Allow me to offer my humble opinion of the commercial holiday season. First, Thanksgiving, the season of food; second, Christmas, the season of presents; and third, Shopping, the season of spending. We are quickly passing through Thanksgiving into the season of Shopping.
My brother, Brad, relates this story:
“I usually don't listen to the ads about Black Friday sales and what not. I was driving to Jacksboro one Friday after Thanksgiving and I had realized that I had to pick up a few things, but didn't really worry about it as I knew there was a Wal-Mart at Weatherford. I pulled into the parking lot and there was a line of about 600 people standing at one door. I panicked and wondered what happened that caused all these people to stand in the parking lot at 4:30 am with the temperature in the 40's. I go to the other set of doors and they are blocked off, but some guy is coming out so I sneak in before they close. I'm told 3 times by 3 different employees that it isn't "time" yet and I can't get the item (don't remember what it is). I politely tell all three that I'm just going to Sporting Goods, and not even interested in whatever it is/was that they are selling."
"I get to sporting goods to buy my ammo and rope, and find out that the great powers that be decided that Sporting Goods was the BEST place to stash this widget as it is usually the slowest department in the store on the day after Thanksgiving (wonder why that is). I have to weave through a line of portable barriers just to get into the department and then try and find someone that can unlock the ammo case so I can get my bullets. I’m still fending off rabid store employees that are sure that I'm just trying to get ahead of the mob in the parking lot. I assure them that I'm trying my best to get out of the store before the mob even enters so please unlock the case and GIVE ME MY AMMO. These days, it would have probably sounded like a threat, but then, as I was driving on to Jacksboro with my rope and box of ammo, it got real funny... Wonder why I don't shop on Friday after Thanksgiving?????”
I usually do not partake of the shopping frenzy on Friday either, but I like to keep a score card of who’s opening when. One of the malls in our area is opening at midnight on Thursday night, one chain store opens at 3, another at 4 and then the majority start at 5. I actually talked to a store employee who likes working the early a.m. shift. She gets her time in and then she’s free for the rest of the day. Not being a morning person, this does not appeal to me in the least. However, I may make the journey to the mall at midnight Thursday night to see what kind of people show up to shop. See, to me that’s not early, that’s prime time.
‘Tis the season to go shopping, fa la la la la, la la ka ching$
Happy Thankshoppingmas!
Stevie
Copyright 2009 Stevie Stevens, Fort Worth, TX All rights reserved.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Thankful
Today my blog is a cliché. At this time of the year, people always throw around the “thankful” word, so I’m going to as well. And today I have a totally different take on this whole premise.
Since I started this posting earlier in the week, my mom was rushed to the hospital with an irregular heartbeat, atrial flutter, and has been in for two days now. The good news is she’s stable and experiencing no symptoms, just being a little cranky about wanting to go home. Her life will change only to add some more exercise and religiously take some prescriptions, but other than that she’s good to go.
And there’s a lot of other bad stuff out there, job loss, about 600 people at my company lost their jobs in the last week, companies going away, people losing homes and savings, a vicious cycle. satan is dancing at all the negativity that is rampant today.
I turned to Webster’s online dictionary for a definition of the word. It’s an adjective and it means: Conscious of benefit received; or expressive of thanks; or well pleased. For my words today, I choose conscious of benefit received. As I stated, my company is undergoing massive layoffs and I know that I am not immune and satan is using that, preying on my mind, infusing my day with worry and hopelessness. Never mind that I have been through it before and survived, even bettered my situation, no, he wants me to focus on it, dwell on it, let it fester until it infects my whole being.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 (NIV)
I serve a God that loves me and wants only the best for me and I choose to be conscious of the benefits received from him. Oh yes, we thank him for the food, thank him for the day but those are generic requests, check them off the prayer list before we move to the I wants, or I needs.
I’m talking about being fully conscious of the benefits we have around us EVERY DAY. Elemental things, my eyes open, so I’m alive. I’m breathing in and out so my lungs and heart are functioning, I can get up so my arms and legs work. That’s a little elemental, you say? Maybe, but I know people who don’t have those luxuries. Whose very existence depends on machines to breathe for them, who’ve lost a limb, who have pacemakers to keep their heart going or now like my mom, dependent on drugs to minimize problems. Not so elemental now, is it?
My eyes open and I see a ceiling means I’m not sleeping in a park or on a street, that I’m comfortable and, today, warm. I brush my teeth so I have running water and an indoor bathroom. I open the closet to decide what I want to wear, what I WANT to wear, means I have more than one set of clothes and more than one pair of shoes.
Hungry? Step into the kitchen and open the refrigerator, which is cold. That means I have electricity. Inside is a variety of food, not just rice, corn, oatmeal or gruel. Thirsty? There’s milk, water, sodas, lemonade, hot chocolate, coffee, even tea. These are extravagances that third world countries can only dream about as they struggle for safe water. Thankful? Conscious of the benefit? Not completely, but I’m getting there.
I got in my car and drove to work today. I didn’t have to wait for a bus or a train, didn’t have to walk or ride a bicycle. At my leisure I got to drive where I wanted, when I wanted and how I wanted. Didn’t have to hitch a horse or oxen up to a wagon, or put a saddle on anything, I drove. Thankful.
My mom is in a great hospital with knowledgeable doctors and caring nurses. At least for now she has top notch medical care available to her. Not sure what the government will do with that in the future, but thankful? You bet.
And at the top of my list after my family is friends. What fun would life be if I didn’t have friends? We don’t always see eye to eye, and sometimes agree to disagree, but I can pick up the phone and call any of them day or night and they will be there to help in whatever way is needed. “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12. (NIV) “I thank my God every time I remember you.” Phillippians 1:3 (NIV). I do not thank God for my family and friends often enough. He gave them to me and they are each precious gifts that I don’t unwrap and revel in nearly enough. For that I’m sorry.
Conscious benefit. Keenly aware of what is given to me daily, hourly, minute by minute. I used to walk around the park in my neighborhood and would list things out and thank God for them. Three times around the park was a little over a mile and I never ran out of things for which to thank him. I never ran out of things for which to be thankful.
My loving and faithful Father, walks beside me in the tough times and the happy times, has given me so much. Conscious benefit.
Yes, I’m thankful for the earthly things God has let me use. But over and above all that, I’m thankful for my brother, Jesus Christ. I always knew of the sacrifice he made, that he bled and died on the cross, but until The Passion of the Christ movie came out, I was not aware of the level of brutality he suffered to save me. Yes, this was a Hollywood depiction of the event, and how accurate it was I cannot vouch for, but it opened my eyes. His blood was shed before he was put on the cross. Conscious benefit of what he did. He prayed so hard he sweated blood. Thankful seems so inadequate, but it’s all I’ve got.
Today I’m thankful that my niece is a paramedic and knew the questions to ask my mom’s doctors. I’m glad she brought my great nephew to see his great grandmother yesterday. I’m thankful that my mom was around yesterday. It certainly could have gone many other ways.
A conscious benefit of thankful. Peace, joy, love, whatever is good, I choose to think on these things today.
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Birthday, Mom!
Stevie
copyright 2009 by Stevie Stevens, Fort Worth Tx. All rights reserved.
Since I started this posting earlier in the week, my mom was rushed to the hospital with an irregular heartbeat, atrial flutter, and has been in for two days now. The good news is she’s stable and experiencing no symptoms, just being a little cranky about wanting to go home. Her life will change only to add some more exercise and religiously take some prescriptions, but other than that she’s good to go.
And there’s a lot of other bad stuff out there, job loss, about 600 people at my company lost their jobs in the last week, companies going away, people losing homes and savings, a vicious cycle. satan is dancing at all the negativity that is rampant today.
I turned to Webster’s online dictionary for a definition of the word. It’s an adjective and it means: Conscious of benefit received; or expressive of thanks; or well pleased. For my words today, I choose conscious of benefit received. As I stated, my company is undergoing massive layoffs and I know that I am not immune and satan is using that, preying on my mind, infusing my day with worry and hopelessness. Never mind that I have been through it before and survived, even bettered my situation, no, he wants me to focus on it, dwell on it, let it fester until it infects my whole being.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 (NIV)
I serve a God that loves me and wants only the best for me and I choose to be conscious of the benefits received from him. Oh yes, we thank him for the food, thank him for the day but those are generic requests, check them off the prayer list before we move to the I wants, or I needs.
I’m talking about being fully conscious of the benefits we have around us EVERY DAY. Elemental things, my eyes open, so I’m alive. I’m breathing in and out so my lungs and heart are functioning, I can get up so my arms and legs work. That’s a little elemental, you say? Maybe, but I know people who don’t have those luxuries. Whose very existence depends on machines to breathe for them, who’ve lost a limb, who have pacemakers to keep their heart going or now like my mom, dependent on drugs to minimize problems. Not so elemental now, is it?
My eyes open and I see a ceiling means I’m not sleeping in a park or on a street, that I’m comfortable and, today, warm. I brush my teeth so I have running water and an indoor bathroom. I open the closet to decide what I want to wear, what I WANT to wear, means I have more than one set of clothes and more than one pair of shoes.
Hungry? Step into the kitchen and open the refrigerator, which is cold. That means I have electricity. Inside is a variety of food, not just rice, corn, oatmeal or gruel. Thirsty? There’s milk, water, sodas, lemonade, hot chocolate, coffee, even tea. These are extravagances that third world countries can only dream about as they struggle for safe water. Thankful? Conscious of the benefit? Not completely, but I’m getting there.
I got in my car and drove to work today. I didn’t have to wait for a bus or a train, didn’t have to walk or ride a bicycle. At my leisure I got to drive where I wanted, when I wanted and how I wanted. Didn’t have to hitch a horse or oxen up to a wagon, or put a saddle on anything, I drove. Thankful.
My mom is in a great hospital with knowledgeable doctors and caring nurses. At least for now she has top notch medical care available to her. Not sure what the government will do with that in the future, but thankful? You bet.
And at the top of my list after my family is friends. What fun would life be if I didn’t have friends? We don’t always see eye to eye, and sometimes agree to disagree, but I can pick up the phone and call any of them day or night and they will be there to help in whatever way is needed. “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12. (NIV) “I thank my God every time I remember you.” Phillippians 1:3 (NIV). I do not thank God for my family and friends often enough. He gave them to me and they are each precious gifts that I don’t unwrap and revel in nearly enough. For that I’m sorry.
Conscious benefit. Keenly aware of what is given to me daily, hourly, minute by minute. I used to walk around the park in my neighborhood and would list things out and thank God for them. Three times around the park was a little over a mile and I never ran out of things for which to thank him. I never ran out of things for which to be thankful.
My loving and faithful Father, walks beside me in the tough times and the happy times, has given me so much. Conscious benefit.
Yes, I’m thankful for the earthly things God has let me use. But over and above all that, I’m thankful for my brother, Jesus Christ. I always knew of the sacrifice he made, that he bled and died on the cross, but until The Passion of the Christ movie came out, I was not aware of the level of brutality he suffered to save me. Yes, this was a Hollywood depiction of the event, and how accurate it was I cannot vouch for, but it opened my eyes. His blood was shed before he was put on the cross. Conscious benefit of what he did. He prayed so hard he sweated blood. Thankful seems so inadequate, but it’s all I’ve got.
Today I’m thankful that my niece is a paramedic and knew the questions to ask my mom’s doctors. I’m glad she brought my great nephew to see his great grandmother yesterday. I’m thankful that my mom was around yesterday. It certainly could have gone many other ways.
A conscious benefit of thankful. Peace, joy, love, whatever is good, I choose to think on these things today.
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Birthday, Mom!
Stevie
copyright 2009 by Stevie Stevens, Fort Worth Tx. All rights reserved.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Fort Hood Tragedy
Satan is never more pervasive than when he uses someone to take innocent lives. Whether it’s airplanes crashing into skyscrapers or gunmen shooting in schools or malls, satan is there, hoping for the complete breakdown of society and people turning on each other.
The shootings at Fort Hood are a little more chilling. We’re certainly aware of all the security measures undertaken since 9/11 against outer forces. How do we deal with an enemy that comes from within. This shooter was an insider, a trained professional, yet, for reasons we don’t fully know yet, he took the lives of innocents.
We can marshal forces to battle outer enemies. We can lock doors, not walk alone after dark, go with that sixth sense that warns us about impending danger. We can recognize when people and things are attacking us. We can fight them. It’s when things start from within, diseases of the body like cancer or diabetes, or even more insipid, diseases of the spirit such as envy, hatred or pride. Do you, as I, find it more difficult to battle these forces? How do we do battle against ourselves? What I do know is that satan is behind both attacks. He wants tragedies like Fort Hood to foster hatred in our souls, to make us lash out about things we have no control over.
His goal is to turn us against each other, to isolate ourselves, to each ensure our own safety and well being. What he doesn’t count on and never sees coming is the outpouring of love and compassion that surrounds the victims and their families and friends, that insulates them from the evil that he meant to harm them. Compassion not just from friends but from complete strangers from the four corners of our nation. The isolation he meant to keep them from others turns instead to a warm insulation from his evil intents. My God is so good!
”So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:6.
My heart breaks for the people affected by this horrible thing. But for those who believe in Jesus, this is not the end, these loved ones have gone before, way too early and too abruptly, but they are eagerly waiting for the day when they will be reunited with the ones left behind yesterday. And what a glorious day that will be. While it does not make the present any easier to bear, it has eternal ramifications.
Esther 9:22 says “their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration.”
Let us lift up the victims, family and friends as they struggle through this difficult time.
God bless,
Stevie
Copyright Stevie Stevens 2009 Fort Worth, TX
The shootings at Fort Hood are a little more chilling. We’re certainly aware of all the security measures undertaken since 9/11 against outer forces. How do we deal with an enemy that comes from within. This shooter was an insider, a trained professional, yet, for reasons we don’t fully know yet, he took the lives of innocents.
We can marshal forces to battle outer enemies. We can lock doors, not walk alone after dark, go with that sixth sense that warns us about impending danger. We can recognize when people and things are attacking us. We can fight them. It’s when things start from within, diseases of the body like cancer or diabetes, or even more insipid, diseases of the spirit such as envy, hatred or pride. Do you, as I, find it more difficult to battle these forces? How do we do battle against ourselves? What I do know is that satan is behind both attacks. He wants tragedies like Fort Hood to foster hatred in our souls, to make us lash out about things we have no control over.
His goal is to turn us against each other, to isolate ourselves, to each ensure our own safety and well being. What he doesn’t count on and never sees coming is the outpouring of love and compassion that surrounds the victims and their families and friends, that insulates them from the evil that he meant to harm them. Compassion not just from friends but from complete strangers from the four corners of our nation. The isolation he meant to keep them from others turns instead to a warm insulation from his evil intents. My God is so good!
”So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:6.
My heart breaks for the people affected by this horrible thing. But for those who believe in Jesus, this is not the end, these loved ones have gone before, way too early and too abruptly, but they are eagerly waiting for the day when they will be reunited with the ones left behind yesterday. And what a glorious day that will be. While it does not make the present any easier to bear, it has eternal ramifications.
Esther 9:22 says “their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration.”
Let us lift up the victims, family and friends as they struggle through this difficult time.
God bless,
Stevie
Copyright Stevie Stevens 2009 Fort Worth, TX
Monday, November 2, 2009
Day Five of a Four Day Chicken
In the days before the plethora of fast food restaurants and ready to cook meals, my mom cooked enough food at one time for an army so she wouldn’t have to cook the rest of the week. She called them “Planned Overs.” Usually Sunday was the first and best meal as the food was fresh and plentiful. We had chicken probably twice a month as it was cheaper than anything else. We would get home from church and dig into a baked chicken and vegetables. The rest of the week, she would get creative with the leftovers.
Here’s the demise of the chicken:
Sunday would be baked chicken and vegetables. After lunch she would de-bone the chicken, which is a disgustingly greasy thing to do, and prepare it for the many other ways she would feed it us. In a pot cooking on the stove were the unidentifiable parts of the chicken, you know, the stuff you don’t eat, the neck, the liver and gizzard, the beak, the feathers and the feet. Now I’m kidding about the liver and gizzard!
She would boil that until it would fall off whatever it was attached to. She would then place it in an airtight plastic bowl that she would then burp and put it in the fridge. “I have a plan” she would say. Okay. Plan whatever you want, I wasn’t eating anything that came out of THAT pot.
Monday came and we would have baked chicken and vegetables again. But this time the vegetables were a little skimpy so she would say “whatever we don’t eat I’m going to throw away”. So she was feeding us garbage-in-waiting? That’s really appetizing. Here, let’s just eat it standing over the trash can, saves time and the use of plates, we’ll just pass the bowl around!
Tuesday, she poured bar-b-q sauce over it, warmed it on the stove and fried potatoes. I can see it warming in the iron skillet, little chunks with sauce on them. It was all good, because there was still no sign of the stuff from the pot.
Wednesday would come and so would the bar-b-q chicken, only this time it was on sandwiches. We are now on day four of this wonderful chicken. There can’t be anything left of it, so surely tomorrow will bring a different menu.
Dad came in from work on day five and peered into the bubbling pan on the stove. “What’s for supper?” He asked.
“Chicken and dumplings.” Mom replied.
“Really? Great. They’re my favorite.” In anticipation he sat down at the table with a grin on his face. Seeing Dad at the table, my brother and I joined him, expecting any minute that the food would arrive. It didn’t. In fact, Mom was rather surprised when she turned around and found us all at the table looking at her.
Always gracious she said, “What are you all doing at the table? Most days I can’t get you here when the food is hot and today you’re sitting waiting and it’s not ready yet.”
“Brad sat down, so I sat down.” Doing what any older sister does, I blamed the youngest.
“When I saw Dad at the table, I thought it was time to eat.” That’s good, little brother, blame the big guy.
“It’s chicken and dumplings.” Was all Dad said. Mom breathed heavy and set her face in that Mom way and turned back to the stove, virtually ignoring us.
Finally, after eons of minutes, she sat heaping bowls in front of us and sat down herself. My dad said the blessing and dug in. You could see how excited he was as he dug into the bowl. After a couple of bites, he started looking around in his bowl.
“You did say chicken and dumplings, didn’t you?” He asked my mom.
“Yes.”
He took another bite and looked at his bowl, then my bowl, then my brother’s bowl.
“There’s chicken in here, right?”
“Uh huh.”
He took another bite and then looked in the pan. “Did you pass the chicken over the pan?”
Another heavy breath. “No, I didn’t pass the chicken over the pan.” As if to prove a point, she took a spoonful out of her bowl, “See, there’s chicken in there.”
“Oh, you got it all?” He was being very serious.
Mom’s face set. “I did not get it all. There’s chicken in there, I ought to know. It’s what was left from Sunday.” Heavy breath.
Dad looked at her. “The and dumplings are really good.”
“What do you mean the “and dumplings?”
“Well, I can’t say much for the chicken part of chicken and dumplings, but the and dumplings are outstanding.”
I don’t think he ever saw the pan coming.
Stevie
Copyright Stevie Stevens 2009 Fort Worth, TX
No fathers were harmed in the writing of this blog.
Here’s the demise of the chicken:
Sunday would be baked chicken and vegetables. After lunch she would de-bone the chicken, which is a disgustingly greasy thing to do, and prepare it for the many other ways she would feed it us. In a pot cooking on the stove were the unidentifiable parts of the chicken, you know, the stuff you don’t eat, the neck, the liver and gizzard, the beak, the feathers and the feet. Now I’m kidding about the liver and gizzard!
She would boil that until it would fall off whatever it was attached to. She would then place it in an airtight plastic bowl that she would then burp and put it in the fridge. “I have a plan” she would say. Okay. Plan whatever you want, I wasn’t eating anything that came out of THAT pot.
Monday came and we would have baked chicken and vegetables again. But this time the vegetables were a little skimpy so she would say “whatever we don’t eat I’m going to throw away”. So she was feeding us garbage-in-waiting? That’s really appetizing. Here, let’s just eat it standing over the trash can, saves time and the use of plates, we’ll just pass the bowl around!
Tuesday, she poured bar-b-q sauce over it, warmed it on the stove and fried potatoes. I can see it warming in the iron skillet, little chunks with sauce on them. It was all good, because there was still no sign of the stuff from the pot.
Wednesday would come and so would the bar-b-q chicken, only this time it was on sandwiches. We are now on day four of this wonderful chicken. There can’t be anything left of it, so surely tomorrow will bring a different menu.
Dad came in from work on day five and peered into the bubbling pan on the stove. “What’s for supper?” He asked.
“Chicken and dumplings.” Mom replied.
“Really? Great. They’re my favorite.” In anticipation he sat down at the table with a grin on his face. Seeing Dad at the table, my brother and I joined him, expecting any minute that the food would arrive. It didn’t. In fact, Mom was rather surprised when she turned around and found us all at the table looking at her.
Always gracious she said, “What are you all doing at the table? Most days I can’t get you here when the food is hot and today you’re sitting waiting and it’s not ready yet.”
“Brad sat down, so I sat down.” Doing what any older sister does, I blamed the youngest.
“When I saw Dad at the table, I thought it was time to eat.” That’s good, little brother, blame the big guy.
“It’s chicken and dumplings.” Was all Dad said. Mom breathed heavy and set her face in that Mom way and turned back to the stove, virtually ignoring us.
Finally, after eons of minutes, she sat heaping bowls in front of us and sat down herself. My dad said the blessing and dug in. You could see how excited he was as he dug into the bowl. After a couple of bites, he started looking around in his bowl.
“You did say chicken and dumplings, didn’t you?” He asked my mom.
“Yes.”
He took another bite and looked at his bowl, then my bowl, then my brother’s bowl.
“There’s chicken in here, right?”
“Uh huh.”
He took another bite and then looked in the pan. “Did you pass the chicken over the pan?”
Another heavy breath. “No, I didn’t pass the chicken over the pan.” As if to prove a point, she took a spoonful out of her bowl, “See, there’s chicken in there.”
“Oh, you got it all?” He was being very serious.
Mom’s face set. “I did not get it all. There’s chicken in there, I ought to know. It’s what was left from Sunday.” Heavy breath.
Dad looked at her. “The and dumplings are really good.”
“What do you mean the “and dumplings?”
“Well, I can’t say much for the chicken part of chicken and dumplings, but the and dumplings are outstanding.”
I don’t think he ever saw the pan coming.
Stevie
Copyright Stevie Stevens 2009 Fort Worth, TX
No fathers were harmed in the writing of this blog.
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