bad news/good news: hitler, Heroes & Hope

Yesterday I received some incredibly Good News. 

Lately I have been working out early on the elliptical and am able to catch all the morning news, most times with incredibly Bad News.  

The news about Penn State and the Jerry Sandusky stuff, coupled with the massacre in Colorado are pretty depressing.  If I were really old I might say:

 “what in the cat hair is this world coming to?”

 

  To be honest with you, as I age, evil minded people are a little more scary to me.  However, evil minded people have been around for centuries.  Currently I am re- reading a set of novels set in pre- WWII  Europe.  They go into detail about Hitler’s insane rise to power, and how in 1932-1936  most neighboring countries had their heads stuck in the sand…  Until the evil showed up on their shores.

Bad News for all of them.  The Good News did not show up until  years later, after much innocent blood was shed.  

VE day, May 8, 1945 was a day my mom remembers distinctly, because soon after that, her sweetheart came home from the war.  It was Good News all around. 

 Evil had died in a bunker.

 

Most of us know the word “gospel” means the “good news”: Jesus Christ came to earth and died for our sins so we might live.  The account of His life and what He did is chronicled in the “gospels” or “Good News” of the bible in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 

 

 A best friend of mine for years called me last week and told me that she accepted Jesus into her heart.  I was blown away, it was incredibly Good News for me.  She is currently reading the book of John learning all about the “Good News” for her personally.

But back to the Bad News.   What in heaven’s name can we do about the evil that lurk in in the corners of the world today? Sometimes when I think of the victims of the crimes I mentioned above, I am overwhelmed. 

My heart aches for them, and their families.  

 I want to do something. 

 But what?

I don’t have answers for evil that is sometimes allowed to reap havoc. On the flip side, I am grateful for heartwarming stories of heroism that always come from terrible tragedy. Out of the Colorado awfulness came four heroes that died protecting their sweethearts.

 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/aurora-shooting-died-bullets-sweeties-article-1.1119395

I heard an interesting take this morning on the well known idea that God will NOT give you more than you can handle.  A preacher that I was listening to on the radio claimed quite the contrary:

 He said God will absolutely give you more than you can handle… the reason for that is so you will lean on Him, not yourself.  

For Comfort.

For hope during an impossible time.

 Victims and families of tragedy overwhelmingly have more than they can handle.

I pray for them.  

I pray they have hope. 

 I pray they are comforted

 

 I hope you will too.

Feelin Groovy?

Groovy. 

What a great word.  I love that word second only to the phrase “what in the cat hair?” 

No explanation necessary there. 

I still love to say   “Groovy”      because let’s face it kids,  it is fun to say.    Also because I like to get a little rise out of my own kiddos.  I say it to them a little tongue in cheek, and they roll their eyes at me, especially my 18 year old who is way too young to “get it”. 

For those of us in our 50’s and 60’s, the word “groovy” takes us back to a time  growing up that things were pretty much… well… groovy.  It has a whole different set of meanings for us than it does for ya’ll younger folk.  Our minds immediately go to

 

peace symbols. flower children, smiley faces, Laugh In, and of course,the absolute grooviest: Woodstock. 

Back in the early 70’s when I was graduating high school and going off to college, I considered myself pretty groovy, even though I was not.  A friend of mine in high school wore the same jeans to school for 4 months straight without washing them, how groovy  was that??

Still-  it is hard to put your finger on the exact meaning of it.  “Groovy”  is elusively not exactly cool… 

only in a Napoleon Dynamite kind of way. 

sweet suit!

The shelf life of “Groovy”  only lasted through the 70’s. After that, if you ventured to say “that is so groovy” you were “uncool” to the max.  I quit saying it for awhile, because of course, of MY cool factor, but picked it up again after the 90’s to irritate my teens:)... Also by then I really did NOT give a rip about my cool factor:)

If you really want to know what the word “groovy” is all about,

(and I am sure you are just dying to know)

you have to listen to Simon and Garfunkel’s 1967 album “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme” about 4000 times like I did.  Specifically the song “Feelin Groovy”, which pretty much did make you feel just that. 

Many of the songs on the album were protest songs against the Viet Nam War.  In my private reality, the song “Feelin Groovy”  gave us all a break from a violent, volatile time, in the midst of

an unpopular war,

and following a beloved president’s assassination. 

I am not sure if that is what the famous folk singers had in mind, but it seems we were all able to, for 2:01 minutes, forget our troubles.  

And just…. feel groovy.

I am not sure what your trials and troubles are right now, but have a listen.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vcAzrSnVZA&feature=related 

My prayer for you is that you will feel “Groovy”. 

Just for a blink of an eye.

GRATEFUL or GRUMPY?

When I get “elderly” if I become GRUMPY… please just shoot me.  Truly, I prefer a bullet in the head to being a seventy something sourpuss. 

On Thursdays at the local grocery store they give the senior citizen discount.  My son DREADS Thursdays at work simply because crotchety, grumpy folks abound, AND if their coupon does not scan: Grumpy times 100.  What in the cat hair?

 

When I was a kid, my grandpa was the sweetest and nicest old man you ever met, while my grandma was pretty grumpy. Some of us in our 50’s and 60’s are helping to care for aging parents and it is not an easy job. My mom who is almost 84 is a character for sure. She CAN be a sweetie, but sometimes she is a pistol!  That is when her kids have to remind her to be cheerful:)

MARY C  behaving herself and being happy:)

In all honesty, when you are getting older, it is not so easy to be pleasant. Aches and pains abound, life is sometimes hard.  And don’t get me started on what might happen to the bowels….YIKES 

As we baby boomers come “of age” into the retirees generation, there are becoming an abundance of golden years services,  and I for one am going to make a concerted effort  to be  THANKFUL  for all of it.   NOT the grumpy senior at the grocery store, or the doctor’s office, or the gas station.  We have to remember there are a lot of us, and if we all turn into crabby old folks, the planet might explode- then what?

The earth exploding with too much baby boomer grumpiness!

If we can’t develop and keep a sense of humor 

 

about growing old then we might as well give up and let the planet explode around us.

My hunny and I are planning to become really cute and funny old folks and we have a great start. Don’t cha think?

American Gothic?

Tim Conway (when he was younger) played an excellent “the old guy’ in many sketches on the Carol Burnett show. He was awesome. Have a look here:

 http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIWjXP1PcUkAAtr7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBrc3VyamVwBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQD?p=tim+conway+the+old+man&vid=C84D1B2A330DB4068ED6C84D1B2A330DB4068ED6&l=2%3A07&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D4837886154506333%26id%3D185d76c657f39b9239d083790ff86e97%26bid%3D1o4GtA0zKhtNyA%26bn%3DLargeThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.youtube.com%252fwatch%253fv%253dC5BMVmOWzfk&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DC5BMVmOWzfk&tit=Carol+Burnett+Show+outtakes+-+Tim+Conway+vs+Wheelchair&c=2&sigr=11a2d9bdg&

Now he IS an old guyJ  And still pretty funny on sponge Bob Square pants as “Barnacle Boy”

 

Here are the things I have told my children to remind me (even when I can’t remember) are OFF LIMITS for me:

1.    Berating the “younger generation” for their “newfangled,”  “hard to understand” ways.  NO I don’t want a smart phone, but it is A-OK if they have one.

 

2.    Discussing my bowels- movement or consistency- with ANYONE other than a health care professional…  WAY  Cat Hair!

3.    Describing in detail any “procedure” I might have had. What?  NO!

4.    Complaining about my kids or grandkids not visiting- I will take what I can get, and be grateful for it.

5.    Ranting and raving about anything already mentioned in this blog- so unattractive!

What about all you baby boomers out there?  Will you purpose in your heart NOT to become grumpy old men and women? Or when you hit 65 or 70 will you (start or continue) to moan and groan about everything including sliced bread.

Awhile back I was listening to someone I know (who is not that elderly yet).  In one conversation (almost one breath) she complained about the government, the economy, her kids, her grandkids, the grocery store, other drivers, her physical ailments, her husband, and the state of the world.

Multiple times in a 15 minute conversation. 

What in the Cat hair? Needless to say I DID NOT want to be her BFF.   I almost laughed in her face.  It would have been WAY funny if not so tragic.

Scripture tells us being a big fat grump is a sin.

 PERIOD.   NO EXCUSES

 Being a grump and being old  is even MORE unbecoming.

Finally and most importantly, the best reason for not being a grumpy, complaining, cantankerous old fart is a big one:

It has to do with the day you stand before YOUR creator and Judge:

James 5:9 “Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged:  BEHOLD, THE JUDGE IS STANDING AT THE DOOR!”

As we age, we are moving closer to that door every day.

What cha gonna do?

EXTREME Before & After!

Hi kids- awesome treat for ya'll today! My great buddy and forever friend Corina Frakes Patterson  is guest blogging!  She is one of my favorite people, and has led an amazing life.

Read more about her shenanigans adopting a sweetie from India, being a pastor's wife, and living daily with pain, in my blog "Hotflash-X and Shekinah"  that I published about her in February. 

http://whatinthecathair.blogspot.com/2012/02/hot-flash-x-and-shekinah.html 

The fabulous Corina Patterson

I admire her greatly, and can't wait for you to hear from her.  ENJOY!

 I am just going to say it—

Before & After is about as American as hotdogs, apple pie, and baseball.

 

 Think about it…

We encounter Before & After all the time! Companies use it to prove the worth of their product ---

                                           (or maybe not! Haha!)

And the BEST television shows use Before & After. Have you ever seen shows like:

Trading Spaces,

 

 Extreme Home Makeover or, Yard Crashers?

Or the end-all be-all of

Before & After,

What Not To Wear!!!

 

The best show EV-UHH!

In case you have not seen this AMAZING show, I’ll explain

 (and give an honorary, WHAT IN THE CATHAIR?!)

The show goes like this:

 a bedraggled mom jean -wearin, too big t-shirt -sportin’, mismatched everything woman gets nominated and set-up by her friends. 

 Stacy and Clinton (pictured) sneak in and surprise the unsuspecting, fashion-less thing and offer a $5000 GIFT CARD to buy a NEW wardrobe BUT she has to throw out ALL her clothes. Once the woman agrees to take the offer (they always agree, wouldn’t you?), Stacy and Clinton sit down with the gal and take a look at secret footage of the woman on the street in her bad clothes. They proceed to say things like, “what were you thinking?" and “Really. You left the house in THAT?" Then, like fairy godmothers they help her buy beautiful clothes that fit, cut her hair, put make-up on her and, Voila! “After “ happens.

Check out this “After”   with the girls…uh, not so much:)

What were we thinking? wigs and aprons? YIKES!

Once the woman has all new stuff ,she always says things like, 

“I love it. "

"I feel pretty."

" I like the new me”      and   

 “Thank You”.

 Don’t you love that?

Another Before & After  is actually the BEST that could happen to anyone. 

It is when you give your life to Christ.

 Most Christians (including this one) cite some dramatic “Befores” that makes the “After” part seem all the more amazing.

Here’s what I’m thinkin:  stick with me now….

In this case it is NOT the “Before” that makes the “After” amazing.   

It is the  “IN BETWEEN”.

 

The FREE gift of Jesus Christ.

 His willing sacrifice of Himself so I can live with Him forever.

 The unmerited favor for my bedraggled, mom jean wearin, too big t-shirt sportin, mismatched self.

God sent His son to deliver a priceless ‘gift card’ of salvation to

 me,

 us, 

you.

Just like in What Not To Wear, all you gotta do is say:

 “ I’ll take it”   

...and agree to throw out the old stuff. 

God’s not even going to make you sit down to watch secret footage and make fun of you…

He forgets about that part. 

He simply transforms you so you will look in the mirror and say,

“I love it"

"I like the new me” and 

“Thank You”

“..if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame” Romans 10:9-11

That is one Cathair of a Before & After!

You should definitely take the ‘gift card’

  

…..just sayin!