Lactase, Sand, and Grace

Well, we've been at the beach. Isn't God amazing??? His beauty, in all His creations, never ceases to amaze me. Just think, he created every tiny granule of sand spread across the shore. Amazing....


My week of "summer vacation" didn't start off very well. All I care to say is S.I.C.K. I mean deathly ill. Knocking at death's door, sick. I mean I even went to the emergency room. I only stayed 3.5 minutes, but I did go. When I got there, I decided that I could not sit there another minute so we came home with a promise to my family, that I would go to the doctor the following morning if I was not miraculously cured. I wasn't, but I did feel well enough for our trip. My dear, precious pharmacist suggested I take an OTC items to alleviate my discomfort and, if I was not likely to eat yogurt (and let me assure you I WAS NOT) , Lactase. I have now decided that Lactase is a miracle cure for any stomach issue. Try it the next time your tummy is not acting appropriately.


I LIKE the beach. I did not say LOVE. I like the sand, the shells, the wind, the waves, the birds the trees, the noise. But I do not love any of these things for too long. I like to sit on the beach late in the evening when the crowd thins. I like to be able to stare at the ocean and watch the waves roll in and out. I like to watch the shells come on shore and toss and turn like they're trying to decide if they want to stay or not. I like to watch people with their dogs. I sat there one such evening and just marveled at the beauty and the mystery of the ocean. I'm sure anyone who has been to the beach has done the same thing but it never loses it's ability to humble me. It is so big and it reminds me that I am so very small. God must be very proud of his creation. I was thinking about this and I began to think that He must be very proud of all His creations. Even those not as big as the ocean. The tiny grain of sand, the beautiful birds diving for their dinner, the shells in their many sizes and forms, the weird jellyfish thing that washed on shore in front of me, the grass waving to me from the shore, the weed from the sea that wrapped around my toe and scared me to death. Then I looked on the beach near my chair and noticed my family that had joined my solitude. They, too, must give God joy. My precious granddaughter who was making a road in the sand with her hands, my baby boy who couldn't seem to eat enough sand, my daughters in all their beauty, my son-in-law who loves his family, my husband and his playful spirit (who happens to turn 56 today). God must be proud of these creations.

On my way down to the beach this particular afternoon, I grabbed a book off the shelf. I had started this same book 2 or 3 times in the past. But this time, it hooked me. I think it was a God thing. Oh, it's not really a best seller or anything but it is a christian fiction novel someone had given me some time ago and I just threw it in the Hornet. It was all I could find at the time. I started reading it again and it was amazing. As a matter of fact, I told Liz to take it but changed my mind and told her I needed to read it again and she could have it later. The main character in the book had a similar experience to the one I mentioned above about God's love in what He created. Ironic...... My fictional friend, just like me, began wondering about God and His creations. He did not make any mistakes. I know that. So, is He proud of tiny little ole me???? If He is proud of all things, He must be, or at least, He wants me to make Him proud. Do I? That was my question. "Do I make God proud?" My answer, "No, not always." I know I have disappointed Him. I know there have been times when I screwed up. But I also know that He is still on my side. I think and believe that when I do screw up, He is ready and willing to forgive me, if I am sincere and ask. Thank you God for this grace.

My prayer there sitting on the beach was that God guide me because I DO want Him to be proud of me.

Thank you God for creating all the beauty of the world for me to enjoy and thank you for creating me....I want you to be as proud of me as you are of that beautiful vast sea.

I have been violated!!!!!

Technology is a wonderful thing. I mean that. It really is. But, sometimes we get "had". And I got had.

Lane and I had a wonderful week-end camping in the mountains. Peace and quiet. I love my Kindle. Our site was right on a beautiful creek and with the windows open in the Hornet, we could hear the soothing sounds all night. We were so far in the mountains that we had no phone service. No big deal. So on Saturday when I wanted to call and check on my parents (which I do daily) I had to use my debit card on their public phone. No problem. But later in the day when I called to check on Catherine (which I also do daily) my debit card was declined. 3 times. Hmmmm. Unusual. So, I just used our credit card to make the call.

Later on, I got out my laptop to just take a look at my bank account online. When I did this, I noticed two charges to my account. One for $75.00 and one for $74.87 at a Chevron service station somewhere in Georgia. No big deal. The bank will fix it on Monday. These things happen all the time...Right?

This morning when I got up at "9:30" (unusual for me but wonderful), I decided to take another look at my bank account. You know, just to be sure. Guess what? There had been 5 other such transactions in Georgia. Fortunately this is an account only I use so I immediately transferred what little money was left in my account to another account.

WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON????????? I have my cards all in my possession. Now I am extremely worried.

As we head down the hill back to civilization and my phone regains it's service, I noticed I have a voicemail from the bank informing me of strange activity on my account so I call them. They immediately put a block on this account and explain that it looks like someone has managed to create a duplicate card to my account.

I have continued to check my account throughout the day and guess what??? My new "friends" are still at it. They are headed south through Georgia just living it up on my money (well, now nobody's money because they have managed to now get my account well overdrawn since I moved what little money was left in there) .....Scumbags.

So here is what it looks like I will have to do tomorrow: Be at bank at 9:00, file police report, go to school office and have account info changed. Oh, and I am due a deduction for my car payment tonight at midnight. Won't they be happy with me when they see the account has closed. Great!!!!! The "Y" won't get their money. They, too, will be happy with me.

Some of the charges were at Wal-Mart's Murphy gas stations. Wal-Mart has cameras so maybe they can look at videos and get tag numbers and stuff. So Wal-Mart, I'm counting on you to catch these scumbags.

One of my questions is this, If they are going to hack someone's account, why not let it be someone with a lot of money? I am a lowly paid North Carolina public school teacher. I don't make a lot of money. I guess that is kinda ugly. I don't want this to happen to anyone.

Now, will I continue to let my debit card be my lifeline? I don't know. Do I have a choice? I guess not.

What I do know is that I have been violated and I do not like it......

On Turning "50"

Well, I made it. I turned fifty this week. I had a terrible time over the past couple months getting ready for this big occasion. I have done a lot of thinking about the last 50 years. How the heck did I get to be fifty years old?????? I asked my mom this recently and her comment was, "What if you had a daughter turning 50?" Hmmm..I had no response to that.

What have I done for the past 50 years? I remember having babies and being grade mother at West School. I remember making cupcakes and going to dance, scouts, soccer practice, piano lessons, church meetings, Bible School, field trips, etc. But what have I really done? Have I done anything really remarkable? I don't know...Maybe. Then I have asked myself these past couple months, "Will I do anything remarkable in the next 50 years? I hope so. I do have a few ideas. I want to go to Guatemala next year with my Blanket Circle friends. But, I have one major issue that God will have to handle: my fear of flying. I have flown before but the thoughts of getting on an airplane terrifies me. So, I figure if God wants me to go to Guatemala, he we alleviate this fear. We'll see what happens. I have always wanted to go on a mission trip. In my early teens I envisioned myself as a missionary in some third world country nursing, or teaching or something. Maybe it's not to late to fulfill that dream.

Erik Erikson, a renowned psychologist as you know, says that at this stage of life called "Middle Adulthood" work is most crucial. Hmmm. interesting. He also says that middle-age is when we tend to be occupied with creative and meaningful work (mission trip?)and with issues surrounding our family (agree). He also said that middle adulthood is when we can expect to "be in charge," the role we've longer envied. (Yep, I want to be in control.)



While thinking about the 50th anniversary of my birth, I made a mental list of things that happen when you turn 50 and I will share some of them: (I don't know if Erickson would agree, but DON'T CARE....)


1.) Your vision starts to go.


2.) Your hips hurt.


3.) 9:00p.m. is to late to get a phone call.


4.) 9:00p.m. is late enough to be up at night.


5.) You get up earlier.


5.) You get a stupid AARP card in the mail.


6.) Your grand children wear you out in about 30 minutes.

7.) You wear sunscreen.


8.) Your hair gets thinner and duller (But I have a daughter to take care of this.)


9.) The fat, ugly lady behind the counter at Belk's asks you if you get the Senior Citizen's discount. By gosh, the next time she asks me that I am going to say YES......


10.) You take blood pressure medicine.


11.) Strange spots start growing on your body...hmmmm

12.) Waitresses call you "sweetie". (I hate that.)

13.) You go to Cracker Barrel and like it. Hmmmm.

Now, the above mentioned are not necessarily all that negative but I have been thinking of a few positive things that happen when you get 50:

1.) Your kids are grown and out of the house..hopefully.
2.) You have grandchildren, if you're lucky...
3.) You don't have to cook supper if you don't want to.
4.) You get to go camping with just your spouse. Well, and your dog.
5.) You get to order off the old people menu at a lot of restaurants and it's cheaper.
6.) You get to listen to what you like on the radio in the car.
7.) The phone doesn't ring after 9:00p.m. (see above)
8.) Nobody eats your flavor of ice cream. (My favorite is cherry vanilla and Lane hates it.)
9.) You get to order seasons tickets to the theatre no matter how much they cost because you know you won't miss the play because of somethings the kids have to do.
10.) You do things because you want to and not to impress others.
11.) You can ride all the way to Lancaster, S.C. to eat breakfast on Saturday morning if you want to.
12.) You can take a shower and put on your jammies at 6:00p.m. if you so desire..(tonight I desired.)
13.) You can eat dessert first if you want to because you are not trying to impress your kids with good eating habits. Heck, you can have a milk shake from Tony's and call it supper.
13.) You can clean your house and it pretty much stays that way.(Until the babes come on Friday.)
14.) You can go to Waffle House at 9:30p.m. (If you are still up. See above.)
15.) Your kids give you a surprise party..( I was totally surprised. Party had never come into my mind when thinking about turning 50. It was wonderful and beautiful. And the people there to celebrate with me are so very dear to me. Erickson says our friends are important and usually center around family and comunity activities, like church. People who love you for who you are and no other reason. It was great!!!!)

Even though 50 is not necessarily a pretty number like, say 30 0r 40, it is a good number and a good time of life. A little easier, a little more peaceful, a little slower, and a little less demanding.

So, turning 50 ain't too bad....:)