More of Him Monday

Diana at Sunshine On My Shoulders is hosting More Of Him Monday. Why not visit her blog and check out her's and others' uplifting posts.

Overheard at Target this morning:

Wife to husband (as he rushes past her with shopping cart): "Where are you going?"

Husband: "I'm going straight to hell because I'm a non-believer. That has to be the biggest racket in the world-believing in God."

What the?????? I turned to catch a glimpse of the husband, a 70 something, owlish looking kind of fellow. Probably was not too thrilled to be spending this beautiful October morning shopping with the wife at Target; not really a "guy" kind of store. I should know for I had asked Carlos if he wanted to join me, but he declined my invitation and headed off to Home Depot instead.

But this man's words got me thinking-what would the world be like without this "racket"? What if nobody believed in God? No religion, churches, marriages, possibly no family unit. Would there be laws? Would there even be a USA? Didn't the colonists originally come here for religious freedom? Imagine no holidays; no Christmas, Easter, or Thanksgiving (who would we thank?).

Would there be love?

Would there be any good at all in this world?

How empty my life would be without Him!

I feel sorry for this man, for he is truly missing out on a lot. If I wasn't such a timid person, I would have said something like this to him: "Sir, you may not believe in God, but He believes in you and loves you anyway. I hope that someday you will invite Him into your life."

So instead I said a little prayer for him.

Nope this man doesn't know it, but someone was praying for him in the aisles of Target this morning. Maybe that's why God put me in the path of his shopping cart.
So he got an added "bonus" along with that 40 lb. bag of dog food I saw him heave into his cart.

God and I, what a "racket" we have going!

Yankees Update...

New York Yankees-8
Cleveland Indians-4

Looks like the playoffs AND hot dog sales will continue here for at least one more night:



LET'S GO YANKEES!!!

Safe Autumn Lights

I remember when I was in elementary about a hundred years ago that October was fire safety month. And these battery operated tea lights are a safe alternative to the real thing, especially in a home where there are children and pets (and grown-ups who tend to nod out very easily :o). Found a pack of 6 at Walgreens for $5 which really isn't so bad since I've seen single lights priced at a $1.50 or higher. They even flicker and look a lot like the real thing. They fooled Carlos. And they seem to last for quite a while. Have not had one "burn" out yet.

Here they are in one of my wall sconces. I've always been a bit leery of using the real thing here:



And they look really cool inside a paper lantern. I would NEVER use a regular tealight here:



I bought these lanterns at Le Gourmet Chef yesterday. A pack of three of these vintage-y looking lanterns was less than $3.00. I like vintage holiday decorations, but the real McCoy is often very pricey.
If I ever get around to carving a pumpkin, I'm going to put one of these tealights inside. A safe alternative to the real thing. And I'm sure the local squirrels will thank me when they go munching on my pumpkin!

And now my cat "Jeter" would like to comment:

"Just what is going on with those NY Yankees??? The Bronx Bombers have really bombed in the playoffs so far. I'm so embarrassed right now that I was named after their shortstop. I'm thinking of changing my name to "Rockie". Just look at my face in this photo-does it look like I'm kidding?"



"If you lose tonight, I'm going to bury my Daddy's Yankee cap in the litter box."


Well said, my dear kitty-cat! Let's go Yankees!!!

More of Him Monday

Diana at "Sunshine On My Shoulders" is hosting a wonderful new feature: More of Him Monday Be sure to visit Diana's blog to read her's and others' inspiring posts.

It seems that every Sunday afternoon I get depressed because the weekend is almost over and I must return to work in the morning. It's not that I dislike my job; its the "garbage" that I must deal with every day. You know-the gossiping, the back-stabbing, the complaining, the unfairness, etc. That kind of garbage. There has been a lot of it lately. And it has been affecting me both mentally and physically.
So yesterday afternoon I prayed to Jesus: "Lord, I'm not sure how much longer I can put up with this "garbage" at work so I'm giving this one to you. I need your wisdom on how to deal with this "garbage".

Shortly afterwards, I got on the computer to check out some blogs and I heard that "click" which meant that I'd just received an email. It was from my sister and I would like to share a part of it with you:

Beware of Garbage Trucks
by David J. Pollay

How often do you let other people's nonsense change
your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss,
or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you're the
Terminator, for an instant you're probably set back on your
heels. However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly
she can get back her focus on what's important.

Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson.
I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab.
Here's what happened.

I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.
My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded,
and missed the other car's back end by just inches!

The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy.
And I mean, he was friendly.
So, I said, "Why did you just do that?
This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!"

And this is when my taxi driver told me what I
now call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck."

Many people are like garbage trucks.
They run around full of garbage, full of frustration,
full of anger, and full of disappointment.
As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it.
And if you let them, they'll dump it on you.
When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally.

You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.
You'll be happy you did.

So this was it: The "Law of the Garbage Truck."
I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me?
And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people:

at work, at home, on the streets?
It was that day I said, "I'm not going to do it anymore."

I began to see garbage trucks.
Like in the movie " The Sixth Sense," the little boy said, "I see Dead People."

Well, now "I see Garbage Trucks."
I see the load they're carrying.
I see them coming to drop it off.
And like my Taxi Driver, I don't make it a personal thing;
I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.

So I thought how strange it was to receive this email after that little chat I had with God less than an hour earlier. Surely this couldn't have come from Him through cyberspace.
I walked into the bathroom to clean the cat's litter box and noticed that Carlos had hung a small cross from the knob of the medicine cabinet. The late afternoon sun was shining through a small opening in the blinds directly on that cross and it was glowing!-I guess I had my answer.
No-it's not exactly scripture. Seems God chose to speak to me in my native New Jersey tongue (we do say "garbage" kind of funny), in a way in which I could clearly understand His message.
And His message stayed with me all day at work today. I truly had a wonderful day, despite all the craziness around me. I even sent that email to some of my co-workers.
Yes, this garbage dump is officially closed!

The Postal Service No One Hears About...

My sister sent me this email and I thought it was the sweetest thing. I'm not sure who wrote it, but it's always uplifting to hear about acts of kindness like this. Enjoy!


Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her.

She dictated and I wrote:

Dear God:

Will you please take special care of our dog, Abbey? She died yesterday and is in heaven. We miss her very much. We are happy that you let us have her as our dog even though she got sick. I hope that you will play with her. She liked to play with balls and swim before she got sick. I am sending some pictures of her so that when you see her in heaven you will know she is our special dog. But I really do miss her.

Love,
Meredith Claire

PS Mommy wrote the words after I told them to her.

We put that in an envelope with two pictures of Abbey, and addressed it to God in Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith stuck some stamps on the front (because, as she said, it may take lots of stamps to get a letter all the way to heaven) and that afternoon I let her drop it into the letter box at the post office.

For a few days, she would ask if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch. Curious, I went to look at it. It had a gold star card on the front and said "To Meredith" in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith took it in and opened it.

Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers, "When a Pet Dies". Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God, in its opened envelope (which was marked Return to Sender: Insufficient address). On the opposite page, one of the pictures of Abbey was taped under the words "For Meredith" We turned to the back cover, and there was the other picture of Abbey, and this handwritten note on pink paper:

Dear Meredith,
I know that you will be happy to know that Abbey arrived safely and soundly in Heaven! Having the pictures you sent to me was such a big help. I recognized Abbey right away. You know, Meredith, she isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me--just like she stays in your heart--young and running and playing. Abbey loved being your dog, you know.

Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets!-- so I can't keep your beautiful letter. I am sending it to you with the pictures so that you will have this book to keep and remember Abbey.

One of my angels is taking care of this for me. I hope the little book helps. Thank you for the beautiful letter. Thank your mother for sending it. What a wonderful mother you have! I picked her especially for you.

I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I am in heaven but wherever there is love, I am there also.

Love,
God and the special angel who wrote this after God told her the words.

As a pet lover, this is one of the kindest things that I've ever experienced. I have no way to know who sent it, but there is some very kind soul working in the dead letter office. Just wanted to share this act of compassion.

Lord of the Miracles Procession

I live in a very culturally diverse neighborhood and there are many different kinds of festivals and religious events held throughout the year. A nearby church has a large Peruvian congregation and today they held their annual Lord of the Miracles procession.

This was literally going on outside my front door this afternoon. The devotees dress in purple tunics and carry this large frame with the image of the Lord of the Miracles for hours. It weighs at least a ton. A band playing solemn music follows the procession. Women walking in front of the procession carry large incense burners and sing hymns.



In the back there is an image of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus:



This gentleman was lifting up babies and small children to touch and kiss the image:



I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo, but a few ladies and teenage boys were also helping to carry the frame:



Carlos preferred to watch from the porch:



You know, when I first saw this procession about two years ago I thought it was a New Orleans type funeral. I even told Carlos that it was the kind of funeral I wanted when the time came. He looked at me like I was crazy (he does that quite often) and said "Lynne that's not a funeral, that's something the people from Peru do!" I am such a dummy!

Well it's starting to get dark-I'm going to see if this procession is still going on. I think I still hear the band playing. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed this little bit of Peruvian culture.

Psssst-you can also click on the photos to see the beautiful details especially the first two pictures.

Show and Tell

Yay-it's finally Friday and that means it's time for Show and Tell. If you would like to join the fun, please visit Kelli's blog and leave a link to your post.

My show and tell for this week are these visitors to our butterfly bush. These are monarch butterflies and I've been getting dozens of these pretty winged creatures lately. They migrate to Mexico in the fall and since I live in NJ they still have quite a distance to go. I'm glad they are stopping by here along their journey for a snack:




They must be really hungry because they don't seem to mind having their picture taken:



Looks like I have some serious pruning to do on that butterfly bush!
There's still some action going on in my flower garden. This Autumn Fire sedum has just begun to bloom:




Thank you for visiting and looking at my Show and Tell