Thinking On These Things

 Either we are getting a little snow shower or it is the frosted flakes scurrying off the roof tops and tree branches. 

My brother called last night and his Christmas/New Year gift arrived yesterday. Like me, he is blown away by the presentation of the product and the marketing of it, off the charts. The company is Spoonful of Comfort. You can send all different types of packages; birthday, comfort, get well and so on. After the soup, rolls and cookies are gone you are left with the wonderful memory of a silver soup ladle. We ordered the chicken noodle and tomato basil for him but we ordered the poblano soup for us. At this time both containers of soup have to be poblano. The soup can freeze for two months. His delivery was postponed when the snow and ice hit the Midwest. The company was able to get back the product from UPS and sent a new shipment. Wow! Great customer service. In fact Doug mentioned it reminded him of how Nordstrom used to be. And for us box lovers and box collectors, each box used in the delivery is a good and sturdy box, with attached lid. Box heaven I tells ya!

Sometimes the most far flung thoughts tip toe into my thinking. Probably what started me down this road yesterday is, I gave some time looking at a half full snow globe that was given to me when I was probably in the 6th grade by the boy next door. It was full at the time. There is nothing special about it except maybe this is the first gift I ever received from an older boy. Now, if someone would catch a glimpse they might be thinking, is Nancy a hall full or half empty kind of snow globe person? I am neither. The only comment worth focusing on would be, why didn't she throw this away? From that thought somehow I rabbit trailed to my summer between sixth and seventh grade. When I arrived home from my summer with grandparents and cousins my mom had a surprise for me. While in Illinois, she and a friend made a round table out of a cheese barrel. My mom made the round table cloth for it and she bought a small rocking chair to sit beside the table in front of my bedroom window that faced the backyard. She painted it a lovely blue that went with the newly made round table. The lamp she got was not frilly yet it was cute and added charm to my reading corner. She made a pillow for the rocking chair and the big surprise was, new bedspreads for the twin beds. The white thin chenille bedspreads that had accompanied us from Illinois and Indiana arrived with us when my father was transferred to Texas. But oh my, the floral bedspreads, blue and white with a tad bit of green...I had never seen my bedroom be so beautiful. I felt so special that day, like my childhood room, by most standards was rather barren and utilitarian, was the announcement I had a grown up room. Well, as grown up as one can be in junior high school...whatever that means. 

As I have studied this week on the lesson, it has been difficult to get past Nimrod. He gets a shout out in Chapter Ten but when you study how rebellious as well as influential he was over the people, he made quite the impression the wrong way...What he instituted way back then is still going on today. Same strategy, nothing new under the sun. He is a type and there is so much there before even getting to God coming down and confusing the language. The phrase making a name for themselves keeps rolling around while studying. There is no lack of modern day material on the subject of being famous or making a name in whatever sphere of life you are in. A tennis friend came to mind. Her husband was an up and coming mover and shaker. He made all the right moves and his business continued to be very successful. They made the moves from the get go in their home choices. At one point he wanted his wife to only play at River Oaks and drop their membership at the U Club. She wasn't too happy about it but she dropped the club and the tennis league teams. So, I googled him up the other day. Still a powerful man, got what he wanted out of life at ROCC, even being President. Why am I telling you this? I don't know...no I know. There was a humorous story of a young fast track man who worked at this man's firm, but was leaving to go into Special Ops in one of the branches of the armed services. Many asked him wasn't he afraid of the toughness and difficulties serving in special forces and without hesitation this young man said, I worked for ______________, special ops will be a cakewalk. Tennis friend husband did exactly what he wanted to do, make a name beyond Houston, and his company is so involved in real estate deals all over the country and the world. I also think of two people, one from the blogging world and the other from various church functions and Bible studies. Both interested in starting successful ministries. Both talented and gifted, but there were others at the same time trying to do the same thing and somehow in all the politics of making a ministry name, the accolades and contracts didn't arrive. They are successful but not as much as they might want to be or as much as those who started at the same time. I admire that they still plug away at it. Building a platform, enlisting those who can help them make a way. So, what does this have to do with Nimrod? Well, we have to also watch out for those who want to make a name for themselves and we can get drawn into a web that we will so desperately want out of. Remember Nimrod was a world renown hunter...of both animals and I am sure of ideas and control. I remember a very talented young man telling the choir he led at the time about telling his father he wanted to be famous when he grew up. His dad, a very godly man said, make the Lord famous and you'll be satisfied and successful more than just plain old being famous. What wisdom! 

And they say FB can be a waste of time...yes, it can be but when you see early in the afternoon that church is cancelled due to the frozen tundra, not our truck, but when it is 6 degrees on a Sunday morning with snow still on the ground, ice is a hazard. In the past this decision was made on Sunday mornings and keeping up with closures as you look for the church name takes up a lot of getting ready time. It has been sometime since snow remained overnight. Our home faces south and even cold temps can't keep the sun from melting the snow. Except for this time. So, after I slept in, again, before and during breakfast our conversation revolved around staying alert and all the times being alert in the Bible was a good, nay I say, a very good thing. Being alert as these Boys are to sound. The sound of a treat package being opened, the sound of a can of food being opened, the sound of a small pinecone rolling along on hardwood floors and the sound of foot steps on the stairs. For those things, they are alert. When we want them to come when called, selective hearing. I think they take after Roy in that, selective hearing which is a whole nother subject to cover at another time. 

There is a warm up coming on Monday. We will close down The Garage at The Catmore Estate for several nights. Lows to be in the forties and fifties. A heat wave in January! This will be the last week without any appointments. Life picks up in February. 

Since we didn't have church today I was able to Zoom in with my LBS, think Sunday School class, this morning in Houston. Carole taught and of course the lesson was fabulous. Not only do I have things to ponder but a point in my lesson for next week got some clarification while watching. I came downstairs for lunch and Roy had moved a couple of chairs in the living room. So thankful for that but yet I cannot help but think he moved the chairs like I wanted in order to give up on my idea of moving the bookcases into the dinning room. Saw a picture and it would work well here. I'll have to think on these things.