Where's my Lid?

This is me, the pot:

Fun to be with
Intelligent
Compassionate
A great mom
A hard worker
Easy to get along with
Follower of Christ
A servant with a desire for service (ministry)
A decent singer
An aspiring writer
Pretty on the outside
A great conversationalist
Beautiful on the inside
Lover of God's Word
A great friend
Loyal
Fat
Optimistic
A teacher (at heart)
Entertaining
Supportive
Loving
Ambitious
Healthy
Easy Going
Articulate
Spontaneous
A good sister
Educated
A good daughter
Creative
Frugal
Hopeful


I've heard it said that "there's a lid for every pot." So the question here...where is my lid?

Even with all of the qualities that I've listed, something crucial must be missing because I am still a "lidless pot".

I've noticed many women who have traits that are far less appealing with nasty attitudes, vulgar language, lazy, mean, etc...yet they have "lids". What gives?

No, this isn't a "pity party", it's merely an observation. Just trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together so that I can see the whole picture.

So our TOPIC OF THE DAY is this: Do YOU believe that there is a lid for every pot, or is it just a hopeless fairy tale?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

To Care or Not To Care

Today is Mother's Day. All in all, I'd have to say that it's been lovely. My kids gave me wonderful gifts. Terence drew a picture of me in an outfit of my favorite colors, blue and brown. Alongside the picture he wrote me a wonderful message, that really did make me cry.

Jordan decorated a picture frame and wrote a poem to go inside the frame. More tears.

Lauren bought me a candle. Different from the candles that I usually buy...took me a minute to find a scent that I liked but low and behold, I found one. She hung her head down and said she knows she's not as creative as T & J. I don't care. It truly is the thought that counts, and to show her that I love my candle, it's burning at this very moment.

Bottom line, the 3 people to whom I mean the most showed me their love on this day.

And at 1:41 p.m. there it was...the text...the ever so meaningful TEXT!

I wasn't sure if this was better or worse than the 7 second phone call that I received last year on this special day.

I'm no "Mother of the Year", but I do try. My kids know where I am, they are fed, housed, clothed, and LOVED. I don't have men traipsing through our home. I don't drink. I don't smoke. What do I do? I work. I go to church. I've raised them in church. I make sure that they are at school every day. I help them with homework. I lend an ear when they need to talk. All the things that a Mother does.

Now I could understand getting a TEXT if I was a no-good trifling mother. Smoking, drinking, clubbing, "ho-ing", drugging, letting them run the streets, calling them no-good, and simply not caring. Sadly, I've seen mothers who fit this description, but I thank God that those descriptions don't fit me.

From what I understand, it is the thought that counts, but my heart was really hoping for something just a bit more personal and meaningful than a text.

Maybe it's because men think differently than women when it comes to being sentimental, so perhaps the well meant intention was there, but the delivery was poor.

There's a card company that suggests sending one of their cards "when you care enough to send the very best"...

I've come up with my own slogan:

"When you just don't care...send a text".

Technology has it's benefits, but when it comes to telling people how you feel about them, PLEASE pick up the phone and CALL. Texting is so impersonal.

It takes me back to what a co-worker of mine used to say, "Expect nothing and you won't be disappointed".

I wasn't expecting anything, receiving the text just made it worse. Nothing tells a person how inconsequential they are like a text on Mother's Day (and/or birthday).

Will I get over it? Of course I will. I already have. I'm just doing my part to let the world know that sometimes...every now & then...people need to HEAR your voice...not READ your texts.


Let the DIALOGUE begin! If you live away from your mother, did you CALL her today? If you live away from the mother of your children, did you CALL her today? Or did you send a text?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

Fresh and Steaming Hot

Today at work, I decided to take my "non-smokers smoking break" and took a stroll around my office complex.

In the area where my job is located, there are luxury apartments on the same lot. They are sooo out of place.

I've noticed though that the apartments are very "pet friendly" and you can often find one of the tenants walking a dog, or two, or three.

As I was walking today, I spotted a man walking his two pugs, and in the middle of the walk one of them had to "do his doody".

No sooner than the "doody" dropped out of the dogs hind end, then man was bending down with a plastic glove on his hand picking up the steaming hot, freshly dropped POOP and placing it in a baggy. GRROOOSSSS!!!

This is a sight that I see often, and every time it happens, it leaves me wondering, "who's really in charge here?"

Yeah, I know that humans are supposed to be the more intelligent species, but MAN...when you see that goin' on, you just can't help but wonder...are we, really?

Let the DIALOGUE begin! If you were out walking your dog and he/she "dropped a doody", would you pick it up, or would you keep it movin'?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

What's your price?

Yesterday, I went to the Prince concert. And had a great time, I might add.

I originally purchased 3 tickets, one for me, one for my friend, and one for her daughter. Right before we left for the concert, my friend's daughter decided that she didn't want to go. No biggie.

So I'm thinking that we can try to sell the extra ticket when we get to the concert. Not trying to make any extra money, just wanted to get back what I paid...$25.00

So we get there and sure enough there's a guy who needs a ticket. Cool!

I tell him that I have one and he gets his money out. He hands me the money and as I go to hand him the ticket I notice that he's only given me $10.00

"Umm, excuse me", I said, "the ticket price is $25.00".

I take the ticket back and hand him his $10 bill.

He looks at me and says, "You don't want the money?"

I said, "I'm willing to sell you the ticket, but not for $10.00, I paid $25.00 and that's the price that I'm selling it for."

He looks at me like I'm from another planet and says,"Green is better than paper. So you mean to tell me you'd rather lose $25.00 and keep a useless ticket, than to take $10.00 for it?"

I said,"Yep. That's right. I'm either going to sell it to you for what I paid, or I'm not selling it."

He just stood there in amazement and continued with his rant of "Green is better than paper"...

Well I took my paper, walked away, and went on into the concert.

Now I realize that 99% of people would have taken his money and would opt to lose only $15 instead of $25.
Now I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination. I'm not even "well off". Like most in today's economy, I'm living "hand to mouth", and I'm just one paycheck away from being homeless. Nevertheless, for me though, it's not always about the money.

Number 1...I didn't like his attitude. I had something that he wanted. He should've been a little nicer about his approach.

Number 2...the ticket had my name on it and I didn't feel comfortable giving this rude stranger anything with my name on it.

Number 3...in the end, my hope was that he never found anyone else with an extra ticket and was left to realize that he should've paid me the price I was asking. I wasn't trying to "get over" on him, I was just trying to make my money back.

So, I'm $25.00 in the hole which just means that I'll have to find $25.00 worth of something that we'll have to do without. And that will be my price to pay for the ticket.

But that incident left me wondering, Let the DIALOGUE begin! What would YOU have done? Taken the $10 or walked away as I did?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

Going Home

Today I went to a "Home Going" service for one of my church members. Some people call such an event a "funeral". But where's the LIFE in that word? There isn't any. I just looked up the definition, and here's how the word funeral is defined by Webster:

- the observances held for a dead person usually before burial or cremation

- an end of something's existence

As a believer in Christ, His death, burial, and resurrection, I know that there is no death, for the believer. When life ends here on earth, for the believer, it continues in the very next instant with God. Period. So you see, the believer, is never DEAD, nor does their existence ever end. For the believer, there is life, and that life is ETERNAL.

Over the years, I've been to many services to celebrate the life of someone no longer with us. And one thing that rings 100% true about everyone that I've been to...each one is unique. As they should be. Just as each life is unique, so too should be each person's life celebration.

I've been to some services where I cried for days after. I went to one a few years ago where I felt a very strong need to shower and pray after attending. The things that went on at the service did not sit well at all with my spirit. I left that service wondering, "what in the _ _ _ _ was that???"

I went to one a couple weeks ago for a woman who was in her 80s, and as we made the procession to the cemetery, we were lead by a car club. Hard core dudes who you wouldn't want to cross on a bad day, yet there they were, stopping traffic for us because they knew and RESPECTED the woman we were remembering that day. I had never seen anything like that.

So yes, today, we celebrated another life who has GONE HOME to be with the LORD. And I am so thankful that today was not goodbye, it was just, "see ya later".

Let the DIALOGUE begin! What was the most interesting Homegoing service you've ever attended?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

Will the REAL "Supermom" please stand up.

If you visit "The Den" often, then you know that no two posts are the same. Unlike other blogs, I don't write about just one subject. I write about whatever is on my mind, and since my thoughts are different from day to day...so are my posts.

And what's on my mind today are married women with children who whine and complain about all the work they have to do when their husbands are away.

One woman I know practically had a meltdown when her husband had to leave the country for 3 weeks, leaving her to take care of her 2 children BY HERSELF while he was away. She had to get them up in the morning, get them ready for school, get them to school, take them to their extracurricular activities, prepare dinner, etc, etc...And all of this was just too much for her.

Are you kidding me?!?

Then there's another one, who's husband is also away for a while, leaving her also to tend to their two children, and it's just wahh, wahh, wahh..."when is he coming back?"
"How am I going to get all of this done?", Yadda, Yadda, Yadda.

Well to all of you married women out there who simply fall apart at the seams when your husbands are gone, I say this: WELCOME TO MY WORLD!

I don't have the luxury of having a husband help me with raising my three children. I never have. I've had to do EVERYTHING by myself. Yeah, they "visit" with their dad, but "visiting" with someone is not the same as "living" with that person.

No...they LIVE with me. I handle their day to day affairs. BY MYSELF!

And I don't crawl up in a corner and turn to mush when there's laundry to be done, meals to cook, children to transport back & forth, etc, etc.

And OH...did I mention the fact that I have a FULL TIME JOB in addition to being a full-time mom?!?

Yes, I do all of the above AND go to work so that I can support my family so that you ,and you, and you...don't have to. I've never accepted "assistance" and pray that I never have to. I don't believe that it is YOUR job to take care of MY kids so that I can sit on the couch all day and watch talk shows.

I digress.

The bottom line is this ladies...the next time you married women with children and crying and whining and whimpering about how hard it is doing everything by yourself...try walking in my shoes. Unlike you...eventually you get to take your shoes off. I have to wear MY shoes 24/7, 365 days a year (366 in Leap Year).

So to ALL of the single mothers out there who are doin' the dag-gone thing BY YOURSELVES...I salute you.

Yes, single mothers raise children who make the Honor Roll. I am that mother.
Yes, single mothers raise children who are outstanding citizens in their communities. I am that mother.
Yes, single mothers raise their children in church where they learn about the goodness of God. I am that mother.
Yes, single mothers wish that they weren't on this journey alone, but you can't make a person do what they don't want to do. I am that mother.
Yes, single mothers raise children who do not end up in jail. I am that mother.
Yes, single mothers raise children who go to college. I am that mother.

Is the job of motherhood difficult for a married woman whose husband is away for a while? Of course it is. But the job of motherhood for a woman who has no husband to help her, today, tomorrow, or ever, is exponentially more difficult.

Let the DIALOGUE begin! What is YOUR definition of a "Supermom"?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

When "Hurt People" hurt people, nobody heals.

Today, I'm frustrated. I've had enough. Absolutely, positively ENOUGH!

I just don't understand how and why people can be so mean. And what disgusts me more is that the people I'm writing about are Christians. They should know better.

I mean really, where is the light of Christ that others are supposed to see in these people? I'll tell you where it is...it's buried under all of their hurtful deeds. And Jesus, I assure you, is not pleased.

Sometimes I wonder if Jesus ever looks at God and says, "Really? You sent me down to die for THOSE people? REALLY?"

Although I completely realize that I am far from perfect, I do try to live my life in a way that will never have Jesus saying that He regrets dying for me. No...I never want Jesus to say that about ME.

But for some people I know, who profess to be Christians, hold Bible study in their homes, etc, etc...all the while, they are cutting others down with their words and actions...I JUST DON'T GET IT!!!

And it hurts. It hurts me to see the hurt that these people are causing to others. And every time the hurt seems to be healing, these people come in and scrape the wound all over again so that the wound remains fresh. Why?

Where is the love that Jesus commanded us to show toward one another? In these, so-called Christians...I just don't see it. It used to be there. How do I know, because I used to worship with them. But a strong wind has blown in and an change has surely come. And now, I can hardly stomach being around them.

Have these people hurt me? Directly...no. Indirectly...yes. They've hurt someone I love dearly, and because of that, yes, they've hurt me too.

So what do I do when "hurt people" choose to hurt people...for me...I do all that know to do...I PRAY, and I give these hurtful people to God. You see, I can't change them, but God can. And in that, I have comfort, peace, reassurance. In that, I know that everything WILL be allright.

Let the DIALOGUE begin! What do YOU do when people hurt you, or those you love? Do you retaliate...in word, or in action? Do you let time pass, and hope that the person/people will get some sense?

Talk to me!

Til next time...