JWalking: The Blog

H ere's Edie 's thought question for the week. (If they weren't so good, we all wouldn't be out there thinking about them) What quality of Christ's do you most see in yourself? Tell us about it. First of all, what I love about this question is that it forces you to actually say that you and Christ share something in common. We were made in their (the Trinity's) image, so there is something that God placed in each of us that resembles His Son more than other somethings. It's not the gifts. Not the talents. A quality....a characteristic. Not that we consider equality with Christ in this area something to be grasped, to paraphrase Philippians 2. I've decided that the quality of Christ's that I most see in myself is a quiet arrival. When He came into the world, the fanfare and hubbub were all around Him, but He was quiet (and, if you believe the carol, "no crying He makes" either!). He had that incident in which he "ran away" fro...

G et the phone call. Make some plans. Mom puts money In my hands. Doorbell rings. Then I see them. They'll take me To the museum. After a while, We get there. Open the doors. Pay the fare. Look at exhibits Before our show. After some looks, Downstairs we go. We decide To buy a snack. I choose popcorn Off the rack. Go in the theater. Watch the movie. It's about a river. It really moved me. We look around A little more. See the planets And dinosaurs. Lunch was later Than we thought. Water and a bagel Was what I bought. We'll be at another place Before our eyes. It's another museum But it's kid-sized! There's a tummy, a tree house And a cafe, too. A garden with a river. (Goodbye, shoe!) After a while, We go home. And say "Goodbye!" To the IMAX dome.

G racious Bonita, at Streams of Living Water , writes a beautiful blog. She also provides inspiration for those of us who want to improve our home decor without waiting for "improvements" in our home decor budgets. Read any of her "domestically challenged homemaker" blogs, and leave with a smile and a great idea or two. The room I have the greatest difficulty with making interesting is, believe it or not, our playroom! For whatever reason, my girls would rather take their toys any place in the house but the playroom. Needless to say, this drives hubby and me a little crazy. What to do to make this a place in which the girls long to spend time? Daughter #1 is becoming infamous for taking the Pottery Barn Teen Catalog out of the mail stack and whisking it away to the family room (not the playroom) to browse. I, too, use the catalog for inspiration in coming up with gifts for the actual teens in the family (my nieces and soon-to-be-too nephew, with many more to come!)...

B logger Edie has been much on my friends' blogs these days. I was excited about her blog, which invites readers to answer a posed question on Fridays. I wanted to join in, too. (Nice to meet you, Edie!) What's your passion or passions? What has God given you a heart for or about? How is it revealed in your life? This may sound like a strange answer, but I think God has given me a heart for always seeing the "big picture" and for encouraging others to see it as well. As I writer, I do love details. I love interesting facts, remembered trivia, crazy references, definitions, origins and parallels. Analogies? I sometimes go so deep into one that my readers can't get themselves back to the surface. (Not good writing!!) It's the rich details that make writing exciting, funny, poignant and personal. But, without having a big picture in mind, the details are as snowflakes on the ground--pretty in and of themselves, but without structure, as they lie waiting to me...

"By the time I went to grab it, there was nothing," said Tyson Gay of the USA Men's 4x100 relay team. "Some people say that when it hits the hand, you should have it. I'm a veteran. I've run all kinds of relays. I've never dropped a baton in my life. It's kind of upsetting. I can't believe it." S ometimes, practice doesn't make perfect. Both the USA Men's and Women's 4x100 relay teams experienced the same kind of loss--not qualifying by means of dropping the baton. We all "drop the ball" now and again. Unfortunately, when you're in the Olympic spotlight, dropping the ball, or baton, is--as Tyson Gay said--unbelievable. I can't imagine how many times these teams must have run and passed, listened for footsteps, felt the "touch" of the one behind. When you are working on such a tight and fast team, you develop the rhythms and you know the timings. To see two teams falter in such similar ways--sadly, looki...

" T he Human Drama of Athletic Competition...." E ven though the line was written for the introduction to ABC's Wide World of Sports , it perfectly applies to the Olympics. In terms of pure athletics, there is no better venue than the Olympics. The media are doing what they can to influence their own version of drama upon the athletes. But, if you take out all the "up close and personals," you're left with some really exciting moments of athleticism and that intangible yet palpable feeling that you and the athlete are somehow as one. The first Olympics I remember watching was the '72 Munich games. Mark Spitz, not Michael Phelps, was the household word. I remember Franz Klammer's unbelievably wild downhill run that brought him gold in '76 for what was then East Germany. And, Dorothy Hamill, of course, who we saw at a skating exhibition two years earlier when we visited Colorado Springs. Five-time individual gold medalist, 1980s speed skater Eric ...

Where are the kids? D#1's Poem of Lament (The "Cul-De-Sac Kids" of Fallston were not home to play this summer) W e have a meeting Every day. That's the time When we like to play. From 6 p.m. To 9 o'clock, We call the kids From around the block. We play kickball, tag and Scooter all night. We might even battle A big water fight. Throw in some other games And you will soon see, Every night Is full of glee. But when my cousins and I Stepped out on the lawn, We found out that the kids Were, surprisingly...GONE! Maybe some kids Went on a vacation, Packed up their bags And traveled across the nation. Maybe they just Did the whole thing without us. But I couldn't imagine Why they would doubt us. Guess that we'll play By ourselves--what a sorrow! But, hey, who knows What could happen tomorrow. * * * Good to be home.... And I told D#1 she could have a regular day on the blog. ...

( Another poem from D#1, inspired by our visit to the Science Museum of Boston ) S imple machines and simulators, Butterflies and alligators, The human body from foot to face, Communication and outer space, Illusions and, according to lists, There's some stuff that we have missed. In 16 seconds, someone dies, Here's a blood scale--give it a try. Baseball, light and even mirrors, And yet there's more... Wish you were here. * * * We're on the road again today. The J (Jersey) Girls are headed for other points south. The sun is shining, the temperatures are cool. Enjoying the last few days of vacation "on the road." (And SO pleased to have a back-up blogger in residence! Royalties payable in ice cream....)

A picture postcard from Boston, where we visited the Museum of Science, got rained on and had a yummy Cafe Mocha from Starbucks in the car! Enjoying our time in Boxborough and will be moving to southern locations later today. Thinking of you! The J Girls

( A poem by Daughter #1 ) D on't have a home 'Til nine days ends, Play with relatives And make new friends. McDonald's for lunch Every day, Fries and a shake And a yogurt parfait In the car For a million hours, No time to stop And smell the flowers. The "Travel Life" Can be fun, But we'll be glad When the trip is done. (Not our Swedish wagon, but it might as well be. See? No "Check break light." Hubby fixed it! Now, we have to figure out what's wrong with our GPS. Let's just say we had a few "adventures" out there on the road. But, all in all, so far, so fun!)

W hile driving home from the library, when great blogs happen (?), the amber alert said "Ozone alert....Telework." Telework? I'd heard of telecommuting, but not teleworking. OK, so, to somewhat comply with our amber alert sponsors, I'll be 'teleworking' for the next week or so--you know, working across state lines. The J Girls call it the "Cousins Tour," but, it's really all about mom's 'work.' (Right......) Where's that blog about interpretations vs. view?....

N ext to every good pastor, in my experience, is a faithful and lovely pastor's wife. As sad as it is to see my pastor leave my church, it's just as sad to see his wife go, too. Many a story about Diane came through her husband's sermons. But, I can't remember a time when she wasn't spoken of in the highest regard. (Although there were 13 years before I arrived at the church when there may have been a slip!) Diane is a Welcomer! She has a genuine smile and an outgoing yet totally comforting presence. She never overwhelms with a too-hardy handshake or a too-pushy join-our-church-today hello. She definitely finds and reads your eyes, and gives you a tap or a hug depending on how she sees things in you. I was very fortunate to have had Diane join the church's handbell choir, which I direct. She played with us for our first two seasons before opting to spend more time with her husband. (Who could blame her! "What? He's home!?") Diane was one of THE ...

S ummer is a crazy time with kids. We've blogged and E-mailed about it since June! Although we've had some crazy (i.e., frustrating) times here, there have been some special times, too. We knew Daughter #2 was going to summer school a few days a week. Daughter #1 was going to day camp. But, this week, Daughter #1 was home while Daughter #2 was at school. A few hours of just-the-two-of-us. So we christened the start of Mom and Daughter #1 dates with the Shoney's Breakfast Buffet. Daughter #1 has had many a Daddy/Daughter date, to the point where they have seen the inside of a restaurant way more than my husband and I have alone together in the past nine years. It's rare that Daughter #1 and I have time alone, much less an outing at a restaurant. So, over powdered donuts and bacon (her) and grits with sausage gravy (definitely not her), we played the American Girl version of "Would You Rather...."--which is far nicer than the typical rising 4th grade version...