by Sharon O | Aug 25, 2011 | Uncategorized
One night as I was getting ready for bed I kept getting a series of words forming in my head.
When this happens it is best for me to sit down and be quiet and listen.
With pen and paper I wrote it down and wondered what needs to be done with these words.
That night I posted it on facebook as a bit of encouragement and hope.
This is what it said:
We do not wake up without the will of God giving us breath.
We do not go to bed without the touch of God to give us strength to lay down.
We rest in Him.
We move in Him.
We serve others ~ Because of Him.
(I added today)
It would not happen on our own.
He is life and He determines when life ends.
What we do with the life He gives us
Is a direct result of our relationship to Him.
Some will stay secluded in their own lives
others will reach out and give till it is no longer possible to give.
I have pondered this thought for days now.
He gives us breath and He has the power to remove it.
Just like that.
He doesn’t have to explain himself to us for HE is God.
That does not mean we live in fear but it is for us to recognize that
we are not in control of our own destiny.
To ponder means:
to think about, contemplate, consider, review, reflect on, mull over, meditate on, muse on, deliberate about, dwell on, puzzle over and turn over in ones mind.
So in the process of and context of pondering the words I received,
it would mean that I have spent time on them.
Allowing them to roll over and over like laundry in a warm dryer
tumbling and twisting till I finally GET IT.
Often times He pursues me till I do get it.
God is the one who holds the power.
He created life with a word.
He created breath with a word.
He can take it away… with His word too.
He doesn’t have to explain himself to us.
Although if we know the word He often does explain himself.
We just have to be receptive to receive it.
The thing we need to do in all of this is to realize that we are not in control.
We never have been and we never will be.
Kind of a hard fact for those of us who like to be ‘in control.’
If we can grasp… I mean firmly grasp that God is in control and wants the very best for us
then the process was worth it.
Do you get it yet?
by Sharon O | Aug 23, 2011 | Uncategorized
Another funny moment in the lives of the O family.
This story has been on my mind after realizing our grand daughter Faith is heading into junior high.
I am sure I have mentioned she will be in 7th grade.
My mind can’t grasp the idea of her in junior high.
She is tiny in comparison to others her age and she is very beautiful.
I still am in complete shock she is that old already.
I think this grandma will be in denial for a while.
Her mom was just as pretty when she was the same age.
Perfect skin and hair and really not needing additional help when it came to makeup.
Which brings me to todays story:
When my daughter was in junior high either 6th grade or 7th grade not sure of my memory and her age involved.
Her dad and I had made a decision she was not wearing makeup till she was ready as far as ‘we’ were concerned most likely close to ages 13 or 14.
I had come home from work early one day and surprised her by accident.
As a mom this is a wonderful opportunity to really find what is happening with your half grown children.
When they were growing up I often worked on the element of surprise.
For instance if they said “when are you coming home?”
I would say in general, “oh in just a few hours.”
That way there was no opportunity for sneaking or perhaps doing what they were not supposed to do unless one was very wise in hiding or sneaking.
This particular day I had come home early and someone was not so wise because I was not expected to be home yet.
Walking into the front door of the house I noticed make up on my daughters face.
Now you have to picture this because pre-teen girls do not put on makeup the way one should put it on.
The ideal way is to have it on so no one can really tell.
That was not our reality on this day.
I said to her, “Why do you have make up on?”
The reply to me, “I don’t.”
Um… the closer I looked yes there was makeup on her face.
I said again, “Where did you get the make up?”
The reply to me, “What makeup?”
I said to her, “Let’s humor me and go into the bathroom and look into the mirror… perhaps I am wrong. The light is better in there let’s go look together.”
We walked to the bathroom together and I wondered what she was thinking or what she would do once she saw herself in the mirror.
Turning the bathroom light on:
GASP…
SHOCK…
complete disbelief… and horror…came from my daughter.
Really she should have won an award for dramatic interpretation.
The reply again to me as she grasped the truth,
“HOW DID I GET MAKE UP ON MY FACE?”
Now the conversation was moving in a new direction.
I said to her, “You really don’t know where this came from?”
“No honest mom I don’t” was the reply to me.
I calmly walked over to the phone and started to dial.
She followed me into the kitchen asking, “who are you calling?”
I told her I was calling the principle of the school because someone was holding young girls down and putting make up on their faces and the principle needs to catch them as soon as possible since they were forcing young girls against their will.
She immediately said to me, “No you can’t do that.”
My reply to her… “WHY NOT?” as I was beginning to lose my patience.
She immediately did a confession and said her friends put make up on her face and yes she did know who they were.
After a long discussion about lying and also following after others when you know the rules.
The topic was closed and I made it very clear she was in trouble.
She washed her face and we never saw make up on her again.
(At least I never caught it.)
I enjoy it now when she calls me with her three daughters and says to me, “mom I just had a dejavu moment’ and we laugh about the event as she tells me the story.
Mom’s pray for pay back and God has heard my prayers many times.
I love being a grandma…
I just smile and listen and say to myself ‘we have been here before.’
by Sharon O | Aug 20, 2011 | Uncategorized
Our grand daughter Faith showed her rabbit at the county fair.
She looks so tiny.
She was in the intermediate division for the older group of 4-H kids and she is going into seventh grade in just a few weeks.
Grandma is proud.
I wasn’t able to watch her actually show the rabbit, the first time was at 1:00 then they moved it to 3:00 then they moved it to 5:00 because she was in the older class of kids. I had taken a two year old with me and it was a long day for her and her mom was waiting for her baby to get home. So we had to leave before the actual ‘presentation’ but my daughter sent me a picture.
Our Faith Elizabeth ended up in the top 12 for her class.
That is awesome!
She is in the brown shirt between others who are much taller than herself this is her second year of showing rabbits.
Last year her rabbit took best of show. Good Job!
by Sharon O | Aug 17, 2011 | Uncategorized
The last few blogs have been much different than my average way of writing.
Just wanted to share a humorous side of my life and my family often teases me about the ‘incidences’ I have had.
There is one more that took place when my grand daughter Faith was in pre-school.
I pulled out of our road to take her to school and saw a car with flashing lights behind me.
I slowed down then pulled over thinking it was going to go around me and head off to wherever the officer was going. Um… no that did not happen. The officer slowed down and pulled in right behind me.
Faith was upset because we were already a bit late as I usually rush to anywhere I am going and she was anxious to get to school that day.
So the officer got out of his car and came to my window.
The following dialogue took place:
“Do you know why I pulled you over?”
{It always seems a bit odd to me why they ask that question. You know they are not wanting to visit with you}
“Well I am not sure” was my reply.
The officer said, “Did you realize you pulled out in front of me?”
I was thinking to myself, I would never do that on purpose and I didn’t see an officer he must have been hiding somewhere.
At this point in time is where Faith joins in to the discussion.
She said to the officer from the backseat of the car and while sitting in her car seat, “You are making me late for school.”
He said to her, “I need to talk to your mom for a minute then you can go to school.”
I said to him, “I am her grandma and she goes to preschool down the road.”
She said to him again, “I need to go to school.”
I politely answered her in my best grandma voice, “Let’s let the officer talk to us ok?”
She insisted, “Well he is making me late and I don’t want to be late.”
I am squirming in my drivers seat wondering what kind of ticket I might be receiving.
The officer leaned into the window and said, “I will let you go with a warning but next time you need to drive more carefully especially with a grand daughter in the car.”
Handing me my drivers license he walked back to his car and I waited until he drove away.
Faith went to school that day with a big story about how her grandma got stopped by a police officer in uniform and he almost gave her a ticket.
I think it paid that day to have a cute little one with me.
In case you are wondering yes I do look for a hidden police cars anytime I drive.
It is amazing where they find to hide.
Hope you have enjoyed a bit of humor I promise there will be more ‘serious’ writing coming.
This was just a few funny moments from the life and times of this blog writer.
I hope it has helped you to get to know me better.
by Sharon O | Aug 14, 2011 | Uncategorized
The next event that happened with the local police department was just a few weeks after the night incident.
My best friend who had recently gotten married after being widowed for almost seven years, asked me to pick up her mail out of her mail box while they were on a short vacation.
I said, “sure I can do that I have done it before, no problem.”
She just lives about a quarter mile from me and it was easy to drive by quickly and pick her mail up. When they got home I gave it all to them. Easy thing to do for a friend, I thought it was no issue.
Only this time the neighbor… looked through her window and saw me at the mail box taking mail out then driving away.
She immediately wrote down my license plate and yes you guessed it she called the police department and told them I was stealing mail out of her neighbors mail box.
So one more time we get a knock on the front door and two officers were there asking my husband if the white car in our driveway was mine.
My husband said, “yes why are you asking?”
Well they said they received a report of mail theft and had to come over and check it out.
My husband explained that she was my best friend and I was only helping her out.
I could not believe the nosy neighbor actually called the police and they were at my door again in less than a few weeks. I am sure they were really beginning to wonder who Officer O’s mom really was.
Another funny moment in the life and small town of Newberg, Oregon.
