An-tic-i-pa-tion!

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His mouth began to open just a little. His hand began to rise, carrying the ice cream cone he was eating on this hot summer day.

Grampa, after Grandma died, would come out from New York State and visit us in Arkansas for about a month. It usually happened in the summer when Mom and Dad’s plans were to go to New York for a visit, so that he could ride back with them,

Grampa was a dear old man. And I loved him very much. But there were times he could just be downright annoying! That was because he liked to tease. I decided in later years, long after he was gone, that he must have done that because he really didn’t know what else to do to interact with his grandkids. They were mostly girls but also some grandsons. Besides he was not a ball-tossing kind of Grampa. He farmed and he watched TV. And teased!

He liked to tease in a variety of ways, but he had his favorites. This was one of them. He would sneak up behind you and *getcha* in the ribs. Now I wasn’t really ticklish. But the suddenness would always make me jump and/or scream. So what does that do? Just encourage him to do it some more!!! Or he’d bump my elbow, always on accident of course, just as I, or anyone was about to put some food in his or her mouth!

It was his little game and way of showing how much he really loved us kids. Well! When I got older I decided that I was going to show him how much I loved him, too. So the game was on. I’d do to him things that he would do to me. But on this day, I got him good!!!

I have no idea where we were all headed. But that doesn't really matter. Mom and Dad were in the front seat of the car. Grampa and I were in the back. I sat behind Dad who was driving, and Grampa sat behind Mom.

He was always ready to eat ice cream, day or night, rain or shine, full or hungry. In later years, sometimes that was the only thing that Mom could get him to eat. He loved his ice cream.

I made a plan and set it into motion. We were all busy licking our cones, lapping up the cool, delicious summer treat. It was get-back time and I was going to score with this one!!!

His hand got a little higher. I knew I had to time it just right. His mouth opened wider. It was like slow motion on TV. The cone was rising through the air.

I watched Grampa out of the corner of my eye as he prepared to take another lick of the luscious cone. I scooted back in my seat to I would have my balance just right and my right arm free to move. His hand was getting still higher yet.

I had to act very innocent as if I was continuing to eat my cone as well. His cone moved closer, and closer, ...and closer. I took another lick of mine.

His mouth was fully open, poised to close down on that delicious cool delight. I shifted. I loosened my arm.

I knew I would have to have my palm facing forward and the back of my hand toward his mouth if this plan was to work. I also had to time it just right!

He was closing in, I could see the look of expectation on his face!

With the snap of a frog's tongue, I shot my arm over! Bull's Eye! The ice cream scoop plowed right into the palm of my hand. His mouth came down on - NOTHING! The look of shock flew across his face!

'What happened to my ice cream cone?' The look on his face said it all! It was perfect!

The unfortunate scoop landed in his lap, the cone still in his hand. That was an unexpected bonus! Of course I never gave it a thought what it might do to his clothes. I was too busy cracking up laughing, and licking off my hand.

I got him goooooooooood! The look of chagrin on his face said I had scored!!! Suzanne 1, Grampa 0. He knew exactly why I had done that. It was get-back time and I won!!!

Course now, I had to be on the look out for he would be planning next to get even with me! But I didn't care, and neither did he, really. On this day, the grandkid won!

Learning to spell

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I probably should look in my archive of posts to see if I've told this before, but I'm lazy. So if I have, maybe someone new will get a laugh out of this.

When your kids are little do you ever "spell over their heads" something you want to communicate without them knowing what you are saying??? My mother used to do this all the time when I was little. But one day she gave up. We were living in a trailer (they weren't called "mobile homes" back then). We had finished our meal and my mother wanted to ask my dad if he wanted something she had made. "Ira, would you like some j-e-l-l-o?" she said. Well, there are some words that sounds just about the same as how they are spelled. So I figured that one out. (I was about 5.) I quickly answered and said with delight, "I want some jello!!!" She never spelled again.

Fast forward a generation. Our oldest daughter was about 5 years old, my husband and I were living in a mobile home (no kidding!). We had been to VBS in the morning and had come home to eat lunch. I wanted CG to eat her "sonch" (as she called a sandwich) without being distracted with what I saw out the window. I said to my husband, "I see a c-a-t" and motioned with my eyes, to look out the window. This time CG didn't catch on to what I said, but neither could my husband. "ick-a-cat?" he said with a puzzled look on his face. I finally had to tell him 'cat' which he turned to see. CG was never fazed and finished her sonch. He never did let me forget that one!

CAN'T GET TO HEAVEN IN A ROCKIN’ CHAIR

(I tho't I had posted this but couldn't find it. So I'm posting it today. Hope you get a kick out of it.)

Chorus
Oh, you can't get to heaven in a rockin' chair
If you're a rockin' you're not gettin' there.
If you're rockin' you're not goin' where?
You can't get to heaven in a rockin' chair.
Rockin’, Rockin’ Rockin’.

Verse1
If you want to live in heaven up there
Get on your knees and say a little prayer
Confess all your sin or you’re not gettin’ where?
You can't get to heaven in a rockin' chair

When you're burdened down with worry and care
Go to the cross for Jesus is there
Get readin' His Word and sayin' a prayer
Cuz, you can't get to heaven in a rockin' chair.

Verse2
Rockin' back and forth just gets nowhere
You're wasting your time you’re not gettin' there.
You gotta get up if you wanna go where?
You can't get to heaven in a rockin' chair.

Tell all your friends that Jesus cares
They can't go to heaven in their rockin chairs
Tell 'em Jesus is the only way up there.
They can't get to heaven in their rockin' chairs.

2009, Suzanne Guinn

When I arrive in heaven...

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When I arrive in heaven on Jordan’s golden shore
I’ll sing with sweet abandon praising God for evermore
I’ll bow my knees to Jesus and kiss my mother’s face
I’ll lie down with the lions and sing Amazing Grace

I’ll walk along with loved ones and sit at Jesus’ feet,
Forsaking all my sorrow for fellowship so sweet.
I’ll sit beside King David as music fills the air.
I’ll play with my dear brother, who’s waiting over there.

I’ll visit with Ole Peter or mingle with the saints.
I’ll walk the streets of Salem and work with no complaints
I’ll wash in heaven’s fountain, run fingers through the sand,
Climb every single mountain, and march in heaven’s band.

When I arrive in heaven, so happy I will be
For now I’ll live with Jesus and be forever free.
My soul will sing forever, rejoicing I will be
For now I’ll live with Jesus and be forever free.

Suzanne Guinn
January 9, 2011

Lost Dog

A few weeks ago our elderly dog got out through the garage and we did not know it till later when we discovered him missing. He is nearly blind, and deaf as well as diabetic. We, naturally, were quite concerned and upset. Fortunately he was found the next morning. But the experience taught me several spiritual lessons:

1. I, as a sinner, am lost, blind and deaf to God's call.
2. I was disobedient and wandered away.
3. I could not find my way home.
4. I was cold and hungry.
5. I would have died if my Father/Master had not found me.
6. He left His home to search for me.
7. He kept looking for me, long into the night.
8. He kept looking till He found me.
9. He put out the word/message letting people know he was looking for me.
10. Through the help of others, He found me and I was rejoined with my Father. (God uses people to spread His word and bring others to Him.)
11. There was great joy in the reunion.
12. I was 'starving' when He found me; he filled me with wonderful food and water.
13. He took me home and cleaned me up.
14. I was hurt and He helped me get well, again.
14. He loves me and carried me home, even though I was disobedient and wandered away.
15. Once I returned home, I could rest in peace, and safety and sleep, sleep, sleep.

Lest we forget.

(Crude as it may be...)
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CNN Headline

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For my next post I was going to comment on the various stages of dress (or otherwise) that I see now that I am 'out front,' at the library as opposed to working 'in the back.' But that probably says plenty enough. Sometimes I wish I could wear blinders. ;-)

You may have seen a variety of headlines, titles, signs, or whatever that taken literally can be quite funny. This was a headline today on CNN's website: "Suspect admits texting dead teen."

Uh, Um - Did your message arrive?
Did she text you back?
Where did her message come from?

If you are on any professional or job-related listserv, this is some "Friday Humor" a little early!

When Liberty becomes a stumbling block

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The current controversy of building a mosque near Ground Zero of 9/11 reminds one of a passage of scripture that talks about our rights verses putting others first.

We have the right to worship as we see fit, in this country. The day we no longer have that right, we will cease to be the America that was created in 1776. Many people fled to this new land to get away from religious tyrants. They wanted the right to worship God as they felt led. This is who we are. But we don't need religious tyrants demanding to exercise their right to worship just because we have that right. There's more to think about than that.

September 11, 2001 Islamic enemies of this country and terrorists confiscated our planes with mostly our people on board and flew them into some of our country's greatest iconic locations. These heartless people have no concern over the innocent lives that were lost, including some of their own.

Now in the name of religious freedom, Islams want to build a mosque within 'spitting distance' of Ground Zero. If they believe that they (who are building the mosque) are not the same as the terrorists who bombed us with the our own planes, then maybe they need to rethink how they demand and choose to exercise their American rights. They say they are peace loving Americans, "like the rest of us."

If they truely are, then maybe they ought to take a second look at the impact this intended place of worship will have on their fellow Americans. Sometimes it's NOT about our rights, but it's about thinking of and putting the other person first and not ourselves or our agenda. I don't deny that anyone can worship how they wish. But some compassion and consideration should also be taken into account as to where they chose to do so. Going to Mecca and holding a church service is not the way to go about winning Muslims over to Christ.

One of our forefathers (I haven't looked up who, yet) made the comment to the effect that people who are Christian people also make good citizens. [I will see if I can find the exact quote.] So, if the Christians in this country will practice 'not excersizing' our liberty just because we can, but instead consider what that right might do to others, maybe others will see our example and do the same.

It's time we all think about the victims of 9/11, which include the families of the victims. They are victims, too. They are left with grief and trauma of what happened to their loved ones. Excersize your form of worship, but this is a huge country. Even New York City has a lot of real estate. Look around and see where else you might could build your place of woship. In so doing, you would be more considerate of others. You would show that you care about others more than yourself. Want others to be tolerant of you? Then show some tolerance and consideration of others and move to some other location.

I Don't Care To

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Church had just let out and the parishioners were filing by shaking the preacher's hand. As one older lady came by, his wife standing close by asked her if she would be interested in going to a regional church meeting later that week with them.

Dad pastored a little country church in a southern Missouri town, called Cape Fair. We had just moved there a few months earlier, from a field assignment in western Kansas. Beth and Ira Wagner had answered the call to the ministry while still living in New York State. They attended a bible school graduating in 1957. From there they had first been placed in a western Kansas community before moving to Cape Fair. It was now 1958.

The lady answered cheerfully, "I wouldn't care to." Somewhere in the conversation one of them had told her the day and time they planned to go. Still learning Missouri, hillbilly colloquialisms, they weren't quite sure what she meant.

The day came and Beth and Ira were ready to head to the meeting, (probably an IFCA* meeting held in nearby Galena, MO.). Beth mentioned to Ira, "We better go by Erma's** house and just make sure whether she wants to go or not." [**I don't remember the lady's real name.]

They drove by her house, and into the driveway. Sure enough, she was ready and waiting to go, watching for them to arrive. They learned that day that her response meant, 'she wouldn't mind going, she would enjoy it.' Not that 'she cared nothing about the trip, whatsoever. '

That was a close call and a fast learned lesson of another Missouri colloquialism. They were glad they decided to stop and make sure what she wanted to do and not pull a faux pas and leave her behind!

***************

There's a lot of people I do remember from that country church, even though I was only in the 4th grade and part of the 5th.

Willie and Jaunita Withnall. He was a deacon and always wore overalls. They lived by a store which I think they ran.

Mr and Mrs Jorden who had fraternal twin boys. They didn't even look like brothers. One was tall and skinny, the other was shorter and not-so-skinny. For many years, I remembered their names, but can't recall them now.

Elderly Mrs. Smith who still came to church. She was a typical, sweet little-ole-lady, bun and all. Her husband who was in his upper 90's was unable to come anymore. (I want to say he was also blind, but I'm not sure). Mom and Dad visited with them frequently. They lived in a white clapboard house, right along the edge of the road about a mile or so 'from town.' We would sit in the quaint, homey living room while Dad read scripture to the gentleman and have prayer before we left, on every visit. (Religious pictures and crocheted art hung on the walls.)

On Sunday afternoons, we would go to Wooley Creek. A group of people met there in the school house for Sunday School whether they had any preachin' or not. So we would go out and Dad would do the preachin' for the folks. The Fosters and the Jones attended Wooley Creek.

The Jones were a fairly large but poor family. Their father was like Pa in Little House on the Prairie. Their Pa played the fiddle. The kids would sing, especially three of their girls. They would lean back in the dining room chairs around the pot bellied stove, swinging their bare feet while balancing on those back chair legs, singing their lungs out! Ah, those were the days.

These days folks have an annual singing at Wooley Creek, I learned last year. I need to go.

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(*Independant Fundamental Church of America)

Pictures of Water

Earlier this year a friend and coworker asked me to write a poem about water, since our Summer Reading Program theme was "Water Your Mind." Later we presented this poem at a Poetry Reading, as a duet, each reading half a line. It was fun, and had a nice effect on the presentation. It was arranged a little differently than presented here, but I like the outline this arrangement gives.

PICTURES OF WATER (Set)

SUMMER:

Puddles. Pools.
Foam. Fun. Spray. Sun.
Tributaries. Sanctuaries.
Waves. Swells. Tides. Wells.
Drips. Drizzles. Drops. Frizzles.
Angry. Gentle. Blinding. Mental.
Flooding. Fury. Torrents. Hurry.
Moisture. Misty. Moody. Mystery.
Cleansing Shower. Energy. Power.
Rolling. Crashing. Pounding. Smashing.
Drowning. Dragging. Dripping. Nagging.
Cascades. Ocean Sprays. Everglades. Dreamy Days.
Embryonic Universe. Unexpected Lightening Burst.

WINTER:

Peaks. Poles.
Peace. Place. Slow Pace.
Sleet. Slush. Snow. Mush.
Conversation. Transportation.
Crystals. Falling. Quiet. Calling.
Freezing. Chilling. Bone-drilling.
Avalanches. Landscape Blanches.
Crushing. Crafty. Blanket. Drafty.
Glaciers Thawing. Gouging. Clawing.
Farm pond Skating. Snowman Making.
Ice Blocks. Icebergs. Snow Peaks. Snow Birds.
Snowflakes. Snowfalls. Snowdrifts. Snowballs.

~ ~

Peace. Strife. Death. Life.

Quietly Laughing. Blubbering. Gaffing.
Boisterously Bawling. Lazily Crawling.

Deep and moving. Roving at will.
Limpid and languishing. Shallow and still.

Renewing. Life-giving. Refreshing the living.
Death, Strife; Peace, Life.

-by Suzanne Guinn. 16 February 2010