Fifty-Cent Mom

H eading into Christmas home plate last week my confidence surged. I had successfully performed with The Voice of Praise Choir and the Lake Geneva Symphony over the weekend; paid our bills; sent out our Christmas cards; ordered Christmas gifts; planned Christmas menus; orchestrated a caroling party for about 40 teenagers; had my hair colored and cut; attended a Christmas party; had most of my cookies baked - but had scheduled to finish them Friday and on and on...      Then He showed up. Uninvited. Monday.       Misgivings about his visit tapped on my shoulders, but I forged ahead. I wasn't the one barfing in the toilet - Les and Bridget were. I had too much work to do to stop. Sure, occasionally I'd ask them if they needed anything, but I thought it would be best to leave them alone with Him so I wouldn't be bothered. He seemed to ignore me. I moved so fast last week, he didn't have time to catch up...or so I thought.      Thu...

Photo credits: C. L. Paur  Technology. It is the new best friend for so many people. It doesn't disappoint you like real people, except when your hard drive crashes, you don't get phone reception, or the earphones wear out. I t's the holiday season and time for the Paurs to have another car repair. Fortunately it was just a tire, so I sat in the dank, smoky waiting room and tried to stare at the television with the volume set so low, I needed captions. Next to me was a woman with deep lines etched into her face with her over-processed hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her bangs poofed-out and were unevenly cut.  A smoker , I thought to myself.  She smiled. I smiled.       Then I opened up with, "Last year we had a nearly $2,000 car repair."       "Oh my," she said. For the next 20 minutes we discussed cars, lemon-cars, chiropractors, writing, and books. During this visit, another customer came in, headphones tightly pressed...

I t's a good thing my husband or daughters don't read my blog for they would scoff at my attempts to offer time management tips. They would remind me of the times we rushed into church during the opening hymn, or Mom dropping kids off right before the schoolbell rang. I won't tell them that I'm often strolling into Tuesday night choir practice after the warm-ups...      I do show up on time for many things, however, and I wish to share my secrets. Work backwards. That is not my secret, but somewhere on the Internet I read this, and when I apply it, I actually arrive on time. I might even have a few minutes to spare for a trip to the restroom.      The principal works like this: you have somewhere to go later in the day. Get yourself ready for that before you do anything else. I will use Sunday mass as an example. I put out my clothes the night before and in the morning get ready before I begin doing anything else. These are the Sundays we get to mass on...

Finished rewrites of my second novel I will be submitting into a contest/campaign for Kindle Scout. This is not the final book design, but I thought it would help lead into this week's topic. The protagonist, Catharine Zimmer, suffered all sorts of ailments during her life on earth. One of her most fiercest diseases was Stomatitis -- Inflammation of the Mouth. It's so easy to catch! The terrible thing about this malady is it doesn't affect the sufferer, but creates suffering for those at the end of the tongue. An entire industry is built up on this disorder, and reports estimate it generates $3 billion annually. Whoopee! This is an economy builder!  If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue  but deceives his heart, his religion is vain (James 1:26 NABRE). Mom would say this about gossipers, "If they're talking about people when you're in the room, they'll talk about you when you leave." Why is gossip so easy to sl...