SIX-WORD MEMOIRS

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

Attributed to Ernest Hemmingway
How To Write Short (p. 113)  by Roy Peter Clark
Little Brown and Company  2013

Clark writes that most assume the baby died. I certainly did. But I also thought it a wonderful creation--powerful in its brevity.

However, Clark suggests that the baby could have born without feet or with feet too big for the shoes. Are there other possibilities?

How about you? If you wrote a 6-word memoir, what might it say? Give it a try. Post it on facebook. (Clark suggests getting in the mood with Sixwordmemoirs.com; I'll check later. Till then . . .)

Eats, breathes, and loves words.

CRAVES WAVES.

Your Turn,

Lonnie

i before e

except after c

weird?

Roy Peter Clark

THAT IDIOT!

"Last week I was driving my kids to school. My nine-year-old son asked me a good one. "Dad," he said, " why do you talk to the other drivers? You know they can't hear you."

Kyle Idleman

the end of me  p.72

David C Cook  2015

As For Me

I have to brag on my husband. He used to talk to them all . . . as though drivers knew him personally and were trying to MAKE HIS DAY!

No more. 

However . . .  I picked up his habit and am, now, in recovery myself. 

Seriously, Ray is amazing! What he determines, he carries out.

EverGrowing,

Lonnie

MONEY OR TIME

"Most of us agree that money can't make us happy, but we might like to have more so we can be sure."

David McCasland
Our Daily Bread   Vo. 63  #1



As For Me

As I look around me, it often feels like the choice is simple (though by no means easy):  You have time. Or you have money. Which would you choose?

That being said, I am all too aware of those with neither. They work multiple jobs just to pay the bills.  If this is not you, please take a moment for gratitude.

Enjoying A Dark Roast, Worship Music, and Sunshine,
(Tiny stop on the way to crazy . . . )

Lonnie

TOLIET TEXTERS

"The New York Times is on the case with a think piece called "The Rise of The Toilet Texter." . . . The article claims that one in four Americans will not go to the bathroom without their phones.

" . . . by the way if you're talking to me during that time, I really don't want to know."

Kyle Idleman
the end of me  p.125
David C. Cook    2015

As For Me

I'm wearing a smile this week and hoping it's contagious. Can you see God sitting in Heaven just shaking His head in wonder?

I'm with Kyle---please don't tell me.

And if you were hoping for some spiritual inspiration, this is for you:

"A cheerful heart is good medicine . . ."
Proverbs 17:22  NLT

Smiling,
Lonnie

(NewYork Times  Jan. 30, 2012)

TP-ing

" . . . you don't TP someone who's not on your radar screen. In a strange sort of way it's a twisted compliment. It's a variation of flirting. It's affection that requires cleanup."

Terry Esau
Surprise Me  p. 105
NavPress   2005


As For Me

Who knew? But as I think about the ONE time I and a friend TP-ed a house, it probably was a form of flirting. Cops drove by while we were 'in-process.' I was so shy and so scared! ONE TPT (TP-Time) was enough for me.

Before the TP-ing, Terry Esau's daughters had initiated a catsup and mustard fight. I HATE mustard, and rightfully so. Apparently I sucked my thumb beyond the acceptable age, so Dad dipped it in a jar of smelly yellow and told me "to suck it now."

Nada! Not Now. Not Ever.

Mission accomplished!

Almost Gagging,
Lonnie

WEIGH ADVICE--WEIGH THE CONSEQUENCES

"If you will be a servant to this people today, and serve them and grant them their petition, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever."

1 Kings 12:7 New American Standard


Rehoboam, now reigning king, asked advice from the elders, and from his peers.

His people asked him to lighten the unreasonable labor and heavy taxes Rehboam's father had kept them under.

The advice of the elders (above) seemed appropriate and wise, then, and seems appropriate for businesses, today.

 Treat your employees with, respect, kindness, and a listening ear. They will work well for you and be loyal to you. Employers, themselves benefit.

I take pride in my brother, who trained people in displaying fresh produce. He didn't tell them what to do and then leave them to do it. He worked along side them. I've heard, recently, of someone else who does likewise. I see all kinds of advantages in that. How about you? Give yourself a moment to brainstorm.
              1.
              2.
              3.

Rehoboam did NOT heed the advice of his elders. Instead, he listened to his peers and  determined to make life even more miserable for Israel.

They rebelled.

Is it possible that, sometimes, rebellion isn't so much disrespect as it is self-preservation?

Just Thinking,
Lonnie

CALL ME BEAUTIFUL

"The good news is that God makes the broken whole. He takes the overlooked, the undervalued, the left out, the written off, the damaged and destroyed, and then he does what only he can do. 

"GOD LOVES TO MAKE THE BROKEN BEAUTIFUL."

(emphasis ALL MINE)


Kyle Idleman
The End Of Me   p. 37
David C. Cook   2015


As For Me

I qualify and I'm just pretty excited!

Don't have to be the prettiest, smartest, richest, funniest, or most popular. I'm candidate for beautiful.

Singing Halleluah,
Lonnie

BETTER NOT TO ATTEND?

"If we do not leave church with a strengthened faith, then there is no use attending. Without faith, it is impossible to please God and pleasing Him is the aim of all that we do in His name. "

Jim Cymbala
Breakthrough Prayer  p. 187
Zondervan   2003

As For Me

I have to tell you, there are times when I'd love to take those words and run with them. I've read enough of Cymbala, though, that I'm sure he wasn't giving me permission. If he would, Hebrews 10 would not:

"not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another--all the more as you see the Day approaching."

Perhaps if I leave church, without my faith being strengthened, it's because I didn't stop to talk with people afterwards.

Shy and introverted . . . maybe. But still needing my faith strengthened.
Lonnie

GOOD DAYS--BAD DAYS

" . . . Because even our best days will be someone else's worse days. So celebrate, yes, and have a party, but don't forget those who are still lamenting. After all, you were the one lamenting not so long ago."

Esther Fleece
No More Faking Fine   p. 210
Zondervan 2017


As For Me

I guess I was just taken by the contrast.

I hope the next time our car is running well, our cupboards are full, and our children and grandchildren are laughing--that I remember others who would pay money (if they had it) for a hug, an attentive ear, and a homemade banana bread.

Permission For Both---For Celebration. For Tears.

Because we've all had, and will have, our days of each,
Lonnie

I WAS ONLY KIDDING . . . NOT!

"When we make a sarcastic comment, we can say something without  really saying it. It might appear that we are jesting, but in reality we're making a point loud and clear. . . .we paint another in a bad light: they are habitually late, incessantly sloppy, or not the sharpest crayon in the box. We rattle off a comment that highlights their weakness in neon color, garners a chuckle from those within earshot, and paints us oh-so-witty." (emphasis mine)

Karen Ehman
Zip It   p.140
Zondervan 2017

As For Me

Not!

That's not joking. That's being a coward! Being afraid of the reaction--tears, anger, defense. It's manipulative. Or, at least that's how I see it.

My husband and I agreed, early in our marriage, to refrain from teasing in that way. We agreed that there is usually an element of truth intentionally hidden in the comment--something that gnaws at the recipient, making them wonder what part is true and what part isn't. It brings doubt and fragility to a relationship. It trashes self-esteem and security.

Ray and I slip up now and then and remind each other of our agreement.

Better to talk outright--to pray for direction or patience.

Sarcasm often becomes SCARcasm.

EverLearning and ReLearning,
Lonnie

"Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows is a man who deceives his neighbor and says, 'I was only joking!'"

Proverbs 26:18-19

NOT FORGOTTEN

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

"Though she may forget, I wii not forget you!"

Isaiah 49:15  NIV


The difference is subtle, but there nonetheless.

God can do ANYTHING, including "forget;" but He wills . . . He chooses not to.

He loves you!!

Caught Blessed and Smiling,
Lonnie


"See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands . . . "  
verse 16

SOCCER

"When a player dribbling the ball downfield is pressured by the defense, his  teammate behind him yells, "support," and the guy dribbling drops the ball back to him. They maintain control. On a good soccer team, the player with the ball never tries to do more than he should or could. And the teammates are always looking out for him--recognizing trouble and letting him know about it . . . Soccer is about the greater good, not the individual performance.

"Wouldn't it be cool if churches were more like soccer teams?"

Terry Esau
Surprise Me   p.22
NavPress  2005

Indeed! Wouldn't it be cool?!

Can you imagine struggling through some ugly and seemingly endless trial and hearing a voice behind you, "Support!"

I'm not a sports watcher or participater, but I might have to give soccer a try--watching that is. They don't allow canes or walkers on the field.

God, Surprise Me,
Lonnie