Once Again . . .

Keelee and Rob make me think. (Sometimes Rob is first in that list, but Keelee started it this time.) Keelee called me names yesterday. She called me intense and passionate. Visiting with Rob while delaying our time in bed this morning, he clarified it to be intense and passionate about communication and sharing how I feel.

Everyone, I assume, gets intense and passionate about different things. But clarifying me as intense and passionate about communicating--both listening and verbalizing--helps me see where my talents and possible weak points are. Leadership Education just helps me channel some of that energy, though it also introduces new challenges.

To those of you saying, "DUH!!!!!", I say a humble, "Thank you for being patient with me." Sometimes a new Season and a fresh look at things is always helpful, even if it was always apparent to others outside of my impassioned mind.

To Rob, Keelee and others who have met my intensity with their own I say, "Thank you for being my life lines! You have given my passion needed tempering."

I suppose the best I can do is be watchful of temptation, diligent at developing my talents, and prayerful to be a servant in God's hands. OK, back to work! --If I can. Writing is so rejuvenating for me. Ahhhh get me out of this blog!!!

Tagging: Now That I've Figured It Out :)

Karyn Tagged me first, I think, then Brenda. So here goes:
TV shows I enjoy watching when I have time and would like to chill:
1. Numb3rs (when I can stay awake :)
2. Good Eats
3. Dirty Jobs
4. House Hunters (YES, I know it's staged . . .)
5. AFV

Things that happened yesterday:
1. I ate Little Cesaer's pizza
2. I made a grocery and Costco list
3. I only took one trip to Americopy instead of two.
4. We organized our garage AGAIN, in preparation for listing our home.
5. A good friend called me intense. :)
6. Keelee and I explored the Scottsdale green belt on our bikes.
7. I ate who knows what in the dark at the neighborhood block party. Tasted good, though.

Things I am looking forward to:
1. A bigger home
2. Money to fix up/decorate that home
3. Getting back to the temple now that Merisa is old enough to leave
4. Getting HAPE Together under way
5. Working seriously on food storage
6. An Alaskan cruise
7. Nathan starting cub scouts

Things I love about Fall:
1. Cooler temperatures
2. Outings and pic nics (but fixing them)
3. The kids playing outside
4. The new school year, getting back to a schedule
5. No AC/windows open

People I am tagging:
1. Toni Miranda & family
2. Andee
3. Keelee
4. Ema
5. Anne

My Thoughts on Sam Clemens: A Quick Study

He played hard, fought for every under dog, never stopped dreaming of buried treasure, learned to pilot a steamship from Saint Louis to New Orleans, discovered war is stupid and politicians often more so. Kathryn Lasky‡

Sam Clemens amazes me. At age 4 he showed “no signs of curbing his imagination or losing his fascination with danger.” This led him “to become a truth stretcher, a manipulator of facts, and on occasion an outright liar.” This description is overwhelmingly the opposite of my general nature since, my whole being craves pure truth and clear facts. Fictional stories have never been any sort of remote talent of mine. However, these inclinations are so strong that I suspect self deception, something that on some level is always evident in humanity. Moreover, I’ll admit that occasionally out of shear insanity I’ve been consciously working on the skill of stretching truth and twisting facts with my kids now for almost 11 years. :) But what made Sam Clemens so good at them as a fictional writer?

Necessity is the mother of ‘taking chances.’ Sam Clemens

My own personal dichotomy of loving and twisting truth leads me to ask, “How does one decide what type of chances to take?” Talents and inclinations must play a role. On the other hand, talents must be developed and inclinations brought in line with God in order to produce good fruit. Another interesting dichotomy: one must regularly develop talents and school inclinations so that when a need arises, one can gamble with confidence. . . . ?

Whether or not Sam Clemens nurtured his talents in a way eternally beneficial to himself and others could probably be debated, but no one can doubt that Sam Clemens took some fantastic chances and had a colorful influence as a writer on the world we live in.


So I say, “After all we can do and nothing is left but necessity, why NOT take a chance? Take a chance on following Jesus Christ. Take a chance on the divinity God put within us. Take a chance on Faith in a loving Heavenly Father.”

† An on going study of people using juvenile biography books as I strive to inspire a love of learning in my children.
‡ All references from A Brilliant Streak: The Making of Mark Twain by Kathryn Lasky Harcourt Brace & Company, 1998.

Not Enough

OK, I'm liking the blog thing and one for the family was not enough to meet my needs. I don't intend this to be my journal, but it is about my Journey through the Seasons of life.
~*~Verena