1 day & counting til 12-21-12

1 day & counting

 



Colossians 2:17...

       ho, ho, hold your horses! what did mrs. claus say when santa asked about the weather? "it looks like rein, deer!!!"

      'twas one day before friday and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

      the stockings were hung by the chimney with care with hopes that Christmas would bring great cheer.

      i sprang from my bed, with 12-21 growing near, to the front window i head. the wind, oh the wind did i dread.

      when what to my wandering eyes should appear; of course no miniature sleigh, just one front yard wire deer... and not rain, but flurries of light snow, snow, snow!

      with endless to-dos and treats to prepare, i knew in a moment i need more than st. nick!

      i need the substance behind the shadows... invisible, real, and lasting! i need eternal things mentioned in my post: "4 days & counting..." tomorrow is THE day!! 

     this world will forever last; 12-21-12 will pass... but wouldn't this be a perfect time to peruse the harbinger, humbly reflect, and if, say, one doesn't regularly attend church or mass... resolve to? just sayin'....

     my "12-21-12" plans include a late-night post...
 

 

3 days & counting til 12-21-12

3 days & counting





2 Chronicles 7:14

      i'm still thinking about shadows, my topic from yesterday's post. this picture shows my husband's and my very long shadows on a late-day walk that reminds me of the twin towers.

     my friend and i were recently discussing a book's intriguing 9/11 premise, and i want to share a modified review borrowed from amazon:

     in light of current events, the harbinger, by jonathan cahn is mesmerizing and fascinating. if you're not familiar with "harbinger," the term means:
 

anything that foreshadows a future event; omen; sign:

frost is a harbinger of winter (Dictionary.com).

      this book is an eye opener and a wake-up call as it illuminates america's response to, and its underlying message post-9/11. it is presented in a narrative fashion, and demonstrates the ties between the destruction of ancient Israel and america.

     anyone searching for answers in the midst of the chaos, unrest, and fear will find a glimmer of hope as they read this book.

     friday is the day... 12-21-12... i plan to be here tomorrow...

4 days & counting til 12-21-12

4 days & counting

colossians 2:17...

      i molded this Christmas sandman years ago on a cancun beach. his blue bottle cap hat and shell buttons created a Christmas feel even on that sunny, sandy december 25th walk. high tide waves soon swept away my yuletide sculpture; all that remains of him is this picture and a short video.

      Christmas time is full of celebrations, food, people, gift-buying and giving, and overall busyness. all of these activities and "things" can help connect us to the holiday spirit and to meaning... but they eventually fade or disappear, like my sandman. 

      notice the shadow behind mr. sandman? it is my husband's large shadow. he did return home with me from the beach, and 3 years later, i'm so glad he is still with me.

      even though my husband plans to be with me until we are old and gray... he will not be with me on this earth forever. i don't wish to think about that, but instead think about the FOREVER substance. it is behind the shadows; it is invisible; it is real; and it is lasting.

      as my countdown continues to 12-21-12... i trust you will enjoy a 4-minute video that goes behind the shadows...
   
     feel FREE to click here for your video-viewing enjoyment:  *The "WAY" to the FOREVER Substance behind the Shadows* 

     ¯time keeps on tickin' tickin' tickin' into the future¯ and my blogging commitment will keep me postin' postin', postin'... i plan to be here tomorrow, to continue the countdown.

7 days & counting til 12-21-12

7 days & counting

        i am ever grateful for the free-will to change my mind. blog spot is accommodating like that; it lets me publish a post, and i can update that post throughout the day and forever. today's comic was in yesterday's post; i changed my mind and, voila, it resurfaces today.

      hostess twinkies have been around forever, but are now on the RIP list. i remember as a child, with allowance money burning a hole in my pocket, riding my bike to the neighborhood grocery store and buying two cellophane twinkie packages with two goodies in a package. rather than riding home to five mooching siblings, i sat on the bench in front of the store gulping down one, and then another, until four of those sugary sponges were inhaled in one sitting! i was sick to my stomach and never ate them again.
      
      a new freedom for which this blogger is investigating: my sister's minimalist approach to capital letters. it is freeing, yet challenging because i forget and have to un-capitalize words i capitalized; and spell-check yells at me with words highlighted that i chose to not capitalize. this is either a good brain exercise for this former assistant editor or the beginning of a bad habit. hopefully it isn't disturbing any oc-readers, and it is only until the world ends...

8 days & counting til 12-21-12

8 days & counting

 

        many, many, many, many 12-12-12 babies were born throughout the world. some mothers had specially-scheduled 12-12-12 deliveries, believing it to be a lucky day. many, many, many, many weddings also occurred on 12-12-12.  ...it was a happy day indeed, for so many families!

       this picture was on my Facebook wall, so I couldn't help but share a very appropriate cake from 12-12-12...

      ....and I wonder, how many people announced on 12-12-12 that they we will be grandparents, for the second time... we've been waiting since before Thanksgiving to share, and we received the green light just yesterday. the booming due date is the 4th of July. a big thanks to my daughter for accidentally coinciding her due date with America's freedom day. in my blogging mind, she is placing some dramatic exclamation points on the theme of freedom and free-will!!

      ...embracing each day's goodness as I continue the countdown...

      ...to 12-21-12...

12-12-12

My blog is somewhat progressive. Feel FREE to begin reading with my October 31st post

Good morning! Today's triple-12 date is fun. It is early morning, but already one of my Facebook friends posted her alarm clock's 12-12-12 date (she lives in Germany), another proclaimed that today is National Mic Check Day (testing one, two... one, two... one, two). So, I posted to Facebook "Happy Triple-Twelve Day" with an un-retouched photo from last year showing XII in the sky.

There are doomsday predictions for 12-21-12... The Mayan Calendar ends on that date, so people interpret from that the worst. According to "them" we have just 10 days to live (including today), so I'll make the most of those days! One of the ways I will do that is to make a commitment within a commitment, to post each day until 12-21-12, just for kicks. These extra posts will have different formatting. We'll see what tomorrow's looks like... tomorrow. It might be just a picture, or a few words, or... I don't know.

I've been blogging just since 10-31-12, so this is a new experience for me. I committed to post two times a week for two months; and so far, so good. I have exposed my writing and my thoughts to the world with, say, 10 loyal followers from my family and Facebook land.

Since talk of doomsday is in the air, I apologize that I'm doing it again; I have another "Daisy Downer" news article. It shares of a father accused of killing his 3-year-old son in an Ozarks car wreck, and it helps me segue to a critical point about free-will. Here is the newspaper story:

 

An arrest has been made following a Tuesday afternoon crash... that killed a 3-year-old boy... [the 33-year-old driver] was arrested by the Missouri Highway Patrol for his involvement in the wreck...on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter...investigators believe that alcohol might have been involved...[the driver] has a prior conviction for driving while intoxicated on his record...[he] is the father of the boy who died in a crash...[the driver] lost control of the Toyota and slid into the path of a westbound Ford Explorer...[the 3-year-old]... in the Toyota was killed.

 

My attention was drawn to this accident because vehicles were diverted for hours; we are thankful our friends were one of the diverted cars rather than one of the three cars in the accident... Our friends did not have to experience a child being killed. Surviving victims were in a Ford Explorer and also in a third vehicle involved in the accident (carrying a 4-year-old and an infant). All survived but the son of the suspected drunk driver.

Over the past 10 years our friends have experienced keenly stressful times, and we have observed their life choices. Similar to the Ford Explorer as well as the third vehicle in the news story, they were figuratively and innocently hit and hit again with enormous challenges. With the support of others, they faced struggles head-on. They are more than survivors; their family is alive and they are well, and so is the next generation.

I wonder about this Ozarks driver's free-will and its effect on the next generation. Are alcohol's benefits compelling enough to risk: 1) possibly becoming an alcoholic, AND  2) literally killing his next generation?

 

The same friends I mentioned above knew my Dad, after his alcoholic years. They joked with him about HIS Chicago White Sox and have fond memories of him. I'm glad they knew him then, because he was witty and fun. And he was a wonderful Grandpa! My friends also prayed with Dad in his hour of crisis when Mom tragically died. They never knew his "other" side... from which I and my younger siblings are injured survivors. My family never truly faced our parent's issues head-on, let alone facing each of our own issues. I am now, head-on, facing them in this blog.

In December's "I MESSED UP!" post, I share my concern about risk to reputation. With each and every post I think about family reputation. I love my parents, but IF they could send a message in the clouds, I hope they are writing "neigh" to worrying about reputation, because of the critical bigger picture which I will explain in Sunday's post titled "Chipmunk."

That Ozarks Dad is accused of killing his 3-year-old. He is now a bond slave to the authorities and mourns his losses. He is in jail and will never see his child again; and, for the last many days, has had little freedom.

 

Another thing for which I am grateful: It is just 12 days, plus 1 more day, until Christmas. 

 

FYI - I may not post to Facebook again due to sensitive topics I discuss. Find me if you wish. I plan to be here again, tomorrow...  Deo Volente.