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Saturday, September 11, 2010

Do we remember?

Today I woke up like normal~ slowly. Then I realized what today was. My family and I talked about 9-11-2001. We read poems, looked at my scrapbook from that day, and cried.

I remember that day.

I remember the world grieving as one.

I remember Congress singing God Bless America on the Capital steps.

I remember the heroes of that day too. The firefighters. The police. The military. The FBI. The men and women aboard the four planes that changed our world. The doctors and nurses and EMS personnel who cared for the injured. The priests and pastors who comforted the grieving. The family members of those who died.

I remember the candles lit around the world.

Our prayers. Our tears. Our unity.

I pray we don't forget. I won't. My children won't. I pray we're different because of it. More compassionate. More dependent on God. And more willing to fight on our knees for the things that matter.

Love. Family. Unity. Peace.

There are two poems I read this morning to my family. I pray they touch your soul as they did ours and that, along with us, you won't forget.

On Monday

On Monday there were people fighting against praying in schools
On Tuesday you would have been hard pressed to find a school where someone was not praying

On Monday there were people trying to separate each other by race, sex, color, and creed
On Tuesday they were all holding hands

On Monday we thought that we were secure
On Tuesday we learned better

On Monday we were talking about heroes as being athletes
On Tuesday we relearned what hero meant

On Monday people went to work at the world trade centers as usual
On Tuesday they died

On Monday people were fighting the 10 commandments on government property
On Tuesday the same people all said, "God help us all" while thinking, "Thou shalt not kill"

On Monday people argued with their kids about picking up their room
On Tuesday the same people could not get home fast enough to hug their kids

On Monday people picked up McDonalds for dinner
On Tuesday they stayed home

On Monday people were upset that their dry cleaning was not ready on time
On Tuesday they were lining up to give blood for the dying

On Monday politicians argued about budget surpluses
On Tuesday grief stricken they sang "God Bless America"

On Monday we worried about the traffic and getting to work late
On Tuesday we worried about a place crashing into your house or place of business

On Monday we were irritated that our rebate checks had not arrived
On Tuesday we saw people celebrating people dying in the USA

On Monday some children had solid families
On Tuesday they were orphans

On Monday the president was going to Florida to read to children
On Tuesday he returned to Washington to protect our children

On Monday we emailed jokes
On Tuesday we did not

It is sadly ironic how it takes horrific events to place things into perspective, but it has. The lessons learned this week, the things we have taken for granted, the things that have been forgotten or overlooked, hopefully will never be forgotten again.

~ Author Unknown

Is This Normal?

Four thousand gathered for a mid-day prayer in a downtown cathedral.

A New York City church, filled and emptied six times last Tuesday.

The owner of a Manhattan tennis shoe store threw open his doors and gave running shoes to those fleeing the towers.

People stood in lines to give blood, in hospitals to treat the sick, in sanctuaries to pray for the wounded.

America was different this week.

We wept for people we did not know.
We sent money to families we've never seen.
Talk-show hosts read Scriptures, journalists printed prayers.
Our focus shifted from fashion hemlines and box scores to orphans and widows and the future of the world.

We were different this week.

Republicans stood next to Democrats.
Catholics prayed with Jews.
Skin color was covered by the ash of burning towers.

This is a different country than it was a week ago.
We're not as self-centered as we were.
We're not as self-reliant as we were.
Hands are out.
Knees are bent.

This is not normal.

And I have to ask the question, "Do we want to go back to normal?"
Are we being given a glimpse of a new way of life?
Are we, as a nation, being reminded that the enemy is not each other and the power is not in ourselves and the future is not in our bank accounts?

Could this unselfish prayerfulness be the way God intended for us to live all along?
Maybe this, in HIS eyes, is the way we are called to live.

And perhaps the best response to this tragedy is to refuse to go back to normal.

Perhaps the best response is to follow the example of Tom Burnet.
He was a passenger of flight 93. Minutes before the plane crashed in the fields of Pennsylvania he reached his wife by cell phone. "We're all going to die," he told her, "but there are three of us who are going to do something about it."

We can do something about it as well.
We can resolve to care more.
We can resolve to pray more.
And we can resolve that, God being our helper, we'll never go back to normal again.

~ Max Lucado



Tuesday, September 07, 2010

What Southern Women Know

I should preface what follows with the fact that I'm not a Southerner. I'm an Army brat who grew up all over the world. But I was born south of the Mason-Dixon and have lived most of my life in the dear old South. So I guess you could say, "I got here as fast as I could."

Read on an enjoy!


Southern women know their summer weather report:

Humidity
Humidity
Humidity

Southern women know their vacation spots:

The beach
The rivuh
The crick

Southern women know everybody's first name:

Honey
Darlin'
Shugah

Southern women know the movies that speak to their hearts:

Fried Green Tomatoes
Driving Miss Daisy
Steel Magnolias
Gone With The Wind

Southern women know their religions:

Baptist
Voodoo
Football

Southern women know their cities dripping with Southern charm:

Chawl'stn
S'vanah (This is REALLY how it's pronounced here!)
Foat Wuth
N'awlins
Addlanna (Same with this one!)

Southern women know their elegant gentlemen:

Men in uniform
Men in clean overalls
Rhett Butler

Southern girls know their prime real estate:

The Mall
The Spa
The Beauty Salon

Southern girls know the 3 deadly sins:

Havin' bad hair and nails
Havin' bad manners
Cookin' bad food


More Suthen-ism's:

Only a Southerner knows the difference between a hissie fit and a conniption fit, and that you don't "HAVE" them, you "PITCH" them.

(Okay this one is soooo true! I have never heard of anyone having a hissie fit. We pitch 'em down here. ;-) )
Only a Southerner knows how many fish, collard greens, poke sallet, white beans, etc., make up "a mess."

Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of "yonder."

Only a Southerner knows exactly how long "directly" is, as in: "Goin' to town, be back drekly ."

Even Southern babies know that "Gimme some sugar" is not a request for the white, granular, sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl in the middle of the table.

All Southerners know exactly when "by and by" is. They might not use the term, but they know the concept well.

Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl of cold potato salad.

If the neighbor's trouble is a real crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin'!

Only Southerners grow up knowing the difference between "right near" and "a right fur piece."

They also know that "juss down the road" can be 1 mile or 20.

No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing turn signal is actually going to make a turn.

(This is ABSOLUTELY true in Atlanta!)

A Southerner knows that "fixin" can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adverb.

(This one might actually qualify me as a Southerner. I've used "fixin" since I could talk~ mostly as a verb.)

Only Southerners make friends while standing in lines, ...and when we're "in line,"... we talk to everybody!

In the South, y'all is singular, all y'all is plural.

Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them.

Every Southerner knows tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, and coffee are perfectly wonderful; that red eye gravy is also a breakfast food; and that fried green tomatoes are not breakfast food.

When you hear someone say, "Well, I caught myself lookin'," you know you are in the presence of a genuine Southerner!

Only true Southerners say "sweet tea" and "sweet milk." Sweet tea indicates the need for sugar and lots of it -- we do not like our tea unsweetened. "Sweet milk" means you don't want buttermilk.

And a true Southerner knows you don't scream obscenities at little old ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway.

You just say, "Bless her heart"... and go your own way.

To those of you who are still a little embarrassed by your Southerness: Take two tent revivals and a dose of sausage gravy and call me in the morning. Bless your heart!

And to those of you who are still having a hard time understanding all this Southern stuff...bless your hearts, I hear they are fixin' to have classes on Southernness as a second language!

And for those that are not from the South but have lived here for a long time, all y'all need a sign to hang on y'alls front porch that reads "I'm not from the South, but I got here as fast as I could."

Hope you had a good laugh like I did reading through these!
 
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