Thoughts on graduation… help me out

Here’s a podcast on graduation… this is really more for me than it is you. Many blessings:

 

Proverbs 3:5-6 English Standard Version (ESV)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.

Opposite Attract

There is an old saying that opposites attract.

Often it is used in the awkwardly romantic, Paula Abdul-esque way to describe how couples…er, compliment one another.

  • Mrs. Always Late marries Mr. Electronic Organizer
  • Mr. Arm Chair Quarterback/Wanna-Be Gladiator marries Mrs. Doily Crocheter
  • Mrs. Wakes With The Dawn marries Mr. Up By The Crack Of Noon

I guess it does happen from time to time, but honestly, I think the more common occurrence is in the attraction of opposites that truly are opposite. They don’t complement each other, in fact, they don’t even like each other. But, despite their disdain for one another they end up being just like the other.

  • Republicans and Democrats
  • Your NFL team and my NFL team

Just plug in any rivalry and you’ll see what I’m talking about. When opposites attract it usually is not a marriage of convenience, or even compatibility. Yet, it’s often amazing just how similar those opposites can be.

Continue reading “Opposite Attract”

Hello there myself, glad to meet me

When was your last ‘Aha” moment?

I love those, and… I hate those. When you have a real-deal “Aha” moment it can be incredible relief, even victory. Or, quite often it can plummet you into a spiral of depressive humility because of personal stupidity.

Guess it just depends on the particular “Aha” you are experiencing.

I love seeing these moments in my kids. I still remember watching ‘just past toddler’ Noah trying to pound a screw into some scrap wood with a hammer. When I introduced him to a screwdriver… I was a genius.

The Prodigal Son story is one of those stories that tends to lead people to their own “Aha” moment, generation after generation. Relationships restored, addictions admitted, hypocrisy revealed… the list goes on and on.

Ironically, it’s an “Aha” moment within the story itself that is at the heart of Jesus’ teaching. It’s not that the incredible love of the Father, or the overwhelming stupidity of the younger son, or the amazing hope of redemption take a back seat to anything else. But, they all pivot on the gut-wrenching “Aha” moment of this wayward, reckless kid!

Continue reading “Hello there myself, glad to meet me”

I’m All Out Of Love

For those who are not geographically aware of this bloggers location, the following statement won’t mean much:

It’s State Fair time!

Living three blocks from the fairgrounds is a good or bad thing depending upon what you think of the fair.

The Addis from high atop the Weenie Wheel.
The Addis from high atop the Weenie Wheel.

I get most of my fair jollies just sitting on the front porch. Watching the parade of happy people walking to the fair early in the day as they park somewhere beyond my house.

And, then, I am blessed with the occasional treasure of seeing the exact same people coming back later that night… transformed.

Tired, broke, sun burnt or freezing (it’s Kansas, you know) and almost always “less happy.”

This people watching is a little thing I have learned to enjoy in the last seven years of living here in Hutch. I do it every year as I listen to the concerts from the comfort of my porch swing.

You know what else doesn’t change?

The Fair!

That’s amazing to me.

  • They set up the rides in the exact same place that they did in previous years (although some of the rides change).
  • They do the concerts in the exact same venues as every year gone by (although some of the artists change).
  • They have the same vendors in the same booths making the same claims as they did in every year past (although some of the prices change).

And, honestly, I love it. Continue reading “I’m All Out Of Love”