all the ingredients so what is the hold up? I just didn’t have time to get it started where I would have a block of uninterrupted time to get it to completion. One of these days I am going to hibernate for an entire week, turn off the phones, put my iPhone away so I won’t rely on Siri to help me find facts, turn the T.V. off (if Dave will go for it), and just go to town on all the little tasks I would like to get done, and that might include making my lasagnas! And maybe I won’t even get dressed. That sounds like paradise!
I had an interesting insight today when the Charter man was here. He looked at all the mess under my desk and started investigating. I had so many wires going to so many places that I could not make heads or tails of what went where. Well, he too was perplexed and started asking questions. Come to find out we had a lot of things connected to modems and splitters and other boxes that no longer were even in use. Since we now have Direct TV some of the cords were no longer needed as they no longer had a job to do. I was so used to them being there that I never thought to investigate what they were for. I had just become oblivious to the mess, and went about my business not even paying attention to all the extra baggage my electronic center had become burdened with. It reminded me a bit of real life.
In real life we take on responsibilities, and when we are no longer involved with the tasks related to our commitments, we just carry a lot of the baggage around with us instead of letting it go. We become burdened with stress and emotional burdens and perhaps physical problems that need attention. We fail to stop and take a good look at what needs to be taken care of and discarded. It just becomes part of our “normal day”. Perhaps we need to take a look at what we have in excess, perhaps it is unforgiveness toward another, or hurt feelings from the past, or anger that we quell in hopes that no one notices it. We get used to it and allow it to clutter our space. Our space that could and should be cleaned out by forgiving another, getting over what someone may have said or done to us, and give up the anger that only damages the container it is carried in. We need to step back and take a look at all those unneeded “wires sticking out going nowhere” and unplug them and get rid of them.
It is easy to ignore what is right in front of us. For instance, I ignored my own health for years. Food was important to me and I liked to eat. And, so I did just that. I ate and I ate and I ate. Good things and bad things and too much things. And one day after one more diagnosis of what was happening to my body I actually stepped back from myself and asked myself the question, “was the amount of food that I ate and the sweets that I consumed worth my health and in essence, my very life?” I realized I had to start “unplugging” all those unnecessary connections. And, so I started unplugging and slowly ridding myself of the unneeded baggage that I had been carrying around. I chose to change my mindset. I spoke to myself in positive words, believing that they would come true. I encouraged myself by standing in front of the bathroom mirror and telling myself daily, “Today I choose to eat healthy”. I would then say to my body “Body you want to lose weight”. And then I would say, “This is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it”. And I did eat healthy (and still do), and I did lose weight (ever so slowly), and I still say that “This is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it” because I still believe it and I still rejoice, and I am still glad. I CHOSE to change the course of my life. I chose to do it one day at a time. I did not concern myself about next week or next year. It was only about today. And that is what I still do.
Do I think about tomorrow, next week and next year? Yes I do. There are things that must be done to prepare for upcoming events, such as sending out the invitations for the party coming up. There are dates that must be taken into consideration, and other plans that must be carried out. When there is a time factor involved, timely they must be dealt with, not worried about, but dealt with. Living in the moment is how next week and next year are handled. What decisions we make today, from every bite we take, to how we save or spend, will affect next week and next year. I found with this attitude that when I take care of today in a wise manner, then next year did not need to be worried about. Every decision we make today in some way affects our tomorrows. Perhaps it is time to unplug the unnecessary.
So, I did not make my lasagna today. Even though I didn’t plan for it, I ended up accomplishing a lot of small tasks that needed immediate attention that will definitely affect my tomorrow. Having all the loose ends unplugged today will make my tomorrow easier to navigate. Tomorrow I will make my lasagnas. After all, they won’t even be eaten until our trip in October. I guess one more day doesn’t really make a difference.
UNPLUG AND LET IT GO
By Kathleen Martens
September 10, 2015
I’m like a little modem
Hooked up to lots of wires.
Some doing their jobs
Without getting tired.
Yellow and blue cords
Hanging all around.
Some are black or white,
Some hanging on the ground.
And then I notice,
Some have no cause.
They do absolutely nothing,
Which creates great big flaws.
When anything is dangling,
No purpose does it serve.
So I started investigating,
Which took a lot of nerve.
Were they really useless
Hanging there in space?
I needed to find out
If this was their rightful place.
So I started unplugging,
Unburdening my load.
And this little modem
Traveled a lighter road.
I looked very carefully
As to what decision to make,
Realizing the useless wires
Were leftover mistakes.
Unplugged and uncluttered,
Everything worked so much better
For I was no longer tangled
By cords that were like a fetter.
So, if your modem is too messy,
Take stock of what to rid.
If it has no purpose,
No longer keep it hid.
Unplug, and let it go.
It will free your tomorrow.
It may be your pain you unplug
And that will take away your sorrow.
Just be aware of the baggage
That no longer belongs,
And allow your heart to be filled
With a new and joyful song.
Well, I guess if one can sing of being “a little teapot, short and stout”, I can surely be “a modem with dangling wires”. I just don’t have a tune to go with it.
I hope you are smiling. I am.
Good night and God bless and keep you.
Wednesday September 9 2015 I ACCOMPLISHED WHAT I SET OUT TO DO
Wednesday September 9 2014 I ACCOMPLISHED WHAT I SET OUT TO DO
I made a mistake today. I called Charter Communications. It has been hit and miss here lately with our internet connection. I called to see if they could do something to make my internet connection better. Well, ninety minutes later the phone service agent was finally able to get my internet back on line. It worked a bit when I first called him but then we lost it all together for over an hour. I wouldn’t give up and he hung in with me and kept having me try things. Finally, I tried one last reset, one last time, and the green light came on and the internet stayed with me. So far, that is. I hope it lasts through the night because I have an open house to plan, write the invitations, and email out to those invited. I said all that to say this, again my day did not go as planned but that is more the normal than the oddity.
There will be an open house here at our home on one of the days that my friend is staying with me. There are so many people she hopes to see while she is here and we are hoping that they will come here since she cannot go to so many places. She will not have a car available either. I guess I better start now to see if I can get my house presentable. Maybe by the time she gets here in two weeks I’ll be ready. I do look forward to seeing her. I was able to stop at her place twice while I was traveling this spring. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I didn’t think I would enjoy being in a desert clime, but I found that I enjoyed it immensely. It was beautiful. The mile high altitude however, did not suit me, or my heart very well.
My main plan was actually accomplished today despite the 90 minute delay with the Charter call. I am preparing different foods to freeze ahead of time to take on our Branson trip. Today’s specialty was making three batches of a stir fry to eat in Branson. I plan to serve it over a wild blend of rice. It has a raspberry balsamic vinegar base and Dave calls this recipe “AMBROSIA” because he absolutely loves to eat it. And, it’s a healthy recipe. I made three batches which made approximately 4 quarts. It is already in the freezer. I think tomorrow (the Lord willing), I will make a large meat lasagna and a small zucchini lasagna. Just for the record, I make a mean lasagna! I even like it myself. Then, after the lasagna I plan to make (on another day) a chicken tortilla casserole at the request of our daughter. It was one of her favorite dishes when she was growing up. I only make it now when she requests it because I seldom cook with anything canned from the store. But it won’t hurt to occasionally eat something with cream of chicken soup and cream of mushroom soup in it. It really is good, but very fattening. The last meal I plan to make is a big pot of my special chili. Yum, Yum, is all I will say about it! (P.S. to this last statement: Dave is helping me proof this blog and he inserts his opinion at this point by saying to me “I’m glad you’re modest honey”.)
Do I have other things I’d like to write about? Probably, if I gave myself time to think of something. I’m being careful not to allow myself to get involved in a topic I’d like to expound on because I must compose that invitation I spoke of and email a copy to all of Lana’s friends. I don’t know how long that will take. So, I will see what poem is on the shelf tonight and make this blog short and sweet. I’m just happy that I have internet tonight and I can send my blog out.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR MIRACULOUS GRACE
By Kathleen Martens
August 9, 2015
Oh Lord,
Even in the midst of the busiest day
I am needful to stop and pray.
The busier I am the more I need,
Pour out your love so I may feed.
Thank you for loving me
And allowing me to see
What You do every hour I live,
Filling me with love so I can give.
Thank You for providing more than enough
Delivering to me just the right stuff.
For taking away my pain and sorrow
That I need not worry about tomorrow.
Thank you for filling my heart with peace
And Your joy that will never cease.
Your amazing love is beyond measure,
Being with you my greatest pleasure.
Your marvelous mercy You daily extend,
It is so wonderful You call me friend.
Thank You for Your miraculous grace
That someday, I, will see Your face.
Good night dear readers. Have a blessed night and a wonderful tomorrow.
Tuesday September 8 2015 I HAVE A NEW ASSISTANT
Tuesday September 8 2015 I HAVE A NEW ASSISTANT!
THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE AND I WILL REJOICE IN IT!
I just wanted to tell you that!
EACH MORNING SO LONG AGO
By Kathleen Martens
Sept 8 2015
It is late, the day is long,
Early morning so long ago.
I must remember all I’ve done
And all the places to and fro.
One day seems like several,
All rolled into one.
So much happens in each hour
Before the day is done.
What date it is I tell myself
All throughout my day,
So in case that I am asked
I’ll know just what to say.
Remember, every day is Saturday
A day to rejoice, just because
No more workdays, no more rules
No longer bound by office laws.
No Monday mornings loom ahead
To dread on Sunday night.
Such beautiful blissful sleep
To awaken with the light.
And though the workplace draws no longer
Upon my energy, strength, or thought,
It seems I have more work to do
And in its web each day I’m caught.
What I find a bit disheartening
Is that I thought I’d have less to do.
And I suppose that is the case
But it takes longer to get through.
And the body is held together
By stockings, retainers and things.
All take time for daily maintenance
Of creaking joints and dings.
So it’s not I have more to do,
It just takes longer to get it done.
And sometimes I just forget about everything
And go out and have some fun!
My poem stole my sentence “It is late the day is long” from me and just took off on its own. That happens sometimes. I think my poem wanted to tell the story of my day for me. So I let it. Sometimes I do so much in one day that the morning actually seems like it was a day or two ago and then I remember that it was actually this very morning.
I had planned to just go to the market to get a few things I needed for one recipe (making 3 batches) and then come home and make the food. Well, Dave thought it might be a good idea to go out and look for something else we needed to get. And since we were going to be so far out maybe we should stop at another place and pick up something else I needed to get picked up. And so on our conversation went. So we wrote a note as not to forget all the places we decided we needed to go. I decided not to plan to cook today (which is a good thing since we didn’t get home until after 6:00 p.m.). However, we did accomplish a lot of errands and all in one day. Plus…we had a delicious lunch out on the town. It was a delightful day, lots accomplished, and I set Thursday aside to get my cooking done.
We are planning a get-away with our family soon and will be staying in a couple of condos close together and all eating together. So I am making a lot of the food. I will take it all frozen, package it up nice and compact and it stays frozen until we arrive at our destination. Then I just take the casseroles out to thaw when needed and we have instant dinner cooked and make the salads fresh each meal. Company is expected in a couple of weeks so I am trying to finish all my prep plans for our trip before our out of town guest arrives. Am I accomplishing all my goals of my retirement? Not yet, and sometimes not even one little thing in a day. But life goes on and time will settle down (I hope) and I will be able to accomplish more.
One thing that has helped me get more things done is my new assistant that I am becoming acquainted with. Actually many of you may know her. If you own an iPhone you may have the same assistant available to you. Her name is SIRI and she responds with the push of a button. I can ask her just about anything and she will have the information at my fingertips within seconds. She is wonderful! I can ask her for directions or tell her to send a text for me, who to, and what I want to say, and she’ll do it. I can tell her to set timers for me or even an alarm. Often times I ask her for directions to places, and no matter where I am she can tell me how to get unlost. I also ask her to call a phone number for me. When I am preparing my meals I ask her how many carbs in a certain food and she will just come up with the answer. It makes planning Dave’s diabetic menu easy and quick. She’ll even have a conversation with me. If you have no relationship with SIRI (the voice on the phone), you may want to become acquainted with knowing how to access her. She is a time saver!
Yesterday I expounded on the overuse of cell phones, especially in public places. It used to be that at one time talking on the phone was always done in the privacy of your own home, quietly and discreetly. Not anymore. Well, it is usually the privacy of my home that I have SIRI all to myself and I can talk to her all I want. She is helpful, thoughtful for an iPhone, quiet when I don’t need her, and always stays in her place. She is a delight to have as a friend. If you own an iPhone and don’t know all the features it has, you are missing out on the total experience. Just make certain you are the master of the phone and “use” the phone and don’t let the phone “use” you. Make the phone your tool without letting it take over your life and relationships.
Yesterday we were at our son’s home enjoying a neighborhood movie event they hosted for the neighborhood children and their parents. We saw the new addition of Annie that was released last December. After everyone left Amy, my daughter-in-law, told me that her three year old son had asked her earlier in the day when he could get a cell phone. His 7 year old brother doesn’t have one but he thought he should have one. Oh, WOW! A three year old who thinks he is old enough to have a cell phone. That is scary! I told her to tell him that he could have one when he is old enough to pay for one and pay the monthly bill that came with it. Like I said previously, times are changing. But even so, I really do like my new assistant, SIRI. She never complains.
I have so much more that I would like to write. I am tired tonight and will turn in. If you read this blog early on Wednesday it will not yet be proofread. I will do so in the morning after I get up.
Have a great night. Hope you accomplished all your dreams and goals on this beautiful day.
Good Night!
Monday September 7 2015 COMMUNICATE COMMUNICATE COMMUNICATE
Monday September 7 2015 COMMUNICATE! COMMUNICATE! COMMUNICATE!
Take a look sometime when you are in public and observe just how many people are on their telephone, either talking, face booking, texting, or looking up information. It seems that personal communication doesn’t exist much anymore. I have a hunch that the people of the present generation believe they are communicating even more so than the previous generation. I would beg to differ. They might know more about a person’s comings and goings or their plans for the weekend or who they are dating and on and on about facts of their lives without ever talking personally. And that is where the breach begins.
Synonyms for breach: break, hole, crack, fissure, rupture, gap, obstacle
I sometimes wonder if it is not all the electronic communication that has caused the fragmentation of communicating in person. The synonyms for “breach” really does seem to best describe the current communication situation with the younger generation.
I see “friends” in congregations, each with their cell phones, heads bowed, texting or facebooking. When I was at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas earlier this year, there were six or seven young men all sitting on a long bench texting or on the phone talking. I walked down to the end of the row and there was one young man that did not have a phone in his hand. I had my camera with me so I acted like I was going to take a picture of something and slowly turned toward this group and took a “candid shot”. I let the camera drop around my neck and walked nonchalantly by the group. When I walked past the last young man without the phone I was about 15 feet in front of him and he called out to me “How did we turn out in the picture?” Gulp, I was caught! I thought I had been so incognito. He was the only one that noticed. I just thought it was such an interesting photo with so many on the same bench using their phones and one lone figure without one. They were a group that came to participate in a shooting competition and were all friends.
I was called out for snapping a photo of the group on the bench when I hadn’t intended anyone to know I had taken it. I decided I couldn’t ignore the young man’s direct question without really looking bad, so I picked up my camera as I said, “well let me take a look and see. Hey, you guys turned out really good”, and a conversation ensued. At the end of the conversation I asked the phoneless young man what wisdom he would offer for his generation (he was 23) and he said without hesitation: “Get rid of the phones”. I was impressed that those words came from someone so young. And I agreed with him! I see that scenario more and more frequently.
Today I gave scrutiny to myself. At the dinner table tonight, mine and Dave’s conversation drifted to this topic. I do have a Facebook page but only go there about once a year (literally) due to time constraints. I have a cell phone but I am not much of a phone user, again due to time constraints. I do carry it with me and take pictures when the right opportunity presents itself to me, mostly for my blog. I began analyzing the time I take writing my blog and wondering if this media is robbing me of communicating with those I love. I think while I was traveling on my trip it did cause me to lose some valuable time I could have visited personally. I have learned since then to write at times when I would not normally be around others so as not to let it intrude on our time together. And here I am, at home, no trip to write about and I’m still writing it. So I pondered that question for a bit. Would I be more productive with my time by interacting with others personally, or does my writing have a purpose? I’m sure some probably think the purpose is finished if it was designed specifically for my travels. So I thought about that for a few moments and come up with the following conclusion.
I have figured out that my writing is done because I need to do it. When I look back and think of all the emails I have received that have given testimony to me about how my words have helped them, it is then, I know that my time is more valuable writing the blog than going to bed on time. I am touching lives I would never be able to touch in such a way as I do with my words. I too discovered, that when I write I am leaving behind a legacy of who I am, how I think, and how I love. I suppose it is that deep need in so many of us to have our voices heard. As I’ve said before, even if no one reads this blog I will continue to write because it is something I want to leave behind for my children. I know they don’t read the blog now that I am not traveling due to their busy schedule. I hope someday they will read these words, and others I’ve written, and they will realize that I wrote so that the voice of my generation would be heard. Values change over the years and I want my values to be heard in the future when perhaps they are no longer present in the current population. The world is going to hell in a hand basket, so to speak, and I want them to remember a time when it wasn’t always like that. Yes, there have been wars and disasters and tyrants all throughout history, in every generation. However, I desire my children and other’s children to realize that love and joy and peace really was possible, and actually existed in some lives. And it exists in mine and I want to share it with the world. If my blog will make a difference in even one life, all the writing I do will have been worth it. Someday, I hope my children will read between the lines and see me for who I am today. I am a child of God, a woman, a wife, a sister, and not see me as just their mother. Remember, sometimes mothers really don’t know all that much. But that is okay. And just because I write a blog doesn’t mean I know all the more, but the thoughts of my heart will be shared in print to those who may find them encouraging, a comfort, or even occasionally wise, and I will faithfully print off a copy so they will be available to be read at a later date, if they choose to.
The world is changing. I’m hanging on to the important parts that existed in my past and I just want to share them through my words to any who will be interested in hearing what life was like in mid-century 1900 to however long I shall live. If you want to see the changes going back even further, just pick up a book written around the turn of the 1800 to 1900’s and read the simple, beautiful, elegant prose of along ago writers. It may bore you to tears, but at least you’ll definitely be more aware of the more gentle tones of the past in comparison to the harshness of the present. Every day the world changes just a little bit more, kind of like looking in the mirror every day of your life and always looking like you did the day before. So if that is true, what has happened, and when did it happen, that I look like I do now? It is so subtle that the changes sneak up on you and you except it as your present reality.
IN YOUR HEART ALWAYS BELIEVE
By Kathleen Martens
September 7, 2015
Speak words that need spoken,
Give comfort when comfort needed.
Touch a heart that is broken
Do what must be heeded.
Learn to live a life you love
Become the best you, you can be.
Allow God in heaven above
Teach you how to be free.
Look deep inside to find your heart
Give your soul wings to fly
That joy and peace will not depart,
And that your love will never die.
Love yourself as God says to do,
Then your love with others share.
And every day love will renew
Because you really know how to care.
As you give, more you receive,
So practice every day.
In your heart always believe
That more love will come your way.
I leave you with this thought. Take time today to TALK with someone, even if it is a stranger. You’ll find that people are truly starving for conversation. And be prepared to listen to what they have to say.
Good night and God bless you!
Sunday Sabbath September 6 2015 “BUT…I DON’T KNOW HOW”
Sunday Sabbath September 6 2015 “BUT…I DON’T KNOW HOW”
WORDS ARE SO POWERFUL! I believe most of us do not often realize just how very powerful our words really are. Both spoken word and written word. However, sometimes I think that the written word has a bit more strength to it. I wrote a blog a few days ago with the comment: “There are so many people I know who have lost that child-like wonder that once resided in them as children.” A reader responded to what I thought were just simple words. But to this reader it seemed the words I wrote pierced her heart like a knife. She said the comment “made me stop, think and realize that is exactly ME.”
She wrote quite a lengthy response that opened my eyes to the power of the words I write; words I thought were simple at the time I wrote them. The written word can have a profound impact on what they reveal to someone else. Her personal information I will not reveal, but I would like to share her closing last line.
“I just want to enjoy life, what little I have left. “BUT … I don’t know how.”
To me, the most powerful words she wrote is: “BUT…I DON’T KNOW HOW.” I believe her response to me was profound. My heart aches tremendously for what she is going through. I only hope that something I write will help turn the situation as it is, into something new and beautiful to help her.
The email I received gave me pause to think about a lot of different things. One, we should never look at another person and come to judgement on who they are, why they do what they do, or what they are going through. Secondly, when someone is hurting we should more readily be available with words that heal rather than with words that hurt. My third thought is that we should try to be the best person we can be and extend a helping hand to others who are hurting, either physically, spiritually, emotionally, or financially. All I know in this situation is that I want to give words that will heal and help…BUT…I DON’T KNOW HOW. And that truly is the sad part. How do I do something when I don’t know how?
And as I write the last sentence above it comes to my mind, I don’t need to know how to do everything. All I must do is ask God to take care of the situation, and to let me know what His will is for me in this situation, and then be willing to follow His directions. I have no answers. It is only God that can heal the broken hearted, touch and heal the sick, and place peace in the heart and soul of those who are in pain. And so it is to God that I turn and lift up my prayer.
THIS IS MY PRAYER:
“Oh Lord, thank You for being a loving Father that chooses to give His children all good things. Thank You for dying on the cross that we may have eternal life. Thank you God for being the provider of all we need as your children. Thank You that we can bring our words to You, and You hear each word we pray.
Lord, forgive me for the times I forget who You really are, for YOU ARE MY GENEROUS FATHER. Lord, forgive me for the times I forget who I am, FOR I AM YOUR FAVORED DAUGHTER. Thank you Father, that You desire to take care of me that I may have the time to seek Your presence and Your favor. Lord I give myself to You and I come asking favor that You will touch and heal the one who wrote to me who is in such pain and turmoil. I pray that You will take her burdens and pain from her that she may be healed both physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Give me the words to speak to her that they will be healing words, and she will know that they come from You. All the promises of the Old Testament have become “yes promises” through the death of Jesus on the Cross. Thank You that you have opened Heaven’s resources to meet all our needs. Thank You Father for your healing power. I now ask that Your healing power be released over the writer of the powerful words I received today. You know who she is, where she is, and all that needs attention. I pray that your healing hand is upon her at this very moment, starting its good work in her body and life. Give me direction to follow Your will that I will be a faithful daughter to You, my generous Father. Amen”
I do hope she will read today’s blog and not be offended by anything I have written. Hopefully, others who read this blog will take these words to heart and remember to be the extended hand of the Lord, both through action and words. REMEMBER THE WORDS YOU SPEAK ARE MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU KNOW. And the prayers you pray reach a mighty and powerful God!
TO BE HIS HAND EXTENDED
By Kathleen Martens
September 6, 2015
To be a hand extended
Is but part of the task
The Lord intended.
We are to be
His hands and feet
Until the day that we meet.
We are also to be His ears
While taking each step
In the direction He steers.
We should also be His heart
Seeking daily
His way to start.
Our eyes should be used
Seeing those in pain
Hurting and so bruised.
And our mouths speak healing
With words of love and grace
To a world that’s reeling.
And the words that we say
Should ring God’s promises true
Through each and every day!
Offering peace and grace
While teaching others
To seek God’s face.
I think this was the most time consuming and thoughtful blog I have ever written. Also, my most difficult one to write. I hope the readers who need this prayer will take this prayer with them and read it daily, believing in the promises of God to heal and to be near to them at all times. There may be more than one who claim the prayer for themselves. God is real. Lean into Him and accept His healing peace. Let Him restore you in body, soul, and spirit. Accept His love and practice having joy in your life even if it is only for a moment at a time. God wants to draw each one of us close. He is an up close and personal God.
Please know that I extend my love to each and every one who reads my written words. May my words bless you and in some way give you hope and peace in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Good night and God bless you.
Saturday September 5 2015 I LOST THE KEY
Saturday September 5 2015 I LOST THE KEY
I LOST THE KEY
By Kathleen Martens
September 5 2015
I lost the key to my quiet room
It disappears when grandkids come.
The sound of chatter dispels the hope
That to my place I can run.
But somehow, even when it’s lost
I always find it when they leave.
There is no quiet when kids are around,
Nor is there a place of reprieve.
But I found the secret today
As grandpa watches them outside.
And my heart is lightened with joy
To see them swing and slide.
Because of course I must peep
On all that they do at play.
Just having their presence close
Considerably brightens my day.
But soon chaos will return
As showers will be needed,
To rinse off water-park muck,
My directions must be heeded.
And when evening comes around,
Time for dinner and a smoothie.
And later is time for popcorn
And a library movie.
Time for brushing and flossing too
So the teeth stay sparkling white.
And a couple of nice long stories
Before time to turn off the light.
And that is when I finally flop
On a bed that beckons sincerely
Where I will have some peace and quiet
Enjoying each moment dearly.
I was expecting company today… (and the phone rings and I must leave to answer my husband’s call outside)…and like I said in last night’s blog, the wife was sick and unable to come. I called early this morning and we decided to reschedule.
Now back to the interruption mentioned above. The neighbors had their slip and slide outside and the boys were having the time of their life. So I had to join in the fun, take my camera and get some photos and video. It is one of those end of the season summer nights that has magic in the air. Humid, high lazy white clouds with soft blue sky, cicadas singing their song and a still hush in the air. The woods are dark as the sun is obscured by the clouds. I so love the languid evenings of such summer days.
Court and Amy brought the boys over about 12:30 and we had lunch at 1:00. And a delicious lunch it was! Strata, salad, fresh corn on the cob, grapes, and cherry tomatoes with goat cheese flavored with figs. DELICIOUS!
After lunch we had a fun time at the water park. The same place we went a couple of weeks ago when a lightning storm chased us away. The boys had a great time and it was fun to watch as they explored the water features. It was actually a very interactive design.
Well, my silence is over. All three of my men have returned. Two of them are VERY NOISY. Dave is herding them into the bathroom for a quick shower.
My poem relates the plans for our evening. Let’s just hope all goes as planned. I should have had my children earlier in life and my kids should have had theirs earlier. Or maybe I just shouldn’t have had as many birthdays as I have. I shall go and be a grandma. Just so you know, when needed, I am a no nonsense grandma and the kids know it! So I shall go and be extremely nonsensical.
Good night one and all.
P.S. I have lots of great pictures but they would not download. I’ll try again tomorrow.
Friday Sept 4 2015 A PLACE TO CALL MY OWN
Friday September 4 2015 A PLACE OF MY OWN
Well, today I receive no immediate ideas of which to title my page. Maybe I’ll need to write the blog first and then something will make sense. It is late, dinner is done (just finished cleaning up) and it is already past the hour to retire. I love my 9:00 p.m. bedtime. As hard as I try, I still cannot get to bed on time or finish up what I have planned to accomplish for the day. It sometimes is disappointing because then I awaken in the morning with all that’s left to finish, plus all I wanted to do that day. Am I the only one this happens to? I never really hear anyone else complaining about this malady I seem to be shadowed with. Please tell me, is it just me?
The one thing left undone today is I will go to bed with my floors not cleaned. Dave worked outside most of the day and I worked inside today cooking for company coming tomorrow. That is until I sat down at my computer and realized the wife of the family is sick and cannot come. So it is still up in the air as to who might still come from the family. I’ll know tomorrow. Dinner is pretty much completely made except for cooking the main dish in the oven. Regardless who comes or who does not come, I will still clean my floors in the morning. It is a long job because I have a long house.
My sister is keeping me on track. At least she is making me feel a little guilty for getting off track (I’m kidding sister). She is probably a bit more focused than I am by nature. I can get involved in so many things and always find so many things that are interesting that will side track me. That was what was so wonderful about my journey across the United States. I loved getting side tracked. It’s as if time does not exist for me when I am swept up in a new idea, or new situation, or meeting new people, or driving on roads I’ve never been on. I don’t really think I have attention deficit, but I’m probably a little close to that. Life is still too full of wonder and my curiosity is always roused. I am so thankful that I am filled with the enthusiasm I have for life and new adventure. There are so many people I know who have lost that child-like wonder that once resided in them as children. It’s such a pity. I will say this, my life is never boring to me and for that I am thankful. Even in a place of quiet and solitude (which I also crave and love) I am never bored. But…I must take stock and realize that what my sister says is true and correct. I am getting side-tracked with my life and must close down some of the extra activities and perhaps become a bit of a recluse if I am to accomplish my goals, not my bucket list mind you, but my goals, those things that have a timeline on them. Sister, I am listening. Thanks for caring enough to once again TRYING to steer me in the right direction.
Sister has always TRIED to steer me in the “right” direction but I must admit, she is probably correct when she said I never listened to her advice before so it isn’t surprising that I don’t listen now. I am trying to listen. I just have to focus on it long enough to remember. Keep trying Sister, please don’t give up on me! So I said all that to say this. I am going to try to become better focused on the important commitments I must finish first. Then I will go on from there. Keep your advice coming.
Thanks to all of you who commented on yesterday’s blog. And thanks for those of you who are praying for my son and the situation facing all of our policemen in this country. It’s almost as if a war has been declared. The kind of war where you don’t know who the enemy is. It’s a war of cowards killing in cold blood and then running to hide. I would not want to stand before God in judgement with that kind of blood on my hands
I suppose it is time for a topic change. I don’t mean to get off on a tangent but my blog is my place to air my thoughts and true feelings. Well, most of my true feelings. I must admit, I probably keep more thoughts to myself than I air publically.
A PLACE TO CALL MY OWN
By Kathleen Martens
September 4, 2015
Isn’t it wonderful we have a place,
A place to call all our own?
Our very own quiet space
That no one else has ever known?
The deepest places of our heart
The thoughts that are deep within,
A dwelling which never departs,
Like a warm and cozy den.
A residence no one has seen,
The most intimate part of being,
Where only self, knows what it means,
For no one else, capable of seeing.
It is the solitude of your thought
Where life completely belongs to you.
You have control on what is brought
Into your room not meant for two.
In silence, a place of escape
From all that assails your senses..
A perfect abode for your own sake
With seamless perfect fences.
I love my place to escape. I go there often and play. I make up stories and day dream or just let my mind drift like a lazy white cloud caught up by a gentle breeze. It is my place alone, my place to atone, my place to roam. It’s a beautiful place of peace and solitude and majesty and wonder and love and joy and peace. Try it, you mind find your place as refreshing as my own.
Not much else to write tonight as I am trying to keep this short, simple, and light. And besides, I want to get in bed.
Good night. God bless and keep you.
P.S. I have no proof reader tonight so I hope this blog will pass scrutiny in the typo department
Thursday September 3 2015 UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
Thursday September 3, 2015 UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
I have absolutely no idea what my title means today. It just kept coming into my mind as I sat down to write my blog so I thought I would go ahead and write it and see where God wants me to take this blog.
This day could best be described as “a dog day of summer”. I heard that once in a movie years and years ago and always connoted it to being a long, hot, humid, summer day. And so it is today. Last week was fall weather. This week (the week school starts) is hot and humid and windless. Thank goodness for air conditioning. We are a spoiled people. Remember these blessed days, enough food to buy, electricity, air conditioning, stores stocked with necessities, medicines available (exorbitant, but available), and we can still walk down the street with enough confidence that that you won’t be shot in the back unaware, (at least if you are not a police officer).
Our world as we know it is changing. I see the changes and can remember a lot of them over the past half century of my life. The longer I live it seems the changes just come quicker and quicker. Whirlwind changes. If we don’t change with the world we live in we will soon find that we are living in a world we do not know. Take me for example, born before computers were an everyday word. I have seen technology explode in so many areas. I have seen how growing and harvesting food has changed and the changes in how we eat our food. Food was once grown in the garden or slaughtered in the yard. We ate the real food. A few things came in a can or a wrapper, but very little came in boxes. Now, most food is prepared ahead of time and packaged in boxes or sold in fast food lines. Cars were big and and heavy and made out of real metal and chrome. Today they are fiberglass and synthetic and collapse like an accordion. Once upon a time when you went to see the doctor you were called by name and not asked your birth date a dozen times in one visit. I saw man walk on the moon through the screen of a television. As a matter of fact I remember when our first TV came into our home when I was about four years old.
There have been so many firsts for me in my life that I cannot even recall them all. Now it seems that when a child is born, brought home from the hospital the world is set in motion with all the conveniences, luxuries, and do-dads that you could ever need (or not need) or want. And then as that child grows they will start seeing their firsts right along with the parent seeing it at the same time. Home PC’s are a good example. I remember going to my friend’s house in about 1979 and she had a computer in her home. It was big and took up one side of a room sitting on a long 8 foot table. There was a computer and printer. I was just amazed. My friend told me that she believed that one day every household in America would have a computer and it would be a normal thing. I was astounded at her revelation. I had worked for Cardiovascular Surgeons for many years in California and it was during that time when computers were being introduced into the workplace. In one room was a word processor. It stood from the floor to about 5 feet high. There was an area designed for someone to sit and type on a machine while looking at a monitor and seeing what was being typed. They could also go back and change things on the monitor without WHITEOUT! Paper was not used. What you typed was viewed on a screen. It was really quite impressive.
I remember the transition of going from a computer-less world to one that has been overtaken by nano technology. What once took up an entire room in a doctor’s office can now fit in the palm of your hand and probably even smaller. Was I excited about this? Yes, of course I was. I wanted to learn all I could learn, as quickly as I could learn. We purchased our first home computer in 1985. Both of our kids were young and it did not seem like a big deal to them. Our daughter, 3 years older than our son was not introduced to the computer in grammar school. She was the last wave of students to bypass the coming of the age of computers. Our son was in second grade when he first touched a keyboard at school. Now I think most children are already adept at using computers by the time they are out of diapers. At least adept at being able to hit the right keys to make a video come on.
How many of you reading this remember pong? Yes, we had one of those too. And oh my, what many hours of entertainment we received from that little square screen hitting balls back and forth to each other. Like I said, it is a changing world. Not only is our world changing in regards to computers, but in regards to morals and morays. Changes happening with movies so full of violence and pornography. We live in an instant society and the generation living now do not remember it any other way. So much violence is seen on TV shows and real news that it doesn’t even phase many anymore. Even sadder still is how technology has allowed violence to escalate by sending out messages inviting gangs to come and wreak havoc on unsuspecting business owners. And now there are those who cry out to kill police officers and so it is happening more and more. Our world is changing.
I wish I could somehow convey to those who so despise and hate police officers to sit back and take a look at what our world, our society, would be like were there not men and women dedicated to putting themselves into dangerous situations to help others. I wonder what it would be like if all the police across the United States decided to go on complete strike for one month. What would it be like during that month. It seems those who help us the most in time of need are the very ones that others want to kill.
Lets sit back and calculate some of the situations where police are involved to make our world safer and how it would be if there were no police officers to call in time of need.
- My child is missing. (Who would search?)
- Roads and highways with no one to monitor speeders and drunk drivers. (There would be chaos and more road rage and more deaths.)
- A car accident and traffic with need for traffic control. (There would be no first responders to administer aid or direct traffic.)
- A wife calls for help because her husband is beating her. (She would be left to her own devices or possibly be beaten to death.)
- Someone is breaking into my house. (The caller would need some way of defending their residence.)
- Shootings out on the street. (No one to respond to help the victims or find the shooters.)
- A dead body is found (No one to come and make it possible to find out what happened and to take the body away.)
- Violence and drugs selling on street corners. (It would continue in mass because there is no one to stop the drug sellers.)
- The president is coming to town. (There would be no city security or added protection for the president or any way to block off the streets for hours.)
And the list could on and on. In other words, there would pretty much be rampant crime, chaos in the streets and no protection for the home owners or those in distress. Police officers are sort of like the garbage collectors of the city they serve. They go into extreme conditions, pick up the body parts from accidents, hunt for lost and sometimes mutilated children, put their lives on the line every time they stop someone to give a ticket, or answer a domestic call. I think I would call that a pretty high stress job. Now they do not even have to answer a call to be a target. All they must do is put on their uniform and they are like a sitting duck. It takes a lot of courage for someone to come up from behind a man and shoot him in the back just because he is a police officer and a white police officer to boot.
The world is changing.
And proudly, I am the mother of a police officer. That police officer is the baby I birthed and prayed that he would survive. I held him, and loved him, and cared for him, and nurtured him to be kind and loving, and to extend a helping hand toward others. I raised him with his father who guided him and who became a role model for a little boy to grow up to emulate. And my police officer son is a husband who has a wife that cares deeply for him. And he is a father to two little boys who adore him. And he too is raising his sons with the best intention of being loving and caring human beings toward all. That means toward all ages, professions, colors, backgrounds. It matters not from our personal perspective what color someone is or what profession they choose. My son could no more choose his skin color than I could. Should I choose not to have a baby because my skin is white and I will have a white baby? Can we not all just accept who we are, accept those around us, lend a helping hand to our neighbor and brothers of this world and become one nation, not split because of race or color or country we came from?
It is time to stop teaching hate. I really do believe that hate is not inborn, but rather is taught from one generation to the next. The world is changing but can we not help change it to a society that comes together as one people, rather than divided by race or economics? We need to look across the aisle and become up close and personal with those who are our neighbors. Treat others how you would like to be treated. Extend a helping hand to another, regardless their color or background. BUT WHERE DOES THAT START?
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
By Kathleen Martens
September 3, 2015
Up close and personal is not just a term
But a relationship that is firm.
The world is changing and dividing,
Choose to be close by confiding.
Each has dreams and great desires
That we can help each other transpire.
Love your brother as your self.
Take your love off the shelf.
Use what you have and to people give,
Respect differences of how others live.
Each individual is created unique,
Get up close and take a peek.
Up close and personal make new friends
Because then, each one will win.
When we see the likeness of what is common
We’d have less need for the lawman.
We’d see each other as one of our own
And the differences no longer known.
Up close and personal paves the way
To transform what we say
When we see others with consideration
There is no more need for obliteration.
See each other for who they are,
Their difference is not so far.
Each man has need to be accepted,
And desire to be respected.
See not the color of the skin,
But rather see each man as kin.
Teach not hate to the next generation,
But rather example of love and exoneration.
Up close and personal is the key
That will open your eyes to see.
I guess God knew that this was the poem I’d take off the shelf today!
And…I had no before hand clue about the words that came through my fingertips on my keyboard. I wonder if it is a little too controversial or personal for a blog such as I write.
These recent, unprovoked police killings, in cold blood, has pained me greatly. My son does not wear his police uniform out on the streets unless he is on duty. He changes at the police department each morning after arriving and each afternoon before leaving. He is very mum about who knows his profession. Many of his neighbors have no idea of what he does. He has been this way for years and now I am seeing why he is so careful. Please pray for our police officers around the country and include my son as well. I once told him that I was glad he had flat feet so he would never be called to go to war. He looked at me and said, “Mom, everyday when I go to work I am fighting a war”. That’s not what you say to a mom! So, I pray for him. Sometimes I awaken in the night and I know the Holy Spirit is prompting me to pray for my son, only to find out the next day that his life was in peril the night before. Please pray for protection for my son and all the other sons and daughters and husbands and dads and moms and brothers and sisters who are putting their life on the line daily and nightly so we can live in a safer world. Let your local police officer know that you support them and even tell them that you are praying for their safety. That might open their eyes a bit.
If you read to the end of this blog I thank you.
Good night.
Wednesday September 2 2015 I AM HIS AND HE IS MINE
Wednesday September 2 2015 I AM HIS AND HE IS MINE
Can anyone ever have enough peace and quiet? I think not! This is Dave’s night out to help another person. I think he really looks forward to it. I never begrudge my husband time away from me. Actually, I kind of like the occasional solitude. I think I have mentioned that before.
Today was another one of those days that just seems to fly by, never accomplishing all I start out to do, comes to a quick end, and then must write my blog before I can get into bed. I love writing my blog but I am thinking of changing my schedule around for a while. The only thing is, I am enjoying the correspondence from those reading my blog and look forward to hearing from some every day. If I stop writing my blog for a while, I plan to resume at a later date. I will send out email notices at the time I post them. I may take a hiatus because I have company coming and I am not accomplishing all I need to accomplish. As soon as the company leaves Dave and I are taking off for a month long trip. I have decided that I will not blog every day while on the trip. I may do it sporadically however.
I would love it if people would suggest some topics they might find interesting for me to write about. I’ll warn you, however, that our points of view may vary. I’m game, if you are. I love it when people give me one word or one phrase and challenge me to write a poem. I have written so many hundreds of poems that at one time I wondered what would happen if I had no more poems to write. I asked God about it. I kid you not, this is what happened during my conversation with God.
I felt God tugging at my heart to listen to His voice. Then all of a sudden in my mind’s eye, like a video playing, God pointed out a room to me. This room only had three sides to it and I could see in from the side where I was standing. It was an infinity room. The walls just went on forever until they became a point in the distance. All the walls I could see had book shelves. Upon the shelves were what I thought were volumes of books, going on forever. As I approached the shelves I realized they weren’t books, but booklets of poems. I felt God impress upon me that these were the poems I had already written. Then He spoke into my heart saying anytime I needed a poem to write I was to just come and take any one off the shelf. He impressed upon me that I would never run of poems.
I saw that room as if I were actually right in front of it. After this “vision” was over I wondered if I would ever get to write or read them all. They are in heaven waiting for me. Maybe I will get to read them there.
Do you ever delight in the daydream of what heaven will be like for you? I do. I imagine my mansion will have rooms and rooms of books on shelves. And there will be lots of poems, and beautiful lights, and colors dancing wherever I look. Heaven is real folks. There are a lot of scriptures that talk about heaven and how it looks. It will be beyond our wildest imagination.
Well, today went beyond my wildest imagination because I had to work a lot harder than I imagined I would. I am working on restoring an old tobacco starter table made out of metal and rust. I scrubbed off so much rust and then some of the water was left pooled in the bottom and it MADE MORE NEW RUST! My neighbor Karen saw me working and came over to offer her suggestions. She went in her house and brought out her CLR (I think those are the correct letters) remover and poured it into the basin and I had to start scrubbing all over again. I wore protective clothing, eye goggles, and a heavy duty mask with an air filter. I didn’t realize just how small and my face is because I could barely get the mask to seal around my features. With a little pressure from my hand while I scrubbed, I made it work. I fear the table had lead paint on it so I took precautions. I even put a drop cloth down on the driveway to protect the cement. That drop cloth is already discarded. The rust is not yet gone.
This “table” is very old and very rusty and very heavy! I intend to recondition it so it can be used as the base for a glass top to create a dining room table. I am considering painting it. If I choose not to paint it I will put a clear matte finish on,which will seal any lead paint that may still be on it. It has a beautiful patina to the finish so I really don’t want to paint it if at all possible. This is the “table” that we purchased in Paoli at an antique store. But let me tell you, I WORKED PHYSICALLY VERY HARD! I was so tired in my shoulders by the time I went to exercise that I could not do some of my regular upper body workout! That’ll teach me to get old!
It seems at times that I spend quite a bit of time in the kitchen just preparing meals. I’m figuring out ways to make it simpler, and still get in the right amounts of all the food components for Dave’s diabetic needs. I have discovered that I cannot eat like Dave because it is way too much food for my stomach. I still have that 5 pounds on that I came home with. That has to change!
So, here I am, with no earth shattering news (thank God!) and not really that much to write about. So, I will go and pick one of my poems off that shelf I told you about. I never peruse, but simply take one. So your guess is as good as mine right now as to what it will be about. It is as if I have Christmas ever day. I look at my poetry as a gift from God that I can give to others. I thank Him daily for all gifts that come from Him.
THAT I AM HIS AND HE IS MINE
By Kathleen Martens
September 2, 2015
One poem upon the shelf
Spoke a whisper to the next,
“Why don’t we switch places
And see if she is vexed.”
But what I choose is always best,
God never seems to line them wrong.
And sometimes He delights me,
With a beautiful, simple song.
I look forward to each day
When it is time for me to write.
God seems to prepare my way
And I never have to fight.
I love to hear the stories
That God delights to give.
By giving me words to speak
To share with others how to live.
And sometimes for comfort
He gives words for another to hear
That give them hope and peace
To confirm that he is near.
Some poems are long and serious,
And some are short and sweet.
It depends upon what need
He desires my poem to meet.
I never know when I choose
What I will find when I look inside
All I need to really know
Is that God with me abides.
And He has a plan for me,
And it is always for my good.
I only wish I could do more
I would, if I only could.
But He knows my day is limited
For I live in the realm of time.
But someday in the future
I’ll cross eternity’s line.
No longer will I be bound
By earth’s time or space,
And as I choose from my shelf
I will look into His face.
And He will share His golden smile
And say “You are My Beloved”.
And I will remember the cross
Where His death was so rugged.
That I am His and He is mine,
That is the most important thing.
And I will live for eternity
With My King of Kings!
So…you can believe what you like. I know what I saw and I know that God impressed His words into my heart. Since the day when God allowed me to see the infinity room of poems, I have never worried again about not having something to write. He gave me this unbelievable gift when I was a very young child. It took me a long time to realize it was a gift. I just thought anyone could write if they wanted to. God has so many gifts He desires to give to his beloved children. Be certain that your gift is not being hidden. Mine was for years. Maybe tomorrow night I’ll tell the story of how God showed me that He wanted me to use my gift of writing for His glory. All the gifts He gives to us are for His glory. I believe EVERYONE is given a gift. Take a deep look, figure out what your gift is, and see if you need to dust it off in order to present to Him what He has gifted you to do.
It is fun to write a poem for my readers each evening. When I don’t do the blog I write them in my journal for myself each morning. And I love to give them away!
I am going to close with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson written in poetry form. This is from the book: “You Can’t Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought” by Peter McWilliams:
“Life is too short to waste
In critical peep
or cynic bark,
Quarrel or reprimand:
‘Twill soon be dark:
Up! Mind thine own aim,
and God speed the mark!”
Visions of Poetry 