Daily Splashes of Joy

Last night I watched an episode of "Seinfeld", called "The Maestro" where Kramer burned himself with hot coffee, trying to sneak it into the movies, tucked in his waistband. As part of his settlement, he won a lifetime of coffee from the chain where he purchased it in the first place. Because it was free, he was drinking cup upon cup and acting quite hyper, "getting all hopped up", as Jerry described him, as he watched Kramer go sprinting off down the street. Kramer was talking 90 miles an hour with gusts up to 150 mph, sounding almost like gibberish. That is what the TV news anchors sound like to me this a.m., as though someone is playing with the dials or they have a lifetime of free coffee!

*

Many of you are aware that I am not much of a reader, at least, not the type of books which attract your eyes and hearts. But a few months ago the mailman brought me a nice book from my friend, Linda J., called "Daily Splashes of Joy" because as she read hers every morning, she was thinking about me. Now, do I not have the greatest friends, or what??? On a separate mailing, I received a lovely book from Judy R., her favorite children's' book, "Mrs. Katz and Tush". A recurring theme through the story is the phrase, "she is such a person". Judy used that to describe me and decided I needed the proper reference for the expression! All through the book were her little post-it notes with special messages for me from her. Aw! I have, in fact, read that book cover to cover!

*

Linda's book is a message-a-day style and I sort of got behind in my reading during my time away. Let me back up a little bit here....yesterday was a bit of a rain-out on my pool time so I spent more than average time in the house. Having nearly finished The Palace Press newsletter, I decided I should work on something else that I had been putting off, since I have had numerous conversations around this topic lately. I spent some time working on my funeral service details! Pastor K. had asked me if I had written out my requests, I guess he was hoping he did not have to try and remember my favorite hymns or Bible verses, etc. Some of it was written down, but not collectively, so that is what I did yesterday. Here is a test: who out there knows what my favorite Bible book/chapter are for use in my funeral service? On your marks, get set, go!

*

So, back to the Daily Splashes of Joy: I picked up the book from alongside me, where I have five or six different books and periodicals stacked on the passenger side of my bed, and read the page for yesterday, June 30. It was perfect, just perfect!!! Briefly it tells about an older woman who recently moved to a new city to live with her daughter but died before she got to really know anyone. The daughter's pastor did the funeral service for Mom, and remarked that although he did not get to know the mom personally, he did know the daughter. In the daughter he could see the mom and her influence, but more importantly, he could see the face of Jesus in the daughter's life, a true reflection of what Mom and daughter were made of. Very nice, and extremely valuable.

*

The message goes to say that we can leave all the Trusts and treasures behind for our families, but they will be cast in piles along the narrowing pathway to heaven. The only legacy worth leaving was our footprints, and, my words here, those footprints are the ones Jesus left for us! The closing phrase is about how Christians never have to say good-bye for the last time! For some, this day's message might not seem all that joyful but for me, it was, it certainly was, particularly since I had worked on my "legacy" only the day before. I had to plan a funeral once, and thank the Lord we had the guidance of our dear pastor to help us with what turned out to be a momentous event. What a blessing it is to have that service on video tape for present and future viewing!

*

Sunday I attended worship at Victory, my presence there was requested, not by Justin, but by other members there. Since my pastor was gone on vacation and there was little going on at church involving me, I decided to go. Kristin Schuppe was in town visiting, too, so I got to see her again, live instead of just on Facebook. It was so nice to see my Victory friends in person again, vs. only on Facebook, since I left on vacation. When Justin and I would go on Saturday nights, it would be different people than we would have seen on Sundays. There is no Saturday worship during summer so all are at one service. I was invited to lunch with my new friends, Judy and Ed, so off I went, after distributing all the hugs and good wishes. Justin was off to the movies with his friend, to see "Transformer" again. We went to Mimi's and I had my favorite, grilled meatloaf, and so did Judy! It's her favorite, too! I told them that next time, it is my treat.

Kristin is the youngest of the Schuppe girls, and is a teacher in Atlanta now

Saturday was supposed to be a movie date for Justin and me, as he asked me on Thursday, but then, reneged on the date! It seems he had to do some work on the boat lift at his father's house after some damage was done to it, and a real estate showing was coming up. Justin wanted to see "My Sister's Keeper" with me, as this was not a movie a guy would see with his buddies, right? But a cry-baby mama is perfect for a movie like this. I found a showtime of 4:20 which still fell into the matinee pricing but he sent me a text saying he could not make it. Instead we could meet for dinner, which works for me! I spent the day at the pool, and Kathy B. came over to join the fun. I was able to enjoy my first of the season cabana-cooked hot dog and even ate some cucumber salad (but not the onions and tomatoes, which were so red and pretty!). One of my upstairs neighbors came out and sat with us which was nice, ever widening the circle of friends. Kathy joined Justin and me for dinner and had a marvelous time with Justin, talking about the "Transformer" movie and school, etc.

*

On Sunday, besides attending church, and later the movie with Jesse, Justin also had tickets to a concert, nosebleed section, for the Trace Adkins/Toby Keith show. At one point I got an urgent text message asking if I was at my computer, and of course, I was! Justin gave me a song name to type in and asked me to listen to it, he was verklept from hearing it at the concert, telling me, "I held in every tear but one". These are the type of text messages a mom likes to get from her adult son! The song is "Arlington" by Trace Adkins and when you look it up on youtube, you will see why my son was so moved. He then sent me more info for songs to listen to, as he often tells me, "I think you should listen to country music...they sing about the things you believe in, like God and family." Again, that 'footsteps legacy' we leave behind for our kids....