The Warlpiri are a group of Australian aborigines who have a simple way of counting.  Their words for numbers are “one, two and many.”  I read that last week and that phrase really stuck with me. I laugh because when someone asks me how many years I have been married, I either answer “many” or have to quickly subtract in my head. Quick hand me a calculator!I think even Erma Bombeck would have liked the Warlpiri’s method of counting when she wrote, "One thing they never tell you about child raising is that for the rest of your life, at the drop of a hat, you are expected to know your child's name and how old he or she is."I listened this week to what I count:  My sins. My excuses. Things I am thankful for.Yep, the Warlpiri are right.One sin, two sins, then many more.One excuse, two excuses, and so many more.One item to be thankful for, then two appear, and wait: many, many more.Is it just me or is this beginning to sound like a Dr. Seuss tale?I guess we could play with these words and … [Read more...]

Patty Wysong has created a fun meme where once a week bloggers posted on the letter of the week. Check out the details here.  It is called A2Z: Take 2. A2Z as she challenges bloggers to write a post each week going through the alphabet.  Take 2 since this is the second time she has used this meme. Anyone can join in and you don’t have to always participate. This fun meme has now progressed to the letter S. The letter S reminds me of the priceless spiritual lessons from friendship. The Spirituality of Friendship I like to give, but find it so awkward to be on the receiving end. Do you ever feel like that?Maybe it is my ego and pride. Probably more like me wanting to keep up the false pretense of self-sufficiency. Fear is another reason: What if people find out I am not perfect? Oh, no, they may reject me or make fun of me. Friendship holds many lessons for us spiritually and lately gifts from friends have brought these lessons into focus for me.  1.  Sacrifice - A few weeks ago we … [Read more...]

Do you read menus?Of course you read them to find out what food a restaurant is offering, but ever notice the other information on some menus?Last week’s vacation took us to the Salt Lick Bar-B-Que in Driftwood Texas. Mmmmm, good! Great food with wonderful company.But it was the story told on the menu of the founders Thurman and Hisako Roberts that inspired me the most.Thurman traveled most of the time working in construction while his family stayed in Driftwood. They really wanted to stay in that little town so “one day, he took out a yellow legal pad and wrote down 54 things the family could do to stay in Driftwood. The idea for The Salt Lick was 14thon the list.”They started small and have grown the business that now is a family affair serving thousands each week. The restaurant has been featured on the Food Network, The Travel Channel and the Today Show.But did you catch his plan? He created a list of 54 ideas and worked through them to number 14. This is a great lesson in … [Read more...]

Many of you read last week that I attended the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop. I came home, refreshed and enthused, then hit a wall. Yep, post conference lethargy. My muse shifted gear into Slothville.I have learned to be gentle with myself after a great experience. Almost always there is a let down after the mountaintop. Guess my mind and heart need some adjustment time after higher altitudes.What I noticed this year was the same type of weariness after Easter too. Post holiday blues. Suddenly my attention drifted away from God. My journal laid open but no new entries. My prayers so filled with new readings and openness during Lent, sounded flat.The time after Easter is called Eastertide. Learning more about this season helped me refocus on its promise of hope and its lessons for growth.Eastertide is the 50 days following Easter, the time from that day to Pentecost. Easter isn’t stuck on death; Easter brings us through the doorway into new life.I am slowly learning that, though Easter … [Read more...]

As I wrote last week, I attended Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop in Dayton. What a wonderful time of laughter, networking, new friendships, and useful knowledge.Many of the workshops focused on social media and growing your online presence, so the topics were very current. We were inspired by the keynote presenters, all nationally recognized writers and columnists. A special moment at each of the meals occurred when Erma’s family members shared their favorite Erma column.Erma lives on in every writer there and every reader who enjoys her words. What a legacy and gift to all of us.Research shows that without a sense of working to create a legacy, adults lose meaning in their life. The word legacy comes from the late 14th century Latin and actually means “body or persons sent on a mission, such as ambassador or envoy.” In the late 15th century in Scotland, the word began to mean the property left by will to another.Interesting roots to this word, isn’t it?  What is the message of our … [Read more...]

Patty Wysong has created a fun meme where once a week bloggers posted on the letter of the week. Check out the details here.   It is called A2Z: Take 2. A2Z as she challenges bloggers to write a post each week going through the alphabet.  Take 2 since this is the second time she has used this meme. Anyone can join in and you don’t have to always participate. This fun meme has now progressed to the letter PMinding my Ps Minding your Ps and Qs.  Ever wonder about that expression?According to The Phrase Finder, the origin of this Phrase is unknown, but can be dated as far back to the early 1600s. Perhaps we can ponder a pair of possibilities:1.  Printers apprentices often confused the backward facing metal type lower cases letters of P and Q and were warned frequently to watch for those mistakes. Even now when we write the lower care p and q, it matters where we draw the line. 2. Some historians think Ps and Qs refer to pints and quarts as in drinking our ale or it might refer to minding … [Read more...]

Photo from PinterestI am excited. I leave today to travel about three hours south of my home in northwest Ohio to attend the Erma Bombeck Writers Conference in Dayton. This wonderful workshop is offered every two years and focuses on Erma’s legacy of great writing, especially as a columnist and a humorist.The Bombeck Workshop is the only one in the country devoted to both humor and human-interest writing and is sold out each time it is offered. It features more than two dozen professional humor and human-interest writers on its faculty, offering sessions on the craft of writing, turning an interest into a profession, marketing, publishing and more.  And you’re guaranteed to laugh. A lot.  Did I mention laughing? Lots of laughter.What is it about Erma’s writing that still brings smiles to our hearts?I want to be a writer like her. Maybe I can bring back a few of her secrets to share next week, but I thought in honor of Erma we all could sit back and enjoy some of her words today:·      … [Read more...]

Patty Wysong has created a fun meme where once a week bloggers posted on the letter of the week. Check out the details here.   It is called A2Z: Take 2. A2Z as she challenges bloggers to write a post each week going through the alphabet.  Take 2 since this is the second time she has used this meme. Anyone can join in and you don’t have to always participate. This fun meme has now progressed to the letter OO = Optimist I haven’t always been an optimist. In fact I think I am wired quite the opposite.But as an adult I decided optimism as a trait appealed to me; thus began my search to develop this characteristic. Uphill battle, let me tell ya!I collect optimism – quotes, stories and even have given a few presentations about the value of being positive. Being a nurse, I have seen the difference in the healing and recovery of people with optimism as compared to the pessimist state of mind.  With today’s letter of the alphabet being O, I thought I would share a few fun things I have read … [Read more...]