It's Been a While

It's been a while since my last post. Not much has happened. We had a week off from school for Spring Break. The first two days were absolutely beautiful here in Area 52. It was sure nice to go without a coat and enjoy the sunshine. On Wednesday, the weather turned to crap and we ended the week wearing our winter togs once more. Wife Tilly didn't even wear her new shirt and slack set that she bought for Easter to church. She wore a sweater. It was a different Easter for us. It was the first one without either of our children present. Professor, of course, couldn't come home just for the Easter weekend, and Little Bro had to work that Sunday. His lovely wife, Kiddo, our grandson, and Tilly's parents joined us at a local restaurant for a nice dinner at noon. Then we all went our respective ways, and I took a nap. At church that Sunday, my choir had sung a lovely cantata, so I had had my "music fix."
School began again. The students weren't ready to come back, and neither were most of the staff. But we are all persevering and have only 6 more Mondays to go.
We had our taxes figured last week, and are getting a refund from both the Feds and the State. What a pleasant surprise that was.
I stood in line last Saturday to get the plates for our two vehicles, one of which doesn't run right now. I had forgotten that plates in our state expire on the 15th and the last day. Ours was the 15th, so I had to do a rush job.
Saturday afternoon, it started raining, and suddenly the temp dropped and we ended up with over an inch of snow on the ground by nightfall. What the he--?? Sunday the temp went up to about 55 degrees, so the snow left in a hurry. All of our flowering trees are stunted, and I am sure my tulips and lilacs won't bloom at all. Damn!
We' re reviewing for county testing at school, and the kids are not at all receptive. I don't think they realize just how important these tests are towards our funding and etc.
I ticked off a couple of teachers today because they are always bashing our special ed system at our school and speaking unkindly about some of "my kids" and I had had enough. I told them that they needed more training on how to deal with learning disabled students, and that the teachers and aides in our department were not superhuman! Suddenly the teacher's lounge was very quiet. But I didn't back down. But I did shut up!!!
My men's quartet sang at a neighboring town's Church of the Brethren revival service. It was my first experience at a revival. It was an eye-opening experience. We had a very receptive audience for our music, but the message was very LONG and repetitive. I don't intend to attend another one any time soon. I was definitely out of my comfort zone. Too intense for me!
It sounds like Professor's school production of "Grease" will be a smashing success. She promised to have it video-taped so Tilly and I can see it. I am also homesick. Did I mention that? Montana is a long way away. Can't wait until school is out and she comes home for a visit.
That's about it for my end.
Cheers!
JE

CHRISTIAN WAYS TO RELIEVE STRESS

This is a different kind of list. It was sent to me by one of my very close friends. He truly exemplifies this list. I strive to, but am sure I fall short. I think #35 is the hardest one for me to abide by. JE


An Angel says, "Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice."

1. Pray
2. Go to bed on time.
3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.
4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health.
5. Delegate tasks to capable others.
6. Simplify and unclutter your life.
7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)
8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.
10. Take one day at a time.
11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.
12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.
13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.
14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
15. Do something for the kid in you everyday.
16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.
17. Get enough rest.
18. Eat right.
19. Get organized so everything has its place.
20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.
21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.
22. Every day, find time to be alone.
23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.
24. Make friends with Godly people.
25. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.
26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good "Thank you Jesus."
27. Laugh.
28. Laugh some more!
29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.
30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).
31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most.)
32. Sit on your ego.
33. Talk less; listen more.
34. Slow down.
35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.
36 Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before. GOD HAS A WAY OF TURNING THINGS AROUND FOR YOU. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)