Happy Father's Day!

Aren't dad's interesting?  They are very peculiar creatures!  They have permission to do a host of things no one else can do.  They can belch and pass gas whenever they want and nobody says a word.  They can work on something that needs repaired, break it and go buy a new whatever, and nothing is said about it - just the silent nod from the mom that says, "Knew that was coming, just like always", and the nod from other guys at the hardware store saying, "Yep. I've been there, too." Dads are allowed to "play rough" with the kids - wrestle, chase, run, body slam, you name it.  People would frown if moms did those things.  Dad's are allowed to work all day and then come home a plop in their easy chair.  Moms work all day and then come home and work all night.  Dads are allowed to eat supper and then meander off somewhere leaving mom to clean the mess.  Dads are allowed to be in a bad mood and lose their temper occasionally.  Moms must always have a positive attitude and maintain self-control at all times.  Dads are allowed to tell off-colored jokes.  Dads can rev the engine while sitting at the stoplight.  Moms would just look silly if they did that! Dads have calloused hands, and dirty hands.  Dads have stinky, un-pedicured feet. Dads can wear mis-matched clothes.  Dads can wear dirty clothes. Dads can have hobbies and interests. Moms have the kids and housework.  Dads don't have to be home at any given time - they just stroll in whenever.  If moms are late, they are flooded with phone calls - "Where are you?"  "Are you making supper?" "When are you coming home?"
Dads have few responsibilities. Mowing the yard and "fixing" stuff comes to mind.  Moms have to keep house, doctor the kids, know everyone's schedule, make doctor's appointments, remember which child is allergic to what medications, remember the names of all their children's friends, and on and on.  Dads just show up.  They don't even have to pay attention when you are talking to them - everyone says, "That's just how he is."
But dads play one of the most vital roles in a child's life.  Dads set the stage for a child's self-worth.  Most things a kid does is to make his dad proud.  And a father's love is (or should be) totally unconditional.  Dads demonstrate to their children how to treat a lady and how to love your wife.  Most of their moral ethics are copied by their children, good and bad.
I want to say a big "thank you" to my dad for teaching me how to do boy stuff, even though I was a girl. For taking me fishing and untangling my line a thousand times.  For playing catch with me on a hot summer evening, after he had worked all day in the heat and was totally worn out.  For only being married once - to my mom.  For making me go to church and demonstrating that it was important.  For driving a church bus to pick up dirty stinky kids and bring them to church, teaching me that God has no boundaries.  For attending all my extra-curricular activities, even when they weren't his cup of tea.  For loving me even when I wasn't very lovable.  For loving and interacting with my kids just the same as he did with me.  For working hard and not taking vacations so we could have a roof over our head. For trying to do the best job he knew how to do at parenting.  Thanks Dad, I love you!!

The Money Changer

I stopped by a local grocery store, and purchased two items.  The total came to $6.80.  I handed the cashier $7.00.  Not sure what she typed into her computer, but the next thing that popped up was my change due, $5.32.  She gets out a five dollar bill and starts to hand it to me. I say, "Wasn't my total $6.80?" She replies "Yes." I say, "So, you don't owe me $5.32. I gave you seven dollars, so you owe me twenty cents." Most people would have thanked me and handed me twenty cents.  Not this one.  She begins looking at her computer screen, rifling through her change drawer and calling for help.  Meanwhile, I'm standing there saying, "Twenty cents.  You just owe me twenty cents.  My change should be twenty cents."  Finally, someone tells her to just give me the correct change.  Now she begins saying, "Ok. Seven dollars...ummm, Ok. Six dollars and eighty cents....ummm."  Rifling through the change drawer again, digging out a quarter and a nickel.  I am still repeating, "Twenty cents. My change is twenty cents."  Finally I see her grab two dimes.  At last!  My twenty cents!
So, would you want this girl handling your cash?

Mama Could You Hold My Hand by Dana Alexander

Here is one of my original songs, Mama Could You Hold My Hand, written for my mom (who just happens to be the greatest!).
Not the greatest sound quality - phone sitting on piano isn't exactly the best acoustics!
Enjoy!

Mother's Day Doesn't Get Enough Recognition!

Each year, we celebrate Mother's Day.  A Card, maybe some flowers or candy, and maybe dinner at a nice restaurant.  As a mother, all of those things are appreciated, but mothers really should be celebrated more often than once a year. Of all the jobs I have had over the years, and all the responsibilities and pressure, being a mother has definitely been the hardest.  If you aren't a mother, you just can't understand.  Dad's aren't built the same, and don't think the same as mothers. Being a mother is the one job that I totally doubted my every move and decision.  Constantly weighing pros and cons - "Should I let this go or make a big deal?"  "If I ground them and they miss the dance, will they hate me forever?"  "Was that comment just rude, or were they being disrespectful?"  A thousand questions within myself every single day. Always wondering if I made a wrong judgement, if it would affect their lives forever.  And prayer.  Lots of prayer.  Prayers to watch over my kids.  Prayers to guide my kids.  Prayers to lead them to the one true love God picked for them.  Prayers for me to do the right thing in the moment it is needed. Prayers for me to keep my sanity during those teenage years. Will I ever know if I did the right things? 
Mothers wear a variety of hats.  The pschyciatrist hat - listening and advising without actually letting them know you are advising them. The nurse hat - kissing boo-boo's and diagnosing injuries and wiping snotty noses.  The sargeant hat - becoming "the enforcer" and letting them know that you mean business, no exceptions. The limo driver hat - toting them everywhere, waiting in the car for hours, letting them out without speaking to them(so their friend's think they have no parents). The coach hat - teaching them batting techniques, when you can't hit the broad side of a barn.  The librarian hat - reading the same book over and over before bedtime until you think you will lose your mind, then doing it again, just because they asked.  The chef hat - cooking all that you think is good and healthy, only to be met with turned up noses, or "Sorry, going out with my friends." The umpire hat - two opposite stories of what happened with no witnesses. No instant replays, just a call of right or wrong, always considered unfair by the one in the wrong. The love guru hat - listening to stories about the current boyfriend/girlfriend and trying to offer unbiased advice when you want to say, "Dump them." The medical dictionary hat - when you are asked specific questions about everything under the sun, and you try to use all the correct medical terms while trying to make the red color go out of your face. The spy hat -you know, when you sneak around to see if they are really where they said they would be, or go to the same movie as them and sit in the back, under cover.
But being a mother has been the most joyous and rewarding job.  And, after all my years of wondering if I did this or that right or wrong, there have been a few defining moments where I saw into the hearts of my children and knew, they were good people.  Amidst all the fighting and arguing, they were still ready to sock someone in the eye for messing with the other one.  It was OK for them to be mean to each other, but not for anyone else. My daughter wears her opinions and emotions on her sleeve, so we usually knew how she felt about everything. One time some kid at church was bullying my son, so she promptly went over and told him she would knock the whey out of him if he didn't stop.  But my son was more reserved, so it is of him I speak.  Once, when they were smaller, they were running wildly through the house, and somehow a lamp got broken (to this day, they still argue over just who caused it to fall).  I yelled at them both.That night, when I read a bedtime story to my son, he chose "Mama, Do You Love Me?", which tells of a little girl who wants to know if her mama would still lover her, even if she did many mean things to her. Of course, the mama still loves her.  At the end of that book, my son had big tears in his eyes as he said, "That's a really good book."  When my daughter had an especially bad relationship break-up, he sat on her bed while she sobbed and held her hand.  When she had an emergency C-section, he took off work to spend the night in a chair by her bed, helping her with whatever she needed through the night.
So, I guess I did a few things right.  And as the years have passed and I have had many of the kids' friends in and out of our house, I have seen many kinds of mom's and the effects, good and bad, they have had on their kids.  I am far from perfect, but above all have tried to let my kids know that no matter what they did or didn't do, I will always love them unconditionally.  I will always be only a phone call away.  I will always listen to them.  I will always give my opinion on their actions (sometimes to their dismay). I will always pray for them. And this may come as a surprise to some people, but kids don't really want you to be their friend.  They have enough friends.  They want you to be their mom.  The fuddy-duddy. Even though they will complain.  They don't want you to be at the bar.  They want you to be home in your fuzzy jammies.  They don't want you to wear a bikini top to their functions, even if you have the body for it. They want you to look like a "mom".  They want you to be real - the same at home as out in public. They just want you to be plain and simple.  For you set the foundation of their entire being. You set the rules about what is important and what is not.  Your actions set their level of self-esteem and worth. God must have made us emotional beings for that very reason.  We truly "feel" their pain and their joy.  I'm not saying dads don't love their kids, but they just don't have the same feelings that moms do.
And I can't post this without paying tribute to my mom.  For that is where I learned what it means to be a mom.  To sacrifice your wants for their needs.  To say, "Oh, no, I wasn't going to eat that. You take it."  To stand up for your kids when need be. To have that one "look", that needs no words, but lets them know you don't approve. To love them even when they aren't very loveable.  And to have huge amounts of patience.  So, thanks, mom for being a great example for me to follow!

Is Your Easter Happy?

Every year when Easter approaches, I tend to reflect a little more than usual on the sacrifice God made for us and His resurrection, all done for undeserving people to offer us a free gift of eternal life with Him in Heaven. 
He tried to tell his disciples, who had done miracles in His name, and followed Him closely, what was to come, and even they couldn't comprehend what He was saying.  He told them he would be killed and would rise again in three days to conquer death, but they didn't understand.  And even after he was crucified, they were sad, because they couldn't understand what He meant until they saw him again.  And even after they saw him, Thomas, one of His disciples,  still had doubts as to if He was really Jesus.  But what joy and peace they must have had when they realized all that He said had come to pass.  That He bore the weight of the world's sins by dying on the cross, and that He gave victory over death by rising from the grave after three days. 
I am troubled by the number of people who say they "believe" in God, but don't ever "know" God. For those of you who "believe" in God, the devil also believes in God.  Believing in God is a great thing, but it won't get you into Heaven.  Going to church is great, but that won't get you into Heaven either.  Being a good person is a great attribute, but that won't get you into Heaven. 
The Bible tells us in Romans 3:10, "As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one".  That means just what it says.  None of us are good enough to go to Heaven.  All the good deeds we do, the kindnesses we show, none of it is enough to get us into Heaven.  Romans 3:23 says "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."  All of us have sinned.  Not one of us has lived a perfect life.  We may not all be murderers, but all of us have had an unkind thought, told a little lie, etc.  All is sin in God's eyes. Romans 5:12 says "Wherefore, as by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."  Here God tells us that because of one man, Adam, in the garden of eden, his sin against God brought the punishment of sin to all men after Adam.  Of course, our punishment for sin is eternal separation from God.
Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Notice this doesn't say "some sin" or "big sin".  It means ALL sin, no matter how great or small.  Death is the end result of our sin.  Death means eternal separation from God.  But God offers us a "gift". Have you ever received a "gift" from someone, but you had to work for that gift?  If so, it wasn't really a gift, was it?  A true gift is something given without any strings attached.  Not because of something you did or did not do.
In Romans 5:8, it says "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  This is God's gift - His son, Jesus Christ died for us.  He didn't die while we were trying to be kind and good - He died for us while we were sinners.
Romans 10:13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."  This doesn't say good people that call upon the Lord, it says "whosoever".  That means everyone!  From the best of the best, to the worst of the worst, all have the opportunity to be saved.
Romans 10:9-10 tells us, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."  That's it, in a nutshell!  That's how you get to spend eternity with God in Heaven.  Confess with your mouth, and believe in your heart.
We all know the most quoted verse in the Bible, John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." and verse 17, "For God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." 
God became man through Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, who lived a perfect, sinless life, who, though He was tempted in every way possible, remained pure and holy.  And though blameless and sinless, was crucified at the very hands of the people he was sent to save.  Just before his crucifixion, Pilate was hesitant to condemn Jesus because they could find no fault in Him, but he gave in to the unruly people and allowed His death.  And when we think of Jesus' death, it wasn't just a death.  It was a torturous death.  He was scourged - beaten with whips, stripped of his clothing, mocked, spit upon.  Many things occured before his actual death that are so horrific we can't even comprehend them.  And when He had been nailed to the cross, there were two thieves being crucified that same day. One mocked Him, telling Him if he was really Jesus, the Son of God,  to prove it and save himself.  The other knew in his heart this was really Jesus, and asked him to remember him when He entered into His Kingdom.  Jesus told him, "Today you shall be with me in Paradise."  Did Jesus have the power to save himself?  Of course.  As He was dying, he asked to "let this cup pass from me", but followed with "Thy will be done", meaning he was suffering and wished He didn't have to do it, but ultimately was willing to abide by God's plan, however it needed to be done.  And knowing the uproar that preceded his death, the people wanted to be sure no one stole His body, so they placed a huge stone at the entrance to the tomb and had guards placed there to secure it.  Yet, three days later, His body was gone.  Not only was it gone, but His graveclothes were neatly folded where His body had been. He had risen, just as He said He would!
So, His dying on the cross paid the debt we owed for our sin - death. And His resurrection gives us power over death.  While our physical bodies may grow old and die, our soul can live forever in Heaven with God.  A totally free gift!  This gift is offered, but we must accept it.  And for those say they don't believe it, you will.  Romans 14:11 says, "For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."  So, whether you choose to believe or not, one day, as per the very instruction of God Himself, you will confess that He is God. 
So what if I don't believe all that? Well, on judgement day, when God looks through the Book of Life to see if your name is written down (that is to mean, if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and asked Him to come into your heart and save you) you will be told either to enter into Heaven, or will be told to depart from God, as He does not know you.  And to depart from God means to be cast into hell, the lake of fire, a place where torment never ends, a place where there will be "wailing and gnashing of teeth", for all eternity.  So ultimately, if I am totally wrong, the worst thing that will happen is I will die, having lived the best life I could.  If you are wrong, you have far more at stake - an eternity in hell.
Today, we are faced with two choices.  Accept Jesus or deny Jesus.  There is no gray area.  There is no in-between.  If you do not know Jesus as your personal Savior, I plead with you to pray what we refer to as "The Sinner's Prayer", and ask God to save you. 
"Dear God, I know that I am a sinner, and that there is nothing I can do to save myself from my sin.  I believe that you sent your Son to die on the cross as payment for my sins, and raised Him from the dead to give me victory over death.  I am sorry for all my sin, and ask you to forgive me. I ask you to come into my heart and save me and give me eternal life with you in Heaven."
If you prayed this prayer, and meant it with all your heart, you are now a child of God!  And this Easter and all that follow will truly have new meaning for you!

Is God for Real?

Recently, our family business has been slow.  Extremely slow. Worrisome slow.  So, we have been doing everything in our power to keep things going.  Cutting back on every cost we can, both business and personal.  No eating out.  Buying only necessities.  The usual things you do when money is not at a premium. But there are only so many things I can do.  Knowing that I serve a God who is REAL, and who is merciful and bestows undeserved grace upon me, I also turned to prayer. Not only that, but I asked my facebook friends to join me in prayer.  I did not disclose to them what they were praying for, only that we needed prayer and God's provision.  I was brought to tears more than once by the number of responses I received.  To those of you who don't pray, and who don't have a personal relationship with God, you are missing out on one of this life's greatest joys.  Even in the midst of stress, turmoil, and worry, I had peace.  And as hard as it was, I thanked God for the trial we were going through.  I had several people message me privately, and I disclosed some details to them so they could pray more directly for what we needed.  But I am here to tell you, prayer carries a lot of weight. The following 2 weeks we were so busy, we could barely get all our work done in a day!  Of course, we need to be that busy for a few more weeks, and I will trust that God will provide the business for us to do just that. 
In all my years of being a Christian, I can truly say that God has never failed me.  He hears my prayers for great and wonderful things, as well as for dumb little things I ask for.  Do I get everything I pray for?  Nope. But after some time has passed and I look back, I can see why the answer was "No." Would I like an easy life with no worries?  Of course, who wouldn't?  But I am content to have my "needs" met, and not my "wants".  And, as usual, even in the middle of a rough time, I still know I am trememdously blessed, much more than I deserve.
I know there are people who don't care for facebook, but it is a really good way to spread the word about something quickly.  We recently had a classmate experience some sudden health issues, and facebook was the venue used to spread the word and I am relatively sure this person had at least 5000 people praying for him.  God hears our prayers!  And there are people who have asked for prayer months ago who I still include in my daily prayers, because you can never have too many people praying for you. 

So, is God for real?  I would have to answer with a resounding "YES".  He is for real.  And it is such a comfort to know that whatever your station in life, whatever your circumstance, He is ready to listen and ready to help.  Do tragic things still happen?  Of course. We are not promised a life of happiness without sorrow or trials.  We are promised true joy, peace and the strength and courage to get through whatever life throws at us. So, if you are at a place where you need help beyond what you can do for yourself, God is where you need to be looking!

Hold-ups at the Post Office Drive Through

Rant, rant, rant!  When I go to the outside drive-through box at the post office, it is because I am in a hurry and don't want to park and go inside.  But apparently this is not the case for all.  Some people choose to pull to the drive through box and then begin to sort whatever is in their front seat.  If you want to do that, please park in the front and take all the time you need.  If you are pulling to the drive through, the least you could do is have your mail ready so those behind you don't have to wait an eternity! Arrrgh!  I hate waiting!!