A Child's View of the Fog

About a year or so ago, I was talking with one of my assistants in my tiny tots class.It had been foggy, and thus the subject of our conversation. On our way out to the church,Annie(being only 4 at the time,although she is 5 now and still wants me to "LOOKAT!" ) was saying "mom, look at me!" I patiently tried to explain that I needed to pay attention to my driving,as it was foggy.
She quipped "I'll watch the fog for you, my eyes work better than yours!" I laughed, ableit a bit chagrined. After a couple of minutes, she reminded me that she was still watching the fog for me. I laughed again,and told her she cracks me up! I thought I might have to pull over, for laughing,but did fine.
I thought Annie's quote was funny, but read on, because my friend's daughter had a quote that takes the cake!
The mom told me that as they were getting into the car to leave for church; her daughter(who was 6 ) looked around and asked ;" Mommy; why is there dog breath outside?"
Kids are just too funny!
I am so glad I get to do the job I get to do! It is never boring,and kids just come up with great stuff!

George "The KIller" Tiller

I heard that George "The Killer" Tiller was murdered today. (I am NOT the one who gave him that moniker) He was shot while in church.
First, I cannot fathom how someone who murders babies( he was one who did Partial Birth abortions) can sit in a church with a clear conscience.
Don't get me wrong,I am NOT condoning his murder, it was wrong, as much as what George Tiller was doing. Murdering an abortion doctor isn't the answer.
I wish the case against him could have been successful and he would have been sitting in prison or at least stripped of his medical license, instead of mocking God(I feel) by sitting in church with innocent blood on his hands.
I wonder though,how much longer he would have been able to continue killing innocent children without God's judgement eventually catching up with him.
I wonder how he felt standing in front of his creator, knowing he snuffed out so many of the lives his creator created?(I know, that doesn't sound grammatically correct. but I want it that way)
I don't think I would have been able to look God in the eye.

Did it ever cross his mind that these babies are God' s creation? Did he Ever once feel any guilt?I am sure he felt no compassion.
In a strange way, I am not so surprised that George Tiller was killed. I hope he hears the cries of the babies he killed for the rest of eternity. That may be the wrong attitude, but that is how I feel. I have never had an abortion myself, but I have been affected by the choice someone I know made to abort, and it broke my heart that she made that choice. I have no compassion for the doctors who perform these abortions, it is all about money. Not about compassion.
Maybe I should feel some compassion for the doctors and clinic operators, but right now, I do not. I only feel compassion for these innocents.,and only that some of them are so decieved, they sincerely believe they are helping women.
I suppose maybe I might feel a bit of compassion for The KIller Tiller, but only in that he had to stand before God knowing he grieved our creator deeply.

It's okay to be pretty

Today, in the ladies meeting, one of the ladies(whom I happened to think of as pretty even before today) Shared about humility and being pretty.

She shared how God showed her it's okay to be outwardly pretty,because he created beauty!

It really got me to thinking because I have never allowed myself to really think I was pretty.

For some stupid reason; I would tell myself that(in jr. High and high school) that I wasn't anything special because I didn't want to be stuck up. Some of the friends I had in elementary school were pretty,and when we got into jr.high they became popular and decided they couldn't be my friend anymore. So, I guess I was afraid of being like that,and took it to another extreme. I honestly don't remember my mom saying I looked pretty too many times, I can think of one for sure. I do remember always thinking that my sisters were the pretty ones; and they really were (are) pretty. I look at my youngest sister and often think she is very pretty. It is kind of silly I suppose,that I didn't let myself believe that I could be pretty like my sisters!

Even when I met my husband, and he would tell me I was beautiful, I couldn't figure out what he was seeing! (this is kind of funny, but I thought at first he liked another girl in church , who was my friend. When I realized it was me, not Linda, I was a bit taken aback!)

Over time, I did begin to allow myself to look in the mirror and say "not bad" but that was about it. About a year ago, I invited a neighbor to go to a Mary Kay event as my guest. We were playing with color,and I tried a new lip color. One of the other consultants said I looked beautiful.(again, I thought ; ME??) my neighbor said "Kim is gorgeous anyway" I was really surprised.

When my friend shared today how God told her He didn't have a problem with her image; that SHE did,it really hit me and made me think. She said God had told her it's okay to be pretty.

I have never had a problem with someone else being pretty; I just couldn't let myself think that.

I have always been self concious, and not one who wanted to stand out. If I met someone who was pretty,and they wanted to be my friend, I was always a little taken aback, thinking "She wants to be friends with ME??" I wasn't pretty or good enough!

Today though, I found out different. I learned it's okay to look at myself longer than it takes to put my makeup on. It's okay to look at myself in the mirror and think I look pretty.

I am made in my Father's image,and God created me to look like I do! I even look like him! (wow.)

It's going to take some practice, but I think I can do this! I know I am not a snob,and I am not stuck up,and just because I might look in the mirror and like the way I look, doesn't mean that it's wrong. God doesn't have a problem with the way I look, so I shouldn't either, and nor should you. Thanks Jen, for sharing!!

Grandpa Wizner

One of the most colorful members of my family is My Grandpa(Great Grandfather) Wizner. Grandpa was my paternal Great Grandfather, my Grandmother's dad. I can remember listening to family stories of him when I was a little girl. It used to amaze me that all these stories were about one man!

I don't remember when he was born; I do remember he always seemed old to me! That didn't mask the fact that he was extremely ornery.

William Wizner was the kind of man who was not easy to figure out.

One would probably know if they were on his "bad side" but it was likely you otherwise didn't know where you stood.

He loved jokes, especially practical jokes,but only as long as he wasn't the object of the joke.

He was sneaky,and very clever. I remember once going to see him in the hospital. He loved to smoke. He really liked my mom,and I think he figured since my mom liked him in return,she would do his bidding.

I remember he begged my mom for some cigarettes. He wanted her to sneak them up to his room. I think in those days, smoking was allowed in some areas of the hospital, but the doctor had told Grandpa no smoking! He was a chain smoker,and the Dr.had told him he needed to quit or he would likely die. As far as Grandpa cared, he had been smoking his entire adult life(or longer) and hadn't died yet. He got his wish,mom felt sorry for him and brought him some cigarettes. I don't know how things turned out after that. I remember thinking my mom was going to be in big trouble! I remember questioning her,and she told me that he had been smoking for so long that a few more cigarettes wouldn't hurt him, it was better than making him miserable.

Grandpa wasn't a big man. He stood about 5'8'and was rather stoop shouldered. He was rather thin,weighing about one hundred forty eight pounds. He wasn't especially handsome. He had a big nose(some would say it rivals Jimmy Durante's)a wide toothless smile,and looked quite a bit like Will Rogers, SR. As a matter of fact; Grandpa almost got to play Will Rogers in a movie about Roger's life! If I remember right; it ended up that Will Rogers Jr. played his father instead of Grandpa.

Grandpa also had a temper. It didn't take much to make him mad. When that happened, he stayed angry for some time. My Grandma told me that she and her brothers(there were 3 boys and one girl)had certain chores to be done every day when they were young. One day, she and her brother, Ken were working in their garden. They began to throw tomatoes at each other. They were having so much fun that they didn't see Grandpa coming up out of the basement just a few feet away. Uncle Ken took aim and threw a tomato intending to hit Grandma. Fortunately for Grandma(and Unfortunately for Uncle Ken) she ducked. The tomato missed it's intended target, and Grandpa caught a rotten one in the face!

Grandpa began hurling a string of profanity and threatened to skin alive the responsible party. Grandma and Uncle Ken decided they had better stay out of sight for a while and decided to hide in the garden until they felt it was safe to come out. I don't know if Grandpa ever found out who it was. I suspect he did, but never followed through on his threat.

Grandpa was also greedy(perhaps miserly might work better) and would do nearly anything to save some money. One day, he told my Grandmother(I believe she said she was about 5 at the time.) to take the milk cows (except one)out to the woods behind the house and tie them up. She did as she was told, but wondered why did Grandpa want her take them to the woods, of all places! She didn't dare ask questions, she knew better than to question her father!

When she returned to the house, she saw him talking to a strange man. She walked over and quietly stood beside Grandpa. When the man asked if the one milk cow was all they had; Grandma piped up before Grandpa could say anything and said"No Sir!" "There are more in the woods!" Realizing she had said something wrong, my grandmother ran into the house and told her mother what had just taken place,perhaps she figured there would be some relative safety if she told her mother before her Dad could!

I guess I can't blame Grandpa for trying to avoid the tax man!

When Grandpa returned to the house, he calmly took Grandma aside explained that she shouldn't have said anything about the cows, the strange man was from the income tax service!

I think I remember Grandma telling me that she was really surprised that Great Grandpa was that calm. I am sure she expected otherwise!

Grandpa wasn't all bad. He meant well much of the time, but it seemed to get lost in translation.Grandpa was full of surprises!

Even those who thought they knew him best found him to be full of surprises.

Frequently,he would bring home poor man he found wandering in the woods or along the side of the road. I guess he figured that he could share what they had.

My Grandmother told me that these men would stay anywhere from just a few hours, to months at a time.

One man in particular stayed so long, that Grandma Wizner finally told him either he could help with the chores, or leave. The man decided he would rather not work, so he left, never to be seen again!

Grandpa Wizner was quite remarkable. He never seemed to run out of energy,or ways to con people in order to get his way.

Even though he was ornery, he had a sort of endearing quality about him that one couldn't help but like or love him, especially his wife,Great Grandma Myrtle(yes, that was her name!)

He was always playing mean tricks on her. Once, he poured ketchup all over his shirt,and came stumbling out of the kitchen yelling; "I'm hurt, Myrtle, I'm hurt!" (That one was especially bad, because they were getting along in age and Grandma Wizner had heart problems. ) He dropped onto the floor, pretending to be unconscious! I don't remember hearing whether Grandma Myrtle fell for it or not. I suspect she probably knew him well enough to know he was trying to fool her!

Another story that comes to mind is one when he and Grandma Wizner were in a convalescent home. Neither was able to take care of themselves, so my Grandmother was the one responsible for their social security checks, etc, as she was the closest living relative. Grandpa became convinced that my Grandmother was stealing from him,and that she wasn't giving him his money.(This of course, was not true, My Grandma Dorothy was a very devoted daughter, and she and my Grandpa did not need Great-Grandpa's money.) He turned Grandma into the authorities , despite the nursing home staff trying to convince him that his money was indeed safe,and his daughter was not stealing from him. Thankfully, the allegations were found to be false, and that ended that, at least where the stealing theory was concerned!

He didn't let that end his ornery streak, though. Another time, he was wheeling down the hall in the convalescent home,and spotted money sitting on the counter at the nurse's station. He casually rolled up, grabbed the money,and took off down the hall, with nurses in hot pursuit!

I am not sure if Grandpa thought he might actually succeed with taking the money,or if it was just to get a rise out of the nurses. If he was trying for the latter, it was a success!

Grandpa is dead now, but I remember him very clearly,and I still think he is probably the most interesting person I have ever known!

A 21st century Pharaoh?

I was reading in Exodus last night. (I think it was chapters 9 and 10) Moses and Aaron are trying to get Pharaoh to let their people go. There have been locusts, water turning to blood, gnats(the locusts and gnats would have been more than enough for me, I hate bugs!), just to name a few.
Each time God sends a plague, Pharaoh's heart remains hardened. I had a thought, while reading that, and I am pretty sure God was showing me something. Since taking the oath of office only 6 ago, President Obama has signed several executive orders. I keep asking God "What is it going to take to get this President to see he is wrong?" I want to beat my head against the wall. I am a common sense type of person,and this is really aggravating me!
I believe it was no mistake that I read those two chapters last night,and here's what I think God is showing me: I think our new President is somewhat like Pharaoh of Moses' time. He knows the decisions he has made are not in our best interest, but yet he has hardened his heart to what he knows is right. It took many plagues to get Pharaoh's attention his heart was so hard!

I am thinking we have to keep petitioning God for our President's salvation and for God to soften his heart. I know we all know we are supposed to pray for our leaders, but this is one we have to keep praying hard for! Don't get me wrong, I am NOT easily inclined to pray for our new President, I really have to make myself do it. I am trying to find good , and having a hard time of it. I just want to throw up my hands and say "forget it!" I am stubborn that way sometimes.

On a different note; I am amazed at how each time I read a book of the
Bible, God speaks to me in new and different ways. I am amazed that God would show ME some of the things he does, and speak to me in the ways he does. I am the type that thinks of God speaking to everyone BUT me, so it just amazes me that he gives me the privilege of hearing from him. I know I am not any big shot, but I also know that I don't need to be or have to be! I just have to be willing,and LISTEN. The listening part is something I am working really hard on!!!
Tomorrow, I will post another, completely different, and fun blog!! I hope you'll read it and laugh! I know I could use a good laugh!

The Ondracek Refrigerator Saga (and how I almost lost my mind...)

Last week, (Wednesday to be exact) I got up, got my coffee and sat down at the computer after snuggle time with Annie; my usual morning routine before we do school.MY phone rang, it was my hubby. "Is your refrigerator running?" he asked. Knowing his sense of humor, I replied"oh, I need to go catch it, right" "I'm serious!" he replied.I opened my refrigerator, hoping it was all a joke, but knowing it really wasn't. My freezer was at 39 degrees, the fridge at 47. "oh, no" I groaned. I closed the fridge,hoping it had not been shut all the way,and just needed to cool down. I hung up the phone ; waited a bit, and checked again. The freezer was about the same; the fridge at about 54 degrees. I shut the doors, ran to the garage and grabbed an ice chest. I began chucking items as fast as I could into the ice chest, dumping what little ice we had on top of what I was trying to salvage.I ran next door, loaded with egg nog and cheese, explaining quickly the situation,and please enjoy.Thus began my week long(not ended quite yet) refrigerator saga. I called the local appliance service company. They came out the next day. Thinking my fridge was no longer under warranty(It's only two years old) I figured we would be whipping out the old visa to pay the bill, and bite the bullet later. The repair man informed me my evaporator was out, there was no coolant(a leak or blockage somewhere) and it would be an expensive fix. "yippee" I thought. This is the second time in two years something major has gone wrong with my fridge. The motor went out in the first year. The repair man suggested I call Maytag, to see if there is something they can do, since the fridge is still fairly new. Taking his advice, I called. "We can give you half off the part" the operator tells me. "I guess it's better than nothing, I'll call you back in a bit" I replied. I got online, posted on myspace and facebook my frustration. I needed some time to sit and veg before I tackled the situation again. My sister in law posted a message" you should call Maytag!" I had already done so once,but in the meantime had contemplated trying again. I kept thinking this fridge was still new enough that this shouldn't be happening.(not to mention the expense in purchasing the fridge) That was all the confirmation I needed. "Thank YOu, Lord for the confirmation!" I found another number for maytag, and hoping it might yield different results; I tried it. I explained my situation to the man who answered. He connected me to another operator. Armed with the information that the evaporator was kaput, I informed her of my situation. "Your sealed system is covered under a 5 year warranty!" She tells me. Relieved, I told her she had just made my day. " I told her who I had called for repair,and she told me they were an approved company by Maytag. I was so relieved! She put me on hold, while she called the local company and explained that they could go ahead with repairs. I thought that was the end of things. The appliance repair called and set up for the following Tuesday. (bear in mind, this is still Thursday, so we were looking at 4 more days.) "I'll take it, if it's the soonest you have" . The next Tuesday, I left to do childcare for the Bible Study., happily thinking when I got home I would find the fridge repaired,and maybe the ice chests would be emptied, food replaced in the fridge. WRONG! Dick called "the fridge isn't fixed" When I got home, I called the repair company. "they fixed it" she tells me. "No, it's not cooling" I tell her. "It takes about 24 hours to regulate." she replies."OOOkkayy..."(I am feeling rather doubtful, since the fridge had actually gone up a degree or two while I was on the phone.) Dick begins to try and tell me to tell her what the repairman said, so I hand the phone over. They set up another appointment for Thursday. In the meantime, I find out via "Tracy" from another phone call, that no, they had not installed the evaporator(I found out yesterday the part had not even been ordered yet), they needed an authorization number from Maytag. (ARRGGH!) In between allt his, I had been talking with Maytag , trying to get someone to get this straightened out. (I am nearly in tears by this point) I explain to Tracy at the repair company that this warranty that she seems to think I purchased through home depot is the MANUFACTUER warranty, I did not purchase this warranty through ANYONE, it is in the owner's manual,and not an extended warranty. "we have to have an authorization number!" I call maytag again. The operator tells me they don't need an authorization number, but I can try another repair company. So, I call A&E factory service. The operator there(who barely speaks English) sets up an appointment, explains they will diagnose the problem, order the part, blah blah (.The woman from our local repair place said Maytag was going to waive another diagnosis , just to tell the repair place what I needed, per whomever she had spoken to from Maytag. ) ( I am nearly hanging from the ceiling fan by now.) She then begins informing me of fees, etc. I tell her I am not paying anything. She tells me this price, that price. "This is a manufacturer warranty, and I am not paying a dime for any repairs!" "your warranty is expired" she says. "No it's NOT!"(I am nearly shouting by now) "Yes it is,you have a one year warranty" "No, it is a 5 year sealed system warranty! (I am ready to begin spelling everything by now in hopes of getting her to listen. The evaporator is part of the sealed system!" "No it's not" "Yes, it is! " I ask to speak to a supervisor. I am put on hold. She comes back, explains the same story she had tried already. "I want to speak to supervisor!!!" "I am telling you what the supervisor said" "Fine then" I hang up. I call Maytag once again. I am so frustrated by now, I am not sure I can be civil,but I pray and find myself feeling like I can do this. Knowing I am covered by the warranty, I try once again. Explaining the situation,and telling her I cannot live out of ice chests for another week, it's costing a fortune, she checks my file. Agreeing I am under warranty, she apologizes(sounding very sincere) for my difficutly and tells me the repair place needs no auth. number. "I have been trying to tell them that all week!" I exclaim. She puts me on hold, and a few minutes later, apologizing for the delay, explains she had brought a supervisor on to the line, called the repair place and asked me to read the warranty. I do so. She tells me they(Maytag) have to honor it, and can I please fax a copy of the warranty to her, she will fax it to the repair place.Yesterday morning, I received a call from Linda, at Maytag(the woman I spoke to on Wednesday). She informs me that everything has been taken care of,and I should hear from "M's" appliance shortly.I did get the call from "M's " appliance. They told me the part would be ordered(My heart begins to sink, thinking another week, minimum of living out of ice chests) and in the meantime, they would bring me out a loaner refrigerator. I exclaim my thanks. She tells me it may not be the prettiest; but it would keep my food fresh. "I don't care what it looks like,as long as it works! " I exclaim in reply.Yesterday afternoon, they brought me out the loaner fridge. To my pleasant surprise, it is clean inside(albeit a litttle dusty on the outside, but that was easily taken care of. ) ! It isn't bad, a few dents, but it works,and I can actually go grocery shopping! The best part is; I can put my ice chests away (hopefully) until summer when I WANT To use them for camping!
So, that is the end( I hope) of the Ondracek refrigerator saga. I still have my hair, I did not find myself swinging from the ceiling fan,and did not completely lose my mind. I did find myself telling Hannah that if I had to live out of ice chests, couldn't I at least have an old fashioned"ice box" to use in the house? I seriously meant it. I figured I could handle that for a fridge since I had the big freezer in the garage. So, for those of you who may have read my status posts, and wondered if I had gone off the deep end, well, I may have teetered on the edge, but with God, I made it through!

Dear Mr. Obama

Dear Mr. Obama,
I am writing this to you, doubting you will ever see it, but writing it nonetheless.
You have won the Presidential election and on January 20 you will be sworn in.
I did not vote for you, I don't agree with your ideas and I don't like the ideals of some of the people you associate with.
That being said; You will be President, and I want you to know something.
You will be prayed for. I will be praying for the people you choose to put in your cabinet,and I will be praying for your family. While I am not happy that you won, I owe you that much. I have prayed for other presidents,and owe you no less.

I will pray you make the right decisions, to keep our country safe. We have not had a terrorist attack since 9/11, and that is not a coincidence. I am sure you want America to remain safe.
I will pray for you to change your views on life. You seem have no problem letting an aborted baby born alive die, but I do. I will pray that God changes your heart. I know you have two little girls, and seem to be a devoted father. Think of those precious babies as your own! Imagine what you want life to be for your two babies,and the potential they have. Then think of those babies that are born alive despite being aborted,and the potential they have,and that God has given them. No child is a mistake; and I pray you will reconsider your views on abortion.
I pray that you will honor the institution of marriage. I do not want Gay people discriminated against, but I believe marriage is between a man and a woman, as God intended it to be. You know as well as I that is what marriage is; a union between a man and woman. I pray you will honor our military , and you will put America's priorities above any other agendas.


I wish you no ill will, but rather, I wish you well. You have a big job ahead of you, and the responsibilities are huge. It is not a job I think I would want.

Although I don't agree with your views, (I don't think there is one view I agree with) and I don't understand why you believe the things you do, I will pray for you, because God commands us to pray for our leaders,and because I love my country.
America is the greatest nation on earth,and many have given their lives to keep it that way.
We have so many things to be thankful for. We have the freedom to worship as we choose, the freedom to earn as little or as much as we want; and the freedom to vote for the candidate of our choice,and vote without fear of retribution if we don't vote for the candidate we disagree with.

My prayer is that you will remember what our forefathers intended for this country,and why so many come here from other countries. America is a land of opportunity. I just pray you remember that, and that you will let God lead you in your decisions.
I pray you make decisions that are not politcially correct, but rather, morally correct.
I pray that you come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ,and that you find the joy that comes in a personal relationship with him. I pray that God blesses you and that God blesses America.
Don't worry, I am not going to pray ANY ill will for you , your family, or friends. I want you to be a good leader, and I know you want to be remembered as a great president. I hope you accomplish that goal, with God and America's best interest at heart.