Remotely Speaking

 
You can see the look on 15 month old Ella's face when she spotted the remote, and now it is hers. And that look says " Don't come a step closer, it's mine now!" Even as a baby, she knew a good thing when she saw it. Anne Marie couldn't quite get the hang of pronouncing the name, thus it was the MOROTE. Why am focusing on the remote control today? Because Eugene J. Polley just died earlier this month at 96 years of age. A moment of silence if you please. Mr. Polley was the inventor of the T.V. remote control. Many of you are too young to remember that we used to have to actually get up to turn a dial when we wanted the channel changed. And while we were there, we usually had to adjust the horizontal hold and fine tuning as well. Mr. Polley was an engineer with Zenith and in 1950 they released the first remote which was attached to the set by a cord. We've come a long way since then, and maybe not all for the best. In an interview, Mr. Polley once referenced to the fact of us becoming fat and flabby because of remotes. Perhaps it has made us lazy, all settled snugly on the couch with a snack, not having to get up till we have to go to the bathroom, but what a way to go! R.I.P, Eugene J. Polley

“Some people dig a fork into the pie
but are too lazy to raise it to their mouth.”

Proverbs 19

Brick By Brick

Continuing on from yesterday's wall post, here is the rest of the story. Not only did they make the wall, but they made a community garden! They surrounded it with large bricks and the kids got to paint what they wanted on the bricks! The brick bordered garden sits right in front of the wall. And there is a swing set there, too, for the kids to play on. Now these kids who live in the drabbest and poorest section of town can swing and play while they look at their own works of art displayed proudly, and their garden, which gives them something to look forward to. As Martha Stewart would say, it's a good thing.

“God is building a home. He's using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he's using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together.”

Ephesians 2

The Wall Of Hope

Yesterday I showed you a sad wall, today I will show you a happy one. This colorful wall was built in one of our poorest sections of town. The disadvantaged children living there don't have as much hope as some others, but this wall is giving them that. The local elementary school and a local college got together and painted this wall. It is something the children can be proud of, something they made themselves. And knowing you made something good can do wonders for your confidence. This wall is every bit as healing as yesterday's was, but in a different way. For the people of yesterday's wall, there was no hope. For the people of this wall, there is. If you were painting such a wall, what image would you put on it? But the wall is only part of the story, I will show you the rest on my next post.

“God brings poverty and God brings wealth; he lowers, he also lifts up. He puts poor people on their feet again; he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, Restoring dignity and respect to their lives— a place in the sun! For the very structures of earth are God's; he has laid out his operations on a firm foundation.”

1 Samuel

The Wall That Heals

Do you think a wall can heal?  This one claims it can, in a way. I did not know till I went and saw it with my own eyes. It's called "The Wall That Heals" and it is a half scale model of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The thought is that many people cannot get to the original wall, so the wall will come to them. It was created in 1996 and has more than 58,000 names on it. So far this wall has traveled to more than 300 cities, plus Ireland and Canada. I thought it was very sad, but after all, it was just a wall. I left feeling very different. As I walked up to the wall, I burst into tears. Tears for all the names on the wall, and for the families of the names, tears at seeing the Veterans here, in their uniforms and caps, old now and still remembering, their eyes full of tears. And tears at the touching things left behind and the pictures. I hope it did manage to bring healing to those who needed it so much.

“When you hear of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don't panic. This is routine history, and no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over.”

Mark 13

Red Robin

If you guessed that my pictures yesterday were air vents, then you guessed right! They are at Red Robin, where everything is made to look like fun! Even their Statue Of Liberty: it always holds a burger instead of a torch. This weekend we went to Red Robin, it is one of our favorite places to eat. So here are a few pictures from the past and also recently that I have taken inside. You can't get much more American than this place. Notice my header is the American flag made from baseballs! A very cool thing to look at while we have a lovely banquet. Have you ever been to Red Robin? On my next post I will show you something just as American and sad as this is happy.

"Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I'm about to call each conqueror to dinner. I'm spreading a banquet of Tree-of-Life fruit, a supper plucked from God's orchard."

Rev. 2:7

I will be taking a day off the computer on Memorial Day, hope you have a lovely and meaningful holiday.

Mystery Pictures

Can you guess what these strange things could be?
They're so colorful as you can see.
This guessing is easier than my last.
Now here's my clue: go have a blast!
So take a guess I do implore.
On my next post I'll show you more!

King Size Minis

Can someone please explain this to me? The bag is tiny, so no king size there...and the candy was not big....if the bag was mini, the candy was sure not big...I'm just plain confused, maybe I need some sugar!

Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge: "… Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here…”

Matthew 10