Sisters

I started out with a brother.

But families visited on special occasions with SISTERS...

The years passed and there were more--brothers.

 I had to wonder--
What would it be like to play
with a sister? 

Would we be building tree
houses, peeling out with our
bikes in the farmyard, sliding
down the roof of the barn into
a snowbank?

Or, would we be sitting on
the floor with paper dolls,
placing miniature furniture
in a dollhouse with 
conversations of, 
"I'll be the Mom; 
you be the Dad."

****

Recently, I attended a funeral of a friend's mother.  My friend, Donna, and I had been best friends since second grade and remained so all the way through high school.  Pictures of Donna's family life folded one into another on a large screen in front of the church while we waited for the service to begin.  I watched as bits and pieces of their life history flashed before me.... and wanted to find a dark room and weep. Although our family circumstances were different, we shared a history.  She had been my sister--my blood sister...

 


Pricking our fingers with an alcohol sterilized sewing needle from her mother's sewing kit, we watched as the blood blossomed.  Pressing our wounded fingers together, we became blood sisters and thought we would be forever close.

However, for years we lost touch. . .

   I made new friends--in a sense, "sisters"--Margo, my college roommate.

We graduated and lost touch until the 80's.

 

Soon, I found my knight in shining armor, married,

and resolved the issue of sisters

for my own children.

I gave them sisters....

With their own stories to tell . . .

*****

The years passed--more quickly than I ever imagined they could.

My brothers remembered stories I did not.

They had worked the farm together while their sister, I,  was in the house with laundry, dishes, meal preparation, and cleaning.  (Okay, it wasn't all work; Mom and I squeaked in our favorite soap opera every day.)

*****

Recently, on a Sunday morning, I sat behind three sisters in church--all gray-haired and home for their mother's 80th birthday.  Sitting shoulder to shoulder, they whispered one to another while waiting for the service to start, and I thought... 

I wished I would have had a sister

The Berklands, 1950 picture, with my brother and me.

It took me back to the Berkland girls--  

Another baby girl was born after this picture.  

       Living on an Iowa farm, they had grown up grinding feed, plowing, milking cows, butchering chickens (there's a process here that involves killing, scalding, de-feathering, and cutting up), gathering eggs under mom hen's pecking, washing eggs, pulling weeds around the farm buildings, and more.  

I've been told there were times 

when there were more eggs 

on the basement wall 

than in the cartons.

If you've ever gathered eggs 

from a hen's nest--

on a hot summer day--

knowing you have yet to wash them--

you understand the eggs-on-the-wall thing.

I visited them in the summer during our growing-up years and worked harder at the Berklands than I did at home.  I always enjoyed it--so much companionship.  I attended college with one of them and we keep in touch through ocassional cards and emails to this day.  

Sisters?

The Berkland sisters today .. .Still enjoying being sisters.

Who are my sisters?

They are ladies from my past.

They are ladies from my present.

They are my very own daughters.

They are ladies in the future.

The church is everywhere represented as one.  It is one family, one body, one fold, one kingdom.  It is one because it is pervaded by one spirit. . .   

                                                                                                        Charles Hodge

For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. 

Matthew 12:50--

Dear Lord, we are part of Your family.  

Help us to be loving and encouraging 

and reflect your glory.

Amen

Next week's blog:
    Old Wives' Tales

Poppycock

Be careful of the words you say                           
Keep them soft and sweet
Because you never know from day to day
Which ones you'll have to eat.


I wasn't thinking of K. McCarthy's words when I wrote "Poppycock"--this year's entry in Lyrical Iowa.  When perusing the dictionary one afternoon, my pointer finger landed on poppycock, and I was amused.  Such a funny sounding word with connotations worth exploring that I determined to write a poem.  Other fun words came to mind:  nonsense, staccato, babbling, swelling, blazing, blather . . .

                            Poppycock

They sit with potbellies

Cups of tepid coffee

And comrades

(They think)

Fellow soldiers

In the fight against apathy

Stirring emotions

With opinions about everything

Speaking nonsense

                                             In blatant staccato

                                            Babbling, gloating, swelling

                                            With empty talk

                                           Becoming contagious

                                          Everyone expounding

                                            No one listening

                                            Blazing with blather.

Words.  Some, simply because of their sounds, are more entertaining than others:  huggermugger, haberdashery, cantankerous, gobbledygook, snollygoster, widdershins, whippesnapper, bloomers--to name a few.

Looking for children?

These are real words.  Huggermugger connotes a contradiction--threatening and cuddly at the same time; whereas, the real meaning in its verb form is to keep secret. Snollygoster is a mythical creature that  preys on children and poultry-- or an unprincipled but shrewd person.

Reading Dr. Seuss to grandchildren, I realized the blast Seuss had with language--using comical combinations and creating new. . .

                                        

Poppycock?  I don't think so . . .

Crunk-car

Ga-zoom!

Googoo goggles
Ichabod is itchy
Zike-bike

. . . and, decided to try a tale on my own . . .

An Incomplete Fairy-y Tale

While attaching the orange cummberbund around her tiny waist and a bright bauble at her neckline, Splenda felt the collywobbles in her tummy.  Being awkward in social situations, she wondered why she had allowed her sister, Higgle, to finagle her into attending Spillville's annual hootenanny.

A soft moan escaped her lips; Splenda remembered: Higgle had not been asked by anyone.  Not wanting to show up alone-- no one did that!--Higgle had niggled Splenda until she finally said yes.

Doodling with the curls that drooped at her neckline, Splenda slumped on the bed feeling downright despondent as Higgle waltzed into her room.

"Ready?" she demanded.

Higgle's bouffant was blanketed with various ribbons.  Bloomers peeped beneath her razzamatazz skirts.  Her winkle-pinchers produced a gait Splenda had not previously witnessed in her sister.  Nincompoop came to mind.  Splenda wanted to giggle.  Giggle at Higgle?  She could not.

Nor could she say anything.    

****

 

 Speaking, communicating, sounding with lips and vocal chords--amazing what we can do?  Entertain, tease, share, comfort, explain, complain, compromise, love . . .

 God cares about your words.

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, 

sweet to the soul 

and

healing to the bones.

Proverbs 16:24

And, sometimes, it is best to use no words at all--as was the case with Splenda.

During these moments of stillness, 
 you will often sense the infinite love

and power of your Creator--and, 

He, in turn will speak directly to your heart.  

(Day 12, 365 Daily Devotions for Women)

***

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

Psalm 46:10

Have a fun week with loving words be they entertaining, kind, or compassionate...

Next week's blog: SISTERS

New Year's Resolutions

Where are you going?

      This is really titled.......
"Where are you going?" 

Okay, it's January 13th, and yes, I am talking New Year's Resolutions.  Either you haven't made any or you've made some and have already broken them.
                                   Hmmmm.... Sound familiar?
It takes 21 days to make/break a habit...

If you're in-to-words, know that resolute means marked by firm determination.  Resolve means to declare or decide.  And, resolution is a determination.

New Year's Resolution, thanks to Wikipedia assistance, is a commitment to a personal goal, project or the reforming of a habit made at the beginning of  a year with a plan to carry it out for the entire year.

The idea of a New Year Resolution has religious origins:  the Babylonians made promises to their gods that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts, the Romans made promises to their god, Janus, for whom the month of January is named.  Christians have prepared for the year ahead by praying and making resolutions at "watchnight" services. 

Mom's Diary

Wanting a sense of more recent history,
I pulled out my mother's diary.
       I discovered:

January 1, 1955:  Left home at 8 a.m.  We all went to Carolyn's in Sioux City to watch the Rose Parade on TV.*  A nice warm day.  Gladys, Chuck and Jerry were there.  (Missed church.)
January 1, 1956:  Church and Sunday School.
January 1, 1957:  We all went to church.  Dad came out to watch Rose Parade and spent rest of day.**  I ironed all afternoon and washed eggs.
January 1, 1958:  Went to church and then to Art's for dinner.  Plautz's and Kaylen and Lorraine were there.  Lorraine got a diamond for Christmas.

*No TV in our home at this time.
**TV!

My mother was a daily and weekly list maker.

I checked the days before January 1 and the days following.   

           No record of any New Year's Resolution?

I pulled out my own diary.
This is what I discovered written on January 1 --on sporadic occasions.

1980: New Year's Resolutions?  I used to have a list of 5 - 10 and now I have trouble thinking of some.  There are a lot to be made, I guess, but I'm busier than ever and don't have time for reflection.

1987 Resolutions*

 

1987*  {See left.}  There was also mention of saving $100 a month for a college fund and plans of growing-out my hair. I'm  sure saving $100 a month was in no way sufficient; however, four children made it through college, and $100 a month was an indication of our income level.  I did grow my hair out--but that happened in 2012--over 20 years later.  Okay, some things take time.  I did read the Bible and have done so since.  Physical exercise?  On-going.

1991: I made some resolutions but don't have time to write them down. . .  Isaac has a cold, again.  Found out we'll be moving in the spring.**
**An indication of a somewhat scattered existence?  We didn't move in the spring, and at this time (2013), I have no idea where I thought we would be going.



Perhaps when talking about where are you going,
we need to establish where one has been and where one is now.

It's easy to feel secure all wrapped up in my tiny package

 and not venture out to try something new,

include someone new in my friendship group, or share what I have outside my comfort level.

***

A person all wrapped up in herself makes a very small package. 

***

 

Perhaps my resolutions made at the beginning of a 

new year have matured along with me.  

As I've grown older, I've become more 

comfortable with myself.  

I can stop kidding myself about who I am and 

embrace the me that evolved because life 

was not always easy, take that life,

and blossom in other ways. 

Resolutions could be divided into three areas:

Body

Mind

Spirit 

I am determined (God willing) to publish a book in 2013; 
I want to continue exercising;
I will read and study God's word daily.

So far, it's been all about ME.  

Stop.

I need another category:  
Others.

Remember:
A person all wrapped up in herself makes a very small package?

Luci Swindoll wrote, 

The proper perspective creates within us a spirit 

of reaching outside of ourselves with joy and enthusiasm.

James 1:27 reads...Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:  to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

God wants us to take care of ourselves 
After all . . .

{We were created in his image.}

He also wants us to take care of others.

According to Wikipedea, less than 1/2 of Americans make resolutions.
Of those that do, close to 90% fail.
Telling?
Is it possible we're directing our attention or focus down the wrong path?
The "me" path?

Consider the other category in your resolution-making.

It may bring unexpected joy.

Dear Lord, 

the Christian life is a forever adventure--

may I, this year, 

share my zeal and blessings with others.  

 Amen

I will "journal" in 2013...may it be . . .

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.     Ephesians 2:10

. . .more about others--less about me.

Next blog:
Poppycock!

Blog: Companionship?

A good friend of mine asked, 
"Why do you do it?  The blog, why?"

And, then--

"What is it really?"

She knew me well; she could ask me anything.  We had been best friends since second grade, celebrated birthdays together, washed eggs together in their farmhouse basement, and shared each others' deepest secrets.

She wanted to know, "Why?"

I had to think about it.

I finally mumbled, "My last publisher encouraged me to do it." (As if I needed an excuse to do it.)  And, then, "I tried it, and I like it."



It got me to thinking about blogging and what I did not know about it.  Knowing it would not be in my Webster's 7th New Collegiate Dictionary, 1965 edition--the one that got me through college--I looked it up anyway.  Noting that the word "blog" would have occurred between "blocky" and "bloke," I went to Merriam-Webster, on-line.  Learning it was a personal journal with comments, opinions and reflections, I was relieved, feeling that since I was "blogging," I was apparently on the right path.

Interesting to me was the fact that blogosphere 

was previous to blog and bloedpens followed.  

Blogosphere I could figure out.  Bloedpens?

Blogging?
I have enjoyed it.  I find it purposeful.

Walt Wangerin, Jr. in his last article in The Lutheran was asked a similar question from a friend.  "Isn't writng a lonely craft? . . . You sit alone in your room, staring at a blank computer screen."

Lonely?  Not really.

"By writing," Walt answered, "I am asking for companionship.  By reading the reader is answering, 'Yes.'"


Through my writing, I have an opportunity to companionship with you, the reader.  I want to share my thoughts and perceptions and hopefully give you something to think about.  You may agree or disagree.

However, when you read it, you are saying "yes"--let me read this.  Knowing this gives me purpose and encouragement.  When you read, I am connecting with you.  And, you are connecting with others--someone in California, Minnesota, Iowa, Alaska, Canada, Germany, or Spain is reading also.  It's the way of the Web.

I used to think I would run out of things to write about,
 but everywhere I turn, there are new ideas: 

A picture--rediscovered...trespassing?

Sisters:  last year's Christmas card....,

a Bible study discussion, a child's smile, 
the way of the clouds, a new word (bloedpen) 
or an old word newly viewed (poppycock).

Stick with me.  

You'll hear about these and more.  

But more significantly, 

I will tie everything 

I write about into 

God.  

Why?

Catherine Marshall in 365 Devotions for Women writes, "Recently, I've been learning that life comes down to this:  God is in everything.  Regardless of what difficulties I am experiencing at the moment, or what things are not as I would like them to be, I look at the circumstances and say, "Lord what are you trying to teach me?"  

My blogs are intended to be inspirational and reflective. 

 Thank you for reading them.
*****

On another note:

If you enjoy fiction and like a book filled with intrigue along with a spiritual message, I encourage you to order my books by clicking on amazon.com or barnes&noble in the upper right hand corner of this blog.  

 

They are not perfectly written, but the stories are filled with suspense, intrigue and inspirational thoughts that will may cause you to reflect. 

You can take one on vacation, snuggle with one in a chair with a warm blanket and your favorite hot drink, or squeeze in a few pages on your commute with one at your side.  I will be your companion.

                             Wishing you God's blessing in the New Year.

For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor death, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  
     Romans 8:38, 39

The Christmas Elf?

 


Next blog:  New Year's resolutions?...
 or The Christmas Elf...