The Post Turtle

A friend got a funny email the other day.  

"While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old rancher, who's hand was caught in the gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man.  Eventually the topic got around to Obama and his bid to be our president. 

The old rancher said, "Well, ya know, Obama is a "Post Turtle".

Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a "post turtle" was.

The old rancher said, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a "post turtle".

The old rancher saw the puzzled look on the doctor's face so he continued to explain.  "You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, and he doesn't know what to do while he's up there, and you just wonder what kind of idiot put him up there in the first place".

I like that story.  I had heard it before, particularly about Jimmy Carter.  I just wonder how this presidency will be viewed by future generations.  I think that whatever you may think about President Bush, he at least had the courage of his convictions.  Remember that there were a lot of people who referred to Abraham Lincoln as Satan and hated him.  Now he is regarded as one of the greatest presidents in the history of the U.S.  The liberal media hated Ronald Reagan and his policies and when he died even they had to admit that his presidency was one of the most effective in recent history.  Food for thought.

We are on the countdown to the end of the school year.  I am particularly looking forward to the end of this year.  There has been so much turmoil and even though the kids are somewhat immune to it, some of it has to trickle down to them.  I think that when we come back in the fall some of the most dissatisfied employees will be gone because of their work ethic.  I is popular around here to gripe and gripe and never realize that some of the trials you are facing are of your own making.  That is the nature of the sinful world though and with all of the trials that my church has gone through, it happens in the body as well.  I see in that situation that God surely did work it out and now there is a vitality and love there that wasn't there before.  I believe that our school, even though a secular entity is undergoing the same thing.  God is doing some weeding so that the flowers can get the water instead of the weeds.  

Till next time...

Stuff

I don't really have a specific topic to talk about this time. I just wanted to blog tonight! I am at a library conference for a couple of days. I learned about repairing books today and LOVED it. When I got here and went to get my breakfast this morning, I ran into my MOM! She is here for the workshops too. She works in a little public library so they paid for her to come too. That was a fun surprise. We did the same workshops today and then went out for supper. I invited her to spend the night with me here in the motel but she didn't pack so drove home for the night and will be back tomorrow. You know how it is, no clothes for tomorrow, no makeup (HORRORS), etc. I am a little concerned about getting home tomorrow evening. There is supposed to be a BIG storm moving in with lots of snow. I hope that I can make it home! I was looking forward to this night away from home and being by myself for the one night but I really miss my men! I won't get to snuggle with my 7 year old before bedtime. I will be glad to get home to them again. I am so glad to have been able to come to this conference though. This particular conference has a lot of very valuable workshops. Last year I made the connection with the staff of the Colorado Rural Partnership for the Library of Congress. Do you know how many FREE historical resources you can get from their website???! I was absolutely fascinated. We did a staff development at our school on it. It was so much fun. This year the book repair workshop is the one that was worth the price of admission. And there is always a workshop on "What Teens Read" (learning the secrets of the teenage mind...WOW). It does help to have a little guidance with that. And with the advent of the Twilight series, it is all about the vampires. I read an article in Newsweek, though that vampires are on the way out and zombies will be the new monster wave. HELLO! I don't think so! Do you think that teenage girls will develop a crush on a ZOMBIE?! Have you SEEN zombies? Let's compare them to What's His Name from Twilight. (And by the way I am going to try to read the series again)

I love this wireless internet connection at this motel! Can you tell I'm a hick? This is a first for me! What a year it's been for me! I learned to blog, to make my own webpage for the school, to connect and use a wireless connection for the laptop, to use an MP3 player to download and listen to BOOKS, planned and executed a staff development day, WOW! I am amazed! I never knew I could do all of that stuff!

And after that upbeat note, this has been sort of a difficult couple of weeks for me. Some slanderous accusations have been made against my sister at work and I have been angry with the person who made the false accusations and with the person who goaded him into it. I know that it is not a personal offense against me but is against her. She has the right attitude, i.e. that everything that happens is for her good and God's glory so no matter what happens it can never be bad for us. She is so right! What a blessing she is to me, the angry girl. Every one is so stirred up at work about different things that are happening right now but I know that it is ALL for my good and God's glory, and for the good of the children who attend school there. God is good to us!

Till next time...

Happy Birthday (the Joy of Reconciliation)

Today would have been my dad's 72nd birthday. Or as he would have said, "the 43rd anniversary of my 29th birthday". My dad was raised by a crusty old German who had a lot of trouble getting along with people. My grandpa and siblings spent most of their adult lives feuding with each other. He knew one way to deal with misbehavior and that was with a strong cuff to the face or head. My dad loathed his dad. He spent most of his life trying to be the opposite of Grandpa. Usually though, the older we become the more like that person we become and that was true of my dad, at least on the surface. He always talked about how foolish my grandpa was when it came to the management of his cowherd. Grandpa would sell all of his best cows because he made more money from them and keep the culls. It took my dad years to build his herd back into one to be proud of. But as he neared the end of his life, in his desperation to make ranching work for him, he did the same thing. My dad could also hold a grudge along with the most stubborn of Germans!

There were a lot of things my dad did while I was growing up and on into adulthood that offended me. I was angry with him for so many years. We had many confrontations and for several years our meetings were filled with tension and anger just below the surface. I always felt that he never loved me enough. I resented that and when he divorced my mother I was so angry with him. I always felt that my behavior and actions were judged very harshly and here he had broken up our family! I even had nightmares about the situation and in my dreams I unleashed all of my anger in violence and retribution.

I am so very thankful that God convicted me to persevere in that relationship. I used to wish for a different dad, one who was a Christian. I came to realize that just being raised in a Christian family doesn't mean that you had a happy childhood. I had a dear friend whose children blamed him for so much that had gone wrong in their family. He was in the second half of his life when I met him and I saw first hand the regret he felt for those relationships. I watched him and saw how he tried to make up for past sins and saw his children's refusal to forgive him and God used that to convict my heart not to give up on my dad.

The day my daddy died was a beautiful fall day. He was riding on the fender of his beloved John Deere tractor while a friend drove it. The tractor was about 35 years old (Daddy bought it new) and kept slipping out of gear. It slipped out of gear that day and my dad slipped off the fender. His friend grabbed him but my dad slipped from his grasp and fell in front of the tire of the tractor. The tractor slipped back into gear and then ran over him. We all made it to the hospital and watched Dad pass from this life. God blessed that day and that time for me because all of the anger and bitterness were gone and the prayer in my heart was one of thanksgiving to God for having given me this dad and for the fact that we were truly reconciled at his death.

The bible says that if you refuse to forgive your brother here on earth our Father will not forgive you. This is a serious thing. You may say that you have forgiven someone but if you refuse to be in the same room as that person or refuse to speak to that person, you haven't forgiven them. I deal with this in my own life all of the time. I'm as good at denial as anyone. "But he did this, I have a right to be angry", "He didn't ask me to forgive him, therefore I don't have to", "He isn't a Christian, I don't have to forgive him". Guess what....none of those excuses will cut any ice. They may massage your lying heart but you'll still have to answer for your hard heart! May He always convict my hard heart and bring me to "the joy of reconciliation".

Till next time...