Just past midnight, and I need to get to bed. Georgiann is on the couch hoping to be a little more comfortable. I will have the entire bed to myself. We'll see who Daniel wakes up to be let outside during the night.
Pretty uneventful evening at work except for a jerk that started on me, then transferred his hostilities to several of the cashiers and to the head cashier. People like that shouldn't be using up oxygen. Every time I encounter one of these people that are so materialistic that everything has to be perfect I wish I could banish them to a third world country to a volunteer position of some kind. But I really wouldn't wish those types of people on the less fortunate of the world.
I have been doing a little research into what so-called experts believe are the giving habits of those who call themselves Christians in this country. In my looking I have found a web site that is giving me pause in my thinking. That web site is http://www.goodmeasure.org/home.
They have some statistics that probe my heart. One, for instance, is that Christians spend about $20 billion US dollars on soft drinks each year. they further claim that $13 billion US dollars would feed every starving person in the world. I cannot begin to get my mind around how they can come up with figures like that on either part. Christians seem to come in so many flavors and varieties how can you decide who is and who is not? I certainly have no yardstick, and those that believe they do are very amazing to me. A tragic grasp of assertiveness, but amazing, too.
Having been involved in ministry to children in a dump in Angeles City, The Philippines; having seen the poorest of the poor in the outlying areas of Lima, Peru; having seen from the edges one of the worlds largest slums in Nairobi and having met mothers and fathers and children of families of Kenya and Ethiopia that do not have enough to eat on a daily basis brings to my heart a constant burden. I think of them every day. Sometimes I wake up thinking about them, and many nights those faces are the last image in my mind as I drift off to sleep.
Why is God keeping these images fresh in my mind? Why do they not fade into the lost memories where so many other experiences have gone? A friend of ours knows these images far better than I do. She has lived among the faces of one part of that world for about 20 years now. She once encouraged me to narrow my vision because no matter how much I had to give, it would never be enough to make a noticeable difference. But if I can make a difference in one, or two, or even three lives, I would have accomplished much. I understand and embrace that logic fully, but still my heart aches with the images.
Part of this outpouring at this juncture in time is the fellow that was such a jerk tonight. Because a product had a very small scratch in a very obscure unnoticeable area of the product he wanted to purchase he demanded a significant discount. The entire time he was ranting I was thinking about all of those faces who will most likely never have anything like what he was buying in their home. Scratched, dented, rusty or otherwise. But if they could have one, it would be treasured, sitting on the dirt floor, against the thatched walls and under the corrugated tin ceiling slash roof.
I may be too handicapped to work retail in this country. Or could it be heavenlycapped? A large stretch towards purity on my part for sure.
2.24.2008
2.22.2008
Thoughts of Spring & Summer
Notice my rod isn't bent at all. It stayed that way all day. Not a nibble as far as I know.
Todd's rod is bent because he has hooked a small sand shark. Like the one in this next picture. All of these pictures are from 2006 taken with my Cool Pix camera.
Jill brought Mari by this evening and ate a little with me. I got to feed Mari some very small pieces of stewed potato and carrot. She is so funny. She and Mari went on to Todd and Diana's for dinner with them and Chad, Lesa and Madi. Then Chad, Lesa and Madi stopped by to visit with us. Madi is so different, naturally, but so beautiful. We have really been blessed with two beautiful granddaughters.
Both Madi and Mari are in the same day care but Mari isn't there as much. Jill works weekends and then typically has days off during the week. Chad and Lesa have M-F jobs. Both of them have taken to Daniel. I will do my best to get some pictures of them with him. But he is so afraid of the camera he runs and hides when it appears. Hard to get pictures of him.
Cheers.
The ice is slippery
Well - Georgiann found out this morning skating is best left for ice rinks, not steps. She went down hard on our front step this morning, and pretty much shattered her left wrist. She called me at work and I came home and took her to the ER. We spent most of the morning in the ER then they took her right into surgery. The doctor put in 3 pins to stabilize the bones in the wrist and I brought her home after 4 pm.
She is nauseous and very tired now. Didn't eat dinner with us. So she isn't on top of her game this evening. She will be in a cast 6 to 8 weeks, and then the pins will either be cut off or pulled out.
Todd had surgery on one of his ankles early this morning and is home resting now. He will be on crutches at least a month. We are hoping he makes a full recovery for some bike rides this summer. I have been exploring via the Internet some interesting rides within 2 to 3 hours from here. One is a 27 miler over mostly abandoned railway line. Many states are doing that and I think it is a wonderful reuse of the old rail beds.
As far as I know everyone else is doing well. I believe I will have an interview in the next few days for a position at work I applied for. I am very happy where I am, but would like the challenge of moving up as well.
More when we have more. Cheers to all.
She is nauseous and very tired now. Didn't eat dinner with us. So she isn't on top of her game this evening. She will be in a cast 6 to 8 weeks, and then the pins will either be cut off or pulled out.
Todd had surgery on one of his ankles early this morning and is home resting now. He will be on crutches at least a month. We are hoping he makes a full recovery for some bike rides this summer. I have been exploring via the Internet some interesting rides within 2 to 3 hours from here. One is a 27 miler over mostly abandoned railway line. Many states are doing that and I think it is a wonderful reuse of the old rail beds.
As far as I know everyone else is doing well. I believe I will have an interview in the next few days for a position at work I applied for. I am very happy where I am, but would like the challenge of moving up as well.
More when we have more. Cheers to all.
2.11.2008
Chilly February
I have decided to not post any more pictures of the granddaughters for a while. Jill and Lesa are doing a much better job of that, and they have set up blogs exclusively for Madi and Mari. So until Todd and Diana's little one gets here I will encourage you to visit Madi and Mari's blogs.
The bathroom project is coming to a close, maybe even in the next couple of days. Depends on how much I get sidetracked. Tuesday I will be helping Jill prepare for carpet installation. Need to take a look at how much work needs done on her roof after the high winds took off more shingles.
I also want to get my new computer up and going with my files moved. My old one is getting cranky. I know. Don't even go there Mrs. D. I already have had a customer report me as "cranky." It was actually him that was being a TOTAL crank and I was doing a remarkable job of not asking him to leave the store.
Two days off beginning now and two days off this weekend. I COULD accomplish a lot. Ha.
The weather continues to fluctuate wildly here in the Shenandoah Valley. Nice warm days, gale force winds the next, temperatures below the teens the next, and tonight, a skiff of snow. This picture is another of the last ice storm we had, Friday the 1st of February.
The bathroom project is coming to a close, maybe even in the next couple of days. Depends on how much I get sidetracked. Tuesday I will be helping Jill prepare for carpet installation. Need to take a look at how much work needs done on her roof after the high winds took off more shingles.
I also want to get my new computer up and going with my files moved. My old one is getting cranky. I know. Don't even go there Mrs. D. I already have had a customer report me as "cranky." It was actually him that was being a TOTAL crank and I was doing a remarkable job of not asking him to leave the store.
Two days off beginning now and two days off this weekend. I COULD accomplish a lot. Ha.
The weather continues to fluctuate wildly here in the Shenandoah Valley. Nice warm days, gale force winds the next, temperatures below the teens the next, and tonight, a skiff of snow. This picture is another of the last ice storm we had, Friday the 1st of February.
2.06.2008
February days
It has been sort of strange weather so far this month of February. The first day we woke up to ice and generally rotten weather. It cleared off late in the afternoon, then the weekend was cold. It began turning warmer yesterday, Monday the 4th, and today it was in the 70s. Hard to know how to dress when you are going to be away from home at least 11 hours.
I have been working steadily at work since having last Friday off. Only 4 days, but there was a lot to do and a lot to learn. I have two days off now. I plan to have the downstairs bath totally done, my office cleaned up and the utility room cleaned up again. Ha.
When Jill and I took Amari to visit the first orphanage she was in and to meet mom, we traveled about 3 hours across the Great Rift Valley. This valley runs through east central Africa across a number of countries. I crossed it twice in Kenya in earlier visits. If you are up on your geography you will know that land is constantly being pushed up from beneath the crust of the earth, spreading the continent of Africa at a chartable, detectible rate. Other places in the world have this same situation, but most, like the mid-Atlantic ridge, are volcanic in origin.
This plain, the Rift Valley, is mostly grazing lands now. There are mountains, but I would guess them to be more like the Appalachian mountains rather than the Rockies or the Sierra Nevada. I wonder if thy might be as old as the Ouachita Mountains that runs from central Arkansas to east central Oklahoma. I am familiar with those mountains. The mountains that can be seen from the Rift Valley are not worn down like the Ouachita Mountains, which indicates either younger formations or much less precipitation. Judging from the climate in Ethiopia, I'd say the difference between the two is lack of precipitation.
I'd look all of this up, but I don't know, without some research, what the mountains are called along the Rift Valley.
Here are some pictures of the valley. Yes, they are camels. One hump Dromedary camels. I don't know what their principle use is. I know there are many donkeys in Ethiopia doing just what you'd expect a donkey to do, carry and pull things. But I don't remember seeing any camels in the city or in use in any way. The thatched roof houses are not as common as many would expect in Ethiopia. And they are only seen in the country. City homes should look so good.
I have been working steadily at work since having last Friday off. Only 4 days, but there was a lot to do and a lot to learn. I have two days off now. I plan to have the downstairs bath totally done, my office cleaned up and the utility room cleaned up again. Ha.
When Jill and I took Amari to visit the first orphanage she was in and to meet mom, we traveled about 3 hours across the Great Rift Valley. This valley runs through east central Africa across a number of countries. I crossed it twice in Kenya in earlier visits. If you are up on your geography you will know that land is constantly being pushed up from beneath the crust of the earth, spreading the continent of Africa at a chartable, detectible rate. Other places in the world have this same situation, but most, like the mid-Atlantic ridge, are volcanic in origin.
This plain, the Rift Valley, is mostly grazing lands now. There are mountains, but I would guess them to be more like the Appalachian mountains rather than the Rockies or the Sierra Nevada. I wonder if thy might be as old as the Ouachita Mountains that runs from central Arkansas to east central Oklahoma. I am familiar with those mountains. The mountains that can be seen from the Rift Valley are not worn down like the Ouachita Mountains, which indicates either younger formations or much less precipitation. Judging from the climate in Ethiopia, I'd say the difference between the two is lack of precipitation.
I'd look all of this up, but I don't know, without some research, what the mountains are called along the Rift Valley.
Here are some pictures of the valley. Yes, they are camels. One hump Dromedary camels. I don't know what their principle use is. I know there are many donkeys in Ethiopia doing just what you'd expect a donkey to do, carry and pull things. But I don't remember seeing any camels in the city or in use in any way. The thatched roof houses are not as common as many would expect in Ethiopia. And they are only seen in the country. City homes should look so good.
2.01.2008
January Lite Ice
During the early hours of this Friday morning we got a little bit of ice. Not enough to make driving terribly hazardous, but enough to make some things pretty and to make driving interesting at least. Just some photos around the house of the ice.
Finally, a Japanese car with some teeth! How long have we waited for that!!
Yikes, my lawnmower has teeth. Hope they get trimmed before it is time to mow the grass.
Oh no, the house has teeth. And the mail box, and the electric lines. We are surrounded by crystal teeth.
Finally, a Japanese car with some teeth! How long have we waited for that!!
Yikes, my lawnmower has teeth. Hope they get trimmed before it is time to mow the grass.
Oh no, the house has teeth. And the mail box, and the electric lines. We are surrounded by crystal teeth.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
