None of My Business

Last week, we thought about what makes us authentic. Your comments were amazing and you spoke beyond your years!

Ironically,  I heard an interesting quote that sort of tag-teams onto last weeks blog question. Dr. Wayne Dyer, an internationally known author and motivational speaker said, “What other people think of me is none of my business.” I couldn't help but wonder what tomorrow might look like if I didn’t care about what other people thought about me today.  How would I feel?  Although the quote is thought provoking,  living it can be a different story.  We DO care about what other people think of us.  But we cannot control other people’s opinions, judgments or ideas.  So imagine what your life would look like if you didn’t care about other people's opinions.  What would you do differently?

Your response to the Question of the Week was meant for you to ponder. Comments are welcome, but purely optional this week. 

Keeping my nose out of my own business,

Cyberpsalmist

Certificate of Authenticity

Recently, I purchased an item with a certificate of authenticity. As I examined the special sticker, I noted several things about it. Not a picture of a seal on the packaging, this round label was an actual hologram with sort of a watermark buried in its design.  I felt like I had something important, something genuine in my hand. People who knew value and authenticity designed my product and the manufacturers could certainly be trusted.

Then the other, doubting side of me asked myself a question... "How do I know this is a real seal or certificate of authenticity and not a fake?" That got my wheels turning in the other direction.

Let me first define the real. A certificate of authenticity (COA) is a seal or small sticker on a product such as a piece of art work, a computer program, t-shirt, jersey, or any other memorabilia. Regarding art, it's commonly a seal on paper authenticating a specific art work letting us know the item is authentic. Usually the COA is signed and sealed by a reputable appraiser or auction house. (Computer COAs have a license number on them, which verifies that the program is a genuine, legal copy.) 

So, how do I tell a fake?  To begin with, you really have to understand what a legitimate COA consists of because plenty of COAs are floating around out there, especially at online auctions like eBay. Unless a certificate of authenticity originates from and is signed by either the artist who created the art, the publisher of the art, a confirmed established dealer or agent of the artist (not a casual third party or reseller), or an acknowledged expert on the artist, that certificate is pretty much meaningless.

You may wonder why I'm giving so much attention to a COA. All of this got me thinking. God put His Certificate of Authenticity on me. I'm one-of-a-kind, yet custom-made in His image. I have qualities that are special and unique to none other than myself. Thankfully, my value has been set by my Maker and my seal originates and is signed by the One who created me.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: What makes you authentic?

Put me like a seal on your heart, like a seal on your arm. Love is as strong as death; jealousy is as strong as the grave.
Song of Solomon 8:6

Chrissy
Cyberpsalmist

Valentines Day always brings thoughts of love and friendship. One of my favorite memories of this holiday is the simple exchange of notes and cards. I poured through my Valentines box as a child, reading my notes over and over.

We all look forward to extra chocolate as well as those silly conversation hearts. Being such a hopeless romantic, I probably read more into the messages than I should have. But my friendships meant so much to me, and still do.

Friendship can be anything from simple to complex, or from easy to hard to maintain. Sometimes I think guys have the advantage on this subject... taking a low-key attitude, knowing everything will eventually work itself out.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: In your own words, describe friendship.

What a Character!

 OK folks, this week in our Write Your Roots class, we discussed character sketching and used our dad's as subject matter. That was pretty easy because dad's can be kind of quirky, display strange and unusual habits, and generally easy to pick on. So I've reserved a spot on the blog for my students to post their character sketches. Have fun!

I'll go first... here's my character sketch about my dad:

  "The more I spoke, the sleepier he became. It seemed like my conversation’s purpose was to lull him to sleep. Earlier, I found Dad working in the yard, determined to fix his broken gate. The problem was suppose to be an easy fix but ended up consuming his entire morning and part of the afternoon. By now, his short temper got the best of him so he put down his tools and decided to take a break.

            It was around 3:45 in the afternoon when Dad finally retreated to his medium green recliner. He was wearing blue jeans and a plaid button-down shirt and I could see his gold cross necklace through the open top three buttons. No matter how hard Dad worked, his silver grey hair was always neat. By this time in the day, his rough, olive-toned oval face was casting an early five-o’clock shadow. 

            Dad never looked as peaceful as he did now. His wide-set apart eyes were closed like a garage door slammed shut. Carefully, I reached for the toothpick that typically hung from his mouth and slowly began to slide it out. That’s when he opened his eyes and said, “I was just resting my eyes.”

Now it's your turn :)

Chrissy

How Many Birthday Candles?

Mia & Benjamin James Larson (3 months)

Those of us who could, gathered together yesterday, to celebrate my husbands 63rd birthday. He's a walking miracle. They say cats have nine lives. Well, Gary Larson has had more lives than I can count. Then there's the other numerous near-death adventures he doesn't think I know about, which put him in an elite, but small category of survivors, all his own.

Not only did I enjoy the birthday celebration, I especially loved holding my three-month old grandson, Benjamin. His instinctive coos and crooked baby grins melted my heart. I carried on with him until his eyelids thickened and he began to sink deep into my arms. My sweet boy endured all the music, laughter, and social stimulation he could handle and then slowly drifted off to sleep. His mother graciously asked me if I needed her to take him, so I could eat the once steaming hot, feta cheese and spinach-stuffed calzone in front of me. But I was already full, satisfied by him.

There's nothing quite like cuddling with an innocent child. While they sleep, you dream for them, hoping they'll reach for the stars in a way you never could. Heaven forbid, the mistakes you made would be repeated by them.

I looked down at him while he took a power nap, and decided to whisper a prayer for his life. "Be strong and intuitive. Guard your heart and don't give your devotion away before your time. Jesus wants you to run beside Him, not behind Him. He will call you his friend."

What if I don't get to tell him all the things penned up in my heart? I hope and pray I'll have trillions of face-to-face chances to say what I believe about him. But, God only knows how many birthdays candles I get to blow out.

QUESTION FOR THE WEEK: If you could give a newborn baby advice, what would it be?

Chrissy (Cyberpsalmist)

Happy New Year Everyone!

It's January, 2014, and although Christmas was only 19 days ago, it seems so far removed from the thoughts that now fill my mind. Lately, I've been busy trying to recapture getting some order back in my home... not because I had an incredibly chaotic holiday, but I'm still not done renovating from the flood of 2013. We've saved a ton of money by doing the work ourselves. The biggest drawback is this way only saves money. It's taking F-O-R-E-V-E-R!

While I'm ready for everything to be put back in it's proper place, I decided I wasn't going to get my undies in a bundle and fret about any of it. This approach has saved me from covering my grey's sooner, as well as a few manicures over chewed fingernails. God's hand has been in this all the way and I'm really enjoying how it's coming together.

Speaking of coming together, one of my favorite fun time childhood memories growing up was playing games. I'm specifically talking about games played around a table, such as cards or board games. My family was so big, we often had to add an extra deck of cards to a game so that the draw pile wouldn't run out so quickly.

On the top of my list of favorites would definitely be the classics such as Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Sorry, and Chinese Checkers. I also loved Crazy Eights and Spoons. But Rummy Royal holds the top position. (The game also goes by the title Michigan Rummy.) All ages do well in playing this vintage board game and the only special equipment required is a deck of cards and a good supply of poker chips. The object of the game is to have the most chips at the end and the end of the game comes when your opponents either get bored or tired. If you need to get a snack or step away for any reason, you can ask to be "dealt out" for a round, making the game very flexible.

Now, I know many of you would disagree on this point but, I think games that don't make me think or strategize too hard are more fun. Because I hold this opinion, you won't find me begging anyone to play Monopoly or Chess. I'll leave those games for you to play.

With that said...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: what's your favorite family table game? And tell me why you love it.

Chrissy