Time Capsule

Happy Tuesday! I had an amazingly wonderful weekend. I spent Saturday at an Aglow retreat with speaker Mary Forsythe of Dallas, TX, whose first book was titled “Glimpse of Grace.” In light of my recent post where I commented that grace is probably my favorite word in the English language, you can imagine I was loving the message. I was honored to lead the music with a beautiful young friend and dubbed us “Ebony and Ivory” as we really do move together in perfect harmony. It was so much fun.

I've had a surreal experience with opening a time capsule over the last few days. I’ve been on Facebook for about 8 months and honestly didn’t spend time trying to find high school friends. I’ve never attended a reunion for the primary reason that I seemed to be pregnant every time they had one for awhile and the timing just never worked out. But the other day, I got connected with one former classmate and it has led me to a Facebook-style class reunion. I started a game in my head of trying to think of one adjective for what I remembered of each person and then I tried to think of one to describe myself at 16 or so. The first word that popped into mind was “lost”. The second word was “clueless”. I would be interested to hear what one word my classmates would come up with.

Here's my senior picture circa 1975. There was a typical disagreement with my parents when I selected this somber pose because I thought it made me look "cool". How funny is that? My parents said, "but you're always smiling!" Well, at least I can honestly say I have no desire whatsoever to return to that age.

Note on this photo: Builderman had this handy in the top drawer of his desk. How sweet is that? We've loved each other a loooong time.

So, what one word would YOU use to describe yourself as a senior in high school?

Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I'd read a terrific book called "The Male Factor" by Shaunti Feldhaun that is a well-researched discussion on the difference between the the way men and women communicate in the business arena. Absolutely fascinating. In fact, I plan to integrate the material into a workshop for businesspeople.

This week, a friend sent me the link to this video by Mark Gungor and I had a really good laugh. I'm posting it on a Sunday on the chance you might have time during the Super Bowl to read blogs. ; )

This is on the difference between men's brains and women's brains and is part of Gungor's series on "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage."

Wordless Wednesday

I See the Light of Heaven Sparkling in Her Eyes

I'm smitten. Completely.

**more Wordless Wednesday participants can be found here**

Grace; How Sweet the Sound!

I’ve enjoyed your comments this week on the post on mentors, mothers and manners, and I’ve noticed there doesn’t seem to be a disparity in regions when it comes to the basics of etiquette. I would venture to say my observation applies at least to the western hemisphere. No doubt our eastern hemisphere counterparts share concepts of courtesy and polite behavior, but cultural differences are certainly significant.

I have to share one more thing that came to my mind about my mother and her concern for the social graces. Whenever I began to talk about a new friend, my mom would ask, “Are they from a good family?” I used to get my back up about that, but I’ve come to the realization that my mom was referring to families where at least one parent is present and committed to imparting the essential lessons to their children. Her question and concern were valid, but I still chuckle at that question.

I’ll conclude this discussion with the consideration of one my favorite words in the English language: grace. Oh grace, how I love thee. Let me count the ways:

I told you I love books.... I can even get encouraged reading the dictionary. ; )

And the Winner Is...

Sara! Your name matched the winning number at Random.org. Congratulations - you won the Jeanne Robertson DVD. (P.S. Don't do what I did and try to play it in your car's CD player ... it's a DVD. LOL) While congratulating Sara, I have to tell you something about her. She has a link on her blog that says "praying for you". If you ask her to pray about something, this friend is one tenacious prayer warrior. You may want to keep that in mind.

Thanks to all of you for commenting!

Southern Mentors, Southern Mothers

Do you know that if a woman chews gum in public she may very well look like a cow chewing her cud? That, my friend, is according to my mom, who was a contributing author of the unwritten Southern Etiquette Book.
Do you know how to sit and how to stand? How about how to hold your hands? No, no, you only THOUGHT you knew that. The old South rule book I refer to is possibly on the verge of extinction and truthfully, that doesn’t make me sad.

When my children were small, I had a neighbor in Tallahassee that decided I was the daughter she’d never had. She told me, “You are a great representative for health, positive thinking and such, but when it comes to make-up, hair and the art of being a lady, I need to teach you a thing or two.”

She literally took me to her hairdresser, went in her closet and pulled clothes that she insisted I wear, and staged a community fundraiser class on “The Art of Being a Lady” and appointed me her assistant. (Uncommon Blonde still rolls her eyes at the memory as she was being homeschooled and I made her go too. Poor child) Seriously, when I look at the photos of me during that period of time it’s not good. She was markedly older than my mom and have you noticed that styles change?

Don’t get me wrong; I loved her and was grateful to have her love. One thing I learned from her is that you can’t be anyone’s mini-me. You have to find your own voice.

When I watch speaker and comedienne Jeanne Robertson, she makes me think I’m watching my mentor’s birth daughter. She was a beauty pageant winner many moons ago and knows all the rules. Granted, my mentor didn’t have a daughter as she was most unusual and focused on her career during her childbearing years (the 1940’s through 1960’s and didn’t marry until she was about 50 years old.)

I’m giving away a DVD of Jeanne telling some of her funny stories. My favorites are her tales of her husband, who she lovingly refers to as “L.B.” (Left-Brain)

I’ll draw a name at the end of the day Friday and post the winner this weekend. All you have to do is leave a comment to enter. If you want to leave an etiquette rule your mom taught you, I want to hear.

Here’s a clip of Jeanne if you’ve never seen her:

P.S. Disclaimer: This DVD case is not in perfect condition. I find getting the wrapping off of CD’s and DVD’s to be particularly irritating, don’t you? I took the scissors to this case and cut a bit more than intended. At least it wasn’t my hand that got in the way!

It's Not About Me!

I’m glad I’m not queen of everything. If I were, I would add more hours to the day so I could accomplish more and I’m pretty certain that wouldn’t be wise. No doubt I would shorten my life in exchange for smashing more into less time. Thank God He’s in charge!

I’ve decided I love books as much as I love chocolate and walking on the beach and wish I could do more of all three activities! There’s nothing quite like the small things that bring great delight. If you want an exact count, I think I’m reading four books concurrently. I had three in progress, then I won a fascinating book titled “The Male Factor” over at Mocha with Linda’s. (She does some amazing give-aways of books she reviews). When that book arrived, I couldn’t resist starting it too! Surely I’m not the only one who does that?!

I’ve missed visiting with you this past week and plan to go blog visiting this weekend. I’ve learned a lot in the past week as I’ve seen 2 significant people pass into eternity. I’ve reflected on what I learned from each of them and it’s momentous. I just have to share a few nuggets that I received as a torch being passed from my friend, Brenda Pink.

*Get over yourself, it’s not about you.

*Love your spouse like there’s no tomorrow.

*Believe in people and know that each life is a canvas that we can paint on

*Lift people up - you can never give away too much encouragement and love.

Thanks for stopping by – your visit encourages me!

P.S. Come back next week for my first give-away of 2010. It’ll make you laugh.