Lesson in the Rock-beds

I certainly have my parents to thank for my hard work ethic. At times, when I don't stop to consider it (as if I were born with it or something), I've settled with "it's just the way I am"--like this is ever an answer...puh-lease! But when you come across those who have NO work ethic, those who would actually work to make excuses why they can't work, it really makes me appreciate "the way I am" and realize that I wasn't born with this. Rather it was instilled within me. So here's a big shout out to Dad and Mom: Thank you for teaching me how to WORK!

But I've gotta say, when it comes to pulling weeds, I wonder what went wrong. It's almost like it's programmed in me: "Pull weeds?" "Find something else to do."

On Sundays, I will oftentimes find Sam outside in the rock-beds pulling weeds. To enjoy his company, I'll go out there and pretend to help. Occasionally, most likely out of guilt, I manage to give a little extra umph and pull a weed or two, but it is a rarity. However, this past Sunday was such an occasion. And when I finally talked myself into the "good deed," and reached for the nearest weed, it turned out to be stubborn and committed to staying put! Let's just say, it wasn't motivation to reach for another weed.

As Sam and I talked, our conversation turned to "pulling weeds." I confessed my obvious neglect and began to ponder out loud why I am so allergic to it. I decided it's because it's such tedious work.

Then came the lesson in the rock beds.

"If you don't get the weeds out of your spiritual life, you are going to have a rock-bed full of problems that take away from any fruits being produced. And it will be so overwhelming it'll be easier to let the weeds take over than attack them.

But if you attack while the weed is fresh and be ready to attack every weed that pops up, every week, every day, here a little there a little, you will not be overwhelmed by it, and you will have a clean rock-bed allowing all it's fruit and beauty to shine." -Sam

And really, how fitting for the Spring Holy days! With this in mind, I'll be sure to put more effort into the tedious task of weeding. 

The Highways of Literature

I was indirectly referred to a book written by David Pryde called "What to Read and How to Read." It took me a while to find, as it was listed under the title, "The Highways of Literature." So, I ordered it, not really knowing what to expect--not even knowing if it was the right book (over time, books get edited, and re-edited, and it soon becomes a different book altogether). But for 90 cents, why not?



Today, I found it stuffed in our mailbox.
This book is so old, there is no copyright date. The pages are yellow and dingy, darker around the edges. They are so crisp, I'm afraid to make a crease at the binding, turning from page to page, for fear they will break off. It seems so fragile that I was a little anxious as I did my first initial "flip-thru" to search for pictures. (You do it too! Pick up a book, flip through, pretending to get an idea of what it's about--we all know you're looking for pictures!) :) So I was relieved that it was actually published--typed--not an earlier edition of scribbled drafts of a book-in-the-making.

In the beginning, I heavily debated on even getting the book because in the past four years, I just haven't had TIME for reading. Why spend money on another book that I'm just going to put on the shelf; an addition to an already unread collection? Who has time for reading?

I recalled one day at services (several weeks prior), I heard a young boy make the excuse why he doesn't read. "I don't have time" he said. To give food-for-thought, I replied, "you have the same 24 hours that anyone else has." And then it hit me, as I was debating about the book, that I have those same 24 hours that anyone else has.

How is it that problems are so easily seen and solved when it comes to others, but in my case, they are ligitimate, unsolvable issues with justifiable excuses?

 I've concluded that everyone has the same complaints, just disguised a little differently.

Upon this realization (that everyone has the same 24 hours), I decided to budget my time more wisely. And part of that budget is devoted to reading. So with my new budget and "the book is only 90 cents" factor, I justified purchasing the book.

Like I said, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Was this an old text book? Casual reading?

As soon as I opened the package and marveled at it's antiquated appearance, I began reading.

The title reads just like this:
"The Highways of Literature; or, What to Read and How to Read."

Semicolon, "or," comma, and period all included. Made me laugh. Back then, if you couldn't decide on a title, just throw them all in and leave it to the reader to decide which one he likes best!

Despite it's age, I am pleasantly surprised with the reading. It is quite refreshing and full of thought provoking tid-bits.

Chapter one, second paragraph: "Every intelligent person in the present day is impressed with the great advantages to be derived from reading. ...One man, very unsophisticated, buys all the new works that are recommended to him, arranges them on the shelves of what he calls his 'library,' does not cut them up, for fear, apparently, lest the knowledge in them should all run out; sits down in the midst of them and fancies that by looking at their outsides he is acutally becoming learned."

Yes, "very unsophisticated," indeed.

In referring to how to select the "right" books and make good use of them, he says, "Men have a natural tendency to imitate each other in their opinions as well as in other peculiarities. Besides, they are lazy by nature, and would rather appropriate an idea ready-made than have the trouble of forming one for themselves. Hence we often hear one opinion echoed from one hollow skull to another....They look at a subject from the same point of view, read each other's works, and, willingly or unwillingly, borrow from each other."

I love it. He very clearly points the finger at authors and readers alike by showing that there is such a thing as wasting time by reading.

"Do not care although you are taunted with not knowing many books. When old Hobbles was asked why he had not read more: 'Read more!' he exclaimed, 'if I had read as many books as other men, I would have been as ignorant as other men.'"

Thus, he resolves that it's quality over quantity.

I think this is giong to be a fun adventure on the highways of literature!

Cockamamy

That's right. That's what he called my BRILLIANT idea. Cockamamy.

I laughed because I thought Sam was just making up a word. But how could I doubt him? If you know Sam, you know that he has a rather eclectic vocabulary. So when I realized cockamamy was seriously a word in the dictionary, I had to laugh at myself!

And a week later, what I remember most is my new vocabulary word and not my brilliant idea. Perhaps someone had a point...?


I have an alarm clock from another world (yes, let's use our new word and call it cockamamy!). For two days it spoofed me. For two days, bright and early "4:00" was really 3:00. And for two days I sleepily bumbled through the day because that one hour difference (try it sometime...you'll see). Each night I reset the clock to the proper time and each morning it somehow changed on me.


But after a little patience....

...I fixed it.

Typically, you can set a digital clock to read 1-12 or 1-24 hours. As it turns out, this handy dandy little machine can read 1-11 hours, made for all those aliens who are having a hard time adjusting to that extra hour. What a special little clock we have.

Three weeks into the blogosphere and I'm already sputtering on empty.

Answered Prayer...

Having just created a blog last week, still being a "new-to-you" kind of thing, I find that as things happen I think, Oh! I should blog about that! And of course, I'm always busy at the time, but when I eventually do get around to blogging about my interesting occasion, I've forgotten about it, or perhaps it doesn't seem all that interesting after all. And pretty soon, I'm talking myself out blogging all together.

But then something really awesome happens that doesn't lose interest over time!

Sam and I had recently been painting the upstairs of the house, and put in a new bathroom floor--it needed it badly! The better things got to looking, with the new coat of paint and floor, the more we noticed those things that weren't looking so good and they suddenly seemed to look even worse than before. One of these things was curtains. I know, nothing major--certainly not life and death here. But still, they were looking pretty hideous. And many of you know Sam--he has an amazing appreciation for beautiful things. Just had to remind you of this. :) Being the upstairs--a guest bedroom--we both decided that we weren't going to spend a whole of of money on this, and that a pair of "decent" curtains would do. (one set of curtains for the guest bedroom, the other for the sewing room)

Sam's top priority with most things is usually: What does it look like? While mine is: How much does it cost? So you see, we're a perfect fit.

Keeping my priority in mind, I went to WalMart. :) There, I found four, plain white panels sold in two's for $10. Would have cost only $20 plus tax for the four. And they were the only ones there I would have paid for. I'm usually a pretty easy, "anything-goes" type person. But, as all of you wives know, you're no longer just thinking about your priorities. You've got his to think about too. After mulling over just what "decent curtains" meant, I turned them down, thinking he would not like just plain white panels. When I got home, I told him about what I found (and showed him a couple pictures I took with my iphone) and surprisingly he said, "why didn't you get them?" BAH! You think you know them so well....

So, I decided to go back the next week and pick them up. Next week comes, and sure enough, they were gone. At walmart.com, it showed that they had them in stock in the Fort Campbell WalMart. So that Sunday, I toodled my way up there. Nope. Nothing. So, I went on to Oakgrove, KY, the next town over. There they were! Plain, white panels. I was so excited, till I hung them up and took a step back. Ugly. Terrible. No valance. Just two panels. I was surprised that I was being so picky. Me? The used-to-be Sarah Ellis. Everyone knows she doesn't care about this kind of thing, does she? She does now, because she hated those curtains!

No surprise, Sam did not like them either. That meant another trip back to WalMart.

 In the meantime....

A couple weeks ago, I realized that I'd been sticking my head in the sand about a certain something (no details, please!) and I finally got serious enough to get my head out and face the issue. I prayed and prayed and prayed about it.

At the end of my prayer--and I hadn't planned it this way--but I ended up praying about the curtains. I told God about both Sam's and my afore mentioned priorities and then went on to say how this seemed silly after praying about such a serious thing; that these curtains certainly aren't a need. They're not important. We don't NEED them. How silly. And I ended up resolving, "if You provide them (the curtains), what an incredible blessing. If You don't, thank You for helping us be patient with it." Like I said, I almost felt a little rediculous praying about the curtains after such a serious issue at hand.

It just so happens, that day, Sam asked me to go to a couple different stores to look specifically for curtains. I even had a 20% off coupon for one store--I thought for sure I'd find something there.

As it turns out, every store I went to had curtains that just weren't practical for our guest bedroom and for our budget. Lastly, once again I found myself at good ole WalMart. I figured I'd look one more time. You never know. Going down the curtain isle, I found two sets of curtains, identical, each including two panels and a valance. Perfect. But they seemed to be misplaced, as they had no price on them. They were an ivory colour, and pretty. Again, I thought, you never know, so I picked them up and decided I would get a price check on them. As I left that isle, I peeked down the one right next to it, not really anticipating anything when RED caught my eye. Could it be? 

So, I detoured down the isle and yes, it was! A clearace isle! They've never had a clearance isle here before!--I've scouted them all out. And don't pretend you haven't done the same! ha ha! (In fact, I went back just last week to see, and it was gone!)

I began rummaging. Pillows, sheets, blankets, tablecloths....curtains! And several selections! But there were two that caught my eye that were perfect! And only $10 each (for a set--two panels and a valance). How incredible! I almost put the other curtains back when a Wal Mart employee came through the isle with a price gun. What. Okay, I just had to check the price. They too were only $10. That was four pair--two more than I needed. Not only did God provide the curtains, He provided options!

The amazing part of all this was that in providing even what we didn't need, I realized just how much more assuredly will He provide the things we do need. It was quite an incredible lesson and an answered prayer in more ways than one!

Here's one set of curtains we got.

Running slowly burns more fat????

It hasn't been a week since my last post...in fact, it's only been a couple hours. But, I just happened on a new discovery and I needed to share.


Sam has started a new diet. Every now and again, he'll hear about different diets from people--he's in sales, so he hears a lot of them--and if he comes across one he thinks sounds beneficial, he'll test it out. So, the other day, he asked me to check this one out and see what I thought.

The general idea of the diet is: high protein, moderate fats, and low carbs. Ketosis occurs (because of the specific levels of protein and fats): your body will begin to use ketone bodies for energy--fats--thus almost all your energy is supplied by fats (in the diet, the fats will come from nuts and oils). In case he should think "oh no, I could die without carbs!" there is a cheat meal once a week where he can eat whatever he wants. :)

Further in my investigation, I read an article (rather some "educated blog-spot") that said cardio should be at a low intensity (under 120 bpm heart rate!) for a long duration to ensure the use of fat as your fuel source. They say that as your heart rate increases, carbohydrates become the preferred source of fuel for your body. "On a low carb diet, your body will break down muscle and turn that into carbs"..."Fat CANNOT be changed into carbs."

I took that to mean, running at level 5 on my treadmill means burning carbs, not fat. But walking at level 4 on my treadmill means burning fat! Win-win?

And why burn fats vs carbs? Both breakdown into acetyl CoA. Both provide energy (fats provide twice the engery--hence the reason for it in the diet). But fats go through more steps--TAKE LONGER--to breakdown. Therefore, fats build up and find a comfortable place to store themselves (like in my butt, or arms, or rolls on my tummy) if not used for energy.

Whew. That's enough exercise for me for one day!

"I have the itchy writing finger"....

How to begin.....?

I suppose a decent and perhaps common beginning would be to start by telling why I've created a blog, what inspired me, and what my purpose is in doing this. I don't have any one-single inspiration or purpose in this. A general response might be: It is a way that family and friends can be updated with what's going on in our lives--which is true. But selfishly, writing is a hobby of mine. At several different intervals of my life, I kept a journal. A couple months ago, I came across my early teen years--I almost can't believe that was me! How people change--and how thankful I am that we DO change. But after reading through some of them, it brought back my desire to pick up a pen and write! Though I've settled for a keyboard.

I am such a visual person and I enjoy pictures. They express a story, or a statement. For a while now, I've posted pictures in an album online. And if I want to expound on the picture, captions are an option. At the same time, I have the itchy writing finger.

So what about blogging, and where did I get my inspiration?

There are a couple different blogs I have been "following" (seems a little creepy saying that outloud) and I really enjoy their blogs! It could be that they're such creative writers, or perhaps their lives are so interesting....and then when I saw a post about a toothbrush song (you know who you are!) I decided that no, even those with nothing to write about can make a blog interesting.

When I was younger, I always had a journal. However, through the years, my daily logs turned into every other day, and eventually, once a month, once a year, and soon, non-existent. So this morning when I woke up with the idea, "I'm going to start a blog!" I realized that my zealous goal of "a blog a day" is sure to be short-lived. After some more thought, I have concluded that "a blog a week" is a little more practical. Let's hope I can keep up with this even if I do have zombie-like and uninteresting weeks. And I'm sure I will have my moments of writers block--can you have that with a blog?

Life as a wife can be VERY interesting. And I mean that in a very positive way. But I'll leave that as flavor for my next blog...next week.

I am looking forward to sharing recipes, blessings, and so much more with anyone who wants to come along for the ride! :)

Having said all that, let me just close by saying, I really did liked the "toothbrush song" blog! :) and I was glad they shared such a precious moment that brought back memories of my own.

So until next time, happy trails!