I want a Volvo.
Now, in case you're wondering, I'm not a car person. I am currently driving a Buick that I've had for about 10 years. It has over 185,000 miles on it. It still looks fine, and is very comfortable. I'm hoping it lasts for 3 more years. But, I've wanted a Volvo for a long time. The problem is that I want an old, square, red Volvo. My sister calls it my hippie car.
My nephew works for a Volvo dealer. When I asked him to hook me up, he said that he couldn't possibly let me drive that kind of car! I guess what was really, really cool to my generation is not cool to his at all. However, not ever having been very cool in the first place, I still want my square, red Volvo.
What I really wish is that Volvo would re-introduce the old model...sort of like Volkswagon did the Bug. Anyone out there have any pull with Volvo?
Showing posts with label My Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Life. Show all posts
Friday, August 7, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
It's Not All About Us!
We need to think generationally.
I like to listen to Joseph Prince. He is a pastor who leads a church in Singapore and is passionate in his effort to tell people about the love and mercy of God...he calls it the message of radical grace. I recently heard him say that when Abraham tithed...Levi (born 4 generations later) tithed within him (Hebrews 7:9-10). Deutoronomy 7:9 talks about God blessing 1000 generations after those who love and walk with Him. What we do has an effect not only on us today (for good or bad), but for the generations after us. It made me think about a story I heard about Jonathan Edwards.
Jonathan Edwards was a theologian/missionary living in the 1700's. He had eleven children and reportedly tried to spend an hour each evening with them, teaching them about God and his word. Here's how his actions affected his generations:
Of his 1,394 descendants ( this was reported in the year 1900), 1,295 were college graduates, 13 were presidents of colleges, 65 were professors in colleges, 60 were doctors, 100 (or more) were clergy, missionaries or professors at theological seminaries, 75 were officers in the army and navy, 60 were prominent authors and writers by whom 135 books were written, and many important peridocals were edited, 100 or more were lawyers and professors of law, 30 were judges, 80 held public office (one vice-president of the US), 3 were US senators, several were govenors, members of Congress, and mayors of cities, many were managers of railroads, banks and insurance companies. (Popenoe and Johsnson, NY, 1920, pp.161-162)
How are my choices affecting my generations?
I like to listen to Joseph Prince. He is a pastor who leads a church in Singapore and is passionate in his effort to tell people about the love and mercy of God...he calls it the message of radical grace. I recently heard him say that when Abraham tithed...Levi (born 4 generations later) tithed within him (Hebrews 7:9-10). Deutoronomy 7:9 talks about God blessing 1000 generations after those who love and walk with Him. What we do has an effect not only on us today (for good or bad), but for the generations after us. It made me think about a story I heard about Jonathan Edwards.
Jonathan Edwards was a theologian/missionary living in the 1700's. He had eleven children and reportedly tried to spend an hour each evening with them, teaching them about God and his word. Here's how his actions affected his generations:
Of his 1,394 descendants ( this was reported in the year 1900), 1,295 were college graduates, 13 were presidents of colleges, 65 were professors in colleges, 60 were doctors, 100 (or more) were clergy, missionaries or professors at theological seminaries, 75 were officers in the army and navy, 60 were prominent authors and writers by whom 135 books were written, and many important peridocals were edited, 100 or more were lawyers and professors of law, 30 were judges, 80 held public office (one vice-president of the US), 3 were US senators, several were govenors, members of Congress, and mayors of cities, many were managers of railroads, banks and insurance companies. (Popenoe and Johsnson, NY, 1920, pp.161-162)
How are my choices affecting my generations?
Sunday, June 7, 2009
I Have An Interview Tomorrow...
I really hate those words! If I had a nickel for every interview I've had in the last 5 years...I'd have 40 cents. Well maybe that's not that impressive on paper, but trust me, interviews in my world are pretty expensive (emotionally speaking), serious stuff. (I actually got three of those jobs but only took one of them).
I spent most of the afternoon and evening on Friday finding the perfect skirt, which is nearly impossible...too short, too long, too sexy, too frumpy. I must be a weird size because I always have to do something to the skirt to make it fit. Luckily, my grandmother taught me to sew so I can do that. This one needed hemming and two new darts.
I never wear closed-toe shoes and pantyhose...but I will be tomorrow, and why is it that I will definitely shave my legs in the morning? Do I think that's going to make a difference in the outcome?
Today I practiced answering questions that I assume I will be asked, I've also spent a lot of time praying that I will not embarrass myself. That may sound weird to you, but it's what I've done and I know that my God always intervenes when I ask.
Whatever the outcome, there's something inside of me that keeps making me "put myself out there". It's not that I like torture, at least I don't think that's it..it's just that I want to achieve everything I can in my career before I retire.
I'll let you know how all of this goes...
I spent most of the afternoon and evening on Friday finding the perfect skirt, which is nearly impossible...too short, too long, too sexy, too frumpy. I must be a weird size because I always have to do something to the skirt to make it fit. Luckily, my grandmother taught me to sew so I can do that. This one needed hemming and two new darts.
I never wear closed-toe shoes and pantyhose...but I will be tomorrow, and why is it that I will definitely shave my legs in the morning? Do I think that's going to make a difference in the outcome?
Today I practiced answering questions that I assume I will be asked, I've also spent a lot of time praying that I will not embarrass myself. That may sound weird to you, but it's what I've done and I know that my God always intervenes when I ask.
Whatever the outcome, there's something inside of me that keeps making me "put myself out there". It's not that I like torture, at least I don't think that's it..it's just that I want to achieve everything I can in my career before I retire.
I'll let you know how all of this goes...
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
I'm Not A Sissy, I'm a Texas Woman...
I grew up in East Texas so I learned from my environment to be an East Texas kind of woman. An ET woman can give you a hard time about whatever you need to be given a hard time about, but usually won't, unless it's about her children. She will just complain to her friends so that it gets back to you. ET women know how to cook, my goodness! They can whip up a complete meal in a black iron skillet that smells so good it will make the whole neighborhood hungry. ET women generally sew, craft, and love to shop, shop, shop! ET women would NEVER, I mean NEVER go out of the house with their hair undone, without makeup, and in unmatched clothes. ET women do womanly work around the house...they don't generally take out the trash. Many of them still iron. My best friend even mentioned her ironing on FB recently. ET women are used to being somewhat taken care of by ET men. Okay..I know I've ticked off a few ET women out there...but remember, I'm one of you, so I know what goes on.. (and of course, I'm speaking, or rather writing, in generalizations).
When I moved to Central Texas at the age of 42, it was culture shock for me in so many ways. The shock that really sent me into a tailspin was that Central Texas women were not like ET women! What?? Weren't all women sort of alike?? I just wondered where the women were who were like me. I couldn't seem to find a woman who cooked, I never met anyone in my town with a sewing machine (I have a very nice sewing machine, AND an embroidery machine, and my sister's serger in my sewing room...YES, ET women have rooms that designated for SEWING!) These women liked to hunt! I met more women who had killed a deer than women who had ever crocheted anything. They drank beer for goodness sake! One of them I met did drywall, and laid floors..on the side. But, I instantly liked and admired these women. They were smart and tough, and still managed to have a feminine side.
Okay, I had to get to the bottom of this. I began asking questions. CT women thought I was just as odd as I thought they were. They really didn't know that ET women were different from them, either. They seemed shocked at my discovery, but they understood when I explained. Then, the answer came. I read True Women by Janice Woods Windle, and figured it all out. The book is about the women who helped settle Texas. You've been to CT and you know it's rocky, hilly, hot, cactus-y, snakey, and full of scorpions. You know there isn't a flat piece of land with enough dirt to plant a seed, much less a tree, and if you manage to plant something and it comes up, a deer eats it. It's tough here, and I cannot even imagine being one of those women who fought Indians. But, these women raised families here, grew and hunted their food, and settled before air-conditioning existed. They had better be tough, and they had better not expect to have someone take care of them. My CT sisters were the offspring of these women! They learned how to be women from their environment just like I had.
My grandmother, Nancy Milam, was a CT woman in the 1800's, so I did have some of that CT blood in my veins. Maybe, I thought, that's why I admired these women so much. I decided wanted to find a way to enjoy both parts of my female heritage..after all, I still love being an ET woman, but I wanted to "get in touch" with my CT woman side. So, I just started trying it out. I helped my husband lay floors, I found ways to plant in spite of the deer. I occasionally go to the store (in the country, not it town...haven't arrived there yet) without makeup. I starting hauling rocks and my husband bought me my own girl-sized pick-axe so that I could actually dig a hole..you dig a little, pick out rocks, dig a little, etc. What I learned is that it's not either or. We can do it all, all of us, and now I think of myself as an ETCT woman. Women are a beautiful creation of God, and I for one love being a Texas woman from whichever location.
By the way, my boss is an ET woman, and she recently bought an embroidery machine.....
When I moved to Central Texas at the age of 42, it was culture shock for me in so many ways. The shock that really sent me into a tailspin was that Central Texas women were not like ET women! What?? Weren't all women sort of alike?? I just wondered where the women were who were like me. I couldn't seem to find a woman who cooked, I never met anyone in my town with a sewing machine (I have a very nice sewing machine, AND an embroidery machine, and my sister's serger in my sewing room...YES, ET women have rooms that designated for SEWING!) These women liked to hunt! I met more women who had killed a deer than women who had ever crocheted anything. They drank beer for goodness sake! One of them I met did drywall, and laid floors..on the side. But, I instantly liked and admired these women. They were smart and tough, and still managed to have a feminine side.
Okay, I had to get to the bottom of this. I began asking questions. CT women thought I was just as odd as I thought they were. They really didn't know that ET women were different from them, either. They seemed shocked at my discovery, but they understood when I explained. Then, the answer came. I read True Women by Janice Woods Windle, and figured it all out. The book is about the women who helped settle Texas. You've been to CT and you know it's rocky, hilly, hot, cactus-y, snakey, and full of scorpions. You know there isn't a flat piece of land with enough dirt to plant a seed, much less a tree, and if you manage to plant something and it comes up, a deer eats it. It's tough here, and I cannot even imagine being one of those women who fought Indians. But, these women raised families here, grew and hunted their food, and settled before air-conditioning existed. They had better be tough, and they had better not expect to have someone take care of them. My CT sisters were the offspring of these women! They learned how to be women from their environment just like I had.
My grandmother, Nancy Milam, was a CT woman in the 1800's, so I did have some of that CT blood in my veins. Maybe, I thought, that's why I admired these women so much. I decided wanted to find a way to enjoy both parts of my female heritage..after all, I still love being an ET woman, but I wanted to "get in touch" with my CT woman side. So, I just started trying it out. I helped my husband lay floors, I found ways to plant in spite of the deer. I occasionally go to the store (in the country, not it town...haven't arrived there yet) without makeup. I starting hauling rocks and my husband bought me my own girl-sized pick-axe so that I could actually dig a hole..you dig a little, pick out rocks, dig a little, etc. What I learned is that it's not either or. We can do it all, all of us, and now I think of myself as an ETCT woman. Women are a beautiful creation of God, and I for one love being a Texas woman from whichever location.
By the way, my boss is an ET woman, and she recently bought an embroidery machine.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)