Mom's Blog

Where I ramble endless wisdom out of my very core... galoshes may be required.

Friday, September 16, 2005

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Note to all readers: Leaving town for a few days. Will catch up with everyone upon my return. BTW, yes I did find the site and register for Jury duty. I'm sure my opportunity to change or at least affect history again, will be forthcoming. I will keep you posted. HA!! Blog humor!

I'm leaving you with an obscure song I have come to appreciate a lot. It's for someone special today, but I don't really know who. If you're feeling a bit beat down today, go find this cd (ALL RIGHT HERE), and play it, followed by Bebo Norman's TRY - Borrow Mine. It's down a little in an earlier post. You're going to make it, and it's going to be worth it! That's another song though, for battling another day. Remember, you're not in the battle alone; it's ok to rely on your battle mates. It's what we're here for...

Know you are loved,

MOM

Sonny Says: WHO IS GOING TO FEED ME THIS WEEKEND???? There aren't that many tomatoes left! Hey?? Hello??? Libby, where's the kibble?

See you all on Tuesday! We're off to Potsdam.


BOXER
SARA GROVES

ALL RIGHT HERE

WHEN YOU SAID THIS WAS A FIGHT, YOU WEREN'T KIDDING,

WHEN YOU SAID THIS WAS A FIGHT, YOU WEREN'T KIDDING, KIDDING.
CAUSE MY RIBS ARE BRUISED AND IT'S JUST ROUND TWO

WHEN YOU SAID THIS WAS A FIGHT, YOU WEREN'T KIDDING,
WHEN YOU SAID THIS WAS A FIGHT, YOU WERE NOT KIDDING, KIDDING.
CAUSE THERE'S A CUT ON MY EYE AND IT'S JUST ROUND FIVE.

AND I USED TO BE QUICK, I USED TO SEE IT COMING.

I USED TO KNOW HOW TO MOVE MY FEET.
NOW I CAN'T DUCK, AND I CAN'T LAND NOTHING,

AND I FORGOT HOW TO BOB AND WEAVE, BOB AND WEAVE.

WHEN YOU SAID THIS WAS A FIGHT, YOU WEREN'T KIDDING,

WHEN YOU SAID THIS WAS A FIGHT, YOU WEREN'T KIDDING, KIDDING.
CAUSE THIS ROOM'S IN A SPIN AND IT'S JUST ROUND TEN

IF YOU CARE AT ALL TAKE THAT TOWEL FROM YOUR NECK

CAUSED I'VE REACHED DOWN DEEP AND THERE IS NOTHING LEFT.
I'VE GOT NOTHING. I'VE GOT NOTHING. I'VE GOT NOTHING.

AND I WAS TALKING BIG, I WAS TALKING. BUT NOW, NOW WHAT?

GREATER IS HE WHO IS IN ME. GREATER IS HE WHO IS IN ME.
OKAY, OKAY. OKAY. GREATER IS HE WHO IS IN ME.

GREATER IS HE WHO IS IN ME GREATER, GREATER. OK.

BOB AND WEAVE BOB AND WEAVE BOB AND WEAVE.
AND I CAN JUST KNOW, I'VE GOT TO FEEL IT.

AND I CAN'T JUST FEEL IT, I'VE GOT TO BELIEVE IT.
AND I CAN'T JUST BELIEVE, I'VE GOT TO LIVE IT.

AND I CAN'T JUST LIVE IT...

Thursday, September 15, 2005

ROSIE EVE

Not a long post tonight, campers. I talk too much anyway, so I'm self medicating before someone complains in a constructive criticism kind of way and hurts my feelings. I forgot to mention that the haircut came out fine, but I didn't win Haircut MVP - Steve did. Most deserving I assure you.

The soccer game was exciting and there was no score for three quarters of the game when suddenly - its always suddenly - Copenhagen's Tricia Sullivan kicked a shot on goal. There were two other defenders in front of Sarah and in the confusion it got by her. There's a great shot of her in tonight's sport's section grimacing at the ball as it trickled into the net behind her. Her team wasn't able to convert any of their numerous opportunities, so they lost 1-0. Next time Sarah! So they're 4-2-1 for the season so far and she's in first place in the goalie standings!

Tonight of course, is Thursday, Sept 15, which makes it Rosie Eve. Tomorrow begins Parent's Weekend at Potsdam, and we take off sometime after noon and plan to stay all weekend. Aunt Sherry is graciously providing us with a room for two nights since Tim is away at college, and she's giving us the off season rates! Ha! Just joshing ya'll. She charging full rates. So we're planning a full schedule with Rosie! Who's excited??? Rose is! Sorry just making fun of one of Rose's favorite expressions. We're excited, too. We'll be home Sunday night after we go to church with her to fully check things out. Can't be too careful.

That'll have to do guys. John's away at Beaver Camp's SHCS's Eighth Grade Bonding Ropes Course, so it's pretty quiet here. He'll be back tomorrow after we're gone, but Steve'll be home by then to pick him up. Or course, by then Sarah will have left for her Soccer tournie in DeRuyter. She comes back Sat night, while Steve's at his Young Adult's meeting. So we'll have to find her a ride home I guess...we should get a revolving door on our home.

Ok off to watch Survivor, I'm betting on the fat guy. I don't know any of them, but there's always a fat guy. And a gay guy, and a liar. I know about the liar already at least.

Later,

Love, Mom


Sonny Says: I just got a promotion!!!! I am now officially the cornerstone of Rosie's dowry! YES!!! I mean BAAHHHH!


Other Side of Day
Bebo Norman

Was it You who spoke the earth be
And wrapped it all in mystery
for the taking, for the taking.
Was it me who turned away my soul?
From evidence so beautiful
That You gave me, that You gave me.

When I've fallen in the shadows of the sun
Only You remain the hope of what's to come

Because on a night like tonight
You bring me to life
And remind me there's another side of day
Where I can see all that You are
More than a sky full of stars
And the worries of this world will fade away
on the other side of day


Is it time that gets the best of us?
Reminding all the rest of us
That's it's fading, yeah it's fading
But You still hold the hands of time
And pave the way of paradise
Will You take me, will you take me?

Cause the world is just a shadow of the sun
Only You remain the hope of what's to come.

Where all who are alone, finally make it home
To a world of wonder...
And love is not a lie, and all who seek will find
The search is finally over!

© 2004 Apstreet Publishing

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

IT WAS ALL ME, CHIEF!

Scene: Election Headquarters, Primary Night 2005. I am in the Emergency Operations Center deep in the bowels of the Jefferson County Building- safe from nuclear attack or at least another ice storm. I arrived at 6:55 PM as instructed (alone, as Mrs. Gmitter had to cancel at the last minute) and sat in the breakroom until 8:30, talking with a newbie - giving her the full benefit of my experience from last November. Since no one came in to check on us, and the rest of the volunteers were already in the nerve center by then, we decided to walk down and check things out. All the good chairs were gone, but we did manage to find two seats together, insurance in case my protege had questions during the actual firefight.

One might have thought it to be severely understaffed due to the the frenzy with which the two Election Czarettes were rushing about. But it turned out that they were only trying to fill three empty chairs in the room, two of which were in my section. There was a statement that "Jim" was willing to be called down to fill one of my empties, but evidently James had not done much to win the endearment of his female coworkers - at least not in this department. Even some of the experienced volunteers chimed in with predictions of doom should Jim be allowed to actually pick up a ringing phone, so they went with pulling over another girl from a full bank of phone/chairs at the back of the room. If Jim were on Survivor - he'd be going home tonight. So, three of the four sections were short one person. These sections shared phone banks, and also shared the same paperwork to be filled out once the results started coming in. My five bankees and I shared eight polling places, some of which would fill out two sheets each, giving us five a grand total of only five individual potential calls that we'd have to attempt to manage. We could only wait and see what the night brought.

9:00 PM came and went. After 10 more minutes passed, my phone rang. I answered professionally, "Board of Elections". It was the Town of Watertown Districts 1, 2, 3, 4. I recorded the caller's name and results efficiently and accurately on my sheet, which I then held high in the air until the runner Czarette came by and collected it. The caller had reported to me a total of 15 votes, 12 for one candidate and 3 for his opponent. As the results were recorded into history, I leaned back satisfied with my performance, but knowing I could do better. I had affected my world in some small way! It was all me chief. I eagerly awaited my next call. My protege's phone then rang, and she removed the Town of Worth out of future contention. The guy across from us also joined the fun by receiving and recording the call from Pamelia, with what can only be described as style. Ten more minutes passed without any further action. There were only two calls left to come in, and Style Guy got the next one. My new friend and I hoped for the next call to come in while he was talking, so that the rollover feature that we'd been hearing about and training for all night would kick into gear, but to no avail. He hung up and immediately got the next call to finish with a hat trick for the night. The Jim substitute would take no calls, and the girl next to Style didn't get any either. They left bitterly disappointed.

Yeah - so such an exciting evening can't help but have ripple effects on today. I will be leaving at 3 and taking a presoccer game nap to ensure my full attention to the Copenhagen game today (at home) at 4:30. Bring a chair if you're coming. I also bring a Diet Pepsi and the newspaper - but those are just my particular quirks. Dad'll have his camera no doubt.

On the spiritual side - because I have one and so do you, I was wondering today during my devotional reading whether the Israelites ever acted like my kids, when Joshua was splitting up their land in Joshua 11-15. Did the Reubenites, Gads, and the East Manassehites ever bicker about what everyone else was getting and whether someone else got more or less acreage? Or primer locations with better watering
holes. Maybe they even invented the term location, location, location... Anyway, when it was said and done, the best deal went to the Levites. They were told that they wouldn't get land, instead they would get the gift of God Himself as their inheritance. My thought was we have the same amazing inheritance available to us every day! He showers us with His Favor, Love and Grace. Max Lucado says that if God had a calendar - your birthday would be circled! Yeah! Go process that thought.

Know you are loved:

MOM

Sonny Says: I'm not going to keep giving advice if you aren't going to take it...For the last time, always save your blog every single time you go to post. (Who just spent an hour retyping half of this over again? Me! Again, for the second day in a row!) Oh, and don't forget to floss regularly.

HOW GREAT
JEREMIAH MAXON

TIRED AND BROKEN, HUNGRY AND DESPISED,
I COULD NEVER BRING YOU ALL THE TEARS I'VE CRIED.
I AM WEARY, THERE'S NOTHING LEFT INSIDE.
I NEED TO KNOW IF YOU COULD EVER BRING ME LIFE.
CAUSE I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU,

THERE'S NOTHING LEFT WITHOUT YOU.

YOUR LOVE AND YOUR GRACE BRING A FIRE TO MY SOUL
THROUGH YOUR POWER IN THIS PLACE
I AM HEALED AND I AM WHOLE


FOR EVERY RANSOM MY SIN COULD EVER HOLD
YOUR BLOOD WAS PAID TO BRING ME INTO YOUR FOLD
YOU ARE MY SHEPHERD AND I KNOW THAT YOU ARE GOOD
PLEASE COME PROTECT ME LIKE YOU SAID YOU WOULD
WHEN I WANDER INTO SIN, YOUR MERCY LEADS ME HOME AGAIN.

HOW GREAT IS THE FATHER'S LOVE FOR ME! (HOW GREAT IS YOUR LOVE!)
I HAVE BEEN HEALED I'VE BEEN MADE WHOLE.
I HAVE BEEN CHANGED BY ONE GLIMPSE OF YOUR SOUL.
ONE TOUCH OF YOUR HAND, ONE DROP OF YOUR BLOOD.
AND I'M BLOWN AWAY BY THE DEPTH OF YOUR LOVE.
HOW GREAT IS THE FATHER'S LOVE FOR ME!


2004 JEREMIAH MAXON

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Getting Free -r

Everything's going well today. I have a haircut scheduled later, which I expect will go fine. Everyone else got cut on Sunday in the Great Maxon Hair Shed event that took place at the Land following the later service. Dad and JD went with short and shorter - we successfully held off granting John's Bald wish again. Sarah had a trim - she has quite the length going and she'd like to keep it going. Steve's was the biggest transformation (who looks fantastic??? Steve does!!!), although to be fair I'm not done yet (I'm not holding out for the Haircut MVP though). I opted for a real appt with a chair that goes up and down and sinks. Call me old-fashioned. Go ahead, it's not like I can really hear you, and it's not that big an insult anyway. Remember, God can still hear you though. Yeah - so Steve looks amazing! Wish I could show you a picture - but truth be told if it weren't for Mike and Rose you wouldn't evening be seeing me over there. They're working on getting a shot of Sonny up too. Everyone thanks you Mike & Rose.

Sarah's SHV Soccer 05 season progresses on. They came in 2nd against the first place team (they're ranked 4 or 5) in the Belleville Henderson tournament over the weekend. The final went into quadruple overtime. It was crazy. Next time, Sarah! :) Tomorrow they play Copenhagen. Grrrrrr. In a loving Christian way, of course.

Today is actually Primary Day and I get to go the Election HQ's later to tally the county returns. The last time I went was when George Bush was re-elected I believe. Rose and I staffed the phones to counterbalance the liberal team of Mike, Nikki and I believe Nate - although I kind of don't remember for sure if it was Nate or Evan or Danno for that matter. To be fair the third extra in any event usually gets forgotten. And if you're guest starring on any Star Trek - then he's the one who gets killed. Usually by some disgusting alien that crawls into his ear and ...my goodness I can digress. Ok, so at 6:45 I get to do my civic duty. I only hope I can sign up for Jury Duty while I'm there. Mrs. Gmitter is accompanying me to take Rose's place. YES!!! We could easily take over the world working together. I'm driving - so she's Louise tonight. That makes me Thelma for those of you who are totally lost.

We've been having quite the debate over on Steve's journal lately concerning personal freedoms versus individual responsibility. Some people want to get all heady and say to forfeit our personal rights for any reason is political heresy and mocks the very fabric of our country. I understand why they say that, but here's what I said on Saturday:
Background: I stated that personal freedoms are highly overrated. I can care about yours - but I cannot put my own above yours. And vice versa.

Christ gave up all of His personal rights to die for MINE - and the moment I accepted that sacrifice, it became my vehicle out of my old selfish, self-centered, hell-bound lifestyle. We all - or most of my readership - have experienced that same journey. It's called our salvation testimony. But the transformation from "User" to "Servant" doesn't come overnight. The sin goes, but the choices begin... that's why the Word is so important in our lives. We need to read what He left us, the Bible, and apply it to our lives. If it says not to cause others to stumble with our freedoms - which it does in 1Cor 8:9 - then don't! It's not about us - it's about Him wanting others to see Him through us.

If you don't get a hold of anything else out of all of this, get this. Jesus didn't deserve to die, He didn't even have to die - He chose to die. Because of the deep Amazing Love that He has for YOU. When that WORD hits your REALITY you will never be the same. We are capable of experiencing that Love, AND sharing it with others just by the way we conduct ourselves. "And they'll know we are Christians by our love." And yes,it's worth it.


Know you are loved,

MOM

Sonny Says: Go Vote! And always save your blog - blah, blah...

Finding You

everything is alright, everything is so bright

and the sun is shining beautiful
everyone is singing, everyone is dreaming
and the world is so colorful
When You look back at me, yeah You know it makes me sing

i'm finding You, in everything that shines

i'm finding You, in between the lines
i'm finding You, You open up my eyes, every time,
cause Your Love is so alive

Maybe You could stop time,
hanging on to daylight Doesn't ever have to go away.
I could sing a new song, maybe get the words wrong,
But You know just what I want to say
Cause when You look at me,You know I still believe...



When broken things, are given wings They fly away -You make me say...

2004 Bebo Norman