Happy Fathers Day

What makes a dad?  It's not just the fact that you made a baby. No - that doesn't make you a dad. It's taking responsibility for that child (or children) that you created. There are many fathers out there who aren't really dads.  In the same vein there are many men out there who are great dads even though they never fathered a child.  

To the men who take on the task of raising someone else's child - Thank you!  I was raised with three brothers.  My mom had two boys before she and my dad married. I can honestly say that my dad never made a difference in the way he treated any of us and I never thought anything of it.  We were a family.  It wasn't until I moved out and away to another town that I realized not every father treated step-children as their own.  What an eye-opener that was for me. So I want to say Thanks, Dad!  Thanks for teaching me that we are all the same and for not making a difference in any of us.  We were all yours.  

To my husband, Gary.  Thank you!  You unquestioningly took on three teen-age daughters who gave you a lot of grief.  You showed them love and have supported them in every endeavor they have chosen.  You have guided them, counseled them and loved them unconditionally. You then took on the task with me of raising two more children whom we adopted. You have shown all five of our children what it means to be a dad and a father. You have given of yourself and your influence is seen in our children. Thank you for showing them what a Godly man is like and for being there for each and every one of them.

For my sons-in-law Perry and Michael - Thank you!  Thank you for stepping up and being a father to my grandchildren. Thank you for investing time in them and teaching them, guiding them and loving them.  I know the role of a step-parent is not easy but you willingly took on the task without any hesitation. 

To my father-in-law Red - Thank you! Thank you for raising your son to be Godly man and showing him what it is to be a father. To be supportive, loving, giving, honest, respectable (and respected). Without your love and guidance as a child himself he would not be the man he is today.  

Happy Father's Day to the father's in my live!  

Don't Be Oblivious Of Your Audience

Audience - the group of spectators at a public event; listeners or viewers collectively, as in attendance at a theater or concert

Oblivious - unmindful, unconscious, unaware

Difference - a significant change in or effect on a situation

Opportunities - an appropriate or favorable time or occasion

We have been discussing at Redemption Tulsa the difference we can make in other people's lives.  Again, I am not theologically trained or a very astute speaker.  However, I like to share my thoughts and I do that better through written communication. So here goes.....

We all have audiences that we are in contact with.  We just don't look at them that way. The people you come in contact with are your audience. This may be a work audience with whom you spend at least 40 hours a week if you work full-time. This might also include peripheral people that you come in contact with besides co-workers. Your audience might be your neighbors, your family. What are you sharing with this audience? Were you even aware you had this audience?  Bet you had never thought of them as an audience had you?  

This bring up the next word: oblivious.  How many of us are oblivious of the people around us? Oh sure, we know who sits in the cubicle next to us at work. We know the couple next door to us. We know the guy who waits on us at Quik Trip - we see him every day. But are we truly conscious of them? Do we pay attention to subtle words or phrases they might be using that could convey to us that they are hurting? 

And now for difference.  Can we be a change on a situation? In someones life? I know I have been guilty of thinking, "what can I do?" Or, 'oh no one really cares."  Wrong!  People do care! You can do something! People are hurting and oftentimes they don't even know why they are hurting. 

Next up is opportunities. The opportunities are there now and in the future.  We just need to take advantage of them when they occur. Don't be caught later thinking, "Man!! Why didn't I catch that?'" 

 Do we have the ability to make a difference on someone in our audience?  Yes, if we are not oblivious of our opportunities.  

We can share our story to our audiences. Be aware of people around you and the needs they may have. Let them know what God has done for you. Let them know what He can do for them. Be aware of your current audience and your future audience. As you start to look at the audience you have now you will be more aware of people. This will make you aware of your future audience. You are not responsible for any decisions they do or do not make but - you are responsible for sharing God's word.  

Refreshing End of the Day

Are you ready for this weeks New Food Night?  I had to work late tonight so we did not have a meal.  How disappointed are you over that announcement? Well, we didn't have a meal but we did have dessert.  Now don't you feel better already?  I had to work till 7:30 so we decided to have dessert and a refreshing beverage for tonight's New Food Night.  

Our beverage for the evening was Mexican Punch.  It was very refreshing. I think I could end every evening with a glass of this.  Simple syrup, grenadine, fresh orange juice, frozen limeade concentrate, and Sprite -- add some lime wedges.  Good stuff. Only thing that could improve this was if I was sipping it on the beach.

And of course with Gary involved Miss Annette included chocolate. We had two types of brownies - cherries jubilee brownies and s'mores brownies. 

Don't these look good?  They were.  The cherries jubilee brownies were very, very rich - we all agreed on this - even Gary.  

Are you wishing you had put in a reservation to join us tonight? Chris joined us even though he doesn't look real happy about it he did enjoy it.  

Yummers is all I can say.  And if you want a good punch recipe - we have one.  

Let's All Go To The Movie

Remington heard that his Uncle Brian had gone to the drive-in movies and so Remington decided that he wanted to go.  Last Thursday evening when he came over for Family Game Night he planned on spending the night. While playing poker he asked if we would take him to the drive-in. I told him that we certainly weren't going to go that night but we could possibly go Friday night. This however, would mean that he would have to spend Friday night with us also.  He was okay with that.  

So Grampa checked out the movies that were playing and we decided to go to the drive-in. We told Remington that we wouldn't be going until 8:30 or so and it would be really late when we got home. He thought he was up for it. So Friday night we packed a blanket and some lawn chairs and bug spray and headed to the drive-in. 

Remington was full of questions as he had never been to the drive-in. Was it a giant screen TV that we would be watching? How many chairs would it hold? How could we listen to the movie? We finally told him that he would just have to wait and see.  

We watched Malificent and Blended.  Both these movies were very good. And what a cheap price for two movies.  We need to go more often I think (and next time maybe take our own snacks). We backed into our parking spot, opened up the tail gate and reversed the back seats. Sprayed ourselves down with bug spray and set our lawn chairs up.  After what seemed like forever, the first movie started.  We had our pop and giant popcorn. The movie was very good.  Intermission, bathroom break for all then ready for the second feature.  It was very funny.  Remington was getting cold so I got the blanket for him.  He ended up moving up into the back seat of the van to get out of the wind.

This brought back memories of going to the drive-in when I was a kid. My brother Wayne would take a carload of his friends and he always let Bub and I go along.  Wednesday nights were usually buck night - a whole carload could get in for a dollar. We went to the drive-in almost every week during the summer - sometimes twice a week (Wednesday and Saturday). We saw a lot of John Wayne movies at the drive-in.

Of course, back then you had to put a speaker on the window to listen to the movie. Now you tune your radio to a specified channel to listen.

 Vehicles have certainly changed too. Vans have replaced station wagons. Snacks are pretty much the same I think - pop, popcorn, candy. Bring your own in saves you money.  

 Yes, we had a good time and I think we probably will be going again. There are so few drive-ins around any more that we need to take advantage of the one that is available.  

Phone Countdowns

So excited for upcoming vacations!  We will be meeting Charlie (and hopefully Adam) in Corpus Christi next month. We love the beach - well I do anyway. This will be the third year that we have gone for a long four day weekend in Corpus. We love for family to join us. Not everyone makes it every year but Charlie, Gary and I do - that's why we are known as The Musketeers. 

Then in September we are cruising again. It's been way to long since our last cruise but this is one will be worth the wait.  We are going to do an Alaska cruise!!  We are so excited for this one. We will be joined by Gary's parents (always a fun time with them), his sister and brother-in-law and some friends locally. Cannot wait for the all the adventures that await us on this cruise.

I have these two vacations on my phone as countdown apps - all I have to do is look at the phone and know how long it is until my next vacation. Love this feature. And I ALWAYS have my birthday as a countdown on my phone. At any given time I can tell you how many days until my birthday. Another countdown I always have is Christmas. One interesting fact here - Christmas is exactly 100 days after my birthday. Now Christmas has it's very own app on my phone. When I open it to see how many days until Christmas (which isn't really necessary because I know it's only 100 days after my birthday) I hear Christmas music being played. Then I can choose to decide if I want to know how many days, hours, minutes or seconds it is until Christmas.  

So tonight when I looked at my phone and saw the countdowns, I came up with a short poem celebrating said countdowns.  Hope you enjoy. 

 

COUNTDOWNS

Look at my phone and what do I see

Four special countdowns looking at me.

First up is Corpus the beach calls my name

Forty-one days jelly fish jump is the game.

A long weekend with views of the sea

I wish a beach bum I could be.

Next countdown is only eighty-seven days away

Cruising Alaska – the Inside Passageway.

The scenery, the food, the excursions too

We cannot wait to see country that is new.

And shortly after that in a mere 103 days

We get to celebrate my birthday.

An exciting time I always enjoy

Hope I keep having birthdays galore.

And then the countdown for Christmas, how fun

Only 203 days and my countdowns are done.

So much excitement so much fun in store

The countdowns on my phone number four.

Written by: Kathie Marrs

                      June 4, 2014

A Tour of the Orient

It's time for New Food Night again.  Well, actually we did it last night but I didn't have time to blog about it.  (And in case your are wondering if you missed a week; yes, you did. We skipped last week due to the holiday and other commitments).  I think you are going to like this weeks meal. 

We are having an Asian meal!


First up is Egg Rolls.  These were very good.  Stuffed with ground pork, cole slaw mix, freshly grated ginger and soy sauce. Yummers!!

We also had Beef Stir Fry - Flank Steak marinated in soy, Sherry, ginger, and garlic. Add some onions and peppers and cook up in the wok. If you remember from a few weeks ago, we had Tequila Lime Chicken.  Gary's liquor supply is expanding. 

When you have stir-fry you gotta have rice to go with it. This was just some rice cooked up in chicken broth. Nothing special.

Doesn't this look good?

And of course you need dessert. We had a 'traditional Southern Asian' dessert - Buttermilk Pie. Now we know that this probably is not the typical dessert but we like to mix things up. Miss Annette did an awesome job on this. She made the crust from scratch and it had butter and shortening and all the good stuff you shouldn't have. If you have never had Buttermilk pie you need to make one.  It was fantastic!

Annette, Chris and I had ours topped with fruit sauce and whipped cream.  Gary of course had his topped with chocolate.  

Now how many of you out there are wanting to join us for New Food Night?  Bet you wish you lived close enough to do so (and that we would invite you).  

Adventures Await

Gary and I went out for a drive the other night and ended up at Barnes and Noble.  What is it about a book store that draws you in?  Or maybe that's just me.  I love books, always have. When I was a kid my dad went to auctions all the time. Sometimes he would bring home boxes of books that he bought for a little bit of nothing. What a treasure that was! You never knew what you would have to choose from. Our whole family read, Mom, Dad, me, my brothers. And I am delighted to have passed on this love of reading to most of my children and in turn they have passed it on to their children.

That might explain why I have 275 books on my Kindle to read (and just as many if not more that have been read). That's why I quit going to Amazon to see what the daily bargains were. I cannot stop myself! One click here, one click there, click, click, click.
When I'm done and turn my kindle on it downloads 10-20 new books!  

Now you can imagine me in a bookstore. I'm drawn in!  NEW RELEASES  - I'm hooked. I gravitate over to see what's new. One of my favorite writers, a jacket cover, the title. They all draw me. A table of books titles SUMMER BEACH READ -- oh these look good.

Stephen King, Debbie Macomber, Nicholas Sparks, Maeve Binchy, Belva Plain, Nora Roberts, Dean Koontz, James Patterson, Janet Evanovich, Karen Kingsbury, Mark Twain -- so many to choose from.  And as you can tell by the names, I read a variety of books. The authors draw me in. What captivating story do they have for me this time? Will Stephen King have me on the edge of my chair (he's my all-time favorite)? 

The jacket covers draw me. Sometimes it's the colors they use that get my attention and pull me in. Sometimes it's the pictures on the covers. Soft and romantic, bold and dynamic. They scream at me - READ ME READ ME!! Subtle yet intoxicating I pick up this book and scan the pages. Then out of the corner of my eye another catches my attention. I read a page here and there. 

Sometimes the title of the book has me looking closer. Will the book live up to the title?  Usually it does.  I want to read about 'The Beach House', or 'The Afternoon Tea', or ' 'Silence at Midnight'. (Let me insert here that I just made up these titles but you get the idea). I'm hooked again.

My Kindle has books of all kinds on it. I will admit that I very seldom pay for a book on my Kindle - I download free ones. And because I am drawn to the 'free' section I have read books that are not my typical choice (science fiction to name one). But I have yet to be disappointed in a book.  I've always told Gary that my idea of a perfect vacation is unlimited books to read and unlimited time to read in. 

And I am one of those people who 'live' my books. They are so real to me. I see every detail in my head. I can be reading about a cold Alaska winter in the middle of summer and I feel the cold of 40 below. A cold snowy pioneer winter keeps me enthralled for a couple of hours. I get up to make some hot tea to warm up and am surprised to see the sun shining.

I hate for my stories to end. I want to know what happens to the people next? I want to live their lives with them. I want to watch their children grow up. I want to see couples grow old together. I want to see them succeed in everything they do. I want to be a part of their lives - they have become part of mine while I read their stories.  

I have been so many places through the books I have read. Some I have actually been to and it's so neat to read about a place you are familiar with. Some I have not been to and most likely will never see - but I feel like I know the area. And I have learned so many interesting facts from my reading. Some obscure things I would never have known without reading books. I call it my miscellaneous trivia and it has come in handy at times.

So let me encourage you, if you are not already a reader - BECOME ONE! You will be taken on wondrous  adventures that you may never experience without the written word.