Why Wouldn’t You?

While driving around today in my car, I spotted three different motorcyclists  without helmuts.  I know the summer weather we’ve been enjoying is probably very conducive to going helmutless…letting the warm breezes flow through your hair, but come on now!  What about safety?  Just because it isn’t required by law to wear that said helmut, why take such a huge risk? I just don’t get it.  I’m all for prevention, in medicine as well as living in general.  It’s just like those who refuse to wear sunscreen to protect against skin cancer.  Why wouldn’t you do such a minor thing to prevent such a major disaster?

I always remember that famous graduation speech given by someone I”ve forgotten now, entitled  “Don’t Forget to Wear Sunscreen”.  It listed a number of things to do as you graduate from college and the last bit of advise was to put on suncreen to prolong your life.  Well said! (He should have added, wear your helmut while biking!)

writers block…..

I’ve been working on my latest book, a cook book, because I thought there would be no need for creativity (minimal at best) in writing recipes, WRONG!!! I’ve decided to preface each recipe with a short story about where the recipe originated, a description of who gave it to me or a visual picture about the dish itself. Well, I still have to create that little script using the most descriptive and enticing words to make each entry mouth-watering and something you just want to stop what your doing and try! I’m in the midst of moving and that, need I say, is putting quite a damper on my writing. Thus writers’ block is a real and daunting limbo where I’ve seemed to have landed. Oh, I know I’ll eventually move on and finish this project (I’m so close, my deadline goal is July 1). I try to do small segments daily, that’s how I was able to finish my first book. I’m banking on the fact that when I have more to do, I do more. Make sense? that’s just how I’m wired. I’m more of a morning person, so for the next few weeks, I’ll be up at dawn, writing and then on to packing those umpteen boxes.

Attention Graduates!

Graduations are upon us, High School, College, Tech Schools and, yes, even Pre-Schoolers will don the white caps and gowns….. my grandson, Aiden is soooo excited about his graduation

I’ve heard many great graduation speeches. I remember the title of  the speech given at my High School graduation many years ago ( well not that many), it was, “The More Beautiful the Question, The More Beautiful the Answer.”  I really never gave it much thought over the years, but now it does seem pretty profound.

We will all continue to ask questions as we go through life’s journey, how else can we learn anything, but I think what the speaker ( and I can’t even remember who he was) had in mind was to prepare us  to “see” beauty in everything. If we visualize something as pleasant, doesn’t it change our prespective?  As a new graduate, everything is new, different , exciting…but when turmoil, problems, unexpected roadblocks trip us up, isn’t it better to think that a good outcome is available?  Trying to attain this outcome will take your insight, experience, attitude and vision..that’s right a beautiful vision.  I think the speaker also was encouraing  positivity rather than negativity.

The one thing I wish for new graduates is the realization to the fact that change is inevitable. Not only in life situations but in ourselves.  Here I am, 35 plus years post-graduate and still experiencing the evolution of myself.  No one ever told me that I would become a chameleon over the years!   Oh, I’m still me only a different version.  I like to believe I’m the new and improved person I started out to be right out of High School!  Change allows a variety of experiences which make way for growth; and you can’t expect growth unless you change. Growth and change go hand in hand. Look at the butterfly.  Don’t you think it is grateful when he emerges from the  cocoon? Sometimes the stretching process is painful.  But if we are forewarned and are ready for change, it can be a much more positive  and anticipated thing.

I was a girl scout back in the day (Ha!), and our motto was , “Always be prepared.” So preparation is the first goal in stepping out into the great big world of change.  Hopefully, schools and parents alike have done their best in preparing the new graduates for the next chapter of life, whether it be college, the military or the workforce. The second goal in launching from one phase to the next is to realize what your purpose  in life is.  The best way to do that is through prayer.  We all have a specific purpose given to us by our Lord. ( Rick Warren’s book, ” The Purpose Driven Life”  is the best graduation gift you can give to the graduate).  Once we discover what it is, it will only guide us to the best path we need to follow.

It’s okay to be a little nervous, but keeping a positive attitude and a beautiful vision before you is one way to lead a beautiful life!  My Dad’s simple advice to me was…always give someone a smile, it won’t cost you a thing; they are contagious and you just might get one back!

Facing Life

I received an e-mail from a friend with the opening sentence,”Life’s not the way it’s supposed to be.  It’s the way it is; it’s the way you cope with it that makes the difference.”

Lately, I’ve found myself saying to other people regarding different situations while trying to make sense of certain actions and consequences the cliche, “It is what it is.”  Now that has me wondering, is that just a cop out?  It does seem like it could be trivializing a predicament, an easy way to bow out of assisting in solving one’s plight.  How many times do we face life’s trials and wish things were different…easier…less complicated?  It’s so much easier to throw our hands up and  do nothing.  What is more difficult is making the decision to do whatever we can with whatever resources we may have.

I believe we have to first determine whether our challenges in life are  up to us to change or not. If we have no control, then it truly ‘is what it is’  but our next step ( and this is an important one), is to make a choice as to how we are going to handle the situation we must face.  This is where our coping skills come in and where our faith will move us forward.

We can chose to be a victim and complain, speak negatively and think that there is no hope, or we can trust that God is in control and draw from the unwavering source of strength found in His promises to us, His kids, who He is crazy about.

He never promised that our lives would be without problems, but he did and does continually provide us with enough grace to wade through the messy times and hardships.  His grace, He tells us, ‘is sufficient and His power is made perfect in our weakness’.   To me, that is all we need to know.  He will guide us, if we let Him.  His peace will guard our hearts.

Life doesn’t always fit our plans. There are detours that Our Lord stategically allows, and during these times is when he will sit back and watch us maneuver and all he wants to say is,” Well done, my child!”

Birthdays, Goldfish, Spring!

Oh my is it really that long since my last post?!?!?

We all use the overrated excuse, “I’m too busy!”  Well , now, more than ever we need to stop, enjoy and live our lives on a day to day basis,  making the best of each day the Lord gives us.  I intend to do only those things which make me smile today; it’s my birthday!  I am doing one of my favorite things this morning,  enjoying a good cup of coffee out on my back deck in the warm April sunshine. As I am sipping on this cup of java,  I can hear the soothing trickle coming from our pond.  I was so excited to discover a few weeks ago that 5 out of our 7 goldfish had survived the harsh winter!  But then just a few days ago, we made a gruesome discovery.  They mysteriously vanished…all of them!… I’m sure a predator of some sort had them as snack!! So, one of my errands will be to go to the Seahorse Pet Store and purchase a few more fish for the pond.  This time we will protect them with some sort of netting!!!

I really love this time of year.  The flowering blossoms on the trees have provided a dramatic backdrop for the emerging colors of Spring.   The pink flowereing crabs, the white Bradford pears and the magestic magnolias have been spectacular this year!  Another activity for today will be to visit the local nurseries and pick out the annuals that I soon will be planting in my yard.  It’s just a little too soon for our very fickle spring weather. Maybe next week-end.

Well my quiet rendevous on the deck has just come to an end.  Sam and Co. has arrived with a truckload of mulch and manure to prepare the beds for the planting soon to take place.

Get out there and do something you really enjoy, whether it’s you birthday or not!

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.”

Monday Morning Random Thoughts

1.  I love sleeping in on Monday Mornings. (I know, I know..most of you can’t)

2.  Pittsburgh has something like only 57 or 58 days of sunshine per year!  Per Year!!!!

3.  A hummingbird’s heart rate beats at a rapid 500-600 beats per minute while perched and 1400 while in flight!

4.  The Chinese character for “crisis” has two meanings…danger and opportunity.

5.  There is nothing more soothing than to hear a distant train whistle (DISTANT!) while you are in bed just falling off to sleep.

6.  The Bible is the most read book.. ever!

7.  The low country is called such because of it’s low-lying terrain which is at sea level.

8.  Is the acronym for golf really Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden?

9.  If we all switched over to riding bikes instead of cars, what effect would that have on OPEC?

10.  God is more than capable to give us favor and blessings during our times of disaster and storms if we’d only ask and trust that He is able!

Missing the Lowcountry

Well, I’ve been home from our extended stay in South Carolina for 48 hours now and I’m already missing the beach, flowering azaleas and sweet magnolia trees, the chorus of singing birds that nest in the live oak trees that woke me every morning, the mild temperatures that Southerners seem to take for granted, and the abundant sunshine (most days) that they also take for granted! I could go on and on, but I don’t want to slump into a deep depression.
The friendly weatherman on the evening news is hinting and, dare I say, teasing us into thinking that Spring is just around the corner….the only true indication that it is in fact around the corner is “March Madness” and the never ending basketball games that have hit the airwaves, sports media, and every other media available. I’m well aware of the huge number of fans that are following their favorite college teams….I’m just not one of them. I actually cringe when I hear that constant squeaking of rubber soles on the wooden court floor during one of these many, many tournament games. Is basketball really as American as baseball and Apple pie??  Wait, did I just see President Obama filling out his own bracket on TV????

As you might have gathered, I’m not a very big sports fan, I will however, watch the Steelers play on a Sunday afternoon, that’s the extent it.

So, I’ll wait for March Madness to be over and hopefully, the ending will coincide with the entrance of a long- awaited Spring!!

Oysters, Anyone?

Oysters are an acquired taste…you either love them or you hate them! I was first introduced to oysters at a tender age of five or six by my dad. He would periodically stop at The Oyster House in Market Square downtown Pittsburgh and bring home an order or two of breaded, fried oysters.  He loved to eat them so much that he kept a bottle of malt vinegar and hot sauce in his glove box for whenever the urge for oysters struck.  Honest!

I remember eating only the breading at first, which was thick, moist and chewy.  I  gradually began looking for and eating the sweet, plump oysters hidden within the breading. The taste of oysters is mostly bland, therefore needing the added flavors of vinegar and hot sauce.

As I grew a little older, my dad and I would share our own strange little snack of smoked oyster on top of Ritz crackers  topped off with a squirt of Cheez Whiz…unsophisticated but good!  I think I was more fascinated with the manner of opening that small oval tin of oysters.  I would take the metal key adhered underneath the can and attach it to the metal strip and unwind it along the edge of the top to peel back the lid with the key.  Very neat for a ten year old kid!

Fried oysters were never a part of our Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes, but made their way onto the menu only 10 or 12 years ago.  We still include them in memory of my Dad even though I’m the only one who will eat them!

Here in Hilton Head, oysters appear on the menus at restaurants a number of different ways.  Po’ Boy fried oyster sandwiches, Oysters Dafuskie, named after the island which is a hop, skip and a swim away, and of course, your traditional raw and roasted oysters. There are lots of Oyster Roasts held here on the week-ends serving not only oysters but shrimp, cole slaw, red rice, corn on the cob when in season, collard greens and for dessert good old southern peach cobblers and banana pudding.  They do know how to eat her in the South!  There is only one small peculiar rule down here about eating oysters, they are only available in the months that contain an “r” in it.  those excluded would be May, June, July, August.  Hmm, I’ll have to research that a little more……

Here is my adaption of Oysters Dafuskie ( A creamy oyster stew)  Serve with small oyster crackers, what else!?!

1 C Half and Half

1 C Heavy Cream

1 T Butter

1 T Cocktail Sauce

1 T Worcestershire  Sauce

1 t hot sauce (Tabasco)

1 Pint shucked oysters with juice

Heat all liquid ingredients in med sauce pan till just simmering.  Add the oysters with juice, and cook for about 5 min. or until the edges of the oysters begin to curl.  Take off heat, serve immediately in bowls with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of paprika.  Can season with salt, pepper and more hot sauce!

Enjoy!!

Leadership by the Book

As  a small group leader within the choir at church, I am forever searching for ways to improve upon that leadership.  After all, I was not born a leader, I actually considered myself a follower, but that somehow changed throughout the years.  I reluctantly took the position as one of the leaders and have more or less “grown into those shoes”.

A great resource book that was given to my by my son-in-law, “Leadership by the Book”,  has proven to been a wealth of information on the subject of leadership.  It was co-authored by three men from different walks of life, but share the responsibility of  leading others.  Ken Blanchard is a prominent author, speaker and business consultant in the San Diego area.  He is founder and CEO of Ken Blanchard Companies, Inc., which does management training.  He also is co-founder of  the Center for Faithwalk Leadership.  Bill Hybels is also a sought after speaker, writer and consultant in addition to being the senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill.  Phil Hodges, for the past thirty years, has held a variety of staff positions in the areas of labor relations and HR management at Xerox Corp.  He is managing director for the Center for Faithwalk Leadership as well as a consulting partner for Ken Blanchard Companies Inc.

The book they wrote has an interesting format as it is told through three fictitious characters, Michael, a businessman who suffers a heart attack and calls upon his two friends, only referred to in the book as The Professor and The Minister.  Pretty ovbious who each one represents.

The title refers to using the leadership of Jesus Christ as the model to assure effective leadership in any career or position in life.  Jesus’ life embodies the heart and methods of a fully committed and effective servant leader.  The operative word is servant.

Here are some vital points from the book which I will try to apply to my role as small group leader:

Leadership begins with a clear vision with:

Purpose, Image, Values, Goals

If you want your people to be responsible, you must be responsive

The servant leader is a performance coach who uses:

Planning

Coaching

Evaluation

And lastly, solitude, prayer and daily study of scripture seem to be important ways for leaders to stay on track as you seek to lead others as God would have you lead them.

Leadership by the Book is a very useful and reliable tool for effective leadership.

One Year Old

Happy Birthday to my blog!!!!   It’s been one year on Feb 9th that I launched  “Apple of His Eye”.

I read somewhere that a blog is “just alot of unread words and stories with no importance whatsoever”.  The nerve!!!