hot topic: S. Truett Cathy & Chick-fil-A

The Founder of Check-fil-A died yesterday at the age of 93 and I’m choosing (thanks Robert Bowman for the grammar help!!) to blog on him today since I blogged last week about Joan River’s death.  Please don’t get nervous & think that all of my hot topic blogs are now going to turn into obituaries – not so 🙂

But in all fairness, it seems appropriate to honor a man who achieved many commendable accomplishments. Mr Cathy is probably most well known for being the founder of the fast food chain Chick-fil-A and he also was a man of deep convictions, generosity and noteworthy business acumen.  Here’s a cool quote from Mr Truett,

“Nearly every moment of every day we have the opportunity to give something to someone else – our time, our love, our resources. I have always found more joy in giving when I did not expect anything in return.”

If you’d like to know more about him, there’s plenty of web links to explore, but here’s one for starting:  Truett Cathy 

One of the lessons I learned last week from my Joan Rivers blog is to request any comments to be respectful and not hostile or combative, please and thank you 🙂

With that being said, please be very free to leave your polite feedback and share this blog with your friends 🙂

hot topic: Joan Rivers

Yesterday, Joan Rivers died and this was big news for various circles.  Honestly, I didn’t really know much about Joan Rivers until her death.  Thankfully, my husband knows a little something about everything, so he quickly brought me up to speed.  Having looked through some of her style of comedy, it’s not what appeals to me, except on one very important level.  She maintained an element of truth in her comedy, despite being coarse, biting and even degrading.  While I don’t appreciate humor that degrades others, I do appreciate truth and in that way, I choose to give honor to Joan for this part of how she presented her comedy.

It’s always easy to find bad things about people, but with her passing, let’s find the things that were valuable to honor their memory moreso than maximizing their failures, shortcomings and flaws 🙂

Have an awesome weekend!

hot topic: Robin Williams death

I was really sad to learn about Robin Williams’ death & it’s even more tragic to learn that he committed suicide.  For my generation, he was a very significant person who made many valuable contributions in the entertainment industry and many other areas.  When I learned of his death, I of course thought of all the different roles that he played and only recently learned about his struggle with addiction & depression.

Depression is nasty stuff & we would be wise to be sensitive to people who are struggling in this area.  Cliche’ & quickie one-liners don’t usually help people who are depressed.  The “snap out of” talk, “pick yourself up by your boot straps”, “it’s all in your mind” along with other band-aid phrases can sometimes be nothing more than vaporous cotton candy, frothy & flimsy.  If you know someone who is wrestling with depression, here  are a few helpful tips:

• be gentle & patient
• genuine prayer is always valuable!
• giving them some company can sometimes help

If you’re struggling with depression, here are some things that may help:

• keep some regular routines: prayer, Bible time, church, going to sleep & waking at normal times
• make healthy choices – food, sleep, water, relationships, . . . .
• stay connected – isolation often makes depression worse

Let’s be sure to pray for the family of Robin Williams!

Hot Topic: Israel, Palestine & Hamas

If you’ve been following the news of late, there’s been a very significant increase in the military activity between Israel & Palestine within the last several days.  Israel has mobilized troops and is currently carrying out ground operations into Palestine & Gaza.  There have been very noteworthy increases on both sides of fatalities and loss.  And there are many individuals who support Israel and many individuals who support Palestine.  No matter what “side” is your position, let’s pray for peace in Israel and Palestine.  The loss of lives, injuries and property destruction from this conflict is all extremely high, so let’s be sure to keep this area in our daily prayers!

my dad died a year ago

Tomorrow will mark the 1 year anniversary of my dad’s death & it’s been an interesting journey over the last year with some good & some not so good stuff.  While I have no intention to ignore the “not so good stuff,” I think you’ll find it more helpful & interesting to read of some of the “good stuff” today (maybe I’ll do the “not so good stuff” in a subsequent blog):

• about 2 months ago I had a really vivid dream about my dad & it was extremely comforting.  I dreamt that my dad was hugging me like he did when he was alive & really healthy – super strong & caring
• people have been exceptionally kind, caring, patient and generous with words, time and support
• I find that God the Father seems more real to me now
• I have grown more dependent on God for more things in broader areas of my life – good for an independent soul ,)

 

 

My dad was cool :)

I haven’t talked much about my dad on this blog, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking if him. Of course I thought of him over the Christmas season & at various times with church & family stuff. So here are a few things from my dad that I miss:
*most of all I miss his faith strength – I never knew him to be negative, to give up or lose confidence in God
*his love for people – he genuinely enjoyed people
*good food – especially very good green chili
*strong coffee – he would always say that weak coffee makes you sick 🙂
*encouragement – my dad always told me that I was going to make it

So I miss my dad & I’m extremely grateful that my Heavenly Father is enjoying my dads company 🙂

my dad’s passing & grief

Well, my dad passed away a little over a month ago & it’s been a weird time & kind of like a whirlwind.  Before we had his memorial service, I had a quick trip to Rome with mom & our group trip.  While I totally love Rome, my visit was a little bittersweet, as I recalled some of the times I’d been there with my dad.  After the Rome visit, we had a really amazing memorial service for my dad & we were nothing less than overwhelmed with the support, prayers, kind words & gratitude expressed during this service – completely AMAZING!!

It’s been a few weeks now since the memorial service & while I think that we (mom & I) are generally doing pretty well, there are certainly some moments when it gets difficult and sad for me.  I’m finding that these moments are really unpredictable (watching my daughter play basketball & remembering my dad watch me, driving to church to present a difficult sermon, typing this blog now, . . . .).  With all of that being said, I’m learning to value & appreciate the different ways that God is helping me and that I am not invincible nor impervious.  Jesus carries our griefs and sorrows – we aren’t designed to bear that weight.  So let’s join together & give Jesus our cares, worries, sorrows and griefs because Jesus is the ultimate Hercules 🙂

Since my dad died . . .

My dad passed away almost 3 weeks ago & it’s been an interesting journey. I’m really blown away by how kind & generous people have been in so many different ways. Both my mom & I are deeply touched with the prayers & love that we have received. “Thank you so much” is altogether inadequate. Nevertheless, thank you!!
For my journey, these are a few observations:
*i feel more deeply & it seems like I’m more sensitive
*I’m really appreciating the various people that God brings to listen & be present – these are very tangible expressions of God’s love for me at the present
*patience to walk through each day with its various demands & surprises
*some things that have been helpful: drinking lots of water & taking walks 🙂

Again, thank you more than words can say for the kind words, love & prayers! Our celebration service for dad is this Sun, 11 Nov at 6pm at ORCC if you can join us 🙂

God Helps Us

Today we had the privilege of meeting some really great & totally fun pre-schoolers, as well as some great moms looking after their babies who we are helping. One of the things that I’m wrestling with is the moms that I’m meeting who have lost babies. The majority of the moms whom I’ve met have lost anywhere from 3-10 babies. When I began to discover this, it simply takes my breath away because I can’t imagine how a mom processes such losses. When you meet the majority of these moms, you wouldn’t know that they’ve endured such tragedies. So as we are now taking a bit of a drive, I’m writing this blog & trying to talk w God about this and to let the Trinity help my heart. I will think & pray for a bit now.