Untouched

What happens without touch? I heard on the radio this week that each person should get at least 4 hugs a day in order to just "survive", let alone thrive. Wow, I'm seriously in a deficit in that area. I should have claimed bankruptcy years ago. I imagine others would find themselves in the same predicament. No bonds are formed, no touch exists regularly, people reach out sporadically through technology, but it's not the same. Now when we hear the word technology we think of progress, moving forward in our day to day lives. But is moving forward really a good thing? Who actually defines what moving forward means? It seems that the more things become technologically advanced, the less people in general are needed, which in turn results in less interaction. You cannot reach a sales representative on the phone. People are eliminated from the retail equation because of self-checkouts. We can check in at a computer at the airport. Will the next step be for a robot to actually bring me my food at a restaurant? So not only in the work place where we conduct business, but in our social lives as well, it seems, there will be a lack of personal contact. No personal letters received. No phone calls made. We only text, send email, post "statuses". Short blips of info spewed out to a person, friends and acquaintances, the world. We are too busy going here, doing this, doing that, being "busy". What are we producing that on our death bed we can hold on to? Communication by text, facebook, computer...such plastic communication. Plastic is cold and hard and has no character. Gone are the days of the personal touch. We are raising the first generation of kids who may never receive a letter in the mail and who may never read a book "from cover to cover" because they have the Kindle. Wow, that truly scares me. What will this full technological age bring besides lots of those who are untouched?

Are You on Life Support

Even though this expression has a negative connotation, shouldn't we all be on life support? Not physically but emotionally and spiritually? No doubt about it, we must definitely depend on our Father in heaven, but we also are in dire need of the support from our brothers and sisters in Christ. Spiritual siblings, whose hands are willing to hold us and hearts willing to love us and help us carry our burdens. We should not derive our significance and security from our family and friends, but their encouragement is irreplaceable.

Encouragement from others is like experiencing an emotional face lift. It's a jumpstart for the heart! It's the gift of courage and it doesn't cost anything for us to give and the rewards we reap are priceless. Building each other up is so important, because the way we treat each other has a domino effect on all those around us. And if we all focused on having servant hearts and hands, we would be one step closer to having the Lords Kingdom on earth.

We were not put on this earth to go it alone or endeavor for selfish desires alone. If one were to analogize and those that know me well, know I love a good analogy, here's how one might describe a person with no "life support". If a car does not have any gas, it goes nowhere. You might be able to tow it, role it or push it down a hill, but eventually it will stop going forward without the energy source it so desperately needs. I believe that's what encouragement is for humans. We may get towed along by lifes current or pushed down by rough times or drug along by the pressures of life, but we will not go very far without love in action on our behalf. We all know how expensive gas has become, but yet I don't believe one can even put a price on encouragement or love in action toward others.

Price of a gallon of gas $2.50
Price of the car we are riding in $15,000
The ones that are in the car with us, choosing to join us on the ride through lifes journey...PRICELESS

Faith is...

Waiting on God, when the only thing you desire is to get involved and "take care of it" by yourself.

Resting in God, when everything in you wants to take control and keep saying or doing until things are better or how you think they should be.

Seeking the Lord in prayer, instead of seeking out friends to complain to or spending time alone worrying.

Leaving it in His, more than capable, hands instead of analyzing the problem to death in your mind to try and fix it.

Worshipping and trusting in our Lord and Saviour.

Life

Life is a chance to stretch your wings. Sometimes stretching hurts, but as our wing span grows it helps us to cover others around us and strengthens our muscles in order to lift us to greater heights.

Guardian Angel

Behold, an angel, arms open wide.
The protective shield, she shall provide.

She guards you through the night; or wherever you may roam.
Sometimes she must go to great lengths, so you will arrive safely at home.

Foolish, though we might be, she's with us all the while;
Sheltering us from the harms of the world, mile after mile, after mile

Next time you breathe a sigh of relief, and say, "That was a close call";
look over your shoulder and smile. It was the angel that broke your fall.

-Traci J Davies

Drivers beware!

Turn signals I've learned throughout my driving "career" are seemingly quite the enigma. At least they must be because so many seem to have no clue how to use them, unless people are just passively rebelling against this safety mechanism.

It seems some drivers will come to almost a complete stop in the roadway and you think "hmmm, there must be a gaggle of geese crossing the road that I cannot see or a small child is playing jacks in the road. But, no, they just decided not to use one of the most important pieces of equipment on their motor vehicle.

If you'll bear with me I'll share a few more examples of this bad habit:

One of the most irritating of habits to me is the person who vears into the turn lane and THEN decides to flip his or her signal as they sit in the TURN lane. REALLY? I had no idea you were going to turn. Why waste the light bulb life if that is how you are going to use it.

Then there is the person who changes lanes without a turn signal on the freeway. Or they flip the signal but all you get is one blink which could be a trick of the eye or a break light.

The ever popular (I've been guilty a couple times due to blasting music in my car) having the blinker on for miles and miles and miles is good for a laugh. It's especially bad when they've had it on and then they turn the other direction and yet it stays on because they don't use their blinker.

Finally, there is the person who uses the turn signal but doesn't ease into the center turn lane or does but only partially. Just so you know, your whole car will fit. And for those who ease into the turn lane all to easily, the turn lane is not an extra traffic lane for a driver to fly down for 1/2 a mile. It's a lane to assist with turning into a parking lot or onto a street without causing the flow of traffic on the street to stop. This can be very dangerous if someone else needs to turn in the opposite direction or in the same direction, a rear or head on collision could be caused.

Now, with this recap, lets be careful out there!!!!

Doesn't that warp??

Ok, I live in a townhome and my garage door has always sounded awful and over the past year or so it's gotten worse and it shakes and thuds and now won't go up or down half the time. It's crazy. So while I'm in the process of trying to save my garage door, my father tells me this door is made of compressed wood. Then I find this certificate adhered to the bottom of the door. It says in so many words that there is a one year limited warranty and this door is made of "compressed wood". I don't know, maybe I'm loopy, but it seems to me that you really wouldn't want something made of compressed wood that would be subject to the "elements" or any type of moisture. Can we say cheap? Wow!! I can hear practically every garage door in my neighborhood go up and down. When was the last time you saw a compressed wood privacy fence??? You haven't!! Because compressed wood subject to the weather is ridiculous! All for companies to save a buck...