A Higher Standard

Today during an Honor Code Assembly where students were required to sign and acknowledge their acceptance of upholding the school's honor code, the headmaster also asked all of the attendees to recite the Cadet Prayer from West Point.  I find this prayer to be inspiring and a reminder of the sacrifice and the joy these men and women proclaim.  The sacrifice lies not only in their service, but also in the One True God.   

I am so inspired by this prayer I am considering using it in my own home.  I'm sure I will tweak it a bit, but it is nearly flawless for my needs.  If my children come to understand that they must "live above the common level of life" and "knows no fear when truth and right are in jeopardy."  These are basic and foundational truths and I think all of us should hold ourselves to such high standards.  If all of us did, the world would be a very, very different place.  Consider this prayer and how it might change how you live your life.  Have a wonderful Friday and be immensely BLESSED!!

Cadet Prayer from the West Point as shown on the West Point website.  

 

O God, our Father, Thou Searcher of human hearts, help us to draw near to Thee in sincerity and truth. May our religion be filled with gladness and may our worship of Thee be natural.

 

Strengthen and increase our admiration for honest dealing and clean thinking, and suffer not our hatred of hypocrisy and pretence ever to diminish. Encourage us in our endeavor to live above the common level of life. Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole can be won. Endow us with courage that is born of loyalty to all that is noble and worthy, that scorns to compromise with vice and injustice and knows no fear when truth and right are in jeopardy. Guard us against flippancy and irreverence in the sacred things of life. Grant us new ties of friendship and new opportunities of service. Kindle our hearts in fellowship with those of a cheerful countenance, and soften our hearts with sympathy for those who sorrow and suffer. Help us to maintain the honor of the Corps untarnished and unsullied and to show forth in our lives the ideals of West Point in doing our duty to Thee and to our Country. All of which we ask in the name of the Great Friend and Master of all.

 

Amen

Here's Your Map!

Some people excel in map skills and others are not gifted map readers.  In recent years, navigation devices reduce the need for maps and thus reduce the need for great thinking minds in the form of map readers.  I still rely on maps as I loath the navigation devices and dismiss them as being for those who are not gifted in the map sciences.

Maps come in many forms and can be customized to fit your needs and or your event.  They often accompany wedding and birthday invitations with cute borders and on even cuter paper.  If you didn't notice, I am a map lover.

The one place I have yet to find a map is to accompany my life.  How do I get to my next home?  How do I get to my next job?  How do I get to my daughter's boyfriend's house?  You get the picture?  I wish I received maps in the mail weekly to get me to school while avoiding accidents, showing me who I need to know and who needs help.  A map to find my daughter's school shoes would be nice, too.  To know the places, people and things you need to know BEFORE you need to know them; a life map.  Matthew 6:31-34 reminds us not to worry about any of these things and even as specific as eat or drink, but to focus on God.  It also tells us not to worry about tomorrow.  So I guess that idea of a weekly map isn't such a good idea.  God has been faithful even in my trials and I am certain He will be faithful for tomorrow.  Use your maps or your navigation to get you through today and keep your eyes focused on God for tomorrow.  Happy Trails!!

Matthew 6:31-34

New International Version (NIV)

³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Beware Of Dog

One of my favorite signs is the Bridge May Ice sign and it is closely followed by the BEWARE:  Venomous Snakes sign.  Having lived in South Texas a large portion of my life and having experienced an icing bridge I can count on only one hand.  Every time I drive by one of these signs(daily), I giggle.  I'm sure each of us finds odd humor in mundane things, or maybe I'm the only one?

I was giddy when I found the Venomous Snakes sign!  I took a picture immediately upon discovery promising to use it for the blog.  Many people would heed the sign as a true cautionary measure whereas I view it as more of an invitation.  The sign, in my head, reads, "Snake Zoo Ahead!"  or "Welcome to Snake-topia!!"  I know this sounds like a simple judgement problem and I assure you, it is a judgement problem.  I often FREAK OUT when my children ask why instead of immediately obeying me, YET my husband pointed out that I suffer from the same exact problem.  The other day he was exercising and asked me for a water bottle.  I looked at the windowsill and saw a mostly full cold water bottle and asked, "Why?  You have one sitting right there?"  He then preceded to identify my behavior as suspiciously similar to that of the children.  Ugh!  Yeah, ok, FINE!  He is so right.

So when I see a beware of venomous snake sign I should turn and walk the other way, but instead I tromp through the grass in my flip flops like a complete DORK(I'm sure many of you can think of a better word).  I'm a disobedient brat and I deserve whatever snake bite I get if I act so carelessly.    This reminds me of the recent blog I wrote about God's voice and hearing him or outright disobedience toward his direction.  Sometimes we like to test the limits.  Take, for example, the snake handling pastor who used a timber rattlesnake for a ritual in a service.  I don't want to ruin the ending for you, so click on the link.  Signs are often in place to protect us, except for the obviously flawed sign, NO BUNGIE JUMPING OFF OF THE BRIDGE or YEILD (everyone knows that means speed up!).

What are the signs you are ignoring or blatantly disobeying in your life?  Are you drinking too much (water?), using drugs, driving irresponsibly, eating gluttonously, avoiding exercise?  I know I don't exercise enough and I had a serious problem with terrible food choices.  I'm sure there are many more "venomous snakes" in my life.  Do you have any venomous snakes?

Do You Sleep?

If we could all sleep like cats, life would be GRAND!

The first day of school is always exciting.  New clothes, new school supplies, new teachers, and a new year!  Many schools are weeks into the swing and we are just beginning the sleep deprivation and schedule organization.  I'm confident by the end of the week I will be feeling the effects of early mornings and will want to sleep in on Saturday.  Bad idea.  I remember reading somewhere about not wrecking your sleep schedule by changing your sleep routine.

Remember high school and the occasional college weekend when we got to sleep in till noon?  Oh how delicious!  If I slept till noon my kids would destroy the house and eat in parts of the house not allotted for eating.  My husband will have cut the grass, fed all the animals, cleaned stalls and coops, watered all growing things, and burned something; I would be left feeling angry and guilty.  So, I sleep till 8:30 or 9 on the weekends.  This is sleeping late for those of you with children.  Remember the days when we didn't get sleep?

In my house we have good cop and bad cop.  For the record, I am ALWAYS bad cop.  If a child wakes up in the middle of the night they go the long way around the bed to sneak in with Daddy or to tell him about their difficulty sleeping.  If they wake me up, the world might end...THEIR world might end.  The reasons I've stated for midnight wakings(of Mom) are as follows...1) You are dying  2) You are hallucinating which is how you got to my side of the bed or 3)you are dying.  For all other issues, see Dad.  He deals with the throwing up way better than I do and that is one of the reasons for waking Daddy.  If you ask the kids, the reasons to wake Daddy are as follows:  1)  I think my bed is full of frogs  2)  I saw a scorpion(for the record, you can't "see" when you are asleep)  3)  My feet are cold  4) I'm having a bad dream because Chloe let me watch Scooby Doo(that means you sleep with your sister) and my personal favorite, 5)  I want to cuddle.  Clarification, I love you, but 3am cuddles are OUT!!  Sleep is so important for all of us.  In Family Circle October 2012 I read a crazy statistic, 46% of moms says they got 6 hours or less of sleep last night vs 35% of dads.  Unfortunately for my husband, he falls in the 35%.  It also reported that 1 in 8 moms would pay $1000 for a perfect night's sleep!  The reality of the situation is being a mom means you forfeit your rights to EVER have a perfect night's sleep.

We get so busy and fill our kid's lives with so much stuff.  Clearly your child is going to be the next Olympic gymnast and volleyball player so all the time you dedicate driving them from practice to practice and language classes so they can gain early acceptance(Kinder) to an Ivy League school.  The BEST thing you can do for your child is feed them a healthy and well balanced breakfast, send them to school, attend practices and such after you've given them a well balanced snack/dinner, and then bed at a decent hour.  My children still complain about their school bedtime that has changed to 7:30 this year.  Last year it was 7.  Seriously, I need down time, too!!  Don't judge.  Of course, I'm not sure I followed any of this advice today, except the healthy breakfast part.  My daughter had volleyball until 8, the kids ate Whataburger(delicious!) and were in bed by 9.  Tomorrow will not be great for them because of the late bedtime.  I guess I just have to remember that before I discipline them for acting like brats, they went to bed 1.5 hours late.

So here is a recap, Develop a  routine and a good sleep schedule that works for you and your family.  Set rules for when your children can come to your bed and tell them the rules*.  Eat well balanced and healthy foods and an occasional adult beverage(for you, not your child).  Get ready for the best year of your life!!  Go 2012!


*No sense in having rules if they do not know the rules.

What Is Labor Day?

I was completely shocked when my mom told me she did not have Labor Day off.  NO VACATION!!  What?  Are you serious?  What kind of institution doesn't give Labor Day off and certainly there must we a war or something important on this day?  Right?  Well, not really.

There are conflicting stories about the real creator of Labor Day.  Some say it was created by Matthew Maguire, a machinist and others say it was created by Peter McGuire, the general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners.  Either way, it was created to celebrate the working man and create an opportunity for them to be honored.  The first Labor Day was celebrated on September 5, 1882 and it was a great way for all the laborers to rest from the grind of the hard labor conditions.  

So, while I believe a national holiday deserves recognition, I guess it is ok to actually work on Labor Day.  I worked today.  By work, I mean I did all the usual chores plus prepare a special meal for my family and do all the last minute preparations for the first day of school.  Holidays are a reminder to all of us of something or someone important and although you might not get an actual "break," you do want to consider the role of the holiday.

Some people refuse to celebrate holidays because they are so commercialized and it causes an undue amount of pressure to purchase stuff for loved ones.  I'm taking a moment to imagine the card for Labor Day.....yeah, I didn't come up with a good one.  Holidays are meant to serve as reminders for something greater and before you blame me for not buying your loved one a Valentine's Day gift, consider the proper emphasis.  I don't want a holiday to dictate a kind gesture or praise, take every opportunity to write a heartfelt note, send flowers, or even just a phone call(not a text).  

I often feel pressure to buy birthday gifts as they feel forced.  I prefer random anytime gifts that are from the heart.  Gifts aren't always the best gift either, some people prefer quality time.  Personally, I prefer diamonds, but you might prefer quality time.....ok, ok, I DO enjoy quality time, but diamonds are quite nice, too.  As you relax after your long day of no labor, think about the holidays you celebrate and how you can truly make them better.

A Tubing Adventure

Today we experienced a Tubing Extravaganza.  It has been a while since I last went tubing on the river and I recognize there needs to be rules and guidelines for eco-friendly entertainment, but I was not very happy with all of the restrictions.  I was, on the other hand, happy with the amount of wildlife and other goodies I may or may not have brought home.  I've attached a picture of myself collecting some of the goodies I found while tubing...it is a mighty wide river.

We arrive at the landing area and are greeted by two little boys with tiny turtles.  One turtle is the size of my thumb nail and is the tiniest snapping turtle I've ever seen.  The other turtle is a green turtle and is about the size of Brett's palm. The boys give us the tiny turtle and I in turn give it to a park ranger to return it to its natural habitat.  Huge crocodile tears pour down Brett's face as he tries to understand my reasoning.  Notice, we have not even gotten in the water yet!!

We finally make it to the water with our friends, our children, their children and a cooler.  Brett spends the entire ride searching for a turtle to take home.  Thadd spends the entire trip collecting water plant specimen for our fish tank and pond.  Chloe and her friend spend the entire time pawning off their tubes with us and acting like river mermaids and the other four of us TRY and relax.  At one point Brett jumps out of his tube and starts swimming away from us.  Thadd asks where he is going and Brett screams, "YOU ARE NOT THE BOSS OF ME WHEN A BIG FISH IS AROUND!!!"  We looked at each other and start laughing.  Obviously we need to deal with his attitude problem, but that statement pretty much sums up Brett's entire life!!  Nothing is important to him if it doesn't involve fish, turtles, lizards, snakes or frogs.  I recall a particular situation where he went missing from his kindergarten class last year due to a frog necessity.  There may have also been a fire drill during the frog incident, maybe.

Half way through the tubefest we encounter a family who found a baby turtle.  They decided to bequeath the turtle to Brett at the end of the ride.  We arrive at the end of the ride and wait and wait and wait and wait.  I think they got out early and so Brett is again crying like a sissy girl...come to think of it, my daughter never cried like this and actually I'm not sure girls whine as much as boys whine.  Just an observation.  We make it to the car and Brett and I jump in and grab our towels.  I reach for the melted cup  of ice from our trip over two hours earlier.  I gulp down the entire cup.  My husband looks at me and says, "Did you just drink that water?  I put the plants in there!! GROSS!!!!"  I smack my lips and squint my eyes trying to see if I taste plant.  Nope, delicious refreshing water is all I taste!!

We decide to stop for some food at New Braunfels Smokehouse.  I had a delicious Turkey Dijon on wheat sandwich like the ones I used to eat when I was pregnant with Chloe.  It was not as delicious as I remember, but the BBQ sauce was delicious.  I think BBQ sauce is a MUST LIKE requirement for all Texans.  The trip would not be complete without a stop at the outlets.  I made the mistake of visiting the St. John store.  Love everything, but a $325 shirt is not my idea of fun.  We made some quick purchases and headed home.  I'm so glad to finally be home!!

I hope all of you had a great Labor Day Weekend with your families whether you were tubing, beach going, grilling, or just relaxing!!

Don't Rain On My Parade

I am rocking on the porch, a warm breeze pushes the hair out of my face and stirs the wind chime.  The pony is calling me in the distance while the kitten cuddles in my arms. Thadd walks out and joins me commenting on the downpour in the distance.  If it continues traveling west it will land right on our humble farm that could greatly benefit from the moisture.  As we finish discussing our overhead rain predictions Chloe bounces out the back door.  She walks over to the edge of the porch, licks her finger and sticks it in the wind.  "Looks like we aren't getting any rain.  It is moving that way," she states matter-of-factly pointing to the south west.  I convince her to shower and get ready for bed dismissing her claims of south west heading droplets.  About five minutes later the rain is no longer in our path, it is heading to the south west.

The near hit of rain reminds me of the times in life when we are awaiting a "season" change and it looks to be coming down the pike and then it turns to the south west.  Imagine the scene, unemployed for six months and several interviews finds you at your third for one job.  It looks like it might just be the job that changes all of the craziness and debt and desperation in your life.  Left turn, no job, back to the life you are trying so hard to change.  It happens in good times, too.  A couple of blogs back I talked about the recent pregnancy I miscarried.  We are finally at peace with having a baby when our youngest turns seven and then the situation changes, no baby.  Storms change direction.

Take Hurricane/Tropical Storm Issac for example as the original trajectory was not as heavily affected.  Although the storm did devastate parts of a few states, it was not the intensity of early predictions.  Crisis slightly averted, for some.  Storms change direction, sometimes good and sometimes bad, experience the ride but don't let it tear you down.  In the background I can hear Don't Rain on my Parade playing.